The “I AM” contest is an art and essay competition open to school-age children and adults. Everyone is encouraged to express themselves and connect with others through art and creativity. Participating in the contest allows participants to have their work featured on Megadolls.com and win prizes.
Megadolls believe that for children to truly thrive, they need time to play and interact with other children in a less formal setting. Our ‘I AM’ program is a platform for everyone to connect and develop a sense of community through meaningful play.
The "I AM" contest features three types of challenges:
- The DESIGN contest is open to participants aged 18 and older.
- The CREATE contest is open to those aged 11 to 17.
- The PLAY contest is open to children aged 6 to 10.
All participants must reside in the United States or the District of Columbia (excluding Puerto Rico, Guam, the Virgin Islands, and other U.S. territories).
Parents, teachers, nonprofits, and after-school programs are welcome to submit artwork on behalf of students Grades 1-12. When parents, teachers and after-school programs enter the I AM Competition on behalf of their students, the children’s parents or guardians must sign a consent ENTRY FORM. All parents of the team members must have an account. The email associated with the parent's Megadolls account will be used for their child's entry.
DESIGN PRIZE - Cash Prizes may vary for each competition.
CREATE and PLAY PRIZES - Cash prizes and the amount will be determined at the beginning of the competition.
The 20% will go to the classroom, and the 80% will be split between the members of the winning team.
The DESIGN contest for adults is open to individual entries.
School-aged children must participate as a group to encourage social interaction, allowing them to express themselves, make friends, and develop the social skills necessary for their future.
All entries must use Megadolls paper dolls to dress up with the design for the entry. Megadolls templates are found in the IMAGINE section of Megadolls.com. All the dress templates are available for free download. Each contest category invites participants to create various forms of art:
PLAY category - 6-10 Year old
School-age children in the PLAY category may use colored pencils, crayons, markers, chalk, pastels, or watercolors. Each entry must be a clear photograph, and the photograph should be submitted instead of the original.
CREATE category 11-17 Years old
School-aged children in the CREATE category are expected to use unconventional materials or objects that can be incorporated into wearable paper doll dresses. Keep in mind that the CREATE contest involves a 3D artwork or fashion line collection, but entries will be reviewed as photographs in a two-dimensional (2D) format. We suggest saving your collection until the contest is over, as we may request them if needed to support your original entry. Each submission must consist of a clear photograph, so please submit the photograph rather than the original.
DESIGN Category 18 Years Old and Adults
The Design category showcases fashion illustrations made with Adobe Illustrator, Procreate, or other tools to present a digitally colored fashion line collection. The original artwork in a PDF KB file, along with photographs of Megadolls paper dolls wearing the collections will be included in the entry.
No. All participants must use the Megadolls templates available for FREE download in the Imagine section of our website. You need to create an account and sign in to access the IMAGINE templates.
The DESIGN participants will need access to Adobe Illustrator or Procreate. Additionally, they will require digital devices such as tablets, laptops, or desktop computers to work on their collections.
No! The “I AM” Create and Play contests are entirely free for all elementary, middle, and high school students wishing to participate. There are no registration fees or costs associated with joining the art and essay contest. Additionally, adults can participate at no charge.
Yes, for the Create and Play group entry, each person is limited to one entry. A student who is part of a group may not join another group. An individual participant in the DESIGN category can only enter once during the contest period.
Yes, anyone can submit one entry each year. However, students must be part of a different group for each entry. If you participated in the past, log in to your account https://www.megadolls.com/web_login to submit a new entry.
The “I AM” offers a comprehensive collection of resources to assist everyone during the creation or design process. Downloadable PDF templates are available in the “IMAGINE” section of Megadolls.com. All templates can be accessed online for free.
Yes, students are encouraged to collaborate as a team, express their thoughts on their projects, and gain a sense of belonging to the group. We will never know how friendship blooms when we work together until we are part of it.
All entries must be submitted by 12:00 P.M. ET on the deadline day for each contest to qualify.
Participants' entries will appear on the I AM Exhibits page a few minutes after they submit their entry. All entries are final; participants cannot edit or change their entries after submitting and posting them on the I AM Exhibits page. Participants may share their entries on personal social media accounts, including Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, X, and Gmail, to allow the public, friends, and family to view and vote on the entries.
The top five teams from the Create, Play, or Design entries that receive the highest number of public votes will advance to the final round.
The Megadolls Team will choose the GRAND winner from these five teams with the most public votes. The grand winner will be showcased on the ‘I Belong Gallery’ and the participant’s Profile Page.
The winner in each category will be announced one week after the voting deadline. All five finalists with the highest public votes will receive email notifications and an announcement on their profile page regarding their finalist status. The grand winner will receive an email notification about their winning entry, along with an announcement on their profile page and a feature in the I Am Gallery.