Manitoba's Largest Anime Event Seeks New Mascot Design

Contest under way to find aiko's look for Ai-Kon 2008

Winnipeg, MB - October 31, 2007 - Ai-Kon organizers are seeking a new design for aiko, the Ai-Kon mascot, for use on the convention's 2008 promotional materials. Ai-Kon 2008 is scheduled for July 25-27, 2008 at the Winnipeg Convention Centre.

A cheerful, stylish, energetic anime girl with pink hair and blue eyes, aiko appears on a variety of Ai-Kon promotional items, including t-shirts, posters, flyers, badges, programs, and the Ai-Kon web site (http://www.ai-kon.org).

Contest rules:
Entries must be full-body images, with no background.

Images featuring poses, outfits and/or hair styles of copyrighted characters, or copyrighted characters themselves, will not be accepted.

No adult-themed images will be accepted. This will be at the discretion of Ai-Kon executives. Please ensure entries are suitable for all ages.

A maximum limit of four entries per person will be accepted.

Entries must be full-colour, 300 dpi resolution and submitted electronically in PSD or JPEG format. A smaller version of your entry may by submitted for judging as long as a higher resolution version is available.

You may also post artwork to your own web site, DeviantART account, or other hosting service and e-mail us the URL. When submitting entries, please use the following naming format for your file: firstname_lastname_01.jpg (or PDF). If you are submitting more than one entry, please number them appropriately (i.e: firstname_lastname_02.jpg, firstname_lastname_03.jpg, etc.).

E-mail entries to [email protected]. The following information must be included with your entry:
-Your real first and last name
-Your artist nickname (if you use one)
-Your e-mail address
-Your telephone number

Entries must be received no later than January 18, 2008 and will be judged by Ai-Kon executives. The winning entry will be announced on or before January 26, 2008.

All entries and rights to the images become property of Ai-Kon.

Prizes:
Winner: A free full art table at and a weekend pass to Ai-Kon 2008 and an Ai-Kon 2008 t-shirt.
First runner-up: A free half art table at and a week-end pass to Ai-Kon 2008.
Second runner-up: A free half art table at and a week-end pass to Ai-Kon 2008.

ABOUT AI-KON: Ai-Kon is Manitoba's largest anime convention. An all-ages event, the goal of Ai-Kon is the promotion of Japanese/Asian animation and culture to the public. Started by the University of Manitoba Japanese Animation Club (UMAnime) in 2001, Ai-Kon took a reorganizing hiatus in 2002, returning in 2003. Ai-Kon has since become an autonomous event, run by an independent volunteer board. "Ai" means "love" in Japanese, hence Ai-Kon's slogan "For the Love of Anime".