WINNERS ANNOUNCED!

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Announcing the
COPIC AWARD 2020 Winners

We are delighted to announce the COPIC AWARD 2020 winners. The third year of the AWARD has received 4,321 entries, far more than last year. Thank you to everyone who participated in the COPIC AWARD 2020.

Winners

Grand Prize

silk hat cat
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HAMU(Japan)
Key Colors
  • V09
    Violet

  • B37
    Antwerp Blue

  • YR04
    Chrome Orange

Judges' comments

The colors were not mixed but used various blends of color with thought to spacing. When you look at it from a distance, you can see it is a complex piece. However, when you get a closer look, you will notice that each color stands out and is actually very well planned.
Each (Silk Hat Cat, Humedo, and vielfalt) were wonderful pieces of work and worthy of the Grand Prize. But I had to evaluate them, and I chose this piece because it was technically superior.

(Matsushita)

This is the type of illustration that personally, I don't typically fall for—but when I saw the original piece, it was interesting, and it strangely drew me in. You can sense how the artist had fun creating it, and I like that feeling.

(Obata)

Second place

Vielfalt
twitter facebook
HiddenService(Germany)
Key Colors
  • R46
    Strong Red

  • 100
    Black

  • B23
    Phthalo Blue

Judges' comments

When I saw the actual artwork in person, it conveyed so much enthusiasm, it made me wonder why I had overlooked it in the first round. Many works focus on cute female characters, but in this piece, the artist gives his best effort to draw each detail. The detailed textures of the bark of the trees and the way the plants were depicted, it really conveyed the sincerity and power of the artist's work.

(Sekiya)

This one stood out to me from the moment I saw it on the awards website, and it was one of the entries I selected myself. It was outstanding from the first time I saw it on the monitor screen, and even the subtle horror was part of its greatness. When I saw the original piece today, I thought, oh, this is an absolute winner.
I love how the character blends in with this detailed depiction of the world.

(Tsumori)

Second place

Humedo
Salvador Piuma(Argentina)
Key Colors
  • Y11
    Pale Yellow

  • BG72
    Ice Ocean

  • YG67
    Moss

Judge's comment

This piece evokes some bizarre imagination, just like surrealism and science fiction movies. The finely detailed wall tiles are not drawn evenly one by one but instead are colored with different shades. When I saw the actual piece, I found it to be a finely detailed, outstanding artwork that combines unique ideas and skills.
I didn't really look at the profiles of the artists when I was judging but did I notice that this piece is from a 20-year old in Argentina. I kind of felt like I wanted to meet him! I imagine he is interested in Asian/Japanese culture, so I think it would be interesting for him to have the opportunity to show his work in Japan.
I find his art interesting and I'm looking forward to seeing more pieces in the future.

(Iwabuchi)

Future Generation Art Prize: Grand Prize

Don't believe everything at face value
instagram
Ja_Sutapat(Thailand)
Key Colors
  • YR04
    Chrome Orange

  • E44
    Clay

  • B00
    Frost Blue

Judge's comment

The contrast between the indescribable expression of the tiger and the indistinct expressions of the herbivorous animals intrigued us and sparked our imagination as to what kind of story was there.
The bird's-eye view composition is impressive, and the coloring is also excellent, down to the smallest detail such as the glossy surface of the pottery and the warmth and coldness of the tiles. The cohesive tones of orange, mint blue, and brown are wonderful.

Judge's Award (selected by Teiya Iwabuchi)

今日の記憶
instagram
susu kim(South Korea)
Key Colors
  • YG91
    Putty

  • C00
    Cool Gray No.00

  • G12
    Sea Green

Judge's comment

I liked this because it wasn't simply a flashy or catchy piece of art, but a calm piece that uses space in a great way. Also, I liked the colors used and character modeling.
The piece has a sense of young people nowadays. It has a down-to-earth, yet stylish and light-hearted feel to it. The color scheme has a calm tone, but I like how bright colors and a bit of blue are used at key points. I think the color combination is beautiful and I found it's even better when I saw the actual piece.

Judge's Award (selected by Takeshi Obata)

ばばば
twitter
魚pH(Japan)
Judge's comment

Perhaps I could say that I simply chose it because I liked it. It was a piece that I liked when I first saw it online and felt that I wanted to see the actual artwork. In fact, I've tried to draw something like this myself, but something goes wrong in the middle. I wanted to draw something like this piece, but I just couldn't do it.
I've always really liked people who can draw like this. So, I simply picked it based on my preference.

