CGTrader Launches an Apple iPhone 6s Accessory Challenge

When the days become shorter, the pumpkin spice comes out of storage and the kids are forced back to school you can be sure of one thing: it’s officially New iPhone season. Yes, it is that magical time of the year when Apple releases their new iPhone models and their fans get a little too excited over a cell phone, Android fans get a little too angry over a cell phone and retail stores start the mad dash to offer as many styles of updated iPhone cases that they possibly can. With 3D printing becoming more mainstream, it is also turning into the season where 3D model marketplaces try to get their designers to upload new cell phone case designs as quickly as possible.

First out of the gate is CGTrader.com, which is putting up some T-shirts, free prints and even sale credits for their designers in exchange for freshly designed iPhone cases and accessories. The 3D Print Apple 6s Accessories Challenge officially kicked off on September 16th and will be running until November 10th. The CGTrader staff will be selecting the winners based on the final quality of the phone case, the design, general uniqueness, attractive presentation and the professionalism of the model. That means that while high-quality renderings of the phone case are not mandatory, it will probably be advantageous to include one.

The First Place winner will receive a free 3D printed model of the winner’s choice provided by 3D printing service bureau Prototypster. They will also receive a CGTrader T-shirt, five free sales of the winning design courtesy of CGTrader and be featured on the front page of the challenge as the winner. The First Runner Up will receive a CGTrader T-shirt, three free sales courtesy of CGTrader and their winning model featured on the challenge page. Sadly the Second Runner Up gets no T-shirt, but will still receive two free sales of their design as well as being featured on the challenge page.

All entries must be new models designed specifically for the challenge and when uploaded the “iphone-challenge” box needs to be checked. The design does not need to be a cellphone case; it can also be an accessory or ancillary iPhone 6s product. The upload will require 3D files and images of the phone case or accessory in order to quality. The uploaded model does not need to have a specific price point in order to be considered. However the 3D model must be available for download, so a price of some kind must be set, or designers can choose to offer it for free.

The Apple 6s Accessories challenge is for newly designed models only, so any models removed and then reuploaded will be automatically disqualified. As will designs that have simply been updated to the new iPhone specs. While designers will still own their design entirely and are free to upload it to other 3D model marketplaces, CGTrader does reserve the right to use images of any challenge entries in promotional or marketing materials. There is no limit to the amount of entries that can be uploaded and there is no fee to enter the challenge.

You can download the official iPhone 6s technical specifications for the detailed phone measurements and new button locations directly from Apple. You can read all of the official rules, terms and conditions and the challenge FAQ over on CGTrader.com. And if iPhone cases aren’t your thing but you’d like to upload some of your designs make sure that you check out CGTrader’s Challenges page for all of their active design challenges.

Are you taking part in this design challenge?  Let us know in the iPhone 6 Design Challenge forum thread on 3DPB.com.