The most valuable award from winning the Illustrators of the Future Contest is not the most obvious. The twelve winners each year don’t only win a monetary prize, and a fabulous ceremony in their honor, as well as having their name permanently added to a prestigious collection of past winners who have gone on to successful careers. Along with their victory, their work is published in the bestselling Writers of the Future anthology. The best of the best emerging writers and illustrators are published in one fantastically supported annual book and this year is the thirty-fifth volume.
This article, though, is about something these artists win that may be one of the most essential gifts they could be given: they win the gift of experience from artists who have come before them.
The winners of the Illustrators of the Future Contest spend an entire week in Los Angeles learning from industry giants, hearing stories of success (and failures), and discovering what it really means to make a living as an artist. They participate in workshops and lectures. They get to sit down one-on-one with the likes of Larry Elmore and Ciruelo, who will eagerly share their experiences and advice. They are inundated with more knowledge in a shorter period of time than they have ever had before.
When I took over as Coordinating Judge of the Illustrators’ Contest a few years ago, it became one of my primary goals to infuse the winners with industry knowledge and experience that was difficult to get elsewhere, to really make the experience invaluable for them. Much of the week-long seminar is focused on the business of being a working artist. Whether they are looking toward a path of being a freelance artist or working on a team or in a studio, they will have to learn how to work with art direction. Working with an art director is a skill that is learned over time. During the week-long seminar, the winners work on a project with an art director from concept through timely delivery.
Their experience with art direction, however, starts even before they arrive in Los Angeles. Upon receiving the exciting phone call that they are a winner, finalists are individually assigned a story that complements their artistic style. The story they receive is one of that year’s winning stories from the Writers of the Future Contest. From that story, they will illustrate a new piece that will be published and credited to them. This piece serves many purposes. They will experience, possibly for the first time, the process of creating a published work of art with professional art direction. It will also be a publishing credit for their résumé and not many artists can claim to be a part of a bestselling book. This published work will be judged and will contend for the Golden Brush Award (a Grand Prize check for $5,000 and a beautiful trophy) announced at a grand Hollywood gala. Maybe most importantly, the published piece will be a landmark portfolio piece—helping each winner earn their next job.
As the art director, I work with each winner to help make their piece the best it can be. Being a good art director takes balance and practice. The goal is to work with the artist to guide them to conceive and create an amazing piece of art. An art director should not tell them what to paint.
The winners are given thirty days to complete their illustration from start to finish. They first submit their concepts as thumbnails or loose drawings. The artist describes to me what their final vision is for each sketch. It is usually pretty easy to pick out the most exciting one, as the artist is inherently more excited about one or two of them. I then talk to them about details, focus, and composition. What elements should they make sure to retain when transitioning from sketch to their finish? What colors and shapes (both positive and negative) will really draw in the viewer? What elements of symbolism and position are there, and do they give the viewer the correct impression of the story? Is there a way to deepen the story and push the piece further? What sort of foreshadowing can be added into the illustration? Is the viewer’s eye traveling around the piece in an engaging and entertaining manner? Can the artist justify the choices they make in their vision?
That one work will be judged for their vision and execution, but their career will be judged by their professionalism and ability to work with art direction.
Eventually, as their careers progress, that once stellar piece will be replaced in their portfolio with new works and the prize money will be spent. But the big thing that will remain and be built upon is the experience and knowledge they gain from this special week. It becomes a part of their foundation—strengthening them to become that much more magnificent in their future. This is the gift that I, and the other judges, strive to give the winners, made possible by L. Ron Hubbard and the Illustrators of the Future Contest.