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Idle hands are the devil’s play things, so why not occupy them with a monetary prize incentive? Japanese blackboard maker Nichigaku noticed that students have been creating some very impressive artwork on school blackboards. So what better way to promote Nichigaku’s product than to sponsor a nationwide chalk art contest?

Students all over the country submitted incredible pieces of art that turned that “boring thing you stare at every class” into something beautiful that you can’t believe was created with just chalk. Join us after the jump as we show you some of the best submissions from the Nichigaku Blackboard Art contest.

For the past two years, students have been sharing their blackboard art on social media and have been getting a lot of positive attention for it, and here at RocketNews24, we’ve been blown away by the creativity displayed on chalkboards around Japan. With so many easily accessible blank canvases to work on, Nichigaku figured it would be a perfect time to host a blackboard art contest and the submissions were epic.

Entries came in from all over the country from 50 different school and 249 contributing students. The grand prize was a set of travel vouchers totaling 100,000 yen (US$810). We’ll show you the winner in a bit, but first check out some of the impressive runner-up submissions.

▼ Honorable Mention to Matsudo High School, Chiba Prefecture

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▼ Honorable Mention to Mito Sakuranomaki High School, Ibaraki Prefecture

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▼ Honorable Mention to Sasebo Nishi High School, Nagasaki Prefecture

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▼ Prize awarded to Asao High School, Kanagawa Prefecture

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▼ Prize awarded to Shizuoka Science and Technology High School, Shizuoka Prefecture

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▼ Prize awarded to Soko Engineering High School, Tokyo

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▼ Prize awarded to Niiza Sogo Gijutsu High School, Saitama Prefecture

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▼ Prize awarded to Konodai Girls’ School, Chiba Prefecture

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Two top prizes were awarded. Here is the wonderful piece that won 2nd place from Omiya Koryo High School, Saitama Prefecture.

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And finally, the grand prize winner was from Kochi Nishi High School, Kochi Prefecture.

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Two students put together this winning submission and said that the theme was their club memories in high school as well as the connections between their friends, which was represented through the passing of the baton. The judges remarked that they liked the contrast between the outstretched arms and surrounding colors.

For anyone wishing to check out all the submission, scroll down to see them at the bottom of the contest page here. Which ones are your favorite? Let us know in the comments!

Source: Nichigaku via Taxi
Images: Nichigaku