2026

The Cloth Tiger

Entrant

Liu Jiayi

Category

Student Submission - Student Illustration

Client's Name

Country / Region

China

A boy suffers neglect and violence from his alcoholic father after his mother’s death. Alone and unschooled, he lives in fear and silence.His mother’s cloth tiger transforms into a teenage guardian only he can see—offering company and small acts of protection, though powerless to change reality.When the father decides to sell the boy, the cloth tiger sacrifices itself to create a world where the father truly loves him. Believing the abuse was only a nightmare, the boy gradually forgets the guardian who saved him.