[Photo Report] LINE Creators Festa 2016 -Festival of LINE stickers-

LINE held big event about LINE stickers "LINE Creators Festa 2016" in art facilities 3331 Arts Chiyoda of Akihabara on July 9 - 10. This is the fan event that artists drawing LINE stickers and LINE users can interchange. LINE began stickers platform "LINE Creators Market" which independent artists could sell own illustrations as LINE stickers on  May, 2014, and it became popular immediately in Japan. Now, various popular characters and star artists are born from this platform.

By the way, 3331 Arts Chiyoda is the facilities which reused a junior high school closed down(Well, children decrease rapidly in Japan, and schools are closed in sequence now. As for it, Tokyo is no exception). Therefore this event was an atmosphere such as the school festivals rather than a company event.

The cute photobooths which put stickers together.

Because Tokyo was already a hot weather at the same level as midsummer, free waters were distributed.

Chronological table of LINE Creators Market. They started from 391 kinds of stickers at first. However, this movement spreads through East Asia and Southeast Asia now.

The area that can experience the feeling of the illustrators of LINE stickers. When visitors draw illustrations on the tablet, they are displayed like LINE stickers on huge liquid crystal displays.

Furthermore, LINE staff examined the illustrations of visitors on the spot. The LINE stickers have strict standards. For example, violence, eroticism, gore are absolutely NG. LINE staff checked whether illustrations of visitors were appropriate and displayed cool works.

Various booths of LINE sticker artists were installed in the gymnasium area. The scene was right Art Festa. LINE Creators Market is already becoming the platform of the character business. The LINE stickers which got popularity are commercialized and are developed the transmedia storytelling.

For example, this "Mentori" becomes the prize in game arcades, mobile games, and various goods.

He is "Yaruki Nashio"(Dull man). He also releases various mobile application and gets the popularity as a character.

Seiji Tazawa is one of the most successful LINE sticker artists. Surprisingly, he is a 72 year-old grandfather and uses Excel to draw stickers. Originally he was an engineer of the electric construction, and learned how to use PC and Excel by self-education at the age of 52 year-old. On this occasion, he knew that he could draw illustrations by Excel, and after that he made it his hobby. He began to use a smartphone after a retirement age and enjoy messaging with his grandchild on LINE. And his talent blew up when LINE Creators Market started in May, 2014. He drew individual LINE stickers of 30 kinds by Excel, and they became the topic in social media in an instant. Now, he gets an income 5 times as large as active engineer days by LINE stickers.

Such words were advocated in his booth. "I am LINE sticker artist until I die".

Probably the LINE Creators Market's greatest success story is "Usamaru". He becomes the goods, picture book, cafes, and anime in this summer.


LINE made new business model by LINE Creators Market. It finds superior artists and changes the virtual goods to the real goods.

[Photo Report] Japanese mobile game character Nameko's 5th anniversary event "Nameko Paradise"

Japanese popular mobile game series "Nameko Saibai Kit" reached the fifth anniversary last month, and its developer BeeWorks Games holds the fifth anniversary event "Nameko Paradise" in a basement shopping mall of Tokyo Station. It was really cool and cute!

Now, Nameko is known as a popular mobile game character, but originally, according to the chronological table which they showed in this event, he(or she) was designed as one of the monsters of the online game. This online game was not released, but Nameko remained in the memory of staff as an impressive character, and he(or she) appeared as a character of the inference game for Nintendo DS several years later. Furthermore, several years later, he(or she) became a popular mobile game character.

Messages for Nameko by fans.

New Namekos which were designed by fans.

A lot of limited goods of 5th anniversary designe.

In addition, they cooperate with other shops of the shopping mall. This is mushroom & vegetables ramen of the ramen restaurant "Soranoiro Nippon".

They aim at make Nameko a universal popular character not a transient boom. So to speak, Nameko is Japanese Angry Birds. Nameko made what Angry Birds should make in Japan.

By the way, they release the latest game apps of the Nameko series "Nameko No Su(なめこの巣: Nameko's Nest)" in this autumn.

Making of "5th anniversary figure of Nameko"

Japanese mobile game superstar Nameko reached the fifth anniversary on last month and They hold a commemorative event "Nameko Paradise" to celebrate it in a basement shopping mall of Tokyo Station now. Therefore I made figure in commemoration of the fifth anniversary of Nameko and I went to this event with it.

This is the "making" photos.

The motif of the figure is one of the LINE stickers celebrating the fifth anniversary of Nameko. The downloading is here.

The base of the body is made of resin.

I made Kanji "祝"(means "celebration" in Japanese) and the silk hat with a plastic board.

Hands and feet are wires of the aluminum.

I painted these with lacquer spray.

I made the base of the figure with a plastic board, too.

I used an compressor, airbrush and the lacquer paint for the painting of Nameko.

The ribbon are made of plastic paper.

Completion! The production period was one week.

I presented this to Cardboard Nameko. He is the staff(Account Director)  of Beeworks Games, the developer of Nameko series.

Of course I reported this event and will show the report article of this later. Please wait a little.