Mascot 2009 and program cover 2008 contests

[Neolucky]

lemurmimi!

I was actually kinda surprised when it won since it was kind of esoteric, but I figured--it's a vote, and thus representative of the people voting, so sure--more power to 'em. And stuff.

Eh? I didn't think anthro/animal girls were that unknown about, or for a specific group of people =p. Not sure if Esoteric aptly defines that design heh!

[lychee-twist]

I completely agree with you here.  Just wondering, what year did you win?  But yeah.  There was a lot of stupid drama with this year's winner for the mascot contest.  I'm not into furry art or anything, but what was with that?  I might be wrong here, but aren't cat/bunny/various animal-girls a big part of anime?  It'd be one thing if we had a blatantly furry mascot that fit all the negative stereotypes, but this one... I mean, COME ON.  Anyways... Yeah, that seems like it might be a better idea to me.  And yeah, cover contest winners should get a better prize... There isn't a lot of incentive now.

THANK YOU.
I'm in Total agreement with you on the furry issue. WTF is up with some people, I didn't know that people took furryphobia to the same lengths that people take homophobia.

I think it goes back to the "I don't understand so I won't bother trying to understand or acknowledge people's admiration for this" bit. I kind of got in a bit of a spat with someone over this and my liking of anime and manga. I've looked at furry art before, and it's just not my thing personally, but I'll roll with the new mascot.

I entered myself, last year, and as soon as I saw the sneak of Kuu on deviantART, I knew she was going to win. XD Crushing defeat twice! Once upon first view and second upon my glimmer of hope at the end of Kumoricon '07!

[2otaku]

Neo doesn't tell the entire story of this so called..'GLORY' of being a mascot winner. Let me tell you about SakuraCon. During the Closing Ceremonies when they 'announce' next years' mascot winner, on a big screen was flashed up Neo's entry.... for like 6 seconds... NO mention of who did it.
So much for glory, eh?

We arrive the next year to find no one knows what to do with Neo. Didn't know where to send her, what she was getting for being the winner. We ended up in a room where the AA head was and the statement out of her was, "Oh, you're lucky we have a table for you."  What? Oh brother!

I have always thought these cons that do have mascot winners could have a small sandwich board display just saying "This Years Mascot Winner!" to place near the winner so everyone knows who it is.  Me being a big supporter of Neo's, was telling most that got near enough that they had a sample of her art ON THEIR CON BADGE. 

KumoriCon. Again, we are walking all over to find someone that knows what to do with neo...AGAIN. Heaps of GLORY here, folks. Someone said to put her in with the Con's merchandise booth. Er...no.
They find her a table, but only half a table. A bit cramped too. Then the person with the other half never showed up.

So you think there's something amazing and wonderful about being the mascot winner. When (notice I don't say IF there but you have to keep at it) you do win, don't expect big accolades and adulation over it. Sure, you can be proud and happy, your friends and family will be glad for you and that's nice. This 'glory' is quite fleeting, when the Con is done, they move on to look for the next mascot. My hope is better treatment for these people who win in the future. Not that Neo complained, but I can! I'm curious about the other winners' experiences. If you'd rather not say, no worry.

I always thought it wasn't a furry unless the face had a muzzle? Sheesh, there's been ears on girls in anime a way long time. Oh, and boys.. Loveless fans, don't hurt me.

The mascot entry is a fun thing, let's keep it that way!

[2otaku]

Hey, hey, hey... Nothing wrong with dollfies.

[JeffT]

If there are or were issues involved with the mascot winner's prize in the past, please email them to publicity@kumoricon.org and please include chair@kumoricon.org. Sometimes confusion can happen at the con but if there are problems the director and chair need to know about them to make sure they don't happen in the future.

So you think there's something amazing and wonderful about being the mascot winner. When (notice I don't say IF there but you have to keep at it) you do win, don't expect big accolades and adulation over it. Sure, you can be proud and happy, your friends and family will be glad for you and that's nice. This 'glory' is quite fleeting, when the Con is done, they move on to look for the next mascot. My hope is better treatment for these people who win in the future. Not that Neo complained, but I can! I'm curious about the other winners' experiences. If you'd rather not say, no worry.

I have personally always cared very much about the mascot contest and that is why we do some of the things we do while I've been managing it as staff--most of these at the suggestion and help of other people on staff:

• Use a careful voting system that has voting open for a week so staff have time to carefully look over the entries
• Integrate the mascot colors into the web site's design
• Print a gallery of the contest entries in each year's con book
• Keep an archive online of past mascot contest galleries and past web sites
• Credit the mascot winner at the footer of the web site pages
• Don't require contest entrants to assign ownership of the entry to the convention unless they win the contest

[spaztic_chu]

Why is the voting limited to staff anyway, for more control and ease of counting the votes?  Sometimes I think it possibly might not represent the whole con, to limit the voting to staff.  I was just wondering because I know that the voting used to be open to the public.

But when I think of say, a popular artist who gets 1000+ hits a day on DA, if they were to enter and say "vote here!"  Even if they didn't say which was their entry, obviously those 1000 people like that artist for a reason, and they'd probably happen to pick that artist's entry, even if they have no personal interest in the con.  *sigh* tough call.  There isn't a way to connect the voting to registration on the forum, is there?  Granted, even voting on the forum is far from representing the whole con.

[JeffT]

Voting was open to the public online in 2006 but there were major problems with vote stuffing at the time.

However, linking voting to pre-registration is something we may be able to technically do in the future.

