V&A Student Illustrator awards

Competition Brief:

There is no defined brief, 3 illustrations can be submitted and it is suggested that these might be either a sequence of images for a book or the preparatory sketches/roughs leading up to a finalised illustration (One animation may also be submitted along with the illustrations).

Submission details:

1. Entry into the Student Illustrator category of the Awards is via the Online Entry System only
2. Entries must have a clearly defined illustrative brief, which must be described on the competition entry form. The brief is open. Students may submit work set as coursework by their tutors or they may define their own imagined brief.
3. All images uploaded must be in the JPEG format, using the extension *.jpg
4. Images must be a maximum file size of 1MB and not larger than 900 pixels in width.
5. Animations must be no longer than 3 minutes in length

Competition deadline:

If I wanted to enter this competition then I would have to submit my entry for the 2012 student illustrator awards which I am presuming will have a deadline that is near the end of this year as it was for the 2011 competition, when the deadline was the 13th December 2010. 

Illustrative Practises module deadline - 11th March 2011

If I were to enter this competition then I would aim to have my final visuals (in a finalised drafted version) finished for the illustrative practises module deadline. The workload for this competition does not seem unachievable, and given that the competition deadline will be so far away, then it would be nice to have something finalised by the end of the illustrative practises module, which if I wanted to I could develop yet further later on. Another option would be to consider using part of my entry for another one of the competitions for this competition as well - for example if I entered the macmillan children's book competition then I could finalise 3 of the illustrations from this and submit these to the v&a student illustration awards as well.

Competition judges:

There is obviously no information on the competition judges for the 2012 student awards, but previous judges include rob ryan and others involved within the illustration industry. Having looked at some winning / commended pieces from previous years, there is a real different array of styles and content of imagery - suggesting that no particular illustrative work is favoured by judges.

Competition prizes:

The Student Illustrator of the Year will receive £2,000 and a trophy. The runner up will receive £1,000.

Winning and commended entries are also exhibited on the v&a website and in a competition exhibition. 

Winning this competition would be similar to winning the other competitions in that it wouldmean a great deal of exposure for work as well as the prestige connected with this. Unlike winning the d&ad competition, the great thing about winning a competition such as this is that is purely illustration based rather than also being related to the creative design industry. Having a commended entry would be a great piece to include within a portfolio as well as a self promoptional website. 

I like the idea of entering this competition as I feel that producing an entry would not require a great deal of work if this was combined with my entry for another one of the competitions I have researched. The idea of having a totally open brief which I can set myself also appeals as it means that I am free to produce any style illustrations that I wish to.