Entry Gallery

Art Poster Contest 2021 entries

Contest Overview

(Contest entries have concluded.)

Artists, here's another chance to make your work a part of Kumoricon!

XP-PEN and ArtRage are sponsoring this contest for art posters. The winning posters will be officially printed as posters for our merchandise store and may be used in Kumoricon art and publicity material for subsequent convention years.

This is a new contest, and if this contest gets enough interest, we will continue to do art contests like this in the future. We are excited to venture down this path where we can promote and reward more artists in our community!

If you have any questions, please contact publicity@kumoricon.org. (Please do not email entries to this address. See entry instructions below.)

Contest Rules and Entry Contract

Dates and prizes

Entry deadline: Sunday, January 31, 2021, 11:59pm, PST (extended from original deadline). There is a one-hour grace period, and then the form will automatically close.

All winners will see their posters as merchandise in the Kumoricon shop. There is a chance that the Ghost Neko depicted in the poster may also be used in a future pin and/or plushie design.

First place prize package: XP-PEN Artist 12 Pro Pen Display and ArtRage 6 software
Second place prize package: Artist Alley table at the next in-person Kumoricon
Third place prize package: Deco Pro Pen Tablet and ArtRage Lite software
Honorable mentions: ArtRage for Android or iOS

Artist Alley table is subject to acceptance of our usual contract terms, except the base table cost.

Agreement to rules and contract

By entering, you (either an individual, or multiple individuals entering jointly) accept these rules and contract, including the intellectual property provisions. For multiple persons entering jointly, the person submitting warrants that all entrants have agreed to enter, and have agreed to these rules and contract.

Who may enter

Restriction: You may not enter if you are a Kumoricon board member or are a Kumoricon staff member who is involved in running this contest. Anyone else may enter!

Age: If you are under age 18 at the time of entering, permission from your parent or legal guardian is required to enter the contest. If there are multiple entrants, this is required for each entrant who is under 18.

Multiple entrants: If your entry is the joint work of multiple people, then (1) All such contributing artists must have agreed to enter the contest; and (2) All such contributing artists must be listed as entrants and agree to these rules and contract.

The legal stuff

(This is important.)

Original work: Entries must be wholly the work of the individuals listed as entrants. Entries cannot be based on or include others' characters or industry characters—no "fan art". (The one exception is that you must incorporate a new version of Ghost Neko into your art.)

Intellectual property transfer for winners: When we officially announce winners, then each of those entries, including any current and future derivative works (created by you or us), immediately becomes the intellectual property of Kumoricon, including any and all copyright, trademark, and any other intellectual property interest. By entering, you both agree to this transfer and warrant that you are able to make such transfer. When we officially announce all the winners, all non-winning entrants are relieved of this commitment.

Our permission to use all entries: By entering (whether or not you win any award level), you grant us perpetual, irrevocable permission to display, copy, and distribute your entry.

Kumoricon's exclusive publicity use: Winning poster art entries are intended to uniquely represent Kumoricon and be part of Kumoricon's publicity. Therefore, an entry cannot have been used in the past, or be able to be used in the future, as representation or publicity for any other organization or entity (such as art or a mascot for another convention).

Personal portfolio use: You may display, copy, distribute, and sell your entry art for personal or portfolio purposes, provided that you do so in a manner that does not represent Kumoricon or conflict with Kumoricon's exclusive publicity use as described above, and provided that you do not create or duplicate custom merchandise containing any winning art. You may continue to do these even if your entry wins and after the intellectual property transfer.

Art requirements

Composition: Each entry must contain one or more new versions of our Ghost Neko mascot, following our face, ear, and hair curl line art as much as possible within your design. You do not need to match the pink, blue, and white color scheme for Ghost Neko. All other aspects of the Ghost Neko should be your own interpretation of what you want to see Ghost Neko as next.

Example: Dark Neko could have been an entry into this contest if he wasn't already created.

The background can be whatever you think fits as an art poster including your Ghost Neko. Each entry must also include the new Ghost Neko(s) in a separate file without the rest of the poster art. This is to make the new Ghost Neko easier to use in future pin designs if chosen.

Ghost Neko details: The form will ask whether you have named your version of Ghost Neko as well as whether you envisioned it having certain pronouns as well. We strive to use pronouns of our Ghost Nekos consistently.

Theme: Entries should thematically represent Kumoricon. We encourage entries to include Kumoricon themes such as clouds, an umbrella, and our color scheme (purples, blues, and golds), but these are not required.

Format: Color, 300dpi, 11"x17" with 0.25" bleeds on all sides. These may be submitted in just about any file format. We prefer a lossless format like PNG, PSD, or a vector format.

Style: There is no particular required style. For example, entries can be either hand drawn or computer drawn.

Changes and re-entries

Updating your entry: You can submit an updated entry before the deadline, replacing an earlier version.

Multiple entries: You (either individually, or as a joint entrant) may enter or be an entrant on up to two (maximum) entries. If you enter two entries, both entries must be completely unique from each other. (You can't enter two similar variations on a single entry—pick your best version.)

Voting process

Selection: The two winners will be determined by a panel of judges chosen by the Publicity Department. The voting method will be agreed on by the panel before voting begins. The art may also be voted on by Kumoricon staff to help choose the honorable mentions. Because the contest rules allow a person to be an entrant on up to two entries, we limit an entrant to winning only one award. Therefore, if an entry winning an award would result in any entrant sharing in more than one award, then the lower-ranked award will instead be bumped down to the next entry in the ranking order that would satisfy this requirement. In the event of one or more ties in the result rankings that must be resolved in order to determine any award, the Director of Publicity and their Assistant Directors will vote to resolve any such ties using a process and method of their choosing, or if necessary, the tie will be resolved by another tiebreaking method of their choosing.

Announcement: After voting, we'll post the entry gallery (without yet announcing the winners), and then announce the winners by the end of February 2021 at the latest.

Administrivia

Prizes for multiple entrants: If there are multiple entrants on a winning entry, then the entrants must decide amongst themselves how they will choose or apportion their prize. We will correspond with the primary entrant and treat their communication with us as final regarding decisions over choices of prizes or which entrant to deliver or award any part of the prize to.

Disqualification: In our sole discretion, we may disqualify any entry if it is unsuitable, if any of its entrants violate the rules, or if we discover a legal issue impeding the intellectual property transfer or Kumoricon's exclusive use of the art for representation and publicity purposes. If we disqualify an entry after it has been announced as a winner, then the prize will not be awarded and the intellectual property transfer will be unwound.

Modification: We reserve the right to modify the contest rules, if the circumstances require. We will not modify the rules in a manner that violates the intent and spirit of the original rules, or that unfairly reduces your contractual rights.