This year we’re letting our minds wander! Our 2026 competition has a radiant motto:

“Summer, sun, beach” joie de vivre, vacation feeling and pure relaxation.

Summer is the time of freedom, bright colors and carefree moments. We look for images that capture the feeling of warm sand underfoot (or paws/hooves!), the sparkle of the waves and the endless blue of the sky. It’s about capturing that perfect moment when the world stands still for a moment and only enjoyment counts.

Your mission: vacation flair in miniature format

We are looking for creative representations of this sunny theme for our competition:

• Put your characters in the limelight: whether surfing, relaxing in a deckchair or building the biggest sandcastle of the year.
• Creativity without limits: Let your imagination run wild! Use real natural materials, summery props or build your very own beach bar.
• From adventure to tranquillity: shows us both the action of beach volleyball and the small, quiet moments with an ice cream in hand.

Whether it’s a big vacation adventure or a little refreshment in between – we look forward to your unique submissions that will catapult us straight into our next vacation.

Registration

Conditions of participation

• If you cannot be present at the award ceremony, you must report this at the information desk and provide contact details. You can also provide the contact details of a substitute (full name of the person; the person must be able to identify themself)!
• Prices will NEVER be forwarded abroad!
• By submitting your picture, you agree that it may be displayed on the Gallery Wall at the venue during AniNite and uploaded to the AniNite social media channels and website. You retain all rights to your work.
• Your photo must remain unpublished until the winners are announced. After that you are welcome to share it on various platforms.

Rules

• Closing date: 12.7.2026, 11:59 pm
• Your picture needs a picture title of maximum 10 words
• AI-generated works are excluded.
• Only one picture may be entered per participant.
• The image must feature at least 1 character from an anime/manga/game/comic. Different genres are allowed.
• Your image must have at least 1024 x 2048 pixels and be submitted as a JPG.
• Your image must not contain a logo/watermark and you must have all rights to it.
• The image must have been created by yourself and explicitly for this competition.
• In addition to the image submitted to the competition, the unprocessed original (as saved by the camera) must also be sent.
• Pay attention to the protection of minors: Pictures that obviously contain pornographic, violent, similar or criminally relevant topics will be disqualified. Please remember that minors also visit AniNite.

Competition and application process

• After the closing date, your picture will be judged by a jury.
• The evaluation is based on a points system in which the following evaluation points are assessed by the jury: Overall impression, adherence to the theme, staging of the characters, idea/creativity, image processing (“analog/digital”, “before/after”)
• You receive extra points for self-built figures (kitbashing)

Contact

Do you have any questions?
Then don’t hesitate to write to us using the contact form with the subject “Figure photo”. We will be happy to help you!