Wacom and pixiv present Drawfest – An online, interactive drawing festival for the global art community

Wacom and pixiv are pleased to announce Drawfest, a hands-on, live event streamed on YouTube, May 21 to 23, that consists of eight livestream programs, each one to four hours long. In addition to online workshops and lectures held by an assortment of internationally recognized illustrators, animators and comic artists, there will also be programs for the audience to draw together. Everyone who draws is welcome. The event will offer simultaneous interpretation in both Japanese and English so that people from numerous regions will be able to participate in the festival.

Register now for Drawfest!

“Anime, the hand-drawn and computer animation style originating in Japan, has seen its popularity grow and practitioners and fans can now be found in virtually every country around the globe,” says Nobutaka Ide, CEO of Wacom Company Ltd. “By teaming with pixiv on Drawfest, we are creating a cross-boundary and cross-language platform for artists and designers to share their passion for drawing and learning from others.”

Art is universal and has a special way of helping break down regional and language barriers. Drawfest was born from the idea of providing an online event to give creators the chance to get together with other like-minded artists from all over the world so that everyone could interact and draw together.

“The pixiv online community is for all who share a love for art and fan art, and we are dedicated to increasing the value and networking opportunities of game, anime, manga and other illustrators all over,” says Shingo Kunieda, CEO of pixiv, Inc. “By collaborating with Wacom on Drawfest, we hope to revitalize artists, bring a smile to their faces and support them with an opportunity that is truly international in scope.”

Additional sponsorships from Adobe, hololive English, NetEase, Netflix, and WIT STUDIO, are helping provide sessions on specific anime themes, such as hololive English, Identity V, and GREAT PRETENDER.

To learn more about Drawfest and how to participate, please click here.

Event Information

Event Date: May 21 – 23, 2021 [PDT] 17:00 – 23:00 in each day

Language: English/Japanese live interpretation

Programs: 8 programs

Event Platform: YouTube Live (Private Livestream)

Price to View: Free to view (Pre-registration required)

Event website

*The pre-registration for the event may be closed early once it reaches the maximum number of registrations.

Day 1

Day 1, 17:00 – 18:00 PDT

[Lecture + Drawing All Together] How to draw realistic lighting

Speaker: Modare

Day 1, 19:00 – 21:00 PDT

[Drawing All Together] Let’s draw “Identity V” using Adobe Fresco, a free drawing tool!

Speakers: Melo Kyuba & Takashi Iwamoto

Sponsors: Adobe & NetEase

Day 1, 22:00 – 23:00 PDT

[Lecture + Drawing All Together] Let’s paint a magical moment together!

Speaker: Heikala

Day 2

Day 2, 17:00 – 21:00 PDT

[Lecture + Drawing All Together] Let’s learn the easiest way to create manga through yonkoma

Speaker: Toshiya Wakabayashi

Day 2, 21:30 – 23:30 PDT

[Drawing All Together] Happy Birthday, Ina! Let’s draw “Ninomae Ina’nis”!

Speaker: Ninomae Ina’nis

Sponsor: hololive English

Day 3

Day 3, 17:00 – 18:00 PDT

[Lecture + Drawing All Together] How to design a character with a strong thematic and iconic elements

Speaker: Zeronis

Day 3, 19:00 – 21:00 PDT

[Lecture + Drawing All Together] WIT Animator Academy Online! How to draw characters presented by a chief animation supervisor

Speaker: Hirotaka Kato

Sponsors: WIT Studio & Netflix

Day 3, 22:00 – 23:00 PDT

[Lecture + Drawing All Together] Going from sketch to color quickly and efficiently

Speaker: Loish

Artwork by: Felicia Chen