We are teaming up with the New York Anime Festival again this year to bring you an exciting contest, where you can win the chance to design the convention's official mascot.
If you win you'll not only get your artwork in front of over 15,000 people at the convention, you'll also be profiled in the convention's program guide, will win every piece of NYAF merchandise printed, and will take home 10 weekend passes to both the 2008 New York Anime Festival and 2009 New York Comic Con.
If you don't live near New York, that's OK. You can distribute the passes to your New York friends as you see fit. Nine other finalists will also receive weekend passes to NYAF.
To enter, submit your entry on our fan art site tagged with the words "nyaf mascot" (so we can find it) and fill out the new contest profile page in your backroom, so that we have your personal information on file if you win.
Contest Rules and Deadlines:
Earlier this year, New York Comic Con brought Stan Lee, Alex Ross, Mike Mignola, Guillermo del Toro, and many, many more American popular culture icons together. This Septembers, the organizers of New York Comic Con are going to bring the same focus and attention to Japanese pop culture with the New York Anime Festival.
But before the New York Anime Festival can take place, it needs a mascot – and the New York Anime Festival is looking for your help!
Just like the Olympics and Tokyo Anime Fair, the New York Anime Festival features a new mascot every time out, and for its second year, theOtaku.com and the New York Anime Festival have teamed up to select the New York Anime Festival's 2008 mascot.
Between now and June 18, theOtaku.com and the New York Anime Festival welcome artists and anime fans from around America to think about what “Anime” and “New York City” mean to them and draw these thoughts into an original character. Whether it's big, small, a towering mecha, or chibi, we want to see your entries!
Once all the entries are in, theOtaku.com and the New York Anime Festival will be selecting ten finalists that will be put on display at the New York Anime Festival booth at AnimeNEXT (June 20-22 in Secauscus, NJ). AnimeNEXT attendees will vote for their favorite, with the character receiving the most votes being crowned NYAF's 2008 mascot. On June 27, the winner will be revealed!
Sounds good? What are the rules?
1. You must be 13-years-old or older.
2. You must be a US or Canadian resident.
3. Your art must be original. (No using the characters from Gurren Lagann.)
4. Your art must be at least 300 dpi.
5. Your art must be in JPEG format.
6. You must fill in your full (real) name, e-mail address, age, and phone number on theOtaku.com's contest profile page.
What about the prizes?
This is your chance to get your artwork in front of over 15,000 anime fans! The 2008 New York Anime Festival mascot will grace the convention's program guide and appear on signs throughout the event, and to make sure the winner's name is known, he or she will be profiled in the New York Anime Festival's program guide beside the 2008 mascot.
But it's not over yet, as the winning mascot will appear on the main page of theOtaku.com in September -- getting your artwork in front of all of theOtaku.com's visitors!
And, there's more! The creator of the winning New York Anime Festival mascot will receive a copy of all of the New York Anime Festival's swag (T-Shirts, Posters…) and take home 10 weekend passes to both the 2008 New York Anime Festival and 2009 New York Comic Con!
The nine other finalists will each receive a weekend pass to the New York Anime Festival!
So, break out the pencils, fire up the Photoshop, read through the official rules, and submit your original mascot right here!
Last Year's Winner:
To help you out here is last year's winning mascot:
