Birthday Celebrations 2013 (Bishonens, BL, Yaoi, contests, prizes)

Artwork submission is now closed!

Yep, last time zone of the world at Anchorage/Alaska. Thanks for all your entries! (/^o^)/ I’ll be sorting them through and updating the post soon!

Update 1 July 2013: The contest deadline is extended by popular request! Last day of submission: 14 July 2013, Sunday 2359 hrs last timezone in the world. To be fair to those who submitted before the first deadline, you’ll receive an extra gift if you’re one of the winners :) Take care everyone and good luck!

Last update 27 June 2013: Yep, get a DRAMAtical Murder Aoba strap plus more yummy BL goodies (Some of them are delayed by the manufacturer so I can only receive them early July). Anyway, here’s a quick update and sneak peek of the entries I received so far before I go back and be buried under work orz;; Please keep your entries coming! I may extend the deadline this time cos I’ve only received a handful. I’ll like to get at least the same number of entries in the past to give away more prizes. If not, it’ll most probably be one top prize and one viewer’s choice prize :-\ Is everyone still busy with exams? D:

If you haven’t commented, please indicate your interest in participation and whether you need a deadline extension. so that I know you’re out there. For those who have already submitted, you can send in more entries if you like \(^o^)/ Surprise me!

Last update 3 May 2013: It’s my birthday today! I’ve been so busy that I haven’t found the time to post the contest in April till today… This year I’m going to make a slight change to the requirements :D

Please Draw me MALE DAKIMAKURA Illustrations!

Please take part ok? \(;A;)/

General guidelines:

  1. If you plan to go for more conventional dakimakura poses, it needs to be double-sided, so at least 2 poses.
  2. If you plan to go for unconventional dakimakura designs or poses, please feel free to do so. Chibis are ok too! Be creative! :D
  3. If you’re thinking of drawing pairings or multiple characters, it can be any combination of characters BL or non-BL. Cross-overs are ok too.
  4. All submitted male characters should be characters from any anime, manga, games, drama cd, etc, I’ve written about at my blog.
  5. Coloured entries preferred but B/W ok too
  6. NO 18+ entries again this time round. Maybe next time :P
  7. Multiple entries allowed. But they must be visually different from one another in terms of poses, layout, etc.
  8. I’ll collect all your entries then post them up for voting. Ponytale’s Top 3 picks + Viewer’s Choice Award.
  9. I may add more prizes based on the number of entries I receive :D
  10. Each entry will be credited and linked back to your blog and/or url of your choice.

Where to Submit your art/Technical specs:

  1. Please create your illustration in high quality (300 dpi) height 9449 px by width 2953 px at least.
  2. If you’re drawing on paper, please scan the picture at 300 dpi.
  3. Drawing and/colouring with software like Adobe Photoshop and/or traditional media like pencil/pen are all ok.
  4. Since the file will probably be huge, please send me a smaller scale JPG file in the entry big enough for me to see the details. If you are one of the winners, I’ll ask you to send me the high resolution file in TIF or high res JPG.
  5. Please email your entries as attachment or download link to contest [AT] lalaparadise.com
  6. Indicate: Your name/nickname, Email, Url to link to.
  7. Please also feel free to send me your questions about the contest if you have any.

Last day of submission: 30 June 2013 (I hope the date doesn’t clash with your exams ^^;;)

Prizes include: Plushie, artbook and other BL/Bishie goodies from Nitro+Chiral, Lucky Dog1, Sekai-ichi Hatsukoi, Brave10, Kuroshitsuji, Viewfinder, etc.

I’ll announce the items at a later date cos I pre-ordered spankin’ new BL goodies which aren’t even available yet tee-heehee… Please look forward to it!

Submit your entries today (^-^)/

Viewers choice poll will be open for voting after all entries have been submitted!

To get an idea how it works, take a look at Birthday Celebrations 2012 post.

On a side note, just received birthday message from Spray :D

誕生日おめでとう。
毎年、こうやって誕生日を迎える度に、

去年よりも今のほうが君を好きになっていると実感する。
私にとって君が唯一の半身であるように、君にとっても私が唯一であればいいと願っているが、どうだろうか。
君の正直な気持ちは、今晩、ベッドで聞かせてもらうことにしよう。
ということで、今日の仕事はなるべく早く切り上げるように。
会社を出るときにメールをくれたまえ。では。
*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Takanori Mido
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109 thoughts on “Birthday Celebrations 2013 (Bishonens, BL, Yaoi, contests, prizes)”

  1. Is there a specific time on the 14th that this ends? I’m probably going to be working on it until the last few minutes. >w<;;

  2. Hi, I sent my submission earlier today but I’m kinda unsure whether it’s actually sent or not. Yahoo tends to do that to me a lot, lie and hide my mail. So I’ll send another email out, apologies in advance. Thanks!

