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about the zine

Welcome to Summer Stars! Festival, the biggest summer festivities brought to you by Ensemble Square! The festival is held at a large beach complex with various stages in different locations, from the beach stage to the resort pool stage, with various summer activities to do and food and games stalls to visit, it's the Coachella for ES idols!

Summer Stars! Festival is an Ensemble Stars fanzine themed around the idea of a massive summer music festival that includes all units and circles in Ensemble Stars. This fanzine is a for-profit, SFW, physical zine that includes fan artists, writers, and merch artists.The zine will be a physical and digital SFW zine sized A5 300 dpi. We're looking for 25-30 artists, 5-8 writers, and 5-7 merch artists.

schedule

Interest checkDec 5 - Jan 19
Contributor appsJan 26 - Feb 26
Emails sentFeb 29
Pitch submissionsMar 25
Check in 1Apr 25
Check in 2May 25
Final submissionsJun 25
PreordersSep-Oct*
ProductionNov*
ShippingDec*
*Schedule dates may change. 

application guidelines

  • All applicants must be 18 or over at the time of application.

  • All communication for the zine will be done through the zine's Discord server, therefore applicants must have a Discord account.

  • All contributors will have to adhere to the schedule as planned. Extensions will be available, but please ensure to keep the zine’s schedule in mind when signing up for the project.

  • Please provide 3 samples that best represent the style of piece you will be making for the zine.

  • You may furthermore provide a portfolio of up to 10 pieces.

  • Please ensure all submitted links are accessible publicly.

  • NSFW samples are allowed but must be tagged properly. Please note that the zine itself will be SFW.

  • Enstars-related samples are preferred, but not required.

  • No tracing or heavy reference allowed.

  • You may apply for more than one position, but accepted contributors will only be chosen for one role.

page artists

  • At least one of the submitted samples should have a background or be a full scene illustration.

  • Samples will be judged on the expectation to create at least one page of fully colored illustration for the zine. This includes anatomy, composition, and design.

  • Upon acceptance, artists may draw either a single-page illustration, a spread illustration, or a short comic.

merch artists

  • Submitted sample doesn’t have to be a previous merch design, but should be an illustration or design that can be made into a merch.

  • • Samples will be judged on the expectation to create at least one merchandise design for the zine. This includes design, layouting, and creativity on merch ideas.

  • Upon acceptance, merch artists may draw 2-3 merch items based on their preferred merch.

writers

  • Each submitted sample should be between 1000 to 2500 words in length.

  • Samples will be judged based on grammar, characterization, ability to convey plot, emotion, pacing, descriptions, and dialogue.

  • Upon acceptance, writers may write a fic ranging between 1000-2500 words.

frequently asked questions

Q: What is the theme of the zine/what can I draw?
A: The inspiration for this zine are big music/summer festivals (e.g Coachella, Waterbomb Festival), beach clubs, night markets, etc. In game, the inspiration are summer events such as Hot Limit, Pirate Festival, Summer Vacation, etc.
The stage design can be anything, from a regular beach side stage, pool party venue, DJ tent, pirate ship, as long as it fits the summer festival idea.
The idols portrayed don't have to be performing on stage - they can be doing other activities like driving to the festival, promoting their merch, playing beach games, etc.
Q: Can I draw individual idols/units/circles?
A: You can submit pitches to draw individual idols, by unit, by circle, or just by random friend groups (e.g 3-A trio)! Though we'll be looking for a somewhat equal representation of all characters, we might lean more towards approving multi-character pitches.
Q: Is there an age limit for contributors?
A: All contributors must be over 18!
Q: Is NSFW allowed?
A: This zine will be completely SFW!
Q: Are ships allowed?
A: As it is not the focus of the zine, we prefer to keep relationships platonic or simply in the background of your piece.
Q: Can I share/stream my WIP?
A: WIP sharing is not allowed.
Q: Can I post or sell my finished piece?
A: You may post and sell your finished pieces after the sales and release of the zine are completed.
Q: How will you be compensating the contributors?
A: All contributors will be given a copy of the zine PDF upon release. If we reach the break even point, all contributors will be given a full bundle for free. Beyond that, all profits will be split equally between contributors. If we do not have enough profits, we will offer items to contributors at production price.