Ai-kon 2018 Mascot Entry – 2nd Place

I have some good news to share with everyone:
I’ve placed second in the 2018 Ai-kon mascot contest and will have an artist table next year!
It’s about 6 months until Ai-kon and I’m so excited that I’m already starting to plan my table!

Now for a little info about the theme and the entry:

This years theme was “kami and matsuri”.
For those not familiar with those Japanese words, “kami” is a Shinto God/Goddess/Deity.
The Japanese people hold matsuri – or festivals – to please the kami. They’re usually run by shrines or temples, but not always. They occur all over Japan throughout the year, and tend to include carnival games, food stalls, elaborate floats, etc. Commonly the people who attend these matsuri dress in casual clothes or kimono/yukata, depending on the individual’s preference and the time of year. Matsuri are commonly shown in anime and manga, too.

I’ll admit I simply wasn’t keen on designing Aiko as a kami. I didn’t know enough about the subject to portray her accurately and respectfully, and I didn’t have enough time to research it as I’d like. Not only that but I also genuinely liked the idea of portraying her as a normal, human teenage girl. With the themes in the past year, she’s been a princess, a warrior, a magical girl, a science-fiction heroine, you name it! But it’s been a while since she was just normal, so I jumped at the opportunity to give her a break (lol). And I won’t lie, I also just really love drawing kimono and yukata.

Overall, I’m pretty proud of my entry and the choices I made with it. I purposefully chose an uncommon colour scheme of red, pink and orange as it matched the colours seen in matsuri lighting, and is also (supposedly) traditional kimono colours worn in July (when Ai-kon takes place).
The cat motif came in somewhere after experimenting with lucky cat masks.

Anyways, I would like to thank the Ai-kon Committee for selecting my entry as a runner-up,
and also to my friends and family for all their support over the years. ♥ ♥ ♥
I would also like to congratulate the mascot winner, the other runner-up, and all the other participants on a job well done!!

And thank YOU for looking and reading!

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ARTWORK, Clip Studio Paint, Contest Entries, Digital, LIFE WITH SLOAN