  3. Sent in my entry! I had to resend my entry because the colours got screwed up(but it was easy to fix thankfully) I hope that’s okay. Tell me if you need a download link or something!

  4. Thank you so much for extending.
    Expect my submission sometime at the end of the week. It’s my first time joining an art contest but the dakimakura theme is something I can’t possibly pass up.

  5. Thank you for the extension! :D I’m almost finished with my entry, wait for it!
    If you don’t mind I have a little question: does the no 18+ rule apply also to writings? For my dakimakura I had in mind to write some nasty stuff in Japanese, nothing too extreme (but lots of hadaka, onanii and nameru >__>). So, yeah, if your parents understand a bit of Japanese it could be embarrassing. xD

  6. I want to participate but currently busy with my final semester…
    Hopefully I can submit before 14th July. ; – ;
    Thanks again for extending the deadline. <3

  7. OMGOSH!! Is that an Aoba dakimakura I see? (。♥‿♥。) I cant wait to see who win! This is going to be good!

  8. Hi !
    Since saturday I’ve been trying to send my entry, but looks like your mailbox is full (?)
    So I keep having a faillure message and still can’t send my entry ;A;
    Is there another way to send it ?

    Thanks !

    1. @NinaPun: You can try uploading to a file storage site like mediafire.com or sendspace.com then give me the link. I’ll try to clear my mailbox in the meantime D: So sorry about it!

  9. Oh no, I thought I made it by the deadline but i just got the e-mail with the failure to deliver notice. I see I am not the only one. How did those of you who had trouble get your pics in? Does sending them to the Facebook work better? Is it too late now?

    1. It worked for me to send it on facebook but now I have to see if it’s going to be checked and seen. The facebook page seems to have been last updated at the end of 2010 but no e-mail worked for me. And now I don’t know if I should retry a thousand times on e-mail and seem like I’m obsessed and desperate haha. Well, for now I’m waiting for ponytale to read the comments and maybe tell us something…? (and tell me if my message got through haha)

  10. Hey! I’m working on a pillow design right now to enter but I don’t think I’ll be able to finish in time. In my timezone it’s less than two hours before June 30th is over. Dx ahhhh!
    I’m probably saying this too late, but an extension would be greatly appreciated!

  11. I’m afraid I’m not submiting my entry this time >:

    It’s a shame, I almost finished the drawing, but I got my arm imobilized due to a shoulder injury, and the final quality is bad since I did it in a rush (and without moving my shoulder, haver you ever tried to draw like this? XD It’s horrible) I ended up disliking so much the result D: It’s suposed to be, more than a contest entry, a b-day gift, so I’ll not submit something I disliked, it looks so wrong D:

    Sorry ;;

    1. Thank you! It’s better, now I can move my arm pretty well, although it still hurt if I try to lift it so much X3

  12. Hi! I wanted to ask you a big favour, i’d really love to participate with my dakimakura but i’m still working on them because of some issues i had the past days ;_; i need some more time though, may I ask you only a couple of days to finish them? Thank you!

  13. Hello! I tried sending you my entry using both yahoo and hotmail and it didn’t work…How should I send it? Should I use the about/contact page? Or another contact adress…?

    1. I wish I could edit this comment. I wnated to say that I sent my entry through facebook on your Ponytale in LalaParadise (I sent a message). I hope it’s not too much of a bother.

