Community Showcase · Emoji
$400 7-Day Emoji Challenge
Seven days of fresh emoji prompts in the AI Video Bootcamp community, with 80+ member submissions, five top-10 finalists, and five community-voted winners sharing the $400 prize pool.
About the $400 7-Day Emoji Challenge
For one week in early June 2026 the AI Video Bootcamp community ran the $400 7-Day Emoji Challenge hosted by Daniel Riley. Every morning a fresh set of emojis dropped - three, four, or five symbols - and members had until the next day to ship an AI-generated image that contained every element in some recognisable form.
Day 7 broke the pattern. Instead of being handed a prompt, creators picked their own 3 to 5 emojis and built an image around the set they chose. They had to declare the emojis in the comment so the community could read the visual back.
At the end of the seven days Daniel narrowed the field down to a top 10, and the community voted for the top 5 winners in the Skool poll.
Prize pool and winners
The $400 prize pool was split across the five community-voted winners:
- 1st place ($80) - Ashley Dupoux for her Day 5 frozen-drink editorial.
- 2nd place ($70) - Aya Serag for her Day 6 cyber-speed scene with a small wide-eyed robot.
- 3rd place ($60) - Bernardette Smith for her Day 6 sneaker-artist scene.
- 4th place ($50) - Giacomo Reggiani for his Day 2 Van Gogh tropical tribute.
- 5th place ($40) - Alexis Jackson for her Day 4 haunted-cinema shot.
Three of the five winning images came from days where the emojis added up to a clear story - Day 6’s lightning-sneaker-donut-robot stack pulled two winners on its own.
Non-winning top-10 finalists
The five other finalists picked by Daniel for the community vote were Marcel Kesseler (whose Day 2 Van Gogh-style tropical scene is the hero image of this showcase), Gerard Bote, Nadia Dedekind, Rayane Khene, and FaZel Rabi Besharat.
Daily prompts
- Day 1 - alien, burger, cactus, car
- Day 2 - water, money, palm tree, sun
- Day 3 - crown, diamond, candle, castle, key
- Day 4 - ghost, popcorn, fire
- Day 5 - cup, ice cube, snowflake
- Day 6 - lightning, sneaker, donut, robot
- Day 7 - open theme
How the community runs
The Emoji Challenge is one of a continuing series of weekly and themed AI image competitions inside the AI Video Bootcamp Skool community. The community is 23,000 creators strong and ships a new prize-backed challenge most weeks - recent runs include the 6-Day Chaos Challenge, AI Influencer Week, and the weekly image challenges tracked elsewhere on this site.
Submissions
Day 1: Alien + Burger + Cactus + Car - AI Image Prompt + Member Submissions
Combine an alien, a burger, a cactus, and a car. All four elements must appear in the final image in some recognisable form.
Day 2: Water + Money + Palm + Sun - AI Image Prompt + Member Submissions
Combine water or a splash, money, a palm tree, and the sun. All four elements must be in the same scene.
4th place ($50) - Day 2 tropical money splash
Day 3: Crown + Diamond + Candle + Castle + Key - AI Image Prompt + Member Submissions
Five elements this time - crown, diamond, candle, castle, and key. Pull them into one royal-mystery scene.
Day 4: Ghost + Popcorn + Fire - AI Image Prompt + Member Submissions
Combine a ghost, popcorn, and fire. The simplest day - only three elements.
5th place ($40) - Day 4 haunted movie night
Day 5: Cup + Ice Cube + Snowflake - AI Image Prompt + Member Submissions
Combine a cup or drink, an ice cube, and a snowflake. Cold-themed compositions.
1st place ($80) - Day 5 frozen drink
Day 6: Lightning + Sneaker + Donut + Robot - AI Image Prompt + Member Submissions
Lightning, a sneaker, a donut, and a robot - make them all live in the same world.
2nd place ($70) - Day 6 cyber speed
3rd place ($60) - Day 6 cyber speed
Day 7: Open Theme - Pick Your Own Emojis - AI Image Prompt + Member Submissions
Free-choice finale. Pick 3 to 5 emojis of your own and include them clearly in the image. Declare the emojis you used in the comment.
Top-10 finalist
Top-10 finalist
Top-10 finalist
Top-10 finalist