Competitions aren't about superiority. It's about compatibility!

When you work as an illustrator, you often encounter competitions. The process usually involves a client or advertising agency reaching out to several illustrators,
and then

hiring the person whose samples or rough sketches they like best. Samples are judged based on existing work, but sometimes they ask,
Could you draw a rough sketch for us?
If you aren't selected, you might get a small fee for the rough sketch, or you might get nothing at all. When a job inquiry comes in for something you really want to do, and it turns out to be a competition, you feel both joy and anxiety at the same time. "I can finally draw an illustration for ○○! ...maybe

!?" It's just a maybe. You don't know how many other people have been contacted. I've been invited to competitions several times, and when I ask, "By the way, how many people are you contacting?", the impression is usually

around 3 to 4 people. And sometimes they say, "We've contacted 4 people from our company, but the client might be consulting with other agencies as well

, so we don't know." Since the decision is usually based on the quality of the rough sketch, I put more effort into it than a normal rough. I might even finish it to a quality near completion. If I'm hired, it's all worth it, but being rejected is tough. The work itself is hard, but it's even harder when you put your heart into it and are told,

"Sorry, we've decided on someone else this time." And I think this experience is a path almost every illustrator inevitably walks
. And this experience doesn't happen just once or twice; it is repeated as a matter of daily routine
. And I call this constant cycle of rejection

competition hell

. Some illustrators can't handle this and end up breaking down. About a year ago, there was a competition that was personally very big for me, and I thought,
I absolutely want to do this! The estimated reward was 10 times my monthly illustration income at the time. It was for a product design to be sold in stores nationwide in Japan, a collaboration with a world-class manga (a work I respected so much that I traced it when I was a student). Since they reached out to an illustrator like me, I thought they must be looking for a unique and stylish design rather than fan art!? So, I spent many days drawing and submitted several proposals, but... the person in charge liked them (apparently), but I wasn't chosen.
The illustration that was actually chosen was better than mine, so that's only natural! So, what kind of thing was chosen? About half a year later, I saw the product and was stunned.
...It's not cool at all
(Sorry. That's just my personal opinion). It was something extremely orthodox and cliché, like line art for a coloring book. It looked like a degraded trace of the original work (pardon me). That's when I realized. And so, goodbye to sadness.

Competitions aren't about superiority. It's about compatibility!

That's why, when I see people feeling down because they lost a competition, I want to say,
It's okay! Your illustration was absolutely wonderful! Even if a deal falls through or you aren't chosen in a competition, it's not about superiority, but rather


whether it fits the project, the budget, etc., or perhaps they decided not to use an illustration at all. You never know, so it's okay! No need to change your style!

No need to make your illustrations something that gets chosen! You will have future connections with clients who love your art just as it is! Let's move on to the next one!
I've started to think that way. I'm sure even veterans and great masters experience this.
Great! I've started getting invited to competitions!

Before, I wasn't even getting asked
. It's just a coincidence. This is all about connections. Being invited means
you've reached a level where you get invited. If you get hired 1 out of 5 times, that means you'll get hired if you try 5 times. It doesn't have to be 100% success!
Instead of spending time feeling down, just move on to the next one!

I have registered this image in the "Everyone's Photo Gallery."
You can search for it using terms like "podium," "ranking," or "Masaru Ashikari."