[School Festival] Cover Illustration Ideas

10 years as a kindergarten teacher / elementary school teacher / junior and senior high school teacher / childminderkepiko
Graduated from Kunitachi College of Music, Faculty of Music (now: Department of Music Culture and Education, Early Childhood Music Education major). In elementary school, my homeroom teacher was Jun Kusaba, a game researcher. After graduating from university, I worked as a kindergarten teacher for 10 years and as an after-school childcare instructor for 7 years, then took a position as a music teacher at an international school in Singapore. In addition to music education, I engaged in activities that introduced Japanese culture, traditional games, and recreational activities, working with many children. Later, through freelance writing, planning, and editing at Shogakukan, I met many delightful adults and experienced the joy of communicating and sharing. Drawing on the perspective cultivated in the field of education and my experience as an editor, I provide practical information with an emphasis on both input and output, mainly in areas related to music and children. My hobbies include instruments, singing, handicrafts, toys, drawing, traditional games, the outdoors, and books. My special skill is spinning-top tricks.
Deputy Editor of RAG MUSICsasashina
Deputy Editor of RAG MUSIC. JFC-certified fact-checker. I’m Sasashina, a mom currently raising an elementary schooler and a preschooler. During my student years at Kyoto College of Science and Technology, I studied a wide range of fields including sound, lighting, and video technology, building a foundation in comprehensive stage production and creative expression. After graduation, I joined a music production company, where I still work, consistently building experience in production and engaging in a variety of music-centered tasks. Currently, I mainly handle articles for children, drawing on what I’ve learned about parenting and what I feel and discover through daily interactions with my kids. I hope my work can be of help to you, even in a small way!

The cover illustration for the school festival is often chosen from many submitted works.

Some of you are hoping to be selected this year.

Here, we introduce cover illustrations that were actually chosen, works created for submission, and tips on how to draw illustrations.

It’s perfect if you’re thinking, “I can’t decide what to draw,” or “I want to see other people’s work.”

Use this as a reference and try creating a one-of-a-kind illustration of your own.

You can enjoy the process of drawing, too.

Turn your ideas into reality and have fun taking on the challenge of the cover illustration!

[Cultural Festival] Cover Illustration Ideas (11–20)

anthropomorphic illustration

@maron.oekaki
Anthropomorphized illustration—it's pretty popular on Instagram, and this time I drew melon bread 🙆‍♀️ The personification of a macaron is up on Instagram 😚Personified illustration #yurukawa #Making girl Food
♬ A warm 6/8 beat march – Sheep Sounds

Personified illustrations that create a fun, festival-like atmosphere.

If the theme is sweets or fruit, you can highlight each item’s features by, for example, giving a character hair that matches a fruit’s color and a net-patterned hat, or for a donut, a round hat and icing-themed clothing.

Making the eyes and expressions more human-like is key to enhancing cuteness and humor.

For the background, depict a school festival stage or food stalls, and compose the scene so the personified characters are enjoying the festival—this adds a sense of story to a single illustration.

Incorporating elements like a school emblem or uniform into the costumes is also a good idea to convey the school vibe.

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mutō

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Cultural Festival Leaflet

@kansaiarts
Please take a look at the making-of for the cultural festival leaflet cover ✨Kansai Culture and Arts High School #fyp #Making Cultural Festival High school student #Illustration Translation #CapCut
My Cutest Part – FRUITS ZIPPER

A school festival leaflet with a design that grabs attention the moment it’s handed out.

Center the characters on students in school uniforms, using cheerful smiles and poses to convey the excitement of the festival.

Add the school building and a stage in the background, and use bright, lively colors to express energy.

Sprinkling in small elements like stars, musical notes, and balloons will make the entire page feel more festive.

Using anime-style frames around headings and adding hand-drawn lettering can create a handmade, friendly vibe.

By carefully placing highlights around the characters’ eyes and hair, you can add realism and a lively impression to their expressions.

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mutō

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watercolor illustration

@nukoko_neko
Painting girls with watercolors is just too much fun… 🤦‍♀️💓 I’ll bring the original artwork I painted this time to an event I’ll be announcing soon 🐱🫶Watercolor Watercolor paint Watercolor painting #Illustration Original artwork Event #Illustration making #Making Making-of video #illustration #watercolor #art
♬ OMG – ‧₊˚꒰η ɪ ო☆꒱აˎˊ˗(ปิดช่องถาวร)

Softly spreading, gentle hues are the hallmark here! Let us introduce some watercolor illustration ideas.

Watercolors are captivating for their delicate, fleeting tones.

With their translucent light colors, you can also create natural gradients.

In the video, a girl wearing a cute outfit with frills is being drawn.

You can really see the attention to detail in the color of her hair and eyes.

It also seems there are techniques to get closer to the image you have in mind by combining colored pencils and white ink pens.

Give it a try!

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Korean-style street

@neonerdyboy
Korean-style street fashion is cute, right? 👀#neonerdyboy #Illustration #Street-style girl Korean fashion Headphones #SummerOutfit #CapCut
♬ Cool With You – NewJeans

Let your heart dance with adorable illustrations! Here are some ideas for Korean street-style illustrations.

Many imported goods from Korea feature cute-style artwork, don’t they? This time, let’s try a street-inspired Korean design.

The illustration centers on a long-haired girl stylishly wearing headphones, a cap, a cropped T-shirt, oversized pants, and sneakers.

The mood can change a lot depending on the color palette! Be sure to give it a try.

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masking tape art

The idea of trying decorations using washi tape.

Recently, decorating with washi tape has become firmly established because it lets you easily create pieces that match your interior.

Let’s bring it into the school festival too and make some art! Even though we’re calling it art, you can steadily build what you want to express by using washi tape like a collage or torn-paper art, or you can try writing messages with it.

A great thing is that even if you make a mistake, you can quickly fix it and start over.

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utatane

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like a Japanese language dictionary

As a unique idea, I also recommend presenting it in the style of a Japanese dictionary.

You’ve seen a kokugo (Japanese language) dictionary before, right? The idea is to convey information following that format.

例えば、学校の文化祭を説明する場合は「文化祭」という項目を作成し、その横に読み方を記載し、続いて詳細な説明を付けます。

Try looking at an actual kokugo dictionary and making your piece as authentic as possible.

The more you choose words that likely wouldn’t appear in a standard dictionary, the more interesting your work will become.

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yamamoto

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[Cultural Festival] Cover Illustration Ideas (21–30)

An illustration depicting someone doing their best

Before the actual day of the school festival, you likely spent time cooperating with your friends and steadily preparing.

How about an illustration that captures scenes of those preparations and the efforts you’ve put in for the event? The preparation period is also an important youth memory, and such an image would strongly convey the passion you have for the event and the bonds among your friends.

Focusing on those memories of getting ready gives the impression that it also heightens the desire to make the main event a success.

It seems like a perfect motif to prompt you to look back on the memories of preparing for the event.

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kappamaki