V&A Illustration Awards 2006: Student Category

The student category was judged by illustrator and former winner Sara Fanelli , illustrator and former winner Daniel Pudles and graphic designer Geoffrey Winston.

The Student Illustrator of 2006 received £1,300 and the commended students £300 each.

Student illustrator of 2006

Chu-Li Chen

Chu-Li Chen’s art background is mainly in textile design but she has recently studied illustration as part of a Communication Design course at London College of Communication.

As illustrator, she likes combining different media to create illustrations rich with texture. Before making the two-dimensional image, she first works in collage or creates three-dimensional objects.

The work submitted for the V&A Illustration Awards, 'Human Imperfections', consists of five flipbooks made from photocopying fabric dolls in various positions to express their different characters. It is the first stage of a stop-time animation project that is still in progress.

‘The most precious part of my work is my sketchbook… After planning in the sketchbook I start to work with real objects, for example drawing on fabric or making a collage of different materials. Then I work from sketch models to the final one. Sometimes if I feel stuck or bored, returning to the sketches helps to get me going again.’

Winning Illustration: Human Imperfections

Flipbooks made from fabric dolls

'An unusual and gratifyingly difficult to characterise entry, the range of work inspired by a simple theme was creative, witty and fresh. So many ideas were presented in a range of media, and in the intensely worked and organised sketchbooks. We sensed an evolving expressive personality, an innate sense of design and an appetite for exploring possibilities and concepts. As one of the judges remarked, this work "made us reach to somebody we did not expect!"'

– 2006 jury report

    

 

 

Student prize-winner

Alexis Goodwin

University College for the Creative Arts (Maidstone)

The latter part of Alexis Goodwin’s Illustration course at University College for the Creative Arts (Maidstone) focused on the production of storybooks.

This format enabled him to explore characterisation, pace and narrative, and to experiment with combinations of text and images. In addition to working in book illustration, he hopes to apply the same skills to animation and single-image editorial work.

Most of his work begins with drawing, but he then uses paint to add texture and colour. Technique and inspiration are interlinked and vary with each project.

Of 'The Visitor' story-book Goodwin says that he took inspiration from French artists: ‘It was my attempt to emulate some of the dark moody images created by artists such as Thierry Van Hassett that led to the oil paint on acetate with which 'The Visitor' is painted. The technique embellishes emotional gestures and marks to create a more tangible, atmospheric world.’

Winning Illustration: The Visitor

Laser-printed book from artwork in oil on acetate

'An unusual use of painterly techniques and an understanding of how to compose dramatic images of differing degrees of intensity to tackle challenging subject matter. Sketchbooks demonstrated a sound grounding in drawing and a rich imagination' – 2006 jury report

Student prize-winner

Deborah Hill

University College for the Creative Arts (Farnborough)

Deborah Hill began working with animation in her final year of a Graphic Communication course at University College for the Creative Arts (Farnborough). She also worked on book illustration projects and printmaking. She really enjoys working with sequential narrative and hopes to continue exploring this, both in books and animation. Alongside the image-making process, she loves animation for the opportunity of working with audio.

‘With each project I like to find an appropriate process for the subject, either using particular techniques or materials. For a project I carried out about button phobia I created imagery using actual buttons alongside related items such as fabric and stitching… My entry to the V&A Illustration Awards, 'Origami', is my first venture into animation. I used paper as my only material to create both the imagery and the audio.’

Origami (animation still), Deborah Hill, 2006

Winning Illustration: Origami

'The deceptive simplicity of poetic execution, using animation, belied a rigorous response to the challenge of illustrating principles of origami. The details enriched the articulation of the idea, down to pencil rubbings and the crunchy sounds of paper on the soundtrack' – 2006 jury report

Student prize-winner

Suyeon Kim

Edinburgh College of Art

Suyeon Kim studied Graphic Design at Seoul National University of Technology and worked as a graphic designer for some years before starting an MA in Illustration at Edinburgh College of Art. She enjoys using her imagination in illustration and has also learned bookbinding so that she can create complete works. Book cover and poster design also interest her for the challenge of producing more direct and compact design. She likes printmaking as a medium for its colour and unexpected effects.

The 'A Line' book is printed from original linocut artwork. It unfolds as a continuous linear story with no text:

‘I intended to make a storybook that could can be read through its illustration, because I hoped that this story could communicate with adults and children alike. I want to ask the reader what is real happiness, what is the important thing in our life and why our life is valuable. Life is an endless story manifested in memory.’

