How To Submit

It’s Free! and you get 20 copies of your button!
Only one submission per artist, per year.
Only 50 submissions are chosen for each city.

It’s free to submit your artwork! In fact, artists selected to be in the show will receive 20 free copies of their button! Please be sure to include which city it’s for in the subject line.

Your submission will only be eligible for one show per year so it’s best if you apply for a show you can actually attend (ie, in your city) so you can be a part of the fun.

This is the hardest part: choosing only 50 buttons for each city. Our decisions are usually based on how well the art addresses the size and space of the one inch button, originality, how it fits into the overall show, and of course, the subjective opinions of Chris and Jim. We typically receive 100+ submissions for the Vancouver show alone so not all work submitted will be in the show. And if you send more than one submission, we’ll likely make YOU choose which one is your entry.

What do I submit?

Your email should include: your name, website (if you have one), and a title for the button (if you want one). This info will be on the wall with your one inch button on the night of the show and be used on this site. And of course, don’t forget to include your art as an attachment.

Download Button Templates
Use the Illustrator (.ai), Photoshop (.psd), or PDF template to format your artwork for a one inch button. You can also send unformatted art and we’ll decide how best to place it in the template. Email your entry to buttons@hotoneinchaction.com. We’ll send you confirmation that we’ve received your submission within 72 hours. If you don’t hear from us, please email again.

We also accept entries by mail for scanning. Email us for mailing or delivery instructions. Submissions received by mail will not be returned unless you include a self-addressed stamped envelope. Please keep your art smaller than letter-sized (8.5×11) so it fits on the scanner.

How do I do that? What does that mean?

• Image area is the face of the button
• Bleed area is the area that extends onto the sides and around to the back (hidden in the parts). If you don’t extend your art beyond the image area, you may see white paper on the edges.
• Button edge area is between the red and green guidelines. While it is recommended not to extend your image into this area, it is the side of the button and is a viewable area. Results in the button edge will vary. Any questions, ask us.
• On the template, the safe area for your design is within the image area (the inner circle; approx. diameter 0.925in) but have colour/art extend to the bleed limit (outer circle; approx. 1.313in in diameter).
• We want to be sure your artwork is the best it can be. Consider the scale of the button when creating your artwork and print your art at home before emailing it to be sure it’s how you want it. What looks good on screen doesn’t necessarily look good as a button.
• Use your name as the filename (For example, Jane_Smith.psd).
• We prefer submissions as Illustrator (.ai) or Photoshop (.psd) but can also accept EPS, PDF, TIF, JPG, etc.
• If you copy/paste your art into the template, it’s already set up as we need it and you just need to position, save with your name and send.
• Your art should be 300dpi in CMYK with
• If you send JPG files or others using RGB, note that there may be a colour shift when we convert it to CMYK.
• Be sure to flatten fonts in Photoshop or convert fonts to outlines in Illustrator.
• Do not flatten artwork with the red or green guides visible, they will show in your design. Hide those layers before flattening and you’ll be fine.
• Please do not include a website or other self-promotional info on the button design. This is an art show.
• Mac & PC files are ok.

I’m sad, I didn’t get in the show.

Don’t take it personally, it’s all about the fun times at the event. Try again next year and don’t worry about it.

A note on copyright

All submitted artwork must be original and free of copyright restrictions (ie, you must be the original creator of the work and willing to let us reproduce your artwork as necessary). You still hold the copyright but by submitting artwork to Hot One Inch Action, you are giving us the right to use your art for publicity, display, and sale as a one inch button for Hot One Inch Action. Publicity includes this website and in current and future promotional materials (flyers, books, etc). Keep in mind, buttons are produced in limited edition – once they’re sold out, they’re gone forever, so you don’t have to worry about us reproducing your art and selling it online 5 years from now. Email us if you have any copyright concerns.

The Mailing List

When you submit art to the show, we also add you to our email list. Why? So you’ll receive announcement emails about future button shows or our trading card show CARDED, plus artist calls for other art shows we produce (most recently Chris Bentzen’s Hot Art Wet City Pop-Up Gallery shows). If you don’t want to hear from us, just select “unsubscribe” from the bottom of the first email you receive… although we hope you stay on the list. Don’t worry, we don’t share or sell our list.