My Favorite Game Character! DrawMarket's 2nd Art Contest Is Now Open

Who is your favorite game character? The 2nd Art Contest is now officially open, with a prize pool of up to US$1,250. Whether or not you are a DrawMarket Verified Artist, you are welcome to join and create freely! Please read the full contest rules and entry details below.

1. Theme: My Favorite Game Character

Draw the game character that means the most to you, any game, any platform, any era.

It can be a hero you've mained for years, a villain you can't forget, or an NPC who deserved more screen time.

You're free to recreate their most iconic moment, redesign their look, or place them in a completely new scenario.

Any art style welcome, semi-realistic, anime, painterly, pixel, stylized, you name it.

Note: Must be original artwork; fan art of existing characters is allowed, AI-generated content is not

Show us the character that lives in your head rent-free, in a way only you can draw them

2. Schedule

• Submission & Voting: Sep 1, 15:00 - Sep 30, 14:59 (UTC+8)
• Review: October 1st, 15:00 – October 5th, 14:59 (UTC+8)
• Results: October 5th, 15:00 (UTC+8)

All times are Beijing Time (UTC+8).

3. Prizes

Participants ranking in the top 10% overall will earn Draw Market Verified Artist status

4. How to Enter

This event is free to enter. No purchase or payment is required to participate or win.

Submissions will be considered valid if they meet the following two conditions:

• Upload your mascot-redesign work on the Event page on DrawMarket;
• Share it on X, Instagram, or other social platforms with: #Drawmarket  #DrawMarketContest.

Both steps are required for a valid entry.

5. Judging Method and Criteria

Judging Method

Gold & Silver: Determined by the Organizer (together with the judging panel), based on:

1. Originality and creativity of the design;
2. Drawing technique and completion;
3. Relevance to the theme;
4. Overall visual impact;
5. Engagement on the contest page and social media.

Judges' Special Award: Selected independently by invited judges, rewarding a unique perspective or standout potential.

The Organizer's decisions are final.

6. Contest Rules and Terms

The following are the detailed rules and terms of entry. By entering, you agree to these rules and to the DrawMarket User Agreement and Privacy Policy.

• Entries must be the entrant's own original work, created specifically for this contest, and not previously published or entered in any other contest (except cross-posting for entry purposes). Plagiarism or use of others' artwork is prohibited.
• AI: Entrants must not use AI tools for any purpose, including concept exploration, tracing, misappropriating others' artwork, or reference. The final submitted artwork must be 100% hand-drawn by the entrant, no AI-generated or AI-produced image, or any part of an image, may be submitted.
• Standard digital art software (e.g. Photoshop, Procreate, Clip Studio Paint) is permitted. Please keep your working files (layered PSD/CSP/Procreate files, and screen recordings if any) for originality verification. The Organizer may request these files and disqualify any entry reasonably found to violate this rule.
• Each work may win only one prize; each entrant may receive only one cash prize.
• Employees of the Organizer and its affiliates, contest judges, and their immediate family are not eligible.
• Minors must obtain verifiable guardian consent to enter; prize money is paid to the guardian, and minors' personal data is handled per the DrawMarket Privacy Policy.
• Use of bots, crawlers, vote-manipulation tools, or paid vote solicitation to compromise fairness is prohibited; violators will be disqualified.

Content Standards

• Entries must not contain: content violating laws or endangering national security, unity, or social stability; politically sensitive, inflammatory, or offensive content; insulting, defamatory, obscene, sexually suggestive, violent, or graphic content; hateful or discriminatory content based on race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability, etc.; content infringing others' reputation, likeness, IP, or trade secrets; content involving others' privacy; harassment, ads, or spam; misleading or deceptive content; or any other content violating law, policy, public order, or others' lawful rights.
• The Organizer may remove violating entries at any time without notice. Entrants are solely liable for any regulatory action or third-party loss caused by a violation, and shall indemnify the Organizer and any affected third party.

Publishing Platform Rules

• Entrants must comply with the rules of any platform where they publish their work (e.g. X Twitter / Instagram). This contest has no sponsorship, endorsement, or affiliation with such platforms; entrants waive any claim against them regarding this contest. Entrants provide information to the Organizer, not to third-party platforms.

Intellectual Property

Ownership: Entrants retain ownership and copyright in the portions they independently created; IP in underlying material (e.g. game characters) remains with its respective rights holders.

Fan Art Restrictions: Entries are fan works based on third-party game characters. Entrants agree that: entries may be used only for personal, non-commercial display and sharing; entries (winning or not) may never be used for commercial sale, print sales, merchandising, or any for-profit purpose by the entrant or any licensee; entrants must respect the relevant rights holders' IP and fan-work guidelines; any dispute arising from use of third-party characters is the entrant's sole responsibility; the Organizer's use of entries is limited to non-commercial promotion of this contest, and the Organizer asserts no rights over the characters involved.

Entrant's Warranties: The entrant warrants that: the artwork was independently created by the entrant and is not AI-generated; the entrant owns/controls all rights in the independently created portions and may grant the licenses herein; the entry is non-commercial fan art and, apart from the characters themselves, does not infringe any third party or violate any law; no third party (including agencies, employers, or copyright collecting societies) holds conflicting rights. The entrant shall indemnify the Organizer for any loss caused by a breach of these warranties.