  14. I had planned on submitting something but I saw this too late (yesterday) I tried to work hard towards it anyway haha not to my surprise I didn’t get to far but I suppose it would be bad to ask for an extension this late ~

  15. I send the pictures on your twitter site because somehow it hasn’t worked per Email.
    I hope I haven’t missed the deadline and that it’s okay to send it that way. >.>
    Twitter: @Zidana7

    1. I have the same problem ! I thought the problem was because I used Yahoo, so I switched to gmail, but it doesn’t work either…

  16. yes please I too would love an extension TAT I’d planned on doing 2 but I might only manage 1 now if I pull an all nighter. I’ve been suffering bad health that’s hindered me from finishing an entry on time but I really don’t want to miss out on the chance so an extension would be very much appreciated (and surely you’d love more entries too so it benefits everyone XD)

  17. An extension would be great!
    I’ve already sent my entries, but I want to send more \o/
    I’m finishing one here and I think I’ll draw one more. I’m really exciting lol

  18. Hi there! I’m done with my finals, finished yesterday. Since I’ll be starting now with my submission I don’t think I’ll make it in time for the deadline, even with an all-nighter. An extension would be great! :3

  19. Saw that we should comment if we’re planning to submit, so here I am. I’m still working on mine. XD I’ll be doing all-nighters in hopes to finish in time, but an extension would be cool!

  20. Happy late birthday! I’d like to participate, but I might need a couple of days more in order not to rush it ;_;

  21. Hi! I saw you said we should write if we intend to send our entries, so I’ll write here that I’m very much planning to send something.
    Wow, there are some entries already. I want to see them! I can’t wait!
    I have one question: are all dakimakuras full body? I mean, I dew something but lol, the bodies end at the leg ankles, so I’m wondering if they should be complete after all? Well it was mainly because I struggled to fit the whole character in an A4 page but because I tend to estimate the size badly it ended up not fitting, but then I thought that if the dakimakura had 1.50-60 m then it would make sense not to fit…lol…
    Oh, and I saw something about pairs. A pair can/should be drawn on a single side of the dakimakura?
    Huh, I have to hurry up because I’m not sure about the time zone. Uh, I hope I can make something that’s not too ridiculous looking :P
    I hope I didn’t forget to say anything and I’m not being too annoying :D

  22. Oh my! You accepted mine? That’s unbelievable. Everyone’s art seems to look more professional than mine. If only I was good at coloring! > < Thank you for accepting mine.

    Aoba looks so adorable! Good luck to everyone! I can't wait to see the other art submissions!
    ( ^ v ^ /)

  23. I am hard at work with a painting for the contest but I wouldn’t mind a little bit of an extension. Otherwise it’s an all-nighter, these boys aren’t gonna paint themselves. Hmm paint themselves(filing away idea for design a little too naughty for this contest) :)

  24. uwaah…

    I guess I have to hurry with my submission…the 30rth is near…>_>;
    And the pictures look awesome so far—=)
    Kinda makes me nervous…

  25. Extend deadline please~! I’m not really confident I’ll finish by the date(due to upcoming events I have to attend that might take away most of my available time) I hope you don’t mind

    1. The upcoming events I’m participating are on both sunday and saturday so it clashes with the deadline orz. It’ll last half a day per day(until the night) and I won’t have access to my computer(and it’s risky finishing naughty fanarts in front of people oh god).

  26. Kyaaaa Aoba XDDD I’m currently drawing my dakimakura so I’ll definitely participate! Just want to know, if you extend the deadline, when it will gonna be?

  27. I’m finished with my drawing. Finally! It gave me a huge headache and stressed me out. Anyway, sorry if it’s black and white. I hope you enjoy it! ^ – ^ I can’t wait to see the other art submissions!

  28. thank you for your reply! I already sent it to you, maybe it’s a bit childish though :p hope that it’s suitable with your standard >.< if I need to do another pose then I'm ready to do so, thank you so much! :)

    1. Kyaaa thank you, it’s my first attempt to draw dakimakura and I am really happy to know that you already receive it :D everybody’s drawings are soooo beautiful and great, wish I could draw it like them >///<

  29. Challenge accepted. I’ll make it, Yuto Hatamori’s dakimakura. Hopefully my first attempt at the dakimakura will meet your standards. On another note, are you going to make a dakimakura pillow to sleep with when you find your winner? lol

  30. Ohhhhh this is extremely late but Happy -late- Birthday to you! I hope you had a great day during your birthday~ *huggsss*

    Anyway, wishing all the participants Good luck~! And since this is a dakimakura we are talking about, the poses have to be ‘sexy and nosebleeding’ lol~! Have fun everyone~

  31. I have a few questions that I think r important ‘-‘ I hope you don’t mind?Thanks
    -Can it be original characters?
    -Will we retain the copyright of the drawing/character?
    -Will you use the illustration for other things(ex:resell it or smth lol)
    -Will the winner get everything you mentioned? (or is it randomly divided into 4 prizes)

    1. I think I can help with some of that:

      -” [All] submitted male characters should be characters from any anime, manga, games, drama cd, etc, I’ve written about at my blog.” = implies that no OCs should be included this time

      – And the last times, the prices were divided between multiple winners. I think there were 5 or 6 winners last time, you can look it up in the old entries?

