We've had so much love for the work produced by Inkygoodness Collective members on our 28 Day Branding Challenge this week, and in this penultimate article we're excited to showcase the winners of our Illustrator Awards as chosen by our Speakers & Mentors multi-disciplinary designer and artist MURUGIAH . and illustrators Franz Lang and Katie Lukes !

Our mentors were giving the opportunity to review work created for all three creative briefs set by Vault49 , FLOW Creative , Rick Hedof & Julia Donchuk .

🏆 Illustration Awards: Murugiah

For outstanding creative work produced during the challenge, Murugiah chose ONE artist to sit down with for a 1:1 Mentoring Session plus three others for commendations!

Here's what Murugiah had to say:

Wow what an amazing set of work produced by all of the contributors. Congratulations! What I found most enjoyable about everyones work was that each artist had a different approach to the briefs, so please all of you, maintain that sense of uniqueness moving forward. I really enjoyed the human personal touches in the presentations for example Alice Ferns playful paper cut approach in route one of her Casatera project; and Hayley Newell’s personal approach to her Mind presentation. 

The winners are...

🥇1st Prize

Illustrator Nadia Resta was selected by Murugiah for her work on the Mind Campaign Brief set by Flow Creative, and scooped the first prize of a 1:1 Mentoring Session. Congratulations!! 

Murugiah chose Nadia for her work on both the Mind Campaign and Castera Brief:

• Nadia showed a unique, personable approach, of writing down many thoughts, questions and phrases before making any sketches.
• Then when getting to the sketch phase, which I mentioned for many of the artists was the most playful and authentic, Nadia refined her sketches but not too much so that the authenticity of the sketches was not lost in the final outcome.

• I really enjoyed how most of the artists first routes were the most playful, hand made, and raw and authentic approaches - which is why Nadia was the winner for me!

Well done Nadia Resta!

🥉Commendations

Murugiah also wanted to take the opportunity to commend a further three artists for their creativity, design thinking and execution of their final projects on the 28 Day Challenge. 

Well done to Katie Lively , Thomas Blankschøn and Mariia Vlankso! 👏👏👏

Here's a few words from Murugiah on his selected artists...   

Commended: Katie Lively / Castera Brief - Vault49

• Katie's illustration was a really well thought out and fun approach to the brief. The consideration to the existing template of the can was taken seriously and you worked hard to think about the placement of your illustrations on the final design. I really liked her experimentations in B&W too. 

Commended: Thomas Blankschøn / Saving the Land Brief

• Love this piece by Thomas! What a fun illustration. 
• His style feels fresh, unique and playful to me. 
• I would have considered diversifying the characters within the illustration even if they are part of the same family - something to consider for future projects.
• Well done though, really strong work!

Commended: Mariia Vlasenkon / Mind Campaign Brief - Flow Creative

• Mariia's work feels fresh and heartwarming with a unique kind of cut and paste hand made approach. 
• Great sense of typography and illustration style!

• In future, don't be afraid to take a second look at your mock ups and make sure they are as bright as the original illustrations.
• Overall a lovely piece of work, well done Mariia!

🏆 Illustration Awards: Franz Lang

Next up Franz Lang chose ONE artist for a 1:1 Mentoring Session and a further artist for a commendation. Franz also shared a few words for you here:

Here's what Franz had to say:

I absolutely loved reviewing all your work and it was wonderful to see how you tackled these projects - so much talent! It’s been a pleasure being part of the 28 Day Challenge and I can’t wait to see what you all do in future. Congratulations!

🥇1st Prize

Illustrator Thomas Blankschøn was selected by Franz Lang for his work on the Castera Brief set by Vault49 and was awarded the first prize of a 1:1 Mentoring Session. Congratulations!! 

Franz chose Thomas for his work on the Castera Brief:

• The possibilities of Thomas's illustration applications are great! 
• I liked the character design, colour choices and energy in his work a lot.
• Love the colour palette and execution, well done Thomas.

Congratulations Thomas!

🥉Commendations

Franz chose one further artist for a commendation for their fantastic work on the 28 Day Challenge. 

Shout out to Alice Ferns for her work on Casatera! 👏👏👏

Here's a few words from Franz about what she loved about Alice's work.. 

Commended: Alice Ferns

• Wonderful illustration, I liked the isometric approach, colour palette and overall execution. 
• Great work Alice!

🏆 Illustration Awards: Katie Lukes

Finally, illustrator and muralist Katie Lukes chose ONE artist for a 1:1 Mentoring Session and a further two artists for a commendation. Katie also shared a few words for you here:

Wow, you can really see that they put a lot of effort into these projects! Love the decks that they put together. It's a tough choice to choose one winner as they are all deserving of credit for their incredible talent and hard work. Well done everyone :)

• Katie Lukes

🥇1st Prize

Illustrator Erin Hung was chosen by Katie Lukes for the first prize of a 1:1 Mentoring Session. Congratulations!! 

Katie was impressed with Erin's work for the Mind Charity Campaign and said:

• I was blown away by Erin’s work for the Mind Charity Campaign. I found it so clever and intriguing with a lot of depth. 
• What hooked me from the beginning was the use of mixed media and texture, and what sealed the deal was the clever play on the use of the sculpture busts in a fun new way.
• Awesome work, well done Erin!

Congrats to Erin!

🥉Commendations

Franz chose one further artist for a commendation for their fantastic work on the 28 Day Challenge. 

Well done to Priscella Fernandes, Nat Ellis and Fiorella Quaranta  👏👏👏

Here's a few words from Franz about why she selected her chosen three

Commended: Priscilla Fernandes / Casatera Brief - Vault49

• Loved this! Priscilla has a great eye for composition and aligning the elements in a really nice way. Very solid work! 

Commended: Nat Ellis / Casatera Brief - Vault49

• Nat has a really good eye for colour and overall I loved the energy and summer vibes she captured in this project. Well done Nat!

Commended: Fiorella Quaranta / Mind Campaign Brief - Flow Creative

• Finally, Katie selected the work for Fiorella Quaranta for her illustrations created for Flow Creatives brief - a campaign for mental health charity Mind.
• Fiorella’s handmade approach brings so much joy and I just loved her illustrations! Loved how this turned out.

Well done everyone!

We are absolutely delighted with the outcome of our 28 Day Branding Challenge and would love to invite you to congratulate our chosen artists by Murugiah, Franz Lang and Katie Lukes for their brilliant work created for our creative briefs!

We will be sharing the final round-up results of our Community Awards winners as selected by myself and co-host & illustrator Luke McConkey later this week!

Finally a shout out to all participating artists and illustrators and our wonderful Inkygoodness Collective members for getting involved. We are super proud of all of you for taking on the 28 Day Branding Challenge and can't wait to see what you do next. Thank you for joining us!

Are you an artist or illustrator keen to develop your creative practice further this year?

Applications are now open for Make Your Mark Bootcamp, our six month personal and professional development programme!

Make Your Mark Bootcamp brings together the best bits of our flagship programme and 28 Day Challenges, with new additions and refreshed content including mastermind sessions, practical workshops, creative briefs and industry mentoring with illustration commissioners from publishing, editorial and advertising. Starts Monday 17th June and runs till Thursday 12th December.

Find your voice, craft your story, develop your portfolio, build your business and get hired!

Ready to go? Apply now 👉

Successful applicants will be notified within 3 days of their application and invited to secure their spot. More details on speakers coming soon!

Full details on our Masterclass Speakers & Industry Mentors can be found on inkygoodness.com! We look forward to welcoming you on board.

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Make Your Mark Bootcamp illustrations created by Inkygoodness Collective member Martina Leonard.