Winning Entries: By entering, if the work wins, the entrant grants the Organizer and its affiliates a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, fully paid-up, perpetual, irrevocable, sublicensable, transferable license to use, host, reproduce, publish, display, translate, and distribute the entry (in whole or part), via any medium, solely for non-commercial promotion of this contest and DrawMarket. The Organizer will credit winners where practicable. To the extent permitted by law, the entrant waives (or agrees not to assert) moral rights that would impede such use.

Non-Winning Entries: Entrants grant the Organizer a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license, used solely to promote this contest and DrawMarket (e.g. portfolios, recaps, promotional materials), for no other commercial purpose.

Third-Party Claims and Takedown: The Organizer may, at its sole discretion and without notice or liability, take down any entry and revoke entry/award eligibility if:

1. The relevant character's rights holder objects to fan works of that character or to this contest, or requests removal of related entries;
2. The Organizer receives a third-party infringement notice or claim regarding an entry;
3. The Organizer reasonably believes an entry poses infringement risk or violates law or platform rules.

Enforcement: Entrants may authorize the Organizer to take enforcement action, in the Organizer's own name, against third-party infringement of the entrant's independently created work.

Use of Brand Marks: The Organizer grants entrants a limited, personal, non-commercial, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to use the "画加/DrawMarket" name and marks solely to create, submit, and publish entries, per the Organizer's brand guidelines. Resulting goodwill belongs to the Organizer. This license ends at contest close or upon the Organizer's request. No other use is permitted without the Organizer's prior written consent.

Taxes and Prize Payment

• All prizes are pre-tax amounts. The Organizer will withhold taxes as legally required; winners receive the net amount. Winners must declare and pay applicable taxes under their local law, and provide required identity/payment information.
• Prizes are paid via a licensed third-party payment provider (channel and currency per Organizer notice). Entrants must hold an account with, and complete KYC verification through, that provider. Bank/payment details are collected directly by the provider, not the Organizer. Provider fees and withheld taxes may reduce the amount received. The Organizer is not liable for delay or non-payment caused by an entrant's failure to register or pass verification.
• Payments are subject to compliance and sanctions screening; the Organizer may suspend or cancel payment where prohibited by law or sanctions.

Privacy

• All entrants (including non-winners): The Organizer collects only email, social media account, submitted work, and other information necessary to run, judge, and announce the contest.
• Winners and finalists: The Organizer collects only what's necessary for eligibility verification, sanctions screening, and reward arrangement — name, age, country/region, and contact details (email; mailing address only if receiving physical merchandise); age or guardian consent proof only for minors. Name and country/region may be shared with the payment provider and sanctions-screening tools. The Organizer does not collect bank/financial/KYC data — that is collected directly by the licensed payment provider.
• Information is processed per the DrawMarket Privacy Policy and retained only as long as needed for this contest and for legal, tax, or audit purposes. See the DrawMarket Privacy Policy for details, including any data transfers and safeguards. Minors' data is handled per the same policy's special provisions.

Organizer's Rights

• The Organizer may, within reason, modify, suspend, cancel, or postpone this contest, correct errors, and revoke eligibility; material changes will be announced via the contest page or official channels.
• By entering, you agree the Organizer may use your name/account/work/likeness to announce results and promote this contest/DrawMarket (entry constitutes explicit consent where required by applicable market rules).

General Terms

• Scope: This contest is void where prohibited by law. The Organizer may exclude entrants from, or not hold this contest in, regions where it would be illegal, require licensing/registration/deposits, or impose undue burden, or where sanctions/law prohibit prize payment.
• Verification: The Organizer may verify identity, age, and eligibility, and require winners to sign a brief eligibility/originality declaration, confirm IP licenses, and complete tax forms before payment.
• Prizes: If insufficient qualified entries exist, the Organizer may withhold or reduce prizes, or substitute a prize of equal or greater value. Prizes are non-transferable and not redeemable for cash beyond the stated amount.
• Disqualification and Clawback: The Organizer may disqualify any entry or entrant violating these rules, and reclaim awards if a violation or ineligibility is later discovered. All Organizer decisions on eligibility, originality, AI use, and winner selection are final.
• Limitation of Liability: To the extent permitted by law, the Organizer is not liable for indirect or unforeseeable losses; total liability to any entrant is limited to the value of the prize they were eligible for. This does not exclude liability that cannot be excluded by law.
• Other: These rules create no partnership, agency, or employment relationship. If any part is unenforceable, the rest remains valid; failure to enforce any provision is not a waiver. The Organizer may assign these rules within its corporate group.

Claiming Prizes and Disputes

• After an entry is published, objections regarding eligibility or originality must be raised before the winners list is announced, via DrawMarket customer service, the Organizer's official email, or its official Xiaohongshu/Weibo accounts.
• After winners are announced, the Organizer will process identity/payment information and arrange payment within 30 business days; physical merchandise will ship, or redemption codes be issued, within 30 business days.
• Winners must provide claim information within 14 business days of notice; failure to respond after reasonable reminders is deemed a waiver of the prize.

Organizer and Governing Terms

• This contest is held by DrawMarket, operated by Hong Kong Netease Interactive Entertainment Limited (the "Organizer").
• By participating, you acknowledge you have read and agree to these rules, the DrawMarket User Agreement, and the DrawMarket Privacy Policy, which form part of and apply alongside these rules. Governing law, dispute resolution, minors' participation, and account/platform conduct are governed by the DrawMarket User Agreement.
• These rules are published in Chinese and English, and may be localized into other languages. In case of inconsistency, the English version prevails; other translations are for reference only.