Judge's Award (selected by Yurie Sekiya)

Construcción de símbolo
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Ariel Gutierrez(Chile)
Key Colors
  • BV34
    Bluebell

  • BG05
    Holiday Blue

  • RV34
    Dark Pink

Judge's comment

The coloring is very simple, but the style is extraordinary, so it caught my attention. The overall purple tone of the artwork and the way the light is reflected in the dark room is outstanding. The mood and atmosphere of the drawing are nice. I think the artist has a great sense of color balance. I really like this piece.

Judge's Award (selected by Chisato Tsumori)

The unordinary restaurant
instagram
melistncl(Turkey)
Key Colors
  • G82
    Spring Dim Green

  • BG15
    Aqua

  • BG05
    Holiday Blue

Judge's comment

First, I thought it was great fun to see a lot of animals and people eating together. The piece is colorful and gave me a feeling of a dreamy world. Maybe one of the reasons I selected it was because it just so happens that I'm currently making clothes with an African theme. For the Judges Award, I chose something that I genuinely liked. I really like dreamy things, like fantasy and things that are somewhat strange and entertaining. I think the artist also created this piece with that mindset.

Judge's Award (selected by Kei Matsushita)

2020
Steven Labadessa(United States of America)
Key Colors
  • B05
    Process Blue

  • R05
    Salmon Red

  • Y38
    Honey

Judge's comment

This entry uses COVID-19 as its theme, so when you look back on this year, you'll remember that it was the year of the pandemic. So I thought it was a symbolic piece. Also, while a lot of the entries use a linguistic, or as I would say a bit of a 'wordy' approach, I felt this piece is more poetic. I personally found this emotional approach to be worthy of recognition.

pixiv Award

海のまほろば
ym(Japan)
Key Colors
  • B60
    Pale Blue Gray

  • B21
    Baby Blue

  • BV000
    Iridescent Mauve

Judge's comment

There were so many excellent works that it was difficult to decide which of them were worthy of being selected, but when I saw this one in person, the precision stood out, and I felt that the artist showed excellent technique with Copic markers. Despite the use of mainly pale colors, the lines are strong and impressive.

Craft Award

Machiners will I dream?
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越智紫(Japan)
Key Colors
  • W3
    Warm Gray No.3

  • BG72
    Ice Ocean

  • R27
    Cadmium Red

Judge's comment

The mysterious retro-style space suits fused with life and the sad expressions on the face of the doll (like he came back from the passage of time and space) reminds us of a story from an epic sci-fi movie.
The doll, made of pigskin, is expressed with a combination of elaborate Copic lines and colors, and their unique worldview is well-conveyed and captivating.
We are expecting a lot from this artist who has a rich imagination.

Social Media Award

The Goldfish Queen
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Gretel Lusky(Argentina)
Key Colors
  • Y15
    Cadmium Yellow

  • RV29
    Crimson

  • BG09
    Blue Green

Judge's comment

This is the first year that the Social Media Award was established. This piece was the most popular among the entries, with its powerful, generous atmosphere and vivid colors that are typical of Copic.

