PR: COMiIDOL WINNERS ANNOUNCED
Reported by Michael Aronson 05-08-2007
“ComiIdol Singapore 2007” reached its climax on Sunday 29th April – launched 3 months ago, with 300 entries submitted by independent artists and students of 37 schools and universities, 33,000 votes cast by the general public – the hall in the Singapore National Library headquarters was packed full-house for the final Award Ceremony. Over 150 people, including ComiIdol participating artists, digital art and comics fans, turned up to see the ComiIdol Singapore finale event.
Prizes were presented to the “ComiIdol” winners in three categories:
- The “ComiIdol” Judges’ Special Commendation Awards were presented by Mr Wee Tian Beng, CEO of TCZ Studios and Chairman of Comics Society (Singapore). They were specially selected by the ComiAsia team after much deliberation, based on the entry’s artistic and story-telling capability. The winner of the “wallpaper” category was Jessica Chung Yayi, a student at ITE College Central (MacPherson) for her “Sweet Candy Girl” entry. The winner of the “comics” category went to Andy Litansen, a student at LASALLE SIA College of the Arts and Mr. Endro Yuono for their “Erica” comic strip. Winners received an engraved plaque, certificate and TCZ comic books signed by Mr Wee.
- The “ComiIdol” Wallpaper Category was presented by Ms. Pam Hu, Director Community and International Relations, Media Development Authority (MDA) of Singapore, representing one of ComiAsia and ComiIdol’s key partners and supporters. The ComiIdol Wallpaper Category winner was Mr Li Yue Ya who received 2,332 votes by the general public for his “Bear Love” artwork. Mr Li received an engraved “ComiIdol” plaque, certificate, a brand new HP Pavilion entertainment tx1005AU notepad and a professional digital drawing tablet. In addition, he will receive mentoring by professional comic artists and support from ComiAsia to produce, publish and sell professional “wallpapers”.
- The “ComiIdol” comics category was presented by Mr David Tan, Business Director for HP Singapore Personal Systems Group, ComiIdol’s prime sponsors. The ComiIdol comic category winner was Na Kok Wah with 6,322 votes by the general public for his “The Ultimate” comic. Mr Na received an engraved “ComiIdol” plaque, certificate, a brand new HP Pavilion entertainment tx1005AU notepad and a professional digital drawing tablet. In addition, he will receive mentoring by professional comic artists and support from ComiAsia to produce, publish and sell a full professional comic series. HP Singapore will also create a new “skin” for one of their laptop ranges based on the new content created by Mr Na.
Pam Hu, Director, Community and International Relations, Media Development Authority (MDA) said, “MDA congratulates all the winners for ComiIdol Singapore 2007. We are proud to support this competition as it demonstrated the creativity and high quality of Singapore’s contestants in the area of mobile comic creation. This resonates with our MediAction! public education objective of promoting media for work, learning or play. We hope that these awards will further spur our youths to consider comic creation as a possible career choice.
David Tan, Business Director, HP Singapore Personal Systems Group, said, "HP shares the same vision as ComiAsia to empower youths with the adequate tools, knowledge and computing devices to pursue their personal interests in different avenues such as digital art. And we are glad to have the opportunity to support ComiIdol, which is a meaningful avenue for youths to express their creativity."
Steve Melhuish, CEO ComiAsia, presented plans for ComiAsia to be the “MySpace for Comics” by bringing together independent artists and comic fans, providing tools and platforms such as ComiIdol and enabling content to be accessed via mobile phones, online and TV. He announced the rebranding of ComiAsia to ComiWorld, launch of a new social-network website (www.comiworld.com), and the ongoing subsidized Mobile Comics creation training programme for students at schools. Mr Melhuish also commented, “ComiIdol exceeded our wildest expectations. The quantity and quality of artwork demonstrates an impressive creative talent that exists within Singapore. In addition, the 33,000 votes by the general public and the great prize ceremony attendance highlight the enthusiasm for mobile comics and new user-generated content.”
Mr Wee, CEO of TCZ Studios, and Karen New, Head of Sales & Marketing for ComiAsia, presented the “Future of Mobile Comics”. This included a demonstration of a pioneering new mobile content concept developed by TCZ Studios and ComiAsia - “Interactive Mobile Comics” enables the comic readers to immerse themselves into the comic story further through mini-games and quizzes related to the story, embedded within the mobile comic. Users are therefore able to take part in the comic story itself. Having ComiAsia as a technology in bring my comics into the next stage with interactive on mobile phones is really exciting. Mr Wee added “With China's forecasted $500 million mobile comics market, Singapore artists should act now to take full advantage of this exciting opportunity and publish their comics and artwork on mobile phones. Follow your heart and draw with passion!”
A brand new Sony PlayStation 3 was presented to Muhammad Izzat Bin Ramli - the lucky ComiAsia member selected at random, to recognize his support for ComiAsia as one of its registered members.
All “ComiIdol” participants’ artwork can be viewed, and/or downloaded to mobile phones, from www.comiworld.com/Contest. |
