Flinders University students have yet again won recognition in the 11th Annual Rookie Awards, the world’s largest contest for aspiring creatives in games, animation, visual effects, immersive media, motion graphics and 3d visualisation.

The 2021 Rookies attracted 4,107 entries from 568 schools in 98 countries for a total of 57,501 uploads – and Flinders students studying the Bachelor of Creative Arts (Visual Effects and Entertainment Design) in conjunction with CDW Studios in Adelaide have been named as finalists in a range of categories.

The category of Concept Art – for which students feature film, computer games, story narrative, theme parks, advertising and fan-art purposes – attracted hundreds of entries, and two Flinders/CDW Studios students have been included among the 27 finalists. Congratulations to Jordan Soar and Nate Thorman – and it’s worth noting that Flinders/CDW was one of the few schools to register multiple finalists in this category.

The Weta Digital Internship, which will offer the winner an opportunity to join the world-class Weta modelling team for a month’s experience in New Zealand, has two Flinders Bachelor of Creative Arts (Visual Effects and Entertainment Design) students among the 11 finalists. Congratulations to Gabrielle Pehlivanides and Rebecca Thomason.

IO Interactive is looking for a 3D Animator and a Concept Artist to be the lucky winners of a virtual mentorship. Kyle Brand and Tai Bennett are both finalists for this mentorship. These finalists are up against tough competition, with representatives from Italy, United Kingdom, Ireland, Czechia, Spain, Portugal, United States, Singapore, Hong Kong, Denmark, Netherlands and Canada.

Epic Games Finalists are in the running for a telephone interview with the talent team at Epic Games, which is looking to hire new applicants. Congratulations to Nate Thorman, who has been named a finalist – making him a nominee in two Rookies categories.

The Rookies winners will be announced on 27 July.