Normally, we like to stick with just the messaging side of things, but a new LINE Webtoon contest has become an exception on our pages.
LINE Webtoon is a neat little app from NAVER that allows you to enjoy webcomics on your smartphone, tablet and web browser, with apps available for both iOS and Android (Windows Phone users must use the web version for now). It’s another LINE add-on standalone service.
NAVER has launched Challenge League today via LINE Webtoon. Challenge League allows artists to submit their webcomics for a chance to become an official LINE Webtoon artist and is being offered to webcomic fans and aspiring artists for free.
According to the press release:
To officially launch Challenge League, LINE Webtoon will host a $50,000 competition globally, to discover the best new webtoon artists. Anyone over the age of fourteen can participate in the competition by uploading a webcomic in English at www.webtoons.com/challenge. To be eligible to win the prizes, the content will be judged based on audience engagement, such as number of views and shares. Additionally, LINE Webtoon’s staff will evaluate the content based on creativity, originality and the artist’s ability to publish webcomics on a weekly basis. The prizes include two $5,000 third place prizes, a $10,000 second place prize and a $30,000 grand prize. The contest is free to enter and will run until January 25, 2015. The winner will be announced on January 30, 2015. LINE Webtoon will continue providing the Challenge League service on its official site after the contest.
“73.4 percent of LINE Webtoon artists are discovered through Challenge League”
“We have spent over ten years discovering and showcasing some of the best webtoon artists and content to our fans, and now we’re giving them the chance to become official LINE Webtoon webtoonists through Challenge League,” said JunKoo Kim, Director and Head of the LINE Webtoon Division. “Based on Challenge League’s popularity in Korea, where 73.4 percent of LINE Webtoon artists are discovered through Challenge League, we are excited to launch the competition globally and discover the next generation of webcomic artists.”
In sharing their creations, Challenge League artists can meet their audience and communicate with them within the LINE Webtoon service. LINE Webtoon also offers opportunities to recreate the webcomic across diverse media such as movies, TV series and more to expand beyond just webcomics. Some LINE Webtoon artists are earning up to $80,000 a month according to LINE.
LINE Webtoon launched in the U.S. and globally on July 2, 2014 and currently offers 53 webcomics, including multiple globally heralded series among the 520 original NAVER webtoons. LINE Webtoon users can enjoy multiple genres of webcomics, downloadable content, and notifications on new releases. LINE Webtoon also includes a rating system similar to that in most major mobile app stores.
Fans can access Challenge League by visiting http://www.webtoons.com. You can download LINE Webtoon via iTunes or Google Play. You can get the latest version of LINE app here.