Central Coast Comicon is the annual fundraising event for Regional Youth Support Services (RYSS), supporting local young people through creative and community-driven initiatives. As part of our event, we celebrate the incredible talents of artists, illustrators, and creatives—and we want to inspire young artists to showcase their skills!

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We’re excited to host the Design an OC (Original Character) Competition for 2025! This is the perfect opportunity for young artists who love drawing manga, fantasy, or original character designs to get involved. The competition is open to all creative mediums, so let your imagination run wild!

 

Age Categories

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The competition is open to young artists aged 8 – 25, with entries judged across three age groups:

🖌 8 – 12 years
🖌 13 – 16 years
🖌 17 – 25 years

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All submissions will be exhibited at Central Coast Comicon on Saturday, 17th May, at The Entertainment Grounds, Gosford.

 

Prizes

🎨 Creative Prize Packs
🎟 FREE entry passes to Central Coast Comicon
🎬 Hoyts Movie Tickets

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A First Place and Highly Commended will be awarded in each age category.

Winners will be celebrated and receive their Creative Prize Packs on stage at the event.

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First Place Prize -

Family Entry to Central Coast Comicon

Creative Prize Pack

Hoyts Movie Tickets

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High Commended - 

Single Entry to Central Coast Comicon 

Creative Prize Pack

Hoyts Movie Tickets

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Entry Guidelines & Terms

✔ Your OC must be an original design that you have illustrated yourself – don’t forget to sign your artwork!
✔ Your artwork can be in the style of manga, fantasy, or original character designs.

✔ It can be created using traditional mediums or digitally.
✔ Your illustration must be on a white background in vertical/portrait format.
✔ Upload a hi-res photo or scanned copy of your artwork to the submission form.
✔ One entry per participant.
✔ A copy of all entries will be displayed at Central Coast Comicon.
✔ We will verify the originality of all submitted artworks.

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Judging and Key Dates

📅 Entries close: Friday, 2nd May, 11:59 PM
📅 Judging takes place: Monday, 5th May
📅 Winners announced: Friday, 9th May

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Social Media & Artwork Sharing

We would love to showcase some of the entries on Central Coast Comicon’s social media! However, we respect your privacy:

• We will only share artwork if you have provided consent on the application form.

• Young artists will not be tagged in posts.

• The artist’s first name/creative name and age will be included in social media posts and the exhibition.

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How to Enter

Submit your artwork via our official application form.​​