The Exploration Category celebrates all forms of self-initiated work, illustration made for portfolios, and experimental pieces that push the boundaries of illustration. This category includes unusual materials, cutting edge technology,..

Global and well known companies commission illustration more than you might think. Here we look at the shortlisted entries that were commissioned by some of the world’s leading brands.

The Klaus Flugge Prize for most exciting newcomer to children’s picture book illustration is awarded to Eva Eland for When Sadness Comes to Call

Here we celebrate just some of the highlights from the WIA2020 Children’s Publishing Category selected by category sponsor Walker Books’ Senior Designer and Creative Director.

No matter how devastating this year may be, Pictoplasma refused to give up on 2020, and took the circumstances as an opportunity and an unforeseen starting point for something new: This September 18+19, the first ever digital ‘Pictoplasma in Isolation’ is set to take place as a free 2-day livestream broadcast.

Editorial Category sponsors Procreate have curated their favourite illustration from across the whole shortlist that uses their software. The diversity and range of work is amazing, all facilitated by Procreate’s technology.

Art education has certainly had an interesting year, with many colleges having to switch to remote online teaching due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Falmouth Flexible has been already ahead of the curve since 2016, and in this article they interview their MA Illustration Students to find out more about the rewards and challenges of studying online.

WIA2020 delivery partners Directory of Illustration’s president Elizabeth Owen has curated a selection of shortlisted illustration from across the categories, made for self-promotion and portfolio development.

Explore just some of the highlights from the WIA2020 Design, Product & Packaging Category.

Reviewer Karl Foster believes that This Book Is Anti-Racist will help children to help their elders to understand the inequities of racial prejudice and the work necessary to help them to ‘change their minds.’

The city is rich with people, colour, shapes and atmosphere. Find out how a selection of illustrators from the WIA shortlist use the urban environment as inspiration.

Explore our showcase of a few of our highlights from the WIA2020 Alternative Publishing Category.

Public Lending Rights (PLR) have released the Top 50 Illustrators whose work has been most borrowed from public libraries. Number 1 is AOI Patron Tony Ross! And the list also..

How do illustrators play with perspective and scale to create dynamic, imaginative work? We explore entries that these strategies to make striking images.

A chart maker who previously worked as senior designer at BuzzFeed News and as a writer/illustrator for BuzzFeed, Michelle Rial’s new book Am I Overthinking This? is subtitled Over-answering life’s questions in 101 charts. With Varoom 41 themed on No Narrative, we talk to her about how her smart, witty charts are created and how her ‘real life charts’ evolved.

Calm Down Zebra is written by Lou Kuenzler and illustrated by Julia Woolf, and follows on from Not Yet Zebra, another fun rhyming book for early learners. To continue, the same enthusiastic zebra is back, says reviewer Louise Date, and helping Annie teach her little brother all about colours and how to use them, sometimes with a little too much zeal!

Explore our showcase of a few of our highlights from the WIA2020 Site Specific Category.

Printmaking and Collage offer exciting ways to play with shape, colour and surface. We’ve picked some of our favourite examples from the WIA shortlist for you to explore how illustrators can use these versatile techniques.

Whether you are a commissioner looking to work with fresh talent, or just an illustration enthusiast, we recommend visiting a variety of this years online degree shows. Now is the time to celebrate, share and support the graduates of 2020. The AOI have compiled a shortlist of 5 illustration degree shows to get you started on your virtual tour (no petrol needed).

Agency Artist Partners have announced with sadness the passing of their friend and artist/illustrator Lizzie Sanders.

After an extraordinary nine years, illustrator and educator, Roderick Mills has recently retired from the AOI Board. Over that time the AOI and the illustration industry has changed and developed,..

Illustrated by Allan Sanders, whose artwork is often packed with detail, A Number of Numbers is a search and find book that takes a number as the starting point for each of the 26 spreads.

Here we celebrate just some of the shortlisted projects from the WIA2020 Editorial Category sponsored by Procreate!

How do illustrators use their autobiography as inspiration for their work? We’ve selected entries from the WIA2020 shortlist of works that use personal stories, life experience, and family history as their starting point.

Meet Aimée Felone co-director of Knights of Publishing house. Knights Of Publishing specialise in inclusive commercial children’s publishing based in heart of Brixton, London. Aimée shares her top tips to illustrators looking to move into Children’s books.

Two longstanding Directors of the AOI retire at the AGM.

Like many organisations, the AOI is run day to day by a staff team, with its strategy guided by a Board of Directors. The Directors are responsible for ensuring that..

Our WIA2020 Category Highlights series continues – with highlights of the entries shortlisted in the Science and Technology Category selected by Directory of Illustration’s Medical Illustration Programme Editor Rachel Bajema!

We’ve curated this list of shortlisted projects that use a limited colour palette from the WIA shortlist for you to discover the creativity unleashed by working in monochrome!

Cicada’s Ziggy Hanaor has a keen eye for talent, she has hand-picked some of her favourite illustrators from the AOI folios with the style and energy needed to succeed in children’s publishing.