Greatest monsterpieces

Gareth Edwards has spoken.

Last month, we ran a Godzilla Fan Art Contest featuring attractive prizes worth more than $6,000, which attracted 79 submissions.

The top 10 artworks, which were selected by The New Paper's art department and public voting, were displayed at the Singapore gala premiere of Godzilla at Shaw Lido Theatres on Monday.

Edwards, the movie's director, chose the three pieces he said best captured the essence of the world's most revered monster.

1ST PLACE

Full-time national serviceman Anson Tan, 18, nearly missed the premiere screening of Godzilla on Monday because he had booked out late from Pulau Tekong.

But he eventually managed to make his way down to the venue in his army uniform.

"I really love Godzilla," he said. "I watched the old movies as a kid. I had all the toys. Godzilla was a great inspiration for me." He added: "The new movie has to be my favourite so far. The CGI was incredible."

Mr Tan recently graduated from ITE College Central, where he studied digital animation. He completed his "monsterpiece" in just one 10-hour sitting.

"When I decided to take part, I wasn't interested in the prize. I just wanted to draw Godzilla and show my own interpretation of the character," he said.

As the top winner of our contest, Mr Tan bagged a pair of Godzilla IMAX 3D premiere tickets and took home a Pioneer 3D Blu-Ray home theatre system worth $550, a Godzilla collector's Columbia watch worth $300, and other Godzilla memorabilia worth $270.

2ND PLACE

The runner-up was Ms Tang Yun Sin, who goes by the moniker "Sandara" on online art community deviantART.

The 34-year-old is a teacher at DigiPen Institute of Technology, and has been creating digital art for more than 10 years. Her detailed digital painting took her a mere three hours to complete.

"I joined the contest for fun. I wanted to put Godzilla in Singapore," said Ms Tang.

Her rendition of the giant monster sets him on a rampage along Shenton Way as viewed from the infinity pool at Marina Bay Sands. "I didn't expect to win. A friend of mine told me that my Godzilla looks like he's screaming in pain because his feet are on fire," Ms Tang said with a laugh.

Her entry won her a pair of Godzilla IMAX 3D premiere tickets, a Pioneer DVD Micro System for portable Apple devices worth $300 and other Godzilla memorabilia worth $270.

3RD PLACE

Coming in third was full-time national serviceman Sherman Lim.

The fan of "kaiju" (monster) movies cited Godzilla, Pacific Rim and Cloverfield among his favourites.

"Godzilla can be said to be the most famous of them all. I had to join in the fun drawing the giant beast!" said the 22-year-old.

He collects Godzilla figurines and used one of them as a visual reference for his digital painting, which took him three days to complete.

"I'm really glad that Gareth Edwards was able to take a look at my work. It really is an honour!" he said.

Though Mr Lim was overseas on holiday on the day of the premiere, his family collected a pair of Godzilla IMAX 3D premiere tickets on his behalf. He also won a Pioneer 3D Blu-Ray player worth $280 and other Godzilla memorabilia worth $270.

This article was published on May 14 in The New Paper.

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