We sat down with Reina Hamayoshi, Pixiv’s Senior Management of International Marketing and Branding Team, to chat about Drawfest.
Hi Reina, thank you so much for joining us today.
For any of our readers who are unfamiliar with Drawfest4, can you please tell us about it?
Drawfest is a dynamic online gathering that unites about 10,000 creatives from every corner of the world. The unique feature of this event is its interactive approach, where renowned artists share drawing methods and innovative techniques, and then attendees bring those instructions to life within a specified time frame.
While it’s widely perceived that the art of illustrating is fundamentally a lone journey, Drawfest breaks that notion. It empowers participants from diverse regions to work concurrently on a unified theme, and subsequently, display their finalized creations on Pixiv. Many participants actively document their artistic journey on social media platforms, sparking interactions and providing mutual support within the Drawfest community. We envision Drawfest as a hub of connection and collaboration, linking artists from different locations and fostering engaging interactions.
Drawfest is run by pixiv; can you tell us about pixiv?
Pixiv is a creative hub welcoming a wide variety of art forms, including illustrations, comics, and novels. Daily, it showcases 20,000 pieces from artists across 230 countries and regions, covering an astounding 92% of the world.
On pixiv you can:
Join a 90 Million-strong Artistic Community
At Pixiv, your creativity meets an audience of over 90 million members, ready to admire, share, and support your work.
Curate Your Artistic Interests
With Pixiv’s intuitive tagging system, finding and following your passions is a breeze. Discover works by game or anime tags, bookmark them, and curate your unique collection of favorites.
Engage with Your Fanbase
Revel in the encouragement of likes and comments from your fans. Looking to collaborate? Our ‘request function’ lets you field commission requests, turning your creativity into income.
Compete in Contests and Kickstart Your Professional Journey
With around 80 company-sponsored contests annually, Pixiv isn’t just a platform to showcase your work; it’s a launchpad for potential job opportunities.
The details for Drawfest4 have been released. What are the highlights of this event?
Previously, Drawfest was limited to English and Japanese speakers. But this year, we’re thrilled to add Chinese and Korean to our language roster. This move is all about bringing more diverse regions into the Drawfest family and welcoming a wider array of creative submissions.Additionally, we’re taking our feedback game up a notch. For two of our three programs, we’ll introduce “Feedback Day,” where our speakers will provide live critique and corrections on submitted works. Instead of merely offering advice through comments, this format will allow us to deliver in-depth, easy-to-grasp suggestions for improving your work.
And there’s more! The popular VTuber Iron Mouse will join us on Feedback Day, offering her unique perspective on the submitted works.
pixiv is partnering with Wacom for Drawfest4; how did Wacom get involved with Drawfest, and what has it been like working with them?
Wacom is globally recognized as a leading pen tablet manufacturer and already has strong ties with creators worldwide. We believed that a partnership with Wacom would amplify our outreach efforts for Drawfest, effectively reaching Pixiv’s target audience.
Moreover, we were fortunate toutilize Wacom’s latest devices for Drawfest lectures, hosted at both the Pixiv and Wacom offices. This collaboration allowed us to provide high-quality, well-equipped educational sessions, further enhancing the Drawfest experience.
Drawfest4 is a free event; how important is participation being free for pixiv?
At Pixiv, we view Drawfest not as a revenue-generator, but as a platform to connect with international creators whom we’ve previously been unable to reach. Impressively, our inaugural Drawfest received 10,000 applications, half of which came from creators not previously on Pixiv.
With three Drawfests under our belt, we’ve noticed that the speaker line-up significantly influences participant numbers. We feel the need to host Drawfest regularly, continuing to broaden our global creative connections. Our goal is to keep inviting diverse talent and fostering this amazing community of creators.
Any message for the ComicBuzz readers?
We view Drawfest as a global celebration, uniting artists across diverse cultures, regions, and languages. Come join this annual creativity-fest and embrace the challenge – pick up a brush and create alongside fellow artists.
Be sure to register by June 16 (JST). Since we won’t be keeping video archives, we hope you take the opportunity to enjoy Drawfest live!
https://pixiv.net/special/drawfest4/
Thank you to Reina for chatting with us. We wish her and all of her team the best of luck with Drawfest.
