Painting Contest 2026!

Hey friends,

For months you've been asking and patiently waiting for this. Rejoice, for the long wait is over! The next Bulkamancer Painting Contest is upon us! So dig up your shameful pile of unpainted prints from the darkest corners of your storeroom and start dusting them off, for you have a contest to enter!

Just like in the past, our primary goal is to make sure every single participant has fun and gets something out of the contest regardless of their skill level or their perceived chance at winning the top prize.

Here are the most important parts to get you riled up and help you prepare!

📅 DATES 📅

• Submissions open - Monday, August 17th, 2026

• Submissions closed - Sunday, September 20th, 2026

• Winners announced - Monday, September 28th, 2026

🏆 PRIZES 🏆

• 1st place - $600

• 2nd place - $300

• 3rd place - $150

• "Team's Favorite" award - December model pick

• 30 desk mats (900 x 400 mm) with an exclusive "Unbreadable" webcomic art.

• Enamel pin for every participant. Yes, an actual physical metal pin shipped to you, not an STL or an "exclusive" NFT drawing.

• Achievements and stickers for every participant, just like last year.

⚠️ RULES ⚠️

• Must be a paid subscriber on Bulkamancer Sculpts Patreon, MMF Tribes, or Boosty in August and September 2026.

• Must be a Bulkamancer model, excluding the following:

  • Free models (i.e. open priced on Cults3D). Busts are also free models.

  • Any League of Legends or Arcane model (feel free to ask Riot why)

  • Galactic Soldier (James Sweatshop didn't like that one)

  • Lara Croft (a.k.a. the only Tomb Rider model EVER to be taken down by Crystal Dynamics)

• Must submit a pic of an unpainted model next to a paper note with "Bulkamancer painting contest 2026" written on it.

• One entry per person. If you wish to change your entry, you will have to contact us.

• No submission of entries on behalf of another person.

• Must post at least 2 WIPs at different stages in your entry channel.

• The final result must be submitted before deadline: end of Sunday, September 20th, 2026.

• All participation entries must be submitted on our website, which will be revealed on August 17th.

🧑‍⚖️ JUDGES 👩‍⚖️

• Matthew Chad Adams (@supertankmatt) - our long-time Irish supporter SuperTank, who's been with us even longer than most of our own team, offering painting feedback and photography tips to anyone who'd listen. He's been a tremendous help in organizing our first contest back in 2024, threw together a feedback stream for any willing participant last year, and now he's back as a judge this year.

• Artur Monteiro (@arturmonteiro_rj) - an amazing renowned painter from Brazil whose realistic face-painting skills are bound to blow your mind right off! Also happens to be the owner of Sagga Studios that offers painting courses focused on achieving realism. Honestly, we couldn't find a better judge for the contest if we tried.

• Darya Mezheedova (@linlin__studio) - a highly talented painter from Russia with a primary focus on anime models. Don't be fooled by her newly created Instagram account, which she only opened because we asked nicely. She is, without any doubt, the real deal; just take a look at her work! Even though we've never had much interaction with her until now, her skills are renowned in the local market, as she's been painting models for a living for years. There is no better choice to cover all the anime models in our contest!

❓ FAQ ❓

• I already painted a model. Can I submit it for the contest?
  Sorry, but no. The goal of the contest is to encourage people to paint new models, not present what they did a month/year/decade ago.

• I'm in the middle of painting a model. Can I submit it?
  Only if you can still take a picture of an unpainted model next to a paper note with "Bulkamancer painting contest 2026" written on it. At worst, the model can be primed on that pic. Otherwise, you're out of luck.

• I forgot to take a pic with the note and now the model is already painted. Can you make an exception just for me?
  No.

• Can I change the scale of my print?
  Of course, we don't put any restrictions on scale.

• What judgement criteria will there be?
  We will discuss the finer details with the judges before the official contest start date and will post them in the next announcement.

• Which achievements will be available this year?
  Honestly, we don't know ourselves yet. We plan to open a brainstorming channel in Discord and let people come up with their own ideas based on a set of simple criterias. As to whether we will announce them before the end, this is highly unlikely. Our idea of such achievements is something people stumble upon by pure chance rather than work towards it from the start, which takes all the fun away, especially considering the questionable nature of some achievements (such as failing to meet the deadline).

• Can I add LEDs? Replace a base? Remove items on a base? Add items on a base?
  Given the sheer number of inventive ways to ask the exact same question under the infinite possible flavors, there is no simple way to answer what basically comes down to "Kitbashing is not allowed. LEDs are allowed, but won't give you any points.", before asking the next thing about what you can or cannot do, please consider this is a painting contest, with emphasis on the pain of painting. If you request has nothing to do with painting, most of the time the answer is going to be "Probably yes, but it certainly won't give you any points with the judges, but may possibly disqualify you if you go too far, no matter how great the end result looks. So are you planning to win or just doing it for fun?".

• Where can I get more information, see other entries, or ask further questions?
  Just like before, we will open a contest section in our Discord where you can find any further information. All entries will also be auto-posted there once they are submitted on our website.

• Can I ask my question here?
  Absolutely, you can leave your question in the comments.

We look forward to your participation!

Good luck, have fun!
Bulkamancer Sculpts team