Arctic Animal Competition
Create a Comic for Conservation – Help the Polar Bears Through Creativity
October 2012 update: The winners of the Artic Animal competition have been announced! Click here to view the winning entries!
In her new role as global wildlife guardian, Lindsay Cibos, creator of The Last of the Polar Bears has teamed up with Wildlife Warriors to host an international comic competition for kids and teens in support of Polar Bears International and the Arctic Documentary Project.
Entrants are invited to submit a one-page comic inspired by Arctic wildlife! The winner will receive a character cameo in The Last of the Polar Bears side-story, an original illustration by Lindsay, The Last of the Polar Bears Pre-Dawn book, and a PBI polar bear adoption kit!
The competition encourages participants to ‘Explore the Arctic’, discovering the beauty and fragility of this endangered ecosystem and develop an understanding and appreciation for the amazing diversity of animals it supports.
Competition Details:
- Open to contestants internationally within three age categories – eight and under, nine to thirteen, fourteen to eighteen.
- Entrants must submit ‘original work only’ as a one-page comic about an animal from the Arctic.
- The subject of your comic must be an Arctic animal. Looking for inspiration, or not sure which animals live in the arctic? Here’s the Arctic National Wilfelife Refuge list of arctic mammals, birds, and fish.
- Comic format and style are up to you! It can be funny or serious, black and white, or color. Just be creative and have fun with it.
- Submit your entry to Lindsay@lastpolarbears.com with the header MY ARCTIC ANIMAL. Include your name and age with the comic. (If you don’t have access to a scanner and would prefer to send your entry through the mail, email me for the address.)
- Due Date: Competition closes August 31, 2012.
Overall winner will receive:
- Cameo appearance of their character in The Last of the Polar Bears Side-Story.
- Illustration based on the overall winner’s entry (signed original pencil art, plus signed color print).
- Feature profile in Bare Essentials and a $100 PBI polar bear adoption kit (sponsored by ‘Wildlife Warriors’ Initiative).
Winners from each age group will receive:
- Signed copy of the limited edition The Last of the Polar Bears “Pre-Dawn” book.
- A $30 PBI polar bear adoption kit for each (sponsored by ‘Wildlife Warriors’ Initiative).
Resources for inspiration:
Click on the links below to learn more about the Arctic wilderness and find inspiration for your comic:
- Making a Comic Tutorial by Lindsay (featured in the May/June 2012 issue of Bare Essentials – free to access and download)
- Polar Bears International
- The Last of the Polar Bears ‘Wildlife Research’ Links
- ‘Explore the Arctic’ Pinterest Board
- Arctic Images Gallery
- Polar Bear Images Gallery
- Arctic Documentary Project
The winners will be announced in October 2012. Good luck!
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UPDATE: August 31 marks the close of the Arctic Animal Competition. I am amazed and moved by the creativity, passion and variety of the entries I received. If you participated, give yourself a big pat on the back. It’s going to be very difficult to narrow down the winners!
Check back on the website on October 20th when I’ll be announcing the results of the competition, and sharing my favorites.
Discussion (59) ¬
hi.. Can we join this competition?? We are from d Philippines. Thanks.
Yes, please do! The competition is international. 🙂
ohh, this seems interesting… but i’m kinda scared to join. T_T
Aww, don’t be! The entries will be evaluated on a number of factors, especially creativity, so no worries even if you’ve never done a comic before. Just have fun with it. ^_^
How detailed should it be? Realism or cartoon? ONLY one page or can we make it a little longer? What about? What will you judge on (e.i. name of character, artwork, speech, character’s personality, gender)?
-How detailed should it be?
As detailed or as simple as you like. Even stick figure animals are okay, if you want. 🙂
-Realism or cartoon?
Whatever style you prefer.
-ONLY one page or can we make it a little longer?
You can do more than one page if you need more space (or one extra long page), but extra pages won’t increase your chances of winning.
-What about? What will you judge on (e.i. name of character, artwork, speech, character’s personality, gender)?
Entries will be evaluated on a number of factors. Art and storytelling will be considered, but creativity is most important. I want everyone to have fun with their entries. 🙂
interesting!
but when is the deadline?
The deadline is August 31, 2012.
Btw,can it be just somthing giving an idea like comics but not a story?
Thank you!
Yes, it can be whatever you like, so long as it involves an arctic animal. 🙂
thank you 🙂
I will try to submit my work on time.
Best of luck to you! 🙂
If I take a picture of my artwork to send it in with my smartphone, will that be ok?
Sure, that’s fine.
Does the cartoon have to be about a polar bear? Or could i do one about penguins or seals??
Hi Joy,
It can be about any arctic animal you like. Seals would be fantastic. Please note however that penguins do not live in the Arctic, they are from the Antarctic, the opposite side of the globe. Arctic Refuge has a list of arctic mammals if you’re looking for ideas: http://arctic.fws.gov/mammlist.htm
What size does the paper have to be!?
