I haven’t done anything for the collab in a year or two and haven’t really done any renders in blender for a while either. Here is a stab at a project.
This is a super cool concept. I really like the use of black and white. Sweet entry.
thanks a bunch, usually I have to wrack my brain for an idea but this came to me in seconds.
I was fascinated by beautiful pictures from a forest that I saw while I was cycling on my vacation this week. Since I want to learn how to make better and hand-made textures this week, I also got the textures directly from that forest 
Still experimenting with the lighting, textures, and small props to emphasize the dark vs light side.
Ok, here another try with much better lighting I think, also sparsed the tree branches to get a skeleton feeling
Ok, here my final one with bit more background and a scary owl and a squirrel escaping from dark to light
I like all the entries you’ve placed. They are welcome!
But I think the Collab topic is not about using a dark lit version and a version full of lights.
But to have the same object in two versions with different feelings. For example a positive and negative mood with the same object.
A quote from AI: “You can create different moods on the same subject by altering elements like lighting, color, perspective, and word choice. For example, using warm colors and soft lighting can evoke a happy mood, while cool colors and harsh shadows can create a more somber or eerie atmosphere.”
But as I said, all entries are welcome!
Doesn’t lighting itself already convey mood? A dark place or nighttime can create a sense of unease, while daylight often represents happiness. The same applies to contrasts like black and white or dark and light. If that’s not the case, I might miss the mark with my render too, I think.
Maybe my version does not convey the differents moods yet 
But my idea was as well to have one part as a happy and lovely place where you want to play and explore the area and the spooky night mood where you want to get away as fast as possible. Hope I can improve it in the next version But of course light, plays a big role in there.
Beautiful idea! Maybe you can be more extreme on the dark side by working on those tree trunks? 
You can work on light, but it’s about everything that makes you think “uggghhh, I prefer to stay away from this” or “if I were [put a bad guy’s name here] I would find it cool!”. It’s light, texture, shape details. Everything adds up 
Yeah, now I realize I completely missed the point… Uhh
Don’t worry, there’s always room for interpretation
Here is my attempt at the challenge, maybe a bit on the nose but I learned how to make wings for it, so that was fun
Removing that tree in the middle was a good idea. Now it gives off some interesting vibes for sure.
I tried to make something quick and simple, but when I finished, I realized it didn’t fit the theme at all. So, I added some post-processing to fix the mood. Hope it fits.
Hello! I was really excited for this theme, it inspired me to dive back into Blender and try some light side/dark side holocrons.
Hello. This is my idea this week. I wish I had more time to complete it.
Improving the background and adding light:
We @BlenderCollab have a few days to vote. You can vote fast but also think slowly about design, colors, technique, difficulty, subject, realism, etc. Choose consciously and not on your entry.
The new subject week 11 “Mechanical automata” has already started. The winner of this week’s “Light side / Dark side” challenge may select a subject for next week 12 and win a badge.
0 voters
We’ve never seen this before in all the years of Collabs. We have three winners!
Blender Collaboration congratulations goes to @Srl1 @gallmerci and @sezpul !
I feel the topic was good, but also very broadly interpretable. Given the diversity of submissions.
Well done to you all!
Congratulations to everyone! All the entries were amazing. I can’t believe mine was among the winners - thank you! To be honest, I didn’t expect it at all. I actually thought mine was the weakest. From the initial idea to the final render, it took me less than an hour to make.
So my point is - don’t be afraid to participate! No one is judging you. In fact, I’ve received more helpful suggestions here than anywhere else. I recently looked through past collab entries, and there are so many talented people here. I was truly amazed by the incredible work I saw. It’s an honor to learn from all of you!