Celsys's 'CLIP STUDIO PAINT' Sponsors the '2nd New Picture Book Award Chosen with Readers', Supporting the Participatory Digital Picture Book Contest and Providing the App for Production
Celsys will sponsor the digital picture book contest co-hosted by Kodansha and Ehon Navi, providing its 'CLIP STUDIO PAINT' app to 300 early applicants to support creators.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: April 15, 2026 at 01:00
- 🔍 Collected: April 14, 2026 at 16:31
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 19, 2026 at 14:59 (118h 28m after Collected)
Celsys's illustration, manga, Webtoon, and animation production app 'CLIP STUDIO PAINT' will sponsor the digital picture book contest '2nd New Picture Book Award Chosen with Readers', co-hosted by Kodansha Ltd.'s Children's Division and Ehon Navi Corporation.
This contest is a new type of participatory picture book contest where anyone can easily join from a smartphone, tablet, or PC, and the winning works are decided through reader voting. The 1st contest ended with a massive response: 1,076 works submitted and 12,374 reader votes. For the 2nd contest, applications open on Tuesday, April 14, 2026, and winners will be decided after online reader voting and judging.
Through this contest, Celsys supports the creation of an environment where more people can easily try their hand at creating. In addition to providing 'CLIP STUDIO PAINT' as a production app to the first 300 applicants (*1) who request it, they provide total support for participants' challenges by supporting creative activities through product presentations to winners and providing opportunities to showcase works through the newly established 'CLIP STUDIO PAINT Award'.
'New Picture Book Award Chosen with Readers'
https://www.ehonnavi.net/pb-innovation-award/
■ Overview of 'New Picture Book Award Chosen with Readers'
● Application Period
Tuesday, April 14, 2026, 14:00 - Tuesday, June 30, 23:59
● Application Categories
[Picture Book Category]
The content is 'free' as long as it's a picture book that makes people think 'I want to read it' or 'I want to read it to someone'.
- Simple picture books for babies
- Picture books that solve parenting worries like 'won't eat' or 'won't sleep'
- Picture books adding new art to universally known masterpieces like Grimm, Andersen, or folktales
- Rhythmically paneled picture books
- Picture books featuring original characters created by you
Such works are welcome in the 'New Picture Book Award'. Of course, expressions of picture books you are familiar with are also welcome. We are looking forward to it.
[Video Category]
'No time', 'Can't read well'... 'Videos' solve these worries about reading picture books aloud.
Now that children have more opportunities to enjoy videos. Moving picture books, digital Kamishibai (storytelling with pictures), mini-animations... Please express your unique 'picture book' through video.
[Illustration Category]
The winning work from the 1st text category appears as the theme for the 2nd illustration category!
Would you like to marry your talent for drawing with a talent for creating stories?
Please add illustrations to the 1st Text Category winning work 'Renketsu Renketsu!' (Text: Yuki Inaba) to make it a picture book. Also, please design the characters appearing in 'Renketsu Renketsu!'.
From 'Renketsu Renketsu!' author: Yuki Inaba
Thank you sincerely for choosing my text as the assignment. I wrote this story imagining the fun of the reader acting as a locomotive, voicing it out, and running through the picture book. I hope the illustrators will explode their free imagination beyond the boundaries of the text. I believe that the excitement you draw with will surely take the readers deeper into the story. I am looking forward to many wonderful submissions!
[Hand-Play Song Category]
Please send your original hand-play songs using hands, fingers, and the body.
For example:
- Hand play that makes babies giggle unintentionally
- Hand play that makes daily routines like 'changing clothes' or 'taking a bath' fun
- Hand play where parents and children can snuggle tightly together
- Dynamic play songs using the whole body broadly
We are looking forward to your unique ideas that will become children's new favorites.
● Prizes and Benefits
- Grand Prize (1 person): One work will be selected from all categories
- Published by Kodansha in print and electronic book formats
- Prize money of 500,000 yen (included in first edition royalties)
- CLIP STUDIO PAINT EX 2-device 3-year version
- Work introduction article on Ehon Navi Cocreco
- Category Awards (1 person per category)
- Detailed by category...
This contest is a new type of participatory picture book contest where anyone can easily join from a smartphone, tablet, or PC, and the winning works are decided through reader voting. The 1st contest ended with a massive response: 1,076 works submitted and 12,374 reader votes. For the 2nd contest, applications open on Tuesday, April 14, 2026, and winners will be decided after online reader voting and judging.
Through this contest, Celsys supports the creation of an environment where more people can easily try their hand at creating. In addition to providing 'CLIP STUDIO PAINT' as a production app to the first 300 applicants (*1) who request it, they provide total support for participants' challenges by supporting creative activities through product presentations to winners and providing opportunities to showcase works through the newly established 'CLIP STUDIO PAINT Award'.
'New Picture Book Award Chosen with Readers'
https://www.ehonnavi.net/pb-innovation-award/
■ Overview of 'New Picture Book Award Chosen with Readers'
● Application Period
Tuesday, April 14, 2026, 14:00 - Tuesday, June 30, 23:59
● Application Categories
[Picture Book Category]
The content is 'free' as long as it's a picture book that makes people think 'I want to read it' or 'I want to read it to someone'.
- Simple picture books for babies
- Picture books that solve parenting worries like 'won't eat' or 'won't sleep'
- Picture books adding new art to universally known masterpieces like Grimm, Andersen, or folktales
- Rhythmically paneled picture books
- Picture books featuring original characters created by you
Such works are welcome in the 'New Picture Book Award'. Of course, expressions of picture books you are familiar with are also welcome. We are looking forward to it.
[Video Category]
'No time', 'Can't read well'... 'Videos' solve these worries about reading picture books aloud.
Now that children have more opportunities to enjoy videos. Moving picture books, digital Kamishibai (storytelling with pictures), mini-animations... Please express your unique 'picture book' through video.
[Illustration Category]
The winning work from the 1st text category appears as the theme for the 2nd illustration category!
Would you like to marry your talent for drawing with a talent for creating stories?
Please add illustrations to the 1st Text Category winning work 'Renketsu Renketsu!' (Text: Yuki Inaba) to make it a picture book. Also, please design the characters appearing in 'Renketsu Renketsu!'.
From 'Renketsu Renketsu!' author: Yuki Inaba
Thank you sincerely for choosing my text as the assignment. I wrote this story imagining the fun of the reader acting as a locomotive, voicing it out, and running through the picture book. I hope the illustrators will explode their free imagination beyond the boundaries of the text. I believe that the excitement you draw with will surely take the readers deeper into the story. I am looking forward to many wonderful submissions!
[Hand-Play Song Category]
Please send your original hand-play songs using hands, fingers, and the body.
For example:
- Hand play that makes babies giggle unintentionally
- Hand play that makes daily routines like 'changing clothes' or 'taking a bath' fun
- Hand play where parents and children can snuggle tightly together
- Dynamic play songs using the whole body broadly
We are looking forward to your unique ideas that will become children's new favorites.
● Prizes and Benefits
- Grand Prize (1 person): One work will be selected from all categories
- Published by Kodansha in print and electronic book formats
- Prize money of 500,000 yen (included in first edition royalties)
- CLIP STUDIO PAINT EX 2-device 3-year version
- Work introduction article on Ehon Navi Cocreco
- Category Awards (1 person per category)
- Detailed by category...