Indeed, there is concern about influence of voters there. If a small fraction of attendees usually vote, then there is opportunity for a single entrant to influence a large chunk of other people so that the voting is not representative. But, I think over half the staff vote when it's open to staff, so this risk is very small in that case.

Currently, voting is a staff perk, and allows those putting in the work for the con to have more of a say in how it's represented.

[Chevi]

When I found out I won at Kumori-Con 2006's closing ceremonies, they also only flashed my mascot entry for about 5 secs, didn't mention who was the artist, and did it at the veeeery end of the meeting.  They were like, "Oh and here's next year's mascot..." and immediately changed it afterward.  LOL  I didn't want to shout with glee over the person talking, but I did make a bit of a deal about it in my chair and my friend was crying right next to me in happiness that I won.  Some people in front of us heard me and congratulated me. ^^;

Last year, Kumori-Con listened to me when I asked to be credited on the site, they kindly added me and a link to my Deviantart on the bottom of the main webpage.  Eric, the AA coordinator from last year, gladly took my information and I made sure I had a table waiting for me, but as such, I definitely need to fill out a form for AA at the least.  Which was no problem.  When I arrived, I was taken care of, had my table, but the only problem was that my banner was mispelled, as well as my badge, and while I did get a replacement for a badge, did not get a replacement for my banner, and was mistaken as an extra table often, with people putting their bags and drinks on my table for a "break" which I had to constantly tell people not to do that.

The only thing I kinda wish is that I would get one free t-shirt, poster, and tote bag with my artwork on it.  I didn't buy anything till the last day, and THANKFULLY, they had one t-shirt left in my size, and I did get a poster.  But the totebag with my cute teruteruboozu on it was completely sold out. And I was pretty sad, because I wanted one. >:  Or maybe 50% off, at least, I'd gladly support the con with my money...XD

But all in all, my AA experience as the mascot creator was awesome, and everyone who came by who knew who I was were extremely nice and sweet.

[Neolucky]

Ehehe... Yeah, the year I won was insane! No one knew where I was meant to be, let alone what I'd won...but they sure did their damnedest despite that! Although I never did get anything with the  Kumoricon 06, or 07 mascot on it, same for Sakuracon too! =< Well this year I'm buying a shirt ARRR!

[lychee-twist]

You guys are lucky. I forgot to enter this year. I entered last year, but when I first saw Kuu, I knew I was going to lose. That didn't stop me at later times deceiving myself into thinking I had a chance.

This was my entry: http://lychee-twist.deviantart.com/art/Kumoricon-Mascot-Entry-2008-60870152

A guy, not knowing that it was mine, called it a Yuna rip-off. I can see how. I wasn't thinking Yuna at all (never even played X-2 let alone picked it up), but I can see how he would think that. I guess I have to work on my design for next year.

[Serika]

@lychee-twist: Aww, I liked yours.  I really liked the waterdrops by her pigtails. 8D;;

I think it's a little weird how now, with the convention being so close, I'm not even THINKING about the mascot contest, and who'll win, or how close I was. 

[Satsukicosplayer]

like, this is so bad for me to ask, but has the winner been disited? i know you can't enter anymore but i just wnated to know who one. thanks bye.

[Chevi]

like, this is so bad for me to ask, but has the winner been disited? i know you can't enter anymore but i just wnated to know who one. thanks bye.

http://www.kumoricon.org/forums/index.php?topic=5375.60

[Satsukicosplayer]

like, this is so bad for me to ask, but has the winner been disited? i know you can't enter anymore but i just wnated to know who one. thanks bye.

http://www.kumoricon.org/forums/index.php?topic=5375.60

LOL Good job! thanks for the link >_<

[KaBOOM]

I have a question...I have been wondering this for a while haha

why have all the Mascots have umbrella's??
just a random question heh

[Serika]

I have a question...I have been wondering this for a while haha

why have all the Mascots have umbrella's??
just a random question heh

Well, "kumori" means cloudy, I think... And it tends to rain in the area a lot... The umbrella thing is just a theme that's been running for all the years, which is now like a symbol of the con itself, and it's a requirement for the mascots/entries...

I hope I didn't butcher the facts. 

[lychee-twist]

Yup. "Kumori" means cloudy. "Ame" means rain.

Amecon sounds a little weird. I think too many people would call it "aimcon" or "aymeecon"

[KaBOOM]

Oh I see....oh duh I should have pieced that together I took Japanese XP hehe I feel really smart now....
Thank you for answering my question...and don't worry I did add the umbrella hehe I can't wait to turn it in and stuff hehe

[JeffT]

An umbrella isn't a strict requirement in the rules but it's highly recommended, as it's a Kumoricon motif.

[KaBOOM]

Eh it all works ^^
I have a good Idea for it anyways...

wait do they have to be in the same pose?? or anything to that such

[lychee-twist]

I don't think so. I just chose a pose that wasn't tricky, you can see the outfit well, and that the K-con people can use if chosen. A pose standing up would take a good margin space, for instance, while a sitting, crouching, or yoga pose would be harder to fit.

That's my thoughts. It's not an official opinion, but that's why I posed my entry the way I did. (I didn't win, FYI, so I don't know how valid others might think my opinion is).

[KaBOOM]

ok ok that all makes sense....hmmm I guess we will just have to wait and see how it turns out and stuff ^^
thanks for your help and stuff

[ZakkKurama]

I can't waittt my designs fin suck ;d

[Misuzuki]

I had a few problems happening during the time of the contest, may I plead that I may turn it in today?