Calling All Webcomic Artists LINE Webtoon Challenge League Seeks New Artists

Calling All Webcomic Artists LINE Webtoon Challenge League Seeks New Artists Photo Via: https://lh4.ggpht.com According to a recent press release, the Challenge League is a “new feature that allows for artists to submit their webcomics for a chance to become an official LINE Webtoon artist.” The best part: this is a completely free chance to show LINE Webtoon what you’ve got. There’s no cost to the Challenge League and, as stated in the press release, it’s a great outlet for “aspiring artists looking to showcase their talents and gain recognition” while at the same time surrounding themselves with the “best comic content available via mobile and desktop.” In officially launching this Challenge League, “LINE Webtoon will host a $50,000 competition globally” in hopes of finding the “best” new webtoon artist. JunKoo Kim, who serves as Director and as the Head of the LINE Webtoon division, said: “We have spent over 10 years discovering and showcasing some of the best webtoon artists and content to our fans, and now we’re giving them the chance to become official LINE Webtoon webtoonists through Challenge League.” So what’s the appeal of competing in Challenge League? Photo Via: http://comicbastards.com For one thing, this opportunity grants artists the ability to meet and communicate with their audiences “through a simple and easy to use interface.” This environment allows artists to reach a higher popularity while simultaneously becoming official webtoonists. Opportunities that usually arise from affiliation with LINE Webtoon include re-creation of the webcomic across “diverse” media including TV series and film. Also, according to the press release, “LINE Webtoon is dedicated to helping artists launch a full time career, with some Webtoon artists earning up to $80,000 a month.” That’s a pretty steep paycheck, so an artist that can get his/her foot in the door with a company such as this is in good hands. As far as eligibility goes for this opportunity, anyone over the age of 14 is eligible to compete in the competition. All you need to do is upload a webcomic (in English) to this website. Content is judged on “audience engagement, such as number of views and shares” as well as “creativity, originality, and the artist’s ability to publish webcomics on a weekly basis.” And what of the prizes? There are two, third place prizes, one, second place prize and one grand prize at $5,000, $10,000 and $30,000 respectively. This contest will run until January 25, 2015 and the winner will be announced five days later. However, the Challenge League service will still be provided on the LINE Webtoon official site after the contest as well. Photo Via: http://31.media.tumblr.com The contest won’t be the extent of LINE Webtoon’s engagement with their audience, as they also wish to work more closely with universities and centers of higher education to “reward student artists that participate in the Challenge League competition.” According to the press release, if a student wins the $30,000 grand prize, there will be an additional $30,000 donation to that student’s institution of higher education. Likewise, they will be offered a contract with LINE Webtoon to produce official webcomics for the company. The opportunities LINE Webtoon is presenting its fans aren’t to be taken lightly, and in the expansion of the site’s audience by global means, prospective artists for the company will be promising individuals of incredible talent. Because LINE Webtoon has a large Korean following, the team looks forward to seeking out new artists on a global level, branching out to discover webcomic artists in new territories. In discussing the global appeal of LINE Webtoon’s Challenge League, Kim said: “Based on Challenge League’s popularity in Korea, where 73.4 percent of LINE Webtoon artists are discovered through Challenge League, we are excited to launch the competition globally and discover the next generation of webcomic artists.” LINE Webtoon itself was launched globally on July 2 of this year, and the site currently offers “multiple genres of webcomics” and “easy access to downloaded content on-the-go” as well as “approximately 53 webcomics.” Photo Via: https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.net For anyone interested in more information on the Challenge League, you can visit the site, or to download LINE Webtoon, you can visit the Apple App Store and Google Play. Beginning November 27, fans can get all Challenge League content through these apps. Good luck to all participating!