The paper size isn’t important. You can use whatever size paper you’re most comfortable with. Just have fun with it. 🙂
is there a website that can teach me how to do comics? cause i’ve never done them before ..and is there an example of a comic that you can provide? even if it wasn’t about arctic animals cause i just want to see the drawings.
i know i’m asking for a lot of things but i’d really appreciate your help 🙂
thank you 🙂
Hi,
I have some tutorials on various aspects of making comics here: http://www.lastpolarbears.com/making-a-graphic-novel/ including a comic tutorial I wrote for the May/June 2012 issue of Bare Essentials.
Aside from that, the best place I can think of for a complete primer on making comics is the book “Understanding Comics” by Scott McCloud. There’s a good chance your local library has a copy. Give it a read! 🙂
As for comic examples, of course there’s mine, http://www.lastpolarbears.com/
Some of my favorite online comics include:
http://www.nemu-nemu.com/
http://www.junglestudio.com/roza/
http://www.beanleafpress.com/
http://cucumber.gigidigi.com/archive/page-1/
http://www.hamletothehamster.com/
You’ll notice that comics come in all shapes and forms. So have fun with it and don’t worry too much about format. 🙂 Hope this helps inspires you! Good luck!
does it have to be a comic can i just enter a drawing of the character i have in mind?
Your entry needs should be done as a comic, however the size and format are up to you. Therefore, you could submit it in the form of the single panel comic that focused on the character. Try Googling “single panel comic” for examples. Good luck! 🙂
Hello!
Are we allowed to submit multiple entries or are we only allowed to submit one entry per person?
You’re allowed to submit more than one, but I would strongly recommend focusing your efforts one really nice entry. 🙂
if we win do we get a memorable certificate as well, please
Um, Lindsay, would you mind if the comic was only 4 panels?
A 4 panel comic would be fine. 🙂
Does it also have to be based on your story or it can be something I thought of?
Does not need to be based on mine. It just needs to have an arctic animal in it. 🙂
can we have it about both a human and an animal? Thanks!
Yes you can! 🙂
WHAT IS THE MOST PANELS U CAN PUT. THANK U.
As many panels as you need. There’s no minimum or maximum.
does it have to be hand sketched ? can we use Photoshop to make it ?
Whichever medium you prefer. Photoshop would be fine.
Hello Lindsay, I am from India, can i Participate , To Participate the contest Is there any registration.
Hi Rachel,
Absolutely, please do. It’s an international competition. No registration necessary. Simply send me an e-mail with your arctic animal entry, and name and age of the participant.
I am from India, Can I participate? Is there any Registration to Participate
A few more things
Does the species matter (do we have a better chance of winning if we choose an animal different of the polar bear)?
Does it matter how many characters in the story?
Is this only Arctic animals, no animals from Siberia/Antarctica?
Can the story writen be based on a myth or legend?
Will points get deducted if we add accessories?
More will come as I continue on. Sorries!
-No, it won’t affect your chances of winning (so long as it’s an arctic animal), but I would enjoy seeing lesser known species.
-No.
-Yes. However, the main character can interact with non-arctic animals if you want.
-Yes.
-No. Do you mean like, a scarf or boots on the animal? That’s fine. 🙂
Can my daughter see a picture and copy it or has it to be her imagination?
Working from photographs is a great method for practicing and studying, but I don’t think copying someone else’s photograph is a good idea for a competition. In any case, creativity and storytelling are the most important aspects of a comic. Please tell your daughter to have fun with it, and not worry too much about getting the art to look perfect. 🙂
Man, I found out about this contest a while ago, I recognised the name, but I didn’t realise it was this comic.
Being the aspiring cartoonist I am I’ll certainly enter (I’ve actually started my comic right now). I wish I’d found out about it sooner, so that I could spend more time on my entry, but now I think I’ll have to have a go at a more cartoon style. I’ve only got seven days to do it, most of them are school nights…
Anyway, no real questions, but I’d have to ask, would a Snowshoe Hare be a good animal to use? I started off with a wolverine, but since I draw ferrets and stuff all the time I figured hares would be a nice change.
Oh, cute webcomic! *bookmarks*
You may not realize this, but I’m a huge ferret fan myself (I wrote a whole book series about them http://jaredandlindsay.com/comics.html ^_-), I like the idea a wolverine as the subject matter…but considering an encounter between the two would be pretty typical, you could always do both.
Good luck!
This sounds like a LOT of fun! thx, for letting me know
what about me I just found about it can I send my comic even if it’s late? not a good question I know just trying my luck!!!
Sorry! August 31st was the final day.
heyy i want to join i need points
Hey Lindsey,
I was wondering if you knew when the contest winners are going to be announced…Thanks!
Sincerely,
Linda
Hi Linda,
I’ll be announcing the results on October 20th. Stay tuned!
Dear Lindsay,
Thanks! I sure will. Anyways, Do you like any other animals besides Polar Bears?
Sincerely,
Linda
Cats and ferrets are among my favorite animals. I even wrote a three-volume graphic novel series about the latter (http://jaredandlindsay.com/comics.html). 🙂
hi is it to late for me to enter?
Sorry, August 31st was the last day to enter.
Dear Lindsey,
Cats and ferrets are pretty cool. I especially love dogs, but all animals are hard to chose from. Can’t wait to hear who won!
Sincerely,
Linda 🙂
Hi Linda, the results of the competition are now up online. Here’s the link: http://www.lastpolarbears.com/my-arctic-animal-comic-competition-winners/