Merchandise Design Contest

What Are We Looking For? 

Original artwork to be used on our Merchandise - T-shirts, Mugs, Pins, Buttons and other items. Contest entries may also be used on our website and in our convention advertising.

All artwork submitted to the contest must feature our mascot, Hoppouno Momiji. See below for more details.

Artwork should be full colour with clean lines. For use on the con t-shirt, the ideal entry should be a large solo figure against a white or irregular shaped background. Black & white images may be submitted for possible use in the program book and flyers. Pin entries should be simple 3-4 colour designs that reduce to 1 ½" and still look sharp. 

Momiji can be dressed and posed as the artist chooses as long as she isn’t dressed like a copyright character and the pose does not mimic copyright artwork. Copyright characters will no longer be allowed as background or additional detail. 

Artwork that is degrading or hentai, or that does not feature Momiji will not be accepted. 

You may include the logo and year in your entry, but it is not required. You can submit two versions, one with the year and one without.  

Who Can Enter? 

The contest is open to all artists, amateur and professional. Entries must be submitted by individual artists only. There is no limit to the number of entries an artist may submit. 

Anime North staff members may enter and will be eligible for all categories including Grand Prize, However, in the case of a staff member winning, they would be unable to accept the Comic Market table that is part of the Grand Prize.

Prizes 

Grand Prize - Winner will receive a free weekend membership to Anime North, a free table in Comic Market and one display panel in Gallery Momiji. 

Runner Up – ½  display panel in Gallery Momiji

Young Artist (age 13 or under) – winner receives free membership to Anime North for themselves and a parent or guardian. 

The Grand Prize winner will be decided by members of the organizing committee of Anime North.  All decisions are final. 

How Do I Enter the Contest? 

Read ALL of the Contest Guidelines carefully to be sure you understand them. 

Please rename each file you plan to submit this way: 

your_name_01.jpg

If submitting more than one piece, continue to number them 

your_name_02.jpg

your_name_03.jpg 

This will make it easier for our contest organizers to keep track of all entries. 

All entries must be 600dpi CMYK resolution to produce a good quality print. You may send a smaller or lower resolution version of your artwork to the contest for judging if you wish, as long as you have a higher resolution version available upon request. 

When your artwork is finished, there are three ways to submit it to us: 

1. Post your artwork to your own website. You can use any website you want as long as it can be accessed. Most ISPs include online space with your account, or you can use a picture hosting service like Deviant Arts or Photobucket. Send us an e.mail with you real name, nickname (if you use one for your art) age if entering the young artist category and an e.mail address or phone number at which you can be reached. This is the most effective way if you want to submit a very large, high resolution file. Please be careful about making your entry available in public before the  contest deadline.
2. Attach an electronic copy of your artwork in .jpeg format, no larger than 200kb to an e.mail with you real name, nickname (if you use one for your art) age if entering the young artist category and an e-mail address or phone number at which you can be reached. Send it to  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it  
3. If you can’t do either of these, you can mail an 81/2 X 11" colour photocopy (DO NOT SEND YOUR ORIGINAL ART) to: 

Anime North Art Contest
P.O. Box 11, Stn P
Toronto, ON
M5S 2S6 

When Do I Have To Send It? 

All e.mail entries must be received by 11:59pm E.T, February 29th 2012. All postal entries must be postmarked by February 22^nd, 2012 and received by March 2nd 2012. Winners will be announced shortly before the convention. If the winning artist has already purchased a Comic Market table, their fee will be refunded during the convention. 

By entering the contest, artists grant Anime North the right to reproduce theiir art for promotional use without any further compensation. 

Contest Guidelines

Here is more detailed info to help artists in coming up with their designs for the contest. 

Hoppouno Momiji.

(Hyi-san original)

Who is Momiji? 

Momiji is an average, lively 16 year old Japanese schoolgirl who comes to visit her friends in Canada one weekend every year and share her love of her own culture and interest in learning about ours. 

What Does She Look Like? 

Momiji has long straight hair that varies from red to orange, light to dark. You can adjust the colour to fit the mood of your artwork where appropriate. Her eyes are blue to green, large and soft. It's important that her eyes be appealing and youthful, with a distinct anime/manga look. She has pale skin and a slim figure with a small bust and narrow hips. The overall impression of the character should be soft, innocent and friendly, not harsh or inappropriately sexy. 

What Does She Wear? 

The original design for Momiji includes a school uniform with a sailor blouse and red & white striped skirt, white knee socks and brown shoes. You are free to use that or to design a new outfit for her. If you do, the new outfit does not have to be any particular colour or style but it should be flattering and "age appropriate". You cannot use any costume or hairstyle which belongs to a recognizable anime character (ie Sailor Moon, Witch Hunter Robin) 

What Else Do I Need to Remember? 

You can dress and position Momiji anyway you wish, but you should avoid using a pose or costume that immediately reminds people of another well known anime picture. While it's not exactly "plagiarism", basing your Momiji design on another more familiar artwork looks bad and turns people off buying a T-shirt with that design, so we'll reject any entries with that problem. If you are creating a new outfit for Momiji, it should be flattering and attractive and look like it fits, Momiji should be the focus of the art, not her clothes. 

Copyright issues change and get more complicated every year and because of that, we will no longer allow recognizable characters to be used in the background or other ways. Everyday people and of course Momiji’s animal friends are still okay. The CN tower is allowed as long as it is a minor detail or in the background. Realistic RCMP (Mountie) uniforms are not allowed as they are copyrighted.

Do I Have To Use A Computer? 

You can create your artwork however you chose. Totally by hand art is acceptable as well as computer generated or scanned and coloured. If you create your entry by hand, please remember to photocopy or scan it and send us a copy only. Keep your original safe at home. 

If I Enter the Contest, Can I Still Sell the Artwork In the Comic Market or Gallery Momiji? 

Whether or not you win, you can sell your own entry AS LONG AS it is not in direct competition with the convention's sales, for instance you can sell prints of your work but not t-shirts. If you're not sure, contact the Comic Market or Gallery Momiji coordinator for more info.

Check Out Winners from Previous Years

2011 Design Contest Winners