Charlie is ten years old, but he’s an old school soul. He loves books over his screens, he will request Elton John before Post Malone, and when it comes to creating art, he has a massive tickle trunk of papers, pencils, felts, markers, and more.
We even got him a fancy drawing pen for his iPad last year at Christmas, but he still chooses to get down old-school as he creates his own weird Pokemon-ish cards or writes his own original comic books about the adventures of Wombat Boy.
It’s an amazing thing, watching your child become a creative. It’s even more mesmerizing when they take that free-associating creativity and apply it to the future.
I’m proud to be back as a judge with The Toyota Dream Car Art Contest again this year, a global effort to harness the imagination of kids under 15 to draw the car of the future with their imagination (and the analog tools of art creation that Charlie loves) as the only limit!
When I asked Charlie what his car of the future involves, he imagines they will be flying cars where you can get to places really fast – maybe even have some fun teleporters. “But they have to have cup holders,” he added. “It can’t be a cool car without cup holders.”
The ‘flying car’ theme is common among many of the entries in The Toyota Dream Car Art Contest over the years, along with many altruistic themes. Kids want to use cars to recycle, clean the planet, act as homes for lost pets, and just generally make the world a better place. It’s pretty inspiring to see, actually.
When I was my son’s age, I drew all my cars like they were space ships inspired by Star Wars.
Yes, that’s a real picture I really drew about 40 years ago. I don’t know if I’d really be down for a “blood jet,” but 10 year old me is still waiting for his flying car.
Have a chat with your kids and their friends about what they imagine the future to be about, and get them to submit an entry.
This is the eighth year the contest is being held in Canada – here are some of last year’s big winners:
Let Your Child’s Dreams Drive Tomorrow
The Toyota Dream Car Art Contest aims to foster innovation and creativity in youth ages 15 and under, by encouraging them to think about the future of mobility and envision their “dream car”.
Their entry can be created with media such as paint, markers or crayons, but cannot be created digitally.
All artwork must be drawn and submitted on paper measuring 8.5 to 12 inches (215 mm to 300 mm) by 11 to 18 inches (280 mm to 450 mm). These measurements correspond to either A4 to A3 size, or letter to tabloid size. In addition, the Design cannot have a thickness in excess of 5mm.
The Design must be a hand-drawn, coloured illustration with a background and must not be created, altered or otherwise enhanced in a digital manner. Collaborative artwork drawn by multiple individuals will not be accepted.
Entries can be submitted until February 28, 2020. The contest is open to all residents of Canada up to the age of 15.
To learn more and to enter the contest, please visit: www.toyota.ca/dreamcarartcontest
This post is sponsored by Toyota