Back in 2003, Yamaha funded the development of the Vocaloid singing software, which effectively gives them ownership of the Vocaloid brand, despite the fact that the Vocaloid characters themselves have been developed by a range of other organizations and individuals over the years.
This year, Yamaha are giving Vocaloid fans a chance to design their own Vocaloids, too.
While Yamaha have created their own Vocaloid characters in the past, the upcoming Vocaloid Festa doujin event will host an “Everyone’s Vocaloid Project” contest where people will be able to submit their ideas for Vocaloid characters. The winning entry will be developed into and sold as official Vocaloid software.
Entries can be submitted from Feb 25th through April 24th, and require a character sketch along with a description and a nickname. The online application form will go up on the Vocaloid Festa website, and people of any nationality are free to enter the contest.
How to apply:
1. Design your Vocaloid on a 14.8cm x 10cm paper
2. Design character within restrictions stated on official site
3. Basic idea of rules (use Google Translate for the gist of it):
– Make sure it’s your own work
– If there’s another party involved, you’re the one handling the copyrights and negotiating with them
– You can’t withdraw an application
4. Include following personal info: Name, address, phone, email, job/university/school name, sex, birth date, age
5. Include your Vocaloid’s info: Simple description of the character, character’s nickname, and the meaning of their nickname
6. You can either mail your entry to Japan or post your design on Pixiv with the following tag: ボカロ計画
– Details on Pixiv’s site aren’t up yet
7. Mail address (include 50 yen stamp):
〒101-8799
東京都千代田区神田淡路町２－１２
神田郵便局留め「VOCALOID FESTA」みんなのボカロ計画係
8. Results will be announced on May 29th, 2011
