[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.