Village Gamer

Most new parents feel pretty helpless and worry about their ability to protect their child from the slings and arrows the world is bound to throw at them. Clive and Daina, parents of a 4 ½ month old baby boy are no different. Like most of us, they were shocked, saddened, and deeply disturbed by the story of Amanda Todd, the girl who was driven to commit suicide when she could no longer cope with the torment of the bullies who harassed and threatened her. Unlike the rest of us though, Clive and Daina, founders of Pixton Comics, can actually effect change by reaching out directly to that age group of children most at risk of being bullied.

 

Founded in BC in 2008, Pixton Comics is a web app that took the digital media community by storm managing to impress the most prestigious (and jaded) organizations and influencers in the industry. In addition to attracting a legion of users and fans from around the globe, they’ve racked up accolades and awards from SXSW, the Webby Awards, Mashable, BCIC, and iParenting.com (Disney). Catering to individual users and educational facilities, Pixton Comics enables you to create professional looking comic strips and books, complete with articulated characters. Teachers are embracing the new medium that engages kids and as you can imagine, kids love it. Kids all over the world use the app, free of charge, to stretch their creative abilities and express their feelings.  What better medium through which to communicate with their peers?

Clive and Daina know that they have a hotline to these kids through Pixton Comics, and they also have an inkling that words of wisdom from adults, safe from the taunts and barbs of bullies, will fall on deaf ears. Compelled by the tragedy of Amanda Todd’s death, the two have put together a contest for their fans, challenging them to create a comic strip that offers concrete, realistic, and effective ways to combat and cope with bullying, based on their own experiences. They will compile the top entries into a digital comic book that will be made available to schools across North America and Europe for digital download, free of charge. The winner of the contest will win $250.00, but the goal and spirit of the contest has nothing to do with money and everything to do with empowering kids to support each other in the face of bullying. You could say that comics are kid stuff, but then again, so is bullying.

The essential details of the Beat It Bullies contest:

• The contest runs October 15 – October 28
• Voting for the best comic runs during that same period
• Kids create a comic on how to deal with bullies
• They can send the comic to friends and family for votes
• When the voting period ends, the winner will be announced and awarded $250.00
• The top three or four entries will be made into a comic book that is free to access

Upon announcement of the contest on their site, Pixton was happy to see kids from Canada, U.S., U.K., Hong Kong, Argentina, Indonesia and the Netherlands posting their intention to participate.  We would sincerely appreciate your help in letting kids and their families know about this contest. Their wisdom, creativity, and support are powerful and we want to empower them to share it. Check out the entries on the contest site that Pixton has received thus far.

How It Works

There are three easy steps to entering the contest:

1. Submit by Sunday Oct 28, 2012 – Once you’ve finished your comic, continue to the “Comic Settings” page and click the “Enter in Contest” button.
2. Voting Runs Monday Oct 15, 2012 to Sunday Oct 28, 2012 – When the voting period begins, share the link to your comic with friends and family, by copying and pasting the address from your web browser or posting directly to your Facebook wall. Vote once per comic, for as many comics as you like!
3. Winners Announced on Wednesday Oct 31, 2012 – An email will be sent to the email address you provided when you became a Pixton member.

Contest Details

1. Contest runs Monday Oct 15, 2012 to Sunday Oct 28, 2012, 11:59:59 PM
2. Voting runs Monday Oct 15, 2012 to Sunday Oct 28, 2012, 11:59:59 PM
3. You can enter up to 4 comics
4. Remixes not allowed
5. Adults-only comics not allowed
6. Vote for any number of comics
7. Winners announced Wednesday Oct 31, 2012
8. Maximum 1 prize per author
9. One cash prize of $250 Canadian Dollars (the “Prize”) will be awarded for the winning comic.
10. After the contest closing date, one winner will be selected by one or more employees or affiliates of Pixton Comics (the “Judges”). The Judges will take user-generated votes into consideration when making their decision.
11. Entries must be in English.
12. The top 1-10 comics may be published on the Pixton website and/or distributed for free to English-speaking schools throughout the world.
13. No purchase or payment is required to enter.
14. If the winner cannot be contacted or does not respond within seven (7) days, an alternate winner may be selected.
15. Income and other taxes, if any, are the sole responsibility of the winner.
16. Participation is void where prohibited by local law.
17. Entrants must be registered Pixton for Fun users, and must submit their entries online.
18. PCI, in its sole discretion, reserves the right to disqualify any person tampering with the entry or voting process, the operation of the Web site, or otherwise in violation of the rules.
19. Use of bots or other automated processes to vote or enter is not allowed and may result in disqualification at PCI’s discretion.
20. Entrants represent and warrant that their Submission is their original work, it has not been copied from others, and it does not violate the rights of any other person or entity.
21. The winner will be required to answer a skill-testing question before receiving the Prize.
22. The chances of winning depend upon the number of entrants and the quality of each submission. Chance plays no part in the determination of the winner.
23. Except where prohibited: (i) acceptance of the Prize constitutes consent to use winner’s name, city, and winning entry for editorial, advertising, and publicity purposes, without further compensation; (ii) the winner may be required to sign an affidavit of eligibility and copyright transfer/liability/publicity/permission release. If the winner is deemed to be a minor under the jurisdiction of his/her residence, the winner’s parent or legal guardian must execute the necessary affidavit and release. Affidavits and releases must be returned within ten (10) days of attempted notification or an alternate winner may be chosen.