pixiv's High Schoolers Illustration Contest 2020 Results - A record edition! Who are the most promising high school students?
Award of Excellence
Encouragement Award
あか by いお
夏祭りだぁー!!! by ryo
花火より・・・? by UsaRis
お忍び by くらげ
ふたりぼっち by からながれ
送り火 by 祝く月
祭 by アルパカライオン
おうち時間でお祭りどうでしょ〜? by しーます
信仰の先にあるもの by るおー*るおみ( ・ω^ )
祭の火 by 八雲よる
山車 by 石田
「おいで、おいで」 by 石田
もう一度だけ言わせて by 石田
風鈴を味わう by 味噌田楽
僕ら、一瞬の命だとしても by 雨森ほわ
夏の亡霊 by rei_rei
熱狂のその最中で by ムスビ
一瞬の輝き by 馬鹿レトロ
金魚さん by 蝋色ろろ
金魚すくい by チム子
弾ける by もものかんづめ
金魚も踊る by 池製菓
夏の祭 by 蛇ノてんぷら
FIESTA by 夕星よだか
はじまりの少し前 by 石田
連れてきたよ by しーます
特別な日 by レヅキ
金魚すくい by しのび
飴細工の少女 by 真白むすび。
命のすくい方 by Natsu Enoch
おみやげ by 鳥野いとせ
金魚救い by さとら
祭? by Raimo
きらきら星 by 池製菓
片思い by yejji
共鳴 by みずき ふうあ
御祭り by ふじのら
祭 by 紫朞-しき-
サプライズ by しいら
花火の音は聞こえない by ryo
月花の祭典 by すずしな綺雪
これは夢じゃない、夢なんかじゃない by 雨森ほわ
その夜は、まるで魔法のようだった。 by あず🌽
明日は文化祭! by sho
呪い by Zaimacks
2人だけの特等席 by 佐倉楽
はなび by Shaffelli
水灯 by 朝月みお
魚の祭 by AkaLee(xunx)
金魚の祭り by にしろしま
涼 by お冷や
handmade by レツ
彩り by akqne
パレードを離れる by Wannatchears
瞬間、弾けて by 当たり付き小惑星
夏 by c
おまつり by るるむい
その夏の刹那 by ねおん*
祭の終わり by HyunWoO_
楽しい時間は一瞬で by ぽん☆ぽん
焼き鳥 by nea
Fire festival of “Goldwish “ by ぬし
祭囃子が聞こえる by おゆゆ
今日は特別な日 by 塩梅クレル
memory by 風彧(キティー)
浮遊祭パレード by 10十10
お祭り by なってぅん
祭儀 by 和泉
アクアリウム−祭− by 琴ノ羽
パッと咲けよ by まちゃもち
視線 by kita
祀 by 芥
「金がないので我々は歩きだ!」 by 力石羊羽
後の祭り by 碧ねむこたつ
夏 by ゆかし床
ねぶたの明かし金色の耀き by 巡 -めぐる-
踊り子 by はち
復活の始まり by りゃー
夏のおわりに by 悠凪
祭りの主役 by かえる
お祭りが始まる by もすき
走馬灯 by Tomei_Ningen
泡沫の夢 by 佐藤ぼうれい
Just me by yui−結
祭り by ばん
次はちゃんと当ててね by TENATER
ハイテク・ウーロン! by Vab.png
The final comment about this contest

However, I couldn't help but notice how some motifs were featured in the participating entries over and over, almost repetitively. When people first heard that the theme of this contest would be "Festival", I think it's only natural that some popular motifs (fireworks, candy apples) came to mind. Next time, I want all participants to think carefully about what they want to paint through the motifs, rather than just painting them as they are.
If you know what you want to paint, the illustration will turn out to be much more interesting. The winning works all did amazing in this regard.

I hope that all those who were not awarded a prize this year will continue to draw and post their work on pixiv, and get better and better. This contest was not the goal. People who have the will to participate in these contests have the talent to feed off the experience, and they are the ones who will continue drawing.
Of course, drawing what you want is important, but if you want to go one step further as an illustrator, you should also think about what you want to convey through your pictures and to whom.
To bring you a practical example that you can put into practice right away, you could try cropping your illustrations. If you trim a picture once you think it's finished, you will be able to notice what you wanted the attention to focus and you may even feel like adding some more details.
Don't call it quits when you don't feel like drawing anymore; instead, try working on your illustration objectively, and you may be able to figure out things that you didn't notice before.


Leaving aside the fact that some of the "Festival" motifs were brought up in quite a repetitive manner, I think these high schoolers will be able to advance to the next level if they can think whether their drawing is going to develop in a straight line or as a curve if they can figure out what they're aiming for and how they want their illustration to be interpreted.


Once again, thank you very much for participating in this contest.
The winning illustrations of this contest will be compiled into the booklet "pixiv's High Schoolers Illustration Contest 2020 Winning Entries", which will be distributed free of charge at animate stores and at a number of high schools throughout Japan in early spring of next year.
Further notices will be announced on pixiv's High Schoolers Illustration Contest Official Twitter. Don't forget to follow us!
pixiv's High Schoolers Illustration Contest is our way to support all aspiring illustrators. If you missed out on this year's contest, or if you're going to attend high school starting next year, stay tuned!
We're looking forward to seeing you take on this challenge!