Huion Digital Innovation Cross-Category Award Shortlist
Meet the 12 illustrators shortlisted for the WIA2024 Huion Digital Innovation Cross Category Award. Selected by the team at Huion.
Image Credit: Tim Easley – Croydon Community Mural for Let’s Do London Better Campaign
Sponsored by Huion, This award celebrates innovative digital illustration from across the WIA2024 shortlist.
Huion is a China-based drawing tablet brand that provides drawing tablets, light pads, and pen displays, for beginners and professionals.
Its products are compatible with Android, Windows, macOS, Linux and can be used to create digital works, and photo editing.
The winner of this award will receive a HUION Pen Computer—Kamvas Studio 16.
We’ll be sharing the winner at the WIA2024 Awards Ceremony on 10th September!
Jennifer N. R. Smith – WonderTheory BANG: The Wild Wonders of Earth’s Phenomena
This large format children’s non-fiction book published by Thames and Hudson captures the dynamic world of our planet.
Rich in detail this heavily illustrated book takes us on a tour of the beautiful, the dangerous, and the life-giving processes of Earth.
Using energetic colours and movement to take us through natures elements and the impact on the world around us. From what we can see to what’s below the surface.
Jennifer N R Smith is an Illustrator based in the UK
Giacomo Agnello Modica – Olympians
This beautiful series of Greek goddesses and god illustrations, create a unique twist to Greek mythology.
The ultimate divas of Mount Olympus illustrates these iconic characters Hermes, Aphrodite, Ares, Athena and Hades as fun, camp and over the top.
Giacomo loves capturing queer characters and incorporating them into fantasy worlds. Having always been obsessed with Greek mythology, Giacomo’s illustrations create a playful and vibrant approach.
Giacomo Agnello Modica is an illustrator based in the Italy
Cai Ruchen – The Game of Honor and Authority
Inspired by a dream, this series of illustrations explores authority and glory.
This surreal illustration showcases the sinister side of being bathed in praise. Showing a dual perspective of the internal conflict and fear that can come along with it.
The anonymous faces lacking expression reflects the masks we wear as we participate in this game. The illustration makes a comment on sacrificing ones true self to please others.
Combining emotive characters and bold composition to capture these dual perspectives and emotions.
Cai Ruchen is an illustrator based in China.
Yesyo Yeh – Travel with TASA
These illustrations take you on a journey with The Taiwanese Space Agency.
These illustrations detail the story of FS-5’s mission and looks ahead to the future goals of TASA.
Yesyo selected 12 photos of national parks from around the world captured by satellites, along with five full-page illustrations depicting the journey from departure, adventure, recording, returning, to the next journey.
Using narrative illustration to make complex themes engaging before collating these illustrations into a beautiful calendar.
Yesyo Yeh is an illustrator based in Taiwan
Tim Easley – Croydon Community Mural for Let’s Do London Better Campaign
As a born and bred south Londoner based in Croydon, Tim was commissioned by Laura Nevill to create a new piece of community inspired artwork as part of the Let’s Do London Better campaign.
Tom shared how “Croydon has a bad reputation and having lived here all my life I wanted to showcase something positive and bright about the town.”
Music has heavily influenced Tim’s work over the years so he decided to focus on the Croydon music scene, both past and present, celebrating south London’s unique mix of styles and cultures.
Tim Easley is an illustrator based in the UK.
Ring a DingDing – GOTO MUSEUM
This playful series of illustrations were designed as colouring sets and calendars for art lovers to make their own.
Coming with markers, each set explores art museums in China. Allowing people to discover works on display and learn more about the museums.
Several of the activities were shared in different museums and libraries in China. Creating new ways for people to engage with traditional art.
Visitors were encouraged to colour their artworks with limited colours and find out more about art history.
Yuan Ding is an illustrator based in Beijing, China.
River Jiang – DO DONT
Inspired by the dynamic symbols that permeate our everyday lives. From road signs to instruction manuals, rules are the unspoken norm.
This beautiful book looks to change the status quo, as each page turn breaks the previous page’s rules, urging viewers to confront and question often unnoticed conventions.
Using a screen print the acrylic cover and coptic binding the book has a tactile zine-like feel that feels unique and against the grain adding to the subject matter.
Whilst playful visual metaphors create dream like illustrations that flip everything on it’s head!
River Jiang is an based in London.
Kate Osmond – Shred Those Thoughts
Inspired by her overwhelming insomnia, Kate created this project after a period of struggling to sleep.
Kate couldn’t seem to silence thoughts that were spiralling around her brain at night. Whilst lying awake she imagined that these thoughts were physical objects that she could banish from her head by putting them through an office shredder.
These personal and poetic illustrations capture these intrusive thoughts using sketchy and soft pencil. The comic style appears almost as a diary entry, feeling haunting and atmospheric.
Kate Osmond is an illustrator based in the UK.
Xavier Mula – Alice in Wonderland – Editorial Austral
Xavier was commissioned by Austral publishing house Austral