Winning Illustration: A Line

Handmade book and linocut artwork

'An accomplished entry, beautifully conceived and executed, this work showed a mature engagement with a traditional medium. A finely honed technique and a gentle wit are apparent in the details, and working drawings and sketches gave insight into the evolution of a most sophisticated idea' – 2006 jury report

Student prize-winner

Hannah Warren

Central St Martins College of Art and Design

Hannah Warren specialised in etching and screen-printing during her Graphic Design course at Central St Martins College of Art and Design, but almost always begins her illustration projects with pencil drawings. It was the early figurative work of David Hockney that led her into drawing. She is interested in communicating narratives and would like to work in editorial and book illustration.

Of the 'Grandad’s Letters' drawings she says,

‘I have always enjoyed listening to my Nan retell stories of her time in the 1940s... My Grandad was the opposite and wouldn’t ever talk of that time... After his death two years ago, we discovered letters he had sent home to his mum during the War. I felt it important to retell some of those adventures, to show a side of him that even his family didn’t know. The illustrations show two experiences, one of bombs and the loss of friends, the other of Glenn Miller and football games in Mombasa.’

Winning Illustration: Grandad’s Letters

Pencil drawings

'A touching response to episodes in her grandfather’s life, she sensitively evoked a world which combined a gentle surrealism with personal observations, through a respect for the drawn line and the spaces it can suggest' – 2006 jury report

Report of the Student Jury 2006

Imagination, wit, drama, the ability to visually surprise and engage, and the desire to explore the possibilities of the disciplines of illustration; all these qualities were present in an impressive entry to the second V&A Student Illustration Awards – not least in the work of the 15 shortlisted students.

We were really pleased to find refreshing approaches to the established media of drawing, painting and printmaking, complemented by forays into areas such as animation, photography and the 3-dimensional. We sensed a reaction to the recent over-dependence on computer-based techniques.

The shortlisted work did not follow ‘easy way out’ routes – rather, these students demonstrated just how difficult it is to master the expressive and interpretative possibilities of illustration by making it, in some cases, look almost effortless – sure signs of the acquisition of the expertise required to sustain the budding professional.

The judges were looking for a range of qualities: the ability to create a worthwhile brief and to respond to it with dignity and insight; the means to generate, develop and organise ideas and to make imaginative leaps; the innate skills to visually resolve an image, to respect influences without having your own voice stifled, and to be stretched creatively while remaining on-course in relation to the brief.

In filtering the shortlist down to 5 winners we had some difficult decisions to make. Those who were eventually selected got through because their work was, at this point in their career, that bit more developed, and exhibited commitment and long-term potential – there were others who were very close, and on whom we also deliberated for a considerable time.

The final stages took longer than we expected, until we all felt comfortably in agreement. We surprised ourselves, which was even better.

We have a strong group of winners and a Student Illustrator about whom we were, ultimately, unanimous.

Commended winners

Alexis Goodwin

An unusual use of painterly techniques and an understanding of how to compose dramatic images of differing degrees of intensity to tackle challenging subject matter. Sketchbooks demonstrated a sound grounding in drawing and a rich imagination.

Deborah Hill

The deceptive simplicity of poetic execution, using animation, belied a rigorous response to the challenge of illustrating principles of origami. The details enriched the articulation of the idea, down to pencil rubbings and the crunchy sounds of paper on the soundtrack.

Suyeon Kim

An accomplished entry, beautifully conceived and executed, this work showed a mature engagement with a traditional medium. A finely honed technique and a gentle wit are apparent in the details, and working drawings and sketches gave insight into the evolution of a most sophisticated idea.

Hannah Warren

A touching response to episodes in her grandfather’s life, she sensitively evoked a world which combined a gentle surrealism with personal observations, through a respect for the drawn line and the spaces it can suggest.

Student Illustrator of 2006

Chu-Li Chen

An unusual and gratifyingly difficult to characterise entry, the range of work inspired by a simple theme was creative, witty and fresh. So many ideas were presented in a range of media, and in the intensely worked and organised sketchbooks. We sensed an evolving expressive personality, an innate sense of design and an appetite for exploring possibilities and concepts. As one of the judges remarked, this work ‘made us reach to somebody we did not expect!’

30 August 2006

Sara Fanelli
Daniel Pudles
Geoffrey Winston