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Surprising even professional artists! Here are the results of pixiv's Illustration Contest for High School Students! - Are these really the works of teenagers!?

pixiv hosted an illustration contest for high school students and chose 18 works out of approximately 800 entries! Each one of these works is simply amazing that the panel of judges, which consisted of professional artists, had to hold their breath in awe. Here are the works that will put professional illustrators to shame!

About Illustration Contest for High School Students by pixiv

An illustration contest for enthusiastic high school students and young people who aspire to be illustrators that stand at the forefront of the community. Participants were asked to draw according to the designated theme and post their illustrations on pixiv. After a strict screening process, one illustration would be selected to win the First Prize. The contest aims to invigorate creative activities on pixiv and to create opportunities for young people who dream of becoming illustrators.

First Prize

Prize Money: 100,000 JPY

DOLLS

by しらま

Comments From the Judges

カントク

Kantoku: The artist's way to use light in this illustration is just breathtaking. There's an overall good sense of unity among the hues and everything just falls into an eye-catching and satisfactory sort of balance. The characters are also adorable! They make you wonder what kind of game they're playing and if you look at the illustration's deliberately incomplete description, you'll feel compelled to come up with various answers to fill in the blank.

田中将賀

Masayoshi Tanaka: The artist is really good at creating a nice overall color composition. The use of silhouettes also serves to give the illustration depth. The illustration gives you a gist of its worldview, too, judging from the interesting size contrast between the briefcase in the back and the characters (dolls).

lack
lack: It's the best among all entries in terms of illustration creation. The composition and lighting draw your eyes in and it's an amazing thing to accomplish. The background is also very well drawn. It is interesting that the artist chose to feature dolls in the illustration, but I think the illustration could have turned out better if the artist had tried to be more faithful to the contest theme, which is "playing".
杏仁豆腐
Annin Doufu: I find the chic color usage and the soft and gentle ambiance really captivating! Adding the huge briefcase is also a genius way to speak to us about the little girls' world. I'm looking forward to the artist's next works!

Illustrator Judges' Choice Awards

Each illustrator in the panel of judges chose one illustration and the artist will be awarded 15,000 yen worth of pixiv original merchandise.

Kantoku Award

ストレスは破壊するもの

by Remi

カントク
Kantoku: The illustration is charged with energy! I know it must be hard to continuously draw an illustration that follows a certain theme, so I'm really impressed with this illustration. The perspective is distinct and the use of light and shade is bold--it is a powerful illustration, but it also doesn't neglect all the necessary information and details. The artist has properly drawn everything necessary in the same frame and I think it's an admirable feat!

Masayoshi Tanaka Award

ねこ

by Refile

田中将賀
Masayoshi Tanaka: I personally think this work is the most eye-catching of them all. The translucent vibe is impressive, and the artist has done an effective job applying light and the soap bubbles.

lack Award

折り紙

by nabi

lack
lack: Just a single glance at the illustration and it will give you an incredibly good impression. The characters' activities are drawn in a way that leaves no room for guessing and the whole situation, including the origami and cats, is simply wonderful. I myself often draw characters who look like they're having the best time of their lives, so in that sense, I guess this work has managed to tug at my heartstrings.

Annin Doufu Award

魔女たちの遊び

by NeQ

杏仁豆腐
Annin Doufu: I like this illustration for a couple of reasons. First, the artist must have wanted to try drawing various characters and they succeeded by boldly leaving the center of the illustration blank! Second, the characters look like they're having fun--the space they're in seems like a wonderful and kind place to be. I hope the artist will continue to try various challenges going forward!♪

Corporation Judges' Choice Awards

Presenting the works chosen by the corporations.

Elecom Award

PLAY WITH US !

by こきりん

Elecom Representative: The carefree smile on the boy's face who is reaching out and the interesting group of friends behind him... The quirkiness of each character, the background, and the props; these elements come together to form a single coherent story and we agree that it's absolutely mind-blowing. We hope this artist will continue to create charming characters in the future.


Prizes:

Bluetooth Earphones for Anime Songs

USB (32 GB)

Paperlike Film

Glove for Drawing Tablet

Dengenki Moeoh Award

「文化際」

by 柊林檎　日曜日西つ14ab

Dengenki Moeoh Representative: It's all in the girl's powerful gaze! And then if you look closer, you'll be surprised to learn that she is well-endowed in the chest department and that you can see a glimpse of her thighs... The illustration is just as amazing in terms of composition and color usage. We certainly hope the artist will walk the path of moe in the future!


Prize:

Tosho Card (5,000 JPY worth)

Copic Award

授業真面目に受けなさい！

by 小貴虎

Copic Representative: The illustration features not only lively expressions and dynamic poses but also a fun atmosphere. The color scheme is vivid and pop, but we're also curious to see what this illustration would look like if the artist gave the coloring some more depth.


Prize:

Copic Sketch 24 Color Set for Manga Illustrations

Square Enix Award

お人形遊び

by YOHAKU

Square Enix Representative: The play of light and shadow creates a beautiful contrast between the space and the screen. There is also a superb sense of unity among the tones. Moreover, we can see a nice balance between elements that are drawn with details and those that aren't. We would love to see the artist's other works and color usages.


Prizes:

Dragon Quest 25th Anniversary Monster Illustrated Encyclopedia

FINAL FANTASY XIV: HEAVENSWARD

NieR:Automata World Guide Art Works Book

Dragon Quest Builders 2 Clear File A

Kingdom Hearts II World Stickers Set

Dragon Quest Builders 2 Block-shaped Pouch B

CLIP STUDIO PAINT Award

放課後とか放課後とか

by からながれ

CLIP STUDIO PAINT Representative: This piece reminds you of those days when you used to draw the corners of your notebooks with doodles and we want adults to see this. The drawings on the background and the colors may look haphazardly positioned at first, but there's actually a balance between all of them. We feel that this illustration has done a great job expressing daintiness!