    2. @ue: No worries. They are good questions!
      No OCs this time.
      You retain all rights to your artwork.
      I will not be making money out of them. I’ll only print them for my own use (^///^) ooo~ male dakis on my bed <333
      The prizes vary in value/rarity, so Top Prizes winner will get prizes that have a combined value that is higher than 2nd, 3rd prize winners and so on.

      Hope this helps! :D Looking forward to your entry!

  32. although it’s late, otanjobi omedeto!! wish you all the best XD
    I’m gonna participate too although it’s exam season, wanna relieve my stress (-w-)v
    can I ask you something? If I have chibi pairing for the dakimakura but it still fit in one side, I also need to do another pose? Thanks :)

  33. Happy late birthday! A little late to the party but are bare legs allowed? Say the top half is covered in shirt but the bottom are just bare legs(with maybe shorts or underwear). Is exposed open shirt allowed too?

    And I’m a little confused which is conventional which is unconventional. Care to show some examples maybe?

    Thank you for replying!

    1. @Gradian: No worries! Yep, exposed skin is perfectly fine! Just don’t show those glorious frontal R18 manly bits at the bottom, much as we love them lol. Butt shots are ok. I don’t want to scare my parents with 2D naked men on my bed orz;;

      Dakis that feature 1 guy on each side are considered conventional, so most dakimakura designs you find on my website are probably conventional.

      Unconventional ones would be couples, groups or anything else you can surprise me with lol.

      Hope that helps!

  34. Happy belated birthday! ;v;
    I would really really love to enter this but I’m not sure if my laptop can handle a file that big! Does it have to be that size exactly? (I usually start my art with a 2480×3507 size canvas, and even that is a little taxing for it xD;; )

  35. nnnnggghhh I want to participate SO MUCH, but it will be two drawing contests for the same date and my exams won’t end until the 21th of this month, I don’t know if i’m going to make it in time ( ; A ;) (the other contest is for a new magazine related to Otome Games~)

    I think this is gonna be a very stressfull month… :_D

    btw, Happy Birthday! :D! *gives some cookies & sweets*

    PD: I know this page for ages now but I think I never wrote once until now… I’m sorry, I’m a bad follower asd xD””

    1. @Aozumi: Wow sounds exciting! I hope you win those contests! Good luck! Thanks for being a long-time reader. I hope I have more time to write more posts. So busy nowadays orz;;

      Hope to receive your entry too… and please enjoy the contest and don’t stress out orz;; And thanks for the cookies and sweets XD

  36. Happy belated birthday! I’ve never commented on this site before like 13, but I’ve always found your site to be a joy to read, what with all the bishies and BL stuff lol
    This contest looks awesome btw, I will probably join if I have time. I wish I have time, since I’m carving for some BL goodies right now XD

  37. Happy late birthday, darling! Is it okay if I may take part in this contest?

    Good luck to everyone who is taking part in this contest! I can’t wait to see your art! ^ – ^ /

    1. @King Rein: Thanks sweetie! I’m looking forward to your entry too! I’m encouraged that the contest seems to be getting good responses :D

    2. @ Ponytale

      Thank you, darling!

      I’m very excited to see the other bloggers artwork!

      ^ – ^ /

  38. Happy belated Birthday :D
    Though I’ve never commented I visit this site all the time but I’m always too late for the contest so I really hope to enter this time. Firstly I have some questions
    – does it really have to be that big D:
    – what classifies as unconventional pose
    – Can the 2nd pose just be anything like a different outfit even
    – if its a pairing/group in a conventional pose is it one side or does it still have to be double sided
    – does it have to be full body pose cos some dakimakura seems to be half body
    Sorry if these are stupid questions TAT

    1. @13: Thanks for your wish! XD Glad you asked questions! And they’re good questions!
      1) You can draw and submit a smaller artwork first but if you win, I’ll need you to draw a big one for me, so that I can print it :D
      2) Most conventional dakimakura designs feature the character in awake/sleeping lying down poses with or without clothes lol. Anything other than those poses I guess can be considered unconventional.
      3) Yep, 2nd pose can be different outfit and/or character.
      4) Pairing/group is considered unconventional. If the illustration extends around the dakimakura, you can just draw one.
      5) Hmm, half-body to fill the whole 160 length would be a challenge, wouldn’t it? But I’m ok with it too. :D Surprise me!

