Alongside the Society of Illustrators Awards in the United States, the UK’s World Illustration Awards rank among the most prestigious across the applied arts. Run by the Association of Illustrators, which is based in London, the awards are open to illustrators globally and cover ten categories.
In each category, a professional and new talent winner was selected, and highly commended artists were also noted. In addition, sponsored awards were presented last night – some of which overlapped with category winners.
With high-powered judging panels featuring leaders in the industry, the awards recognise not just the winners but over 5,500 artworks, which were entered from 75 countries.
“Our 2024 winners truly excel in their fields, illustrating complex narratives and ideas through their work. They also highlight the importance of illustration in our everyday lives, in books, news, packaging, murals, and more. We are proud to recognise these artists for their significant contributions to the illustration industry and to showcase exceptional illustration talent from around the globe,” said AOI’s CEO, Rachel Hill.
Here at Creative Boom, we decided to celebrate the field of illustration by bringing you the full listing of the winners so that you can be inspired by the artwork or maybe even identify an artist you’d like to collaborate with on a future project.
Professional Overall Winner: Mark Smith
After winning the Professional award in the Editorial category for his image The Missing Mouseketeer, Mark Smith was also announced as the Overall Professional winner by the judges. The image was commissioned by the Alta Journal to accompany a piece about one of the original members of the Mickey Mouse club, Dennis Day, who went missing and the mystery surrounding his disappearance.
Daniel Cobb, a judge in the editorial category, said: “This is an amazing execution that brings a dark and moody undertone to the world of Disney that’s typically so overly positive and unblemished. The illustrator’s understanding and skill with depth and natural light is next-level; there’s a sense of photo-realism at first glance that’s quiet captivating, and I love the use of colour throughout the entire collection.”
Mark’s prize includes £2000 in cash, a two-page marketing package in the Directory of Illustration worth $2,700, and a 100-image professional portfolio on directoryofillustration.com.
New Talent Overall Winner: Kayla Salim
In the Publishing category, Kayla Salim was awarded the New Talent prize, and the artist also took the Overall New Talent award for the image Ama No Inori: Prayer of the Ama. Kayla, who was studying at Sheffield Hallam University, created the piece as part of her course. The book she has created depicts the 2000-year-old Japanese pearl diving tradition known as Ama.
Category judge Jenny Grigg commented: “Very sophisticated work for a student. Thoughtfully resolved and designed to a professional standard, including use of scale variation (dynamic change) across single pages, covers and double page spreads, extended/inventive use of two colours.”
Kayla has won £1000 in cash,