Prize:

CLIP STUDIO PAINT EX Package Ver.

Monster Strike Award

Monster Strike Representative: This work stands out for the artist's ability to create a drawing based on the theme "playing" that enables the audience to read the excitement written on the characters' facial expressions and to share the thrill. The colors are refreshing and this illustration stirs your imagination, making you want to guess where these characters are headed to.


Prizes:

ANKER Speakers (Not for Sale)
Tote Bag

Bath Towel Ball Group Illustration 3

Kuttari Plushie Oragon

Wacom Award

駄菓子屋の前の遭遇

by 小貴虎

Wacom Representative: We had an extremely hard time choosing one piece out of so many amazing works, but we decided on this very illustration because it carefully portrays the contrast between what playing means to a child on his summer break and what it means to a grown-up man.


Prize:

Wacom Intuos Small Wireless Black

Award of Recognition

We decided to add Award of Recognition because the number of wonderful entries that the contest's participants submitted turned out way beyond our initial expectations. The winners of this award will receive souvenirs from pixiv.

箱庭

by 龍

あ、

by なみのきら

Honorable Mentions

Here are the works that passed the first screening, but unfortunately did not make it to the Award of Recognition.

🐻 　by 66
元旦の曲芸師 　by 76
シークレットベース 　by ≠
制服交換 　by A4
森で遊ぶ動物たち 　by CHAN
青春謳歌！ 　by ina
道楽の海に沈む 　by KEHi
Play, joy, jump!~⭐️ 　by minutes00
🎡 　by NICOLE☆
感覚麻痺はお前の方さ 　by ROTUS.
遊びがいっぱい！ 　by TOUGOU
お正月 　by Tukimi
会いに 　by uotak
金魚掬い 　by Yan[ヤン]
溢れ出す 　by あい.mia
ファイナルゲーム 　by いず
PLAY with DOLLS 　by ううう
死ぬほど遊んでいたい 　by うに
おもちゃあそび 　by ウロス
☆ 　by えむぺ
お遊びJK 　by おねね
いつかの君は 　by かつを＠commission
星むすび 　by かるちゃん(軽川かる之助)
次は何をしようか 　by かるら
おもちゃ箱の中でずっと 　by グラサンうさぎ
【ドラクエ】みんなで遊ぼっ！ 　by コエダ
遊園都市計画 　by こむぎこ2000
Water Marine World 　by さくらりお
サザンカとブランコ 　by さなせ
‪｢私とここで一生遊んで過ごしましょう...？？👾💕｣‬ 　by さふぁいあ
「撮るよ～！！！🌈💜」 　by しう
白線以外踏んだら死ぬゲーム 　by しおしお
「ねぇ、」 　by すいめんか
pray pray pray! 　by ソラナカ
遊び 　by だいふく
エンジョイステューデンツ 　by チェしゃ@ついった
お茶会 　by ちょる
一緒に遊ぼ 　by ﾄﾞｽｺｲ
髪遊び 　by なのひ
和風の遊び部屋 　by ねこまねこ°
放課後遊戯部 　by ばななザウルス
宇宙まで 　by ぱや
雪の日 　by はるあや@お仕事募集中
遊びの世界とリアルの世界の私。 　by ピカタン
メリーゴーランド 　by ひなすみれ
スマホゲーで遊ぼっ！！！ 　by フォウ
げーむ 　by ふゆのら
遊ビゴコロヲ 　by ぶんか
おもちゃ箱 　by ましろみのあ
(=^・^=) 　by まど
日曜日 　by まふゆ
ほのにこすとろべりぃ。 　by まやたんた
あそび 　by まろぐ
あやとり 　by みやこるり
神々遊戯 　by めめお
にんぎょうはゆめのなか 　by もいたろ
おままごと 　by もちょりんぷん
魔女の部屋 　by ヤナギヨミ
切り絵 　by ゆき
遊 　by ルメハ
「あ、ジョーカーもってるでしょ」 　by ゑぐち。
おかし大戦争 　by をる編太
水遊び 　by 黄な粉餅
積み木の塔で 　by 夏目チョコ
シャボン玉とんだ 　by 叶月ゆきあ
華やかな子供時代 　by 吉田南ナ子
こども武将★ 　by 休兵衛
飛んでる～！ 　by 群青狼◆お仕事募集中
ドールハウスの友達 　by 絹狐
「いつかまた」 　by 御御
no title 　by 今栄
空色キャンバス 　by 朔月八雲
旅路 　by 四仮
「遊び心を思い出してごらん！」 　by 支那もち
行こう！楽しい場所へ！ 　by 森ゆうか
結んでいいよ 　by 生方
私達の遊び 　by 青空批ノ木
Shattered game data Crisis 　by 大噎
サバイバル！！ 　by 谷川龍米
もぐらたたき 　by 端里
乙女の箱庭 　by 兎角
ねぇ、僕と遊ばない？ 　by 日々
バーチャルお絵かき！！！ 　by 巴こけし
traditional 　by 楓璃(ふうり)
あめのひ 　by 文月
ジョーカーは右だよ 　by 平和イヲ
PLAY!! 　by 友人
遊園地 　by 利伊
大富豪 　by 凌
遊びの王様 　by 炒芽もやし
★☆ 　by 메차
遊び 　by 양갱/YANG

お花と戯れ　by ぱるす

We at pixiv are planning to continue hosting illustration projects targeted at a young audience in the future. When that time comes, please be sure to participate!

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