  39. Happy Belated Birthday! I think I may have to take a little time away from my book covers and things to join in on this contest. I’m just glad to hear you are well. Also, I got my Aoba this week which I never would have known to pre-order if not for following your blog. So THANK YOU for that. <3

    1. @Nevi Star: thanks for your well wishes! Woo glad you found my posts useful! I am so busy nowadays I can’t find the energy to update much. I’m looking forward to your entries XD

  40. Happy B-Day~! :D
    Wishing you well~

    I think I’ll participate this year, too.
    Never drawed something like this, but it’s a good opportunity to try, ^_^v
    I’m really looking forward to the entries in this years contest~ :D

  41. Happy birthday!!

    I have a question for you /o/ (yeah, I will participate this time)

    I want to know, like, what you will consider R18?
    For example, can I do a character without pants (obviously naked below waist) but covering certain parts ? xD

    Thank you /o/

    (sorry my english, I’m brazilian DX)

    1. @Tsukioka Mokona: Thanks I’m happy! XDD

      Covered nakedness is perfectly fine! Much as I find manly bits hot and smexy *nosebleeds* /o/, if I were to really print them for my dakimakura I think I’ll have serious issues with the folks I’m living with at home orz;; That’s why no full exposure R18 pics XDD

      Hope this answers your queries!

  42. Happy birthday!! I love your blog, it’s so wonderful *o*
    I’d like to know if People from Brazil can participate in the contest?

  43. Aw Happy late birthday!! TT^TT
    I’m sorry i missed it, ive been really busy too that i am offcially dead on the internet.;;
    Just got done with my last final for the semester yesterday. Will be taking express classes in a week for the whole summer. Are you finished with all your classes/graduated?;-;

    I hope your birthday was nice~ OTL (Didn’t want to send it without writing letter/sending some fun things.)

    1. @Dandycorsets: Thanks sweetie! ~chuu Take care and hope you do really well and enjoy all your classes! Work has been challenging but it’ll be ok! Hope to find more time and energy for you guys and the blog :3 I’m still waiting to buy your artbook! <33 *positive stress?* lol.

  44. Happy bday, Pony!! Always wish you all the best! We’ve been missing you, I know you’re busy but we all love your blog, so we want more posts!

    Nice idea of daki! I can’t draw though, so I won’t ever participate =( anyway I love seeing submits and wish good luck to participants!

    1. @planck-chan: Thanks dearie! <3 It's been a challenging few months D: I hope to find more time to post! When is your birthday? :D

    2. Yep, wish your life can be easier, I know when studies or work or even personal issues eat our time and its so tiresome, hope you can be happy even with issues!

      My bday was May 1st. A friend of mine made me a yummy chocolate cake with Takao and Midorima on top of it! <3 You can see my pics here, myfigurecollection.net/profile/planck-chan/pictures/

    3. @plank-chan: happy belated birthday! <33 Glad you had a great time too!

      I have a few short vacations planned and thinking about them makes me feel much better. Although the irony is that every time I would end up getting triple stressed trying to clear work before I go off and then get stressed again after coming back lol.

      The consolation is that I had great fun for a couple of days ^^;; well that said, I generally enjoy my work most of the time so I'm still quite lucky.

  45. Happy Birthday! 8D Gah, such an interesting contest this year, but I don’t think I will make it. I have my finals this year and still got a million things to prepare. What a pity. ç^ç
    But I’m curious about the entries, can’t wait to see them!

    1. @Camicarlot: Thanks sweetie! Good luck for your finals! Hope you do really well! I’m excited about the entries too! Hope to see yours again next year X3

    1. @Sug: Thanks dear! No worries XDD Glad to hear from ya… I’ve been so busy (;_;) Hope you’re having a great time at your work place <3

  46. Happy Birthday my dear!
    Wishing you health, happiness and prosperity, hope you have lots of fun today! \(^o^)/

  47. :3 I think I’m trying again. (the date DOES clash with my finals, but who cares? XD If I dont’find a couple of hours to draw, I’ll turn mad studying!)

    1. A quick question. Dakimakuras usually have 2 diferente imagens, are we supposed to draw both sides?

  48. Oh my goodness! A dakimakura has always been on my drawing bucketlist. I hope I can enter, just for the motivation to actually do one ^^

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