The AOI, in partnership with the Directory of Illustration, is delighted to announce for the first time ever, the 500 projects that have been longlisted for the World Illustration Awards 2020!

In December 2019, we opened our call to illustrators to Be Ambitious, Be Seen, Be Celebrated. An incredible 4,300+ entries were submitted by illustrators from 79 countries into this year’s awards. This was followed by a competitive judging process to find the 500 longlisted projects. The Longlist represents some of the best illustration from across the world, featuring an incredible array of techniques, concepts, processes and formats.

The Longlist includes projects from all 10 categories by both New Talent and Professional Illustrators. Illustration for everything, from Advertising, Design, Editorial, Book Covers and Site Specific projects is represented. A highlight is seeing the huge variety of work, with everything from personal projects sitting alongside campaigns for global brands.

The judges, including illustrator Axel Scheffler, co-founder of art platform Yellowzine, Aisha Ayoade, and Alyssa Walker from Wired, continue their search for the shortlisted 200 projects, to be announced in June 2020. Later in the year, we will announce the Category and Overall Winners, who will receive generous cash prizes.

The World Illustration Awards is a year-long celebration and showcase of illustration, bringing together creatives, industry, commissioners and art directors, supporting our global illustration community to thrive more than ever.

Every longlisted project can be viewed on The AOI website at: www.theaoi.com/wia

Congratulations to all selected artists!