Welcome to the annual Kao-coin drawing contest!

Content period: 10/1-10/31
Open to: all registered members of renshuu (the app, or renshuu.org)

As you probably know, all users on renshuu can collect kao-chan coins as they quiz! While many of them are done by our artist Saki, we've had a number of lovely submissions by learners in our community.

How to join (new rules for 2024):
1 - grab the blank templates below (1024x1024 in size) (You can also do the picture in real life and snap a photo of it!)
2 - draw any thing, person, animal, or idea that has our mascot kao-chan's face/body mixed into it.

NOTE: editing pre existing artwork is not allowed. This includes using AI generated artwork and sticking Kao's face in there.

3 - submit it as a reply to this thread. Please only put one submission per post. Each post requires the following:

A. Final Kao-coin image

B. Suggestion name of the Kao-coin (in English or Japanese)

C. You MUST include another image of the drawing/artwork when it was roughly 40-60% finished. It must be clear that this work-in-progress is the same image as the final submission. This is meant to curb/eliminate submissions done by AI, which are strictly forbidden.

There is no theme - you can draw anything! New renditions of kao-coins that already exist on renshuu are welcome as well, so please do not worry about drawing something that already exists. Of course, you are welcome to do Halloween coins as well!
There is no limit to how many submissions can be made by one person.

What you can win!
We'll be choosing ten winners!
The #1-3 entries will receive both 6 months of renshuu pro. They will also, if they want, receive a (free) Kao Club care package from Japan! Mailing address required in this case. See bottom of the post for more details.

The #4-6 entries will receive 4 months of renshuu pro.

The #7-10 entries will get 2 months of renshuu pro.

★ All participants will get some money for their Kao garden as well :)

Note: by submitting your images to this contest, you agree to have these images used in the kao-coin collection on renshuu (available free to all users, will never be sold), and may be used on renshuu's forums/discord to promote this contest or future ones.

We hope you join! Feel free to respond with any questions!

Below are links to the previous contests:

2023 Contest

2022 Contest

2021 Contest

2019 Contest

TEMPLATE FOR THE IMAGE

1024x1024 (png) (If you cannot access the template, any 1024x1024 (or larger) square image with a circular backing and transparency around the edges will work.)

** Note: any entries that are not centered or cropped may not be considered during judging.

Questions about the contest

1. What if I see a submission that I believe is AI generated?

Please hit the "Report Content" link below the entry. All reported content will be reviewed, and I may reach out to you for details on why you made the original report.

2. What happens to AI-submitted content?

If content is determined to be AI submitted, that user may be banned from all community-related features in renshuu.

3. What if I find an older kao-coin that I believe is AI-generated?

Please submit information about it to this thread. https://new.renshuu.org/forums... Any already existing coins that are determined to be AI-generated will be replaced by new coins entered in this contest.

4. Can I include coins with mature content?

No. renshuu is used and enjoyed by people of all ages, so we like to keep the coin content available to everyone. Although Halloween-themed coins are often submitted, please make sure that it is not too scary/violent.

5. Do I have to send a mailing address if I win the contest?

No. Thanks to the generosity of one of our Kao Club supporters, we are able to send out small care-packages with a couple of fun/cute things from Japan. If you are in the top 3, and would like to receive a package, I will contact you after the contest. The mailing address will ONLY be used to send the care package, and the address will not be saved or used for any other purpose.

Winners!

We had a simply amazing turnout this year, with over 300 valid entries sent in by a huge number of people. Thank you so much!

As is the case every year, it is almost impossible to choose winners from the pool of entries. There is ultimately a good amount of subjectivity in the selection, but I try to get a cross-section of art styles, moods, complexity (or simplicity), and other elements. It is not simply a "which were the most 'skillfully' drawn".

There is no ordering in each category. All winners and participants will receive in-app messages later today!

Lastly, I expect roughly 200-250 of the coins to be made available for the gacha machine by the end of the month! I, unfortunately, cannot accept all entries, nor can I comment on why any specific entry was or was not included. At the same time, the AI-created entries that have been found from previous contests will be removed at the same time.

Gold winners (#1-3)

By 寿司 (S)

By; vasoula

By: ボニタチオ

Silver winners (#4-6)

By: 0yaji

By: Lilzoroco

By: 読みたい

Bronze winners (#7-15)

By: kjbrn

By: 4Kei

By: Txrex

By: Norkestra

By: Selfishpancake

By: LilGyoza2

By: non0230

By: sekaikiete

By: Ink_

I'm having trouble saving the template to my phone.

The template is a white circle on a transparent background, so it may not appear to be there, if that makes sense.

Any square image of 1024px or larger can be used.

As to the question, kao coins are not necessarily kao-chan fan art, they are a representation of a word (vocabulary) utilizing kao-chan in some way.

Also, I did a bunch of Kao coins earlier this year in preparation, and I don't have photo evidence of them being in progress (at least not for all of them) is there any way to prove that they aren't A.I generated that is acceptable?

when I click the link for the template, it just shows a blank page (which I can zoom in and out of, but it looks the same either way)
I'm wondering if that's how its supposed to be? And if it is, what do I do with it?

Also, do I have to use the template? if i were to just post an image that was the same size as the template (1024x1024) would that work instead? It would have a circle drawn around it, because I have no idea how to make it into a circle. If that’s what the template is for, making an image into a circle, could someone tell me how to use it?

thanks

Hi If you make a circle centered in 1024x1024 and draw within it just save it as a png and save background as transparent then only the circle and the drawing will appear.

How do I get the completed pictures in the frames? Cause I have the pictures already painted

WIP

Donee It's for the word "Bamboo"

The completed work

Stop!

How do I get the completed pictures in the frames? Cause I have the pictures already painted

For example ibispaint:

You can open the white cicle pic

Then you import the picture you have and adjust the size covering all the circle

Then select the clip option (is an arrow pointing down, i think every drawing software has it). This option paints the second picture only on the space that is painted on the first picture (the circle is already white, the corners are "not painted"/transparent)

And you're done! Just make sure you save the picture on PNG format