Into its seventh iteration, Doujin Market played home to over 360 artists, creators and designers from all around the world. The two-day event drew a record amount of visitors, with some 19,600 event-goers showing up to support Singapore\u2019s biggest celebration of creator culture.
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Doujin Market was powered this year by industry partners Wacom, Pentel and EpicGear.sg, DanLim Print Lab and Oki Data. Supporting the event\u2019s Networking Night was next-gen anime studio Blockpunk and FavePay, while leading creators stepped up to mentor newer ones through a series of seminars that ranged the gamut from boothing and merchandising tips to storytelling for webtoons.
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\u201cIt\u2019s heartening to see industry insiders give back to the communities they care about,\u201d said Jason Koh, account director of Neo Tokyo Project and the founder of Doujin Market. \u201cDoujima has proven itself to be the platform of choice for new and established creators to share their boundless passion for pop culture art.\u201d
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\u201cWe will continue working closely with industry partners and keep our ears close to the ground. That way, we can continue leading the market and pioneer a more robust ecosystem for aspiring creators at our event,\u201d Jason added.
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Event newcomer RPG Day Singapore drew a crowd of its own. Sponsored by Geekified and supported by Game Academia and Games@PI, this segment showcased numerous local tabletop game designers and hobby groups.
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Singapore\u2019s Dungeons & Dragons community was out in force to introduce new players to the game and to play an exclusive convention Epic \u2014 a multi-table raid where more than a hundred players banded together to save a fabled hero from the clutches of his dragon nemesis.
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Ten artists competed in the inaugural Wacom Art Arena, duking it out in a speed drawing challenge where they designed original characters based on the theme \u201cImagination is Power\u201d.
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The two finalists later went head to head in a battle to create their own interpretation of \u2018Doujinma\u2019, the machine goddess of inspiration and creativity invented by Doujin Market\u2019s fan community. Mints, a CG artist, walked away with the grand prize of a Wacom Cintiq 16 for her amazingly polished rendition of Doujinma.
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Mints\u2019 creation will feature in the Tabula project, an initiative by Doujin Market to create an open source RPG world that artists can populate with their original characters and to tell their own stories. A webtoon about Tabula will also be released at Doujin Market next year, with art by Carillus, the creator of Singapore\u2019s leading webtoon ExCo.
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\u201cWe wanted to do something more than retail, something to empower these young artists with the right tools to support their creativity,\u201d said Mr. Adriel Chan, Wacom\u2019s Manager of Geo Marketing for Southeast Asia. \u201cWe were astounded by the talent and skill they displayed during the contest, and we\u2019re proud to support this growing community.\u201d
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Next year\u2019s Doujin Market will feature brand-new content including workshops and masterclasses for creators of all levels seeking a more focused experience. Portfolio reviews will also make a return, together with a renewed focus on education and empowerment.
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Doujin Market\u2019s 8th iteration takes place on 9-10 May 2020. To ensure creators have more time to prepare for next year\u2019s event, registration will open from 1st June thru 31 December 2019, with special rates and priority booth placements for Super Early Bird applicants.
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Further Information<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n For more information about Doujin Market, please visit http:\/\/www.doujimasg.com<\/strong><\/a> or www.facebook.com\/doujima.sg<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Video Highlights from Doujin Market 2019<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n