Finalists

    • One night
    • sunjoo.u(Korea South)
    • instagram
    • Childhood
    • Luke, Lok Chun Yee(Hong Kong)
    • instagram
    • 今日の記憶
    • susu kim(Korea South)
    • instagram
    • Humedo
    • siuma(Argentina)
    • instagram
    • Lockdown
    • Begoña(Spain)
    • instagram
    • The Baker
    • Ajala(Thailand)
    • twitter instagram
    • Childhood walk 童年散步
    • punkge(China)
    • twitter twitter
    • Eva
    • Anne(United States of America)
    • A Wet Road
    • Takeru Konno(Japan)
    • twitter instagram
    • a silver lining
    • 呂世魁(Taiwan)
    • twitter twitter instagram
    • 海のまほろば
    • ym(Japan)
    • Blue rose Flower language : Miracle
    • Yuri(Korea South)
    • instagram
    • 2020
    • Steven Labadessa(United States of America)
    • Forest Fairy
    • Alice B(Hong Kong)
    • twitter twitter instagram
    • 願い聞きの兄妹
    • ゆゆ(Japan)
    • twitter
    • silk hat cat
    • tone tone(Japan)
    • instagram
    • 紳士的所作
    • りーりん(Japan)
    • twitter instagram
    • Osaka metro
    • 佐久間 シャルゲイ(Japan)
    • twitter instagram
    • Aunt Pitta's Search For Brunch
    • Emilyn "Asmo" Pantelakis(United States of America)
    • instagram
    • Depthless
    • YooJin Jung(Korea South)
    • instagram
    • Vasiliy Fadeev
    • Keks(Russia)
    • 宝のかくれ家
    • おおぬき みらい(Japan)
    • twitter
    • The unordinary restaurant
    • melistncl(Turkey)
    • instagram
    • Vielfalt
    • HiddenService(Germany)
    • twitter twitter
    • 作業部屋
    • ヨシサコツバサ(Japan)
    • twitter instagram
    • Lindsay - Pin Up
    • JasonEnosArt(United States of America)
    • twitter twitter instagram
    • 箱の中の宇宙
    • マスオ兄さん(Japan)
    • Field of Fantasy
    • Eva(United States of America)
    • 想像外の大切な海!
    • アンナ(Japan)
    • Go to Bed
    • 樋口モエ(Japan)
    • twitter instagram
    • 赤いひなげしのワンピース
    • ボタン ソノン(Japan)
    • instagram
    • Construcción de símbolo
    • Ariel Gutierrez (@Rayofsand)(Chile)
    • twitter instagram
    • the Cafe of Street
    • tehi(Korea South)
    • twitter instagram
    • LIKE!!
    • ななみ(Japan)
    • twitter instagram
    • Florescence
    • AlexaLivia(Indonesia)
    • instagram
    • 共舞 Dancling Together
    • 七號藍(Taiwan)
    • Perseverance
    • Bev(United States of America)
    • twitter instagram
    • childhood
    • Sissi Wu(China)
    • instagram
    • Initial Encounter
    • Fernando de Paiva Travis(Brazil)
    • twitter
    • What kind of future can you see??
    • saru1(Japan)
    • twitter instagram
    • Barong
    • Victor chil(Spain)
    • instagram
    • ばばば
    • 魚pH(Japan)
    • twitter instagram
    • きらきら
    • なおちん(Japan)
    • twitter instagram
    • 蒼天楼
    • 梅星太朗(Japan)
    • もふもふパン屋さん
    • マカロニ(Japan)
    • twitter instagram
    • 夕暮れロマン~必殺技~
    • ワトウ(Japan)
    • twitter instagram
    • 髑髏茸
    • ニシカワアイ(Japan)
    • instagram
    • Don't believe everything at face value
    • Ja_Sutapat(Thailand)
    • instagram
    • Machiners will I dream?
    • 越智紫(Japan)
    • twitter twitter instagram

JUDGES

Teiya Iwabuchi

Chief Editor of Bijutsu Techo

Takeshi Obata

Manga artist

Yurie Sekiya

Illustrator

Chisato Tsumori

Fashion designer

Kei Matsushita

Art director/Professor at Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music (design department)

Report: COPIC AWARD 2020 The Final Round of Judging

For COPIC AWARD 2020, in its third annual year, we received 4,321 entries, significantly more compared to last year.
Not just the number of entries, but the number of countries from which we received entries also increased to 89. So, like previous years, Copic users from all over the world have participated in the AWARD.

It was extremely difficult to select the nominations from over 4,300 unique pieces, but the five judges each selected 10 pieces from among the entries. The final round of judging took place with the originals of the selected entries lined up next to each other.

Rather than following strict selection criteria, this year’s winning entries were chosen based on the unique perspectives of the judges. The works that attracted the most attention were those that conveyed the artist's love of drawing and those that showed a careful and cumulative creative process.

Many entries were so detailed and inventive that it made us feel intrigued about their creative process. "The Baker," one of the nominee entries, as well as the Grand Prize winner "silk hat cat" and the runners-up, "vielfolt" and "Humedo" were especially praised for the extensive work and intricate coloring.

Although the number of nominated entries was limited, we received the following comment from Takeshi Obata, a member of the judging panel:
"It was fun to see the pieces I was interested in in-person, and it was also a lot of fun just looking at all the works on the website (in the first round of judging).
Sometimes it can be hard to make art on my own, but it's interesting to see what other people have created, and it encourages me to make art again."

Through COPIC AWARD, we hope some of you may be inspired by the winning pieces.
We would be so happy if, while you go through the entries, you happen to find a piece that you like or if you could use the AWARD as an opportunity to show your own work to the world.

The COPIC AWARD is not just a competition for Copic artists to simply show off their skills, but rather it is held to connect people from all over the world who create artworks using Copic products.
As our COPIC AWARD judge Mr. Kei Matsushita mentioned, we encourage you to create your art with any theme you wish, whether it's what you want to draw, what you enjoy drawing, what you want to master, or what you want to communicate. We are looking forward to seeing your art!

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