A Livestreaming Event Featuring Presentations by KawaiiSensei, OMOCAT and Ogipote
A Massive Multi-artist Online Drawing Festival
Attended By More Than 10,000 creators From Around the World
The Fourth Annual Drawfest Event Will Feature Chinese and Korean Language Support on Twitter Spaces For the First time Ever, In Addition to Japanese-to-English Consecutive Interpreting
(May 18, 2023) Pixiv — the world’s largest creation platform, with over 90 million users and more than 3 billion page views monthly — will host the fourth annual Drawfest on Saturday, June 10th and Saturday, June 17th (JST). Drawfest4 will feature lectures by the collective of artists known as KawaiiSensei, the multimedia artist OMOCAT (the art director of the “OMORI” RPG) and the popular illustrator Ogipote. The massive online drawing event will be held in partnership with Wacom Co., Ltd. and is expected to attract more than 10,000 participants from around the world.
Drawfest4 highlights include:
- How OMORI was born: Draw your own HEADSPACE, a masterclass presentation by multimedia artist and videogame art director OMOCAT. OMOCAT will give a lecture explaining the production process for the popular RPG “OMORI”, from the initial idea through to the official release, and discuss methods for transforming mental images into illustrations, offering an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at her creative process. OMOCAT will discuss how the colorful, nostalgic world of the game was born, and offer hints to participants on how to draw their own original “headspace”.
- KawaiiSensei’s Lesson on Anatomy & Composition, a masterclass presentation. KawaiiSensei, the digital artist collective who’s how-to-draw tutorials are popular on TikTok, will discuss useful hacks for illustration. This class will focus on composition and figure drawing, detailing important points to consider when drawing line art. The class will also incorporate KawaiiSensei’s “construction lines diagnostic” to guide participants in discovering what kind of construction lines work best for them.
- Popular illustrator Ogipote will present a workshop titled “Let’s Draw Vshojo Ironmouse with Ogipote’s “Anime-Style Coloring ver. 2.0”!” by drawing an illustration of the VShojo talent Ironmouse! Ogipote will guide participants through the process of drawing an illustration of Ironmouse, highlighting tips on character design and composition. Ogipote will detail secret techniques for using light, shadow, and special effects, to create dynamic anime-style coloring effects, as well as how to incorporate elements of narrative story into an illustration.
- An illustration contest “Draw! Draw! Draw!”, which pixiv will host from Thursday, June 1st, 2023. Prizes include a Wacom One Creative Pen Display, and other prizes provided by co-organizer Wacom and the various lecturers.
“Drawfest is a one-of-a-kind event, in which renowned creators from around the world teach master classes in drawing and creative techniques, and participants complete works of their own during the event,” said Reina Hamayoshi, Pixiv’s Senior Management of International Marketing and Branding Team. “This year Drawfest will be supported by Japanese-to-English consecutive interpreting, and we’re debuting Chinese and Korean support which has been added via a secondary audio channel. Drawfest is truly an international event and our increased support and resources will allow more creators and fans than ever before to join the Pivix community.”
Drawfest4 kicks off with Study Day on Saturday, June 10th, 2023. The event will be held from 9:00 am – 2:30 pm JST. On Study Day, the lecturer will go over their techniques with the viewers. There will be a Q&A session at the end of each program where participants will have the chance to ask any burning questions you have! Drawfest4 continues with Feedback Day on Saturday, June 17th, 2023, from 9:00 am – 1:00 pm JST. On Feedback Day, the lecturer will comment and give advice on artwork posted to pixiv that was inspired by the program.
More than 300 creators posted their first-ever works to pixiv during Drawfest 3. To join Drawfest4, participants must register in advance. Applicants will receive an exclusive Drawfest 4 digital artbook by the creative group SSS, as well as three free months on pixiv Premium. Registration opens Thursday, May 18th and closes on Friday, June 16th, 2023. Pre-registration may be closed early if the event capacity is reached.
“Drawfest is a unique forum for artists to build connections with people from around the world,” said Takahiko Kato, pixiv’s Vice President of Creator’s Platform Department. “ At last year’s Drawfest, 52% of participants were located outside of Japan. Our goal is to nurture an inclusive space where a diverse array of creators will connect with one another, transcending language barriers and build an exciting, vibrant space for everyone to enjoy creative activities.”
For updates about Drawfest4, follow pixiv on YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook and follow Drawfest4 on Twitter. To register, visit https://pixiv.net/special/drawfest4.
