12th Tohoku Zunko Stamp Rally – Illustrators Wanted For Life-size Panels!
The 12th Tohoku Zunko Stamp Rally was announced recently, and the crowdfunder for said event has already reached over 3 million yen with more than 200 backers – and that’s just in a week or so, with approximately 15 days to go! With such a successful crowdfunder, the organisers wanted to bring back an idea from previous rallys… they’re now recruiting artists to draw Tohoku Zunko and friends, with the winning designs actually becoming life-size panels! Budding illustrators – read on to find out more!
Contest theme
The theme this year is “もしも、ずん子ちゃんが〇〇だったら”, or “What if Zunko-chan was 〇〇, and it allows fans to imagine Zunko and co. in various occupations, situations and much more! During the actual stamp rally, there will be various “pitstops” where people can go to collect stamps, all of which will be areas with some sort of significance in Shiroishi (where the rally will be held).
Your task (if you choose to accept it), will be to choose one of the stamp rally pitstops, and create a design for a life-size panel to be displayed there! Try to think about the cultural significance of your chosen area when drawing your illustration!
How to enter
- Data format: PSD or PNG (Image data)
- Size: 900mm (width) x 1,500mm (height)
- Resolution: 100-150 dpi (For resolution set at 100 dpi, dimensions need to be 3,543 (w) x 5,906 (h) pixels / for resolution at 150 dpi, dimensions need to be 5,314 (w) x 8,859 (h) pixels)
Illustrations need to be in colour but with no background (backgrounds can be left white or transparent). They must be full body character illustrations.
>> You can find a template PSD file (100 dpi resolution) on this page here <<
How will your illustration(s) be used for the event?
Well, obviously they’ll be used for the sake of the life-size cardboard cut-outs, but the organisers have said that your art may also be used for the sake of pamphlets, leaflets etc. handed out for free to participants! They may also be used for other free gifts, but that’s all. The life-size panels may be used even after the event, so please keep this in mind.
Copyright belongs to the artist. Rights to the image aren’t restricted by the organisers, so you’re welcome to use and post your artwork to social media etc. (even if it’s being used officially for the stamp rally).
Other details
Competition duration: until December 31st 2020
Number of “winners”: 20
How to apply
On the main recruitment announcement page, there’s a form to apply your illustration at the bottom! Here’s what you’ll need to do:
- A. Name (required) – a social media handle/artist name is also acceptable
- B. Email address (required) – please make sure that you can receive emails from new/unknown email addresses
- C. Attach illustration data (required) – limit of up to 10MB in size. File formats accepted are PNG, JPG, JPEG or PSD.
- D. Have you ever visited Shiroishi City, Miyagi Prefecture to participate in the Tohoku Zunko Stamp Rally? (yes / no)
- E. Have you ever donated money to support the Tohoku Zunko Stamp Rally crowdfunder? (yes / no)
- F. Please select the character you have drawn – you can choose multiple answers (Tohoku Zunko / Tohoku Kiritan / Tohoku Itako)
- G. Area you’d like your illustration to be added as a cardboard cut-out – you can choose multiple answers
(In order or appearance, left to right):
- Suzuki Meat / スズキミート (Tohoku Zunko) – a butcher’s
- Dolphin / ドルフィン – a cafe/coffee shop
- Sumaru yashiki / 壽丸屋敷 – the grand home of the wealthy merchant family Watanabe
- Yanagi-ya / やなぎや (Tohoku Kiritan) – A sweet store known for their custard-filled cream puffs
- Shinmeisha Shrine / 神明社 (Tohoku Zunko)
- Kichimi Seimen (Kichimi noodle makers) / きちみ製麺
- Ooba Sports / 大庭スポーツ (Tohoku Kiritan) – a sporting goods store
- Maruya-en / まるや園 – a long-established teahouse
- Choubundou Stationary Shop / 朝文堂
- Pacific Hotel Shiroishi / パシフィックホテル白石
- Taketori Farm / 竹鶏ファーム
- 弥治郎こけし村 – a museum and workshop specialising in Kokeshi dolls
- Cheese Kitchen / チーズキッチン – specialises in a variety of cheese dishes
- 青峰堂 – houses a variety oftools for tea ceremonies
- Omoshiroi Ichiba (Interesting Marketplace) / おもしろいし市場 – a marketplace for locally sourced goods
- Doramaru / とら丸 – the hiroshima-style okonomiyaki specialty store of Shiroishi
- Shiroishi Tourist Information Centre / 白石市観光案内所
- I’m happy for my illustration to be used for new stores (those not listed here which may be added in future)
※Please note that they will not necessarily be able to put your design in your desired location.
- H. Please tell us a personal anecdote about yourself and Tohoku Zunko (required). For example, when did you first find out about her? What you thought of Tohoku Zunkoupon discovering her etc.
- I. If the organisers aren’t able to contact you at all, they reserve the right to choose another submission to be used for the card-board cut-outs (in the case that your design is chosen, if the event is delayed etc.). If you agree to the terms and conditions of making your submission, please tick this box.
- J. If you would prefer to add your entry via an online link (e.g from pixiv or any other publically accessible portfolio) or your entry is 10MB or more, please put the link in this box.
- K. “Submit application” button. To be pressed once all other fields have been completed.
※Please note that answers requiring more developed answers will need to be written in comprehensible Japanese.
※In the case that your design is adopted, any further communication will be in Japanese only, so please make sure that you’re confident enough with your Japanese in the event that you need to use it.
And that’s everything you need to do to enter your illustration! With the success of the 12th Zunko stamp rally, we can’t wait to see how everything will play out in the coming year! Make sure to check out our coverage of the overall event here for more information:
>> 12th Tohoku Zunko Stamp Rally Information <<
Thanks for reading, and good luck to anyone planning on entering the competition!
~Tanudama
