An example of a violation of realism: an artwork of the surface of Mars that shows the planet Mars and several other planets or moons in the Martian sky.
When creating space art for the Roadmap to Space Art Contest contest, the rules state that your artwork must be realistic. For this contest, realistic means that you have demonstrated basic knowledge of the solar system, astronomy, and the physical sciences (biology, chemistry, and physics) in your depiction of our future in space. Proportions, appearances, environments, and survival aspects in the context of our solar system need to reflect what scientists have actually observed and have established as fact. The value of your imagination is in your vision of how humanity will live, work, and explore our solar system, be it our Moon, Mars, the asteroids, aboard an orbital space colony, or at other locations in our solar system.
A Definition of “Realistic” for the Roadmap Space Art Contest
For this contest the expectation is that for submitted art to be realistic it needs to show a working knowledge of astronomy, planetary science, and the physical sciences (physics, chemistry, and biology). Proportions, settings, appearances, and environments must reflect the reality of the planets, moons, and other bodies of the solar system as well as what science has observed and established to date.
Given that the art previously submitted to our contest has overwhelmingly focused on activities on our Moon and Mars, the examples that follow will likewise focus on the Moon and Mars. Also, these examples come directly from mistakes that we’ve seen in past submissions. Scientific accuracy issues are the single most common reason artwork is rejected from the contest. While creativity, composition, and technique matter, they are judged separately.
A List of the Components of Realism
Here is a list of ten examples of the types of realism that our art contest judges will be looking for in the artwork you submit.
- Objects in the sky should look the size they’d actually appear given their real distance. For example, don’t show Jupiter looming large over above the Moon’s horizon, and don’t show Earth, the Moon, or the Sun over-sized in the Martian sky. All of these bodies are so far away that they appear as little more than stars in the night sky.
- Stick to real solar system bodies. Mars, for example, has two small moons (Phobos and Deimos) — not a ring system or a collection of multiple large moons.
- When depicting planets and moons, match the real coloring and surface texture of the object you are depicting as closely as you can: Earth’s blues, whites, and greens; Mars’ rusty-reds; the Moon’s grays. If you are uncertain as to color and/or texture, NASA’s and ESA’s public photo libraries are excellent, free references to work from.
- With respect to geology, there are no ponds, rivers, or lakes on the surface of the Moon or Mars. While there is evidence that ancient Mars had rivers, lakes, and possibly oceans billions of years ago, our contest seeks artwork depicting a point in time that lies in our future and not the distant past.
- There are no longer active volcanoes on the Moon or Mars. While they did exist in the past, they have long been dormant.
- There are no plants growing wild in the open on the Moon or Mars — nothing has ever been found growing there naturally. Plants inside a greenhouse, dome, or habitat are examples of realism.
- There is no alien wildlife that we know of so alien animals should not be shown in your artwork. And that goes for alien beings and UFOs as well.
- The Moon has no atmosphere so its sky is black even in full daylight and shadows are sharp and high-contrast, since there’s no air to scatter and soften sunlight the way Earth’s atmosphere does.
- Anyone outside a spacecraft or sealed habitat on the Moon, Mars, or in space needs to be wearing a full spacesuit.
- Vehicles need a power source that will work in the environment in which they are shown. An internal combustion engine needs oxygen from the air to burn fuel, so it can’t run in a vacuum. Instead draw vehicles that use electric, solar, or rocket power.
As a test, how many violations of the list can you find in the following image of a sports event on the surface of Mars?
A Quick Checklist for Your Submission
Before you submit your artwork, you can use the following checklist to make sure that you have not violated the most common realism mistakes that people have made in past contests.
- Make sure the sizes and distances of objects in the sky are realistic.
- Make sure your colors and surface textures match real reference photos for the planet or moon you’ve painted.
- Make sure the sky color and shadow behavior match the world you’re depicting.
- Do not show liquid bodies of water on the surface of the Moon or Mars.
- Do not show active volcanoes on the Moon or Mars.
- Do not have plants growing wild outdoors on the Moon or Mars, or in space.
- Do not show alien life forms.
- Make sure that everyone outside a spacecraft or habitat is in a full spacesuit.
- Make sure any vehicles you include are using a power source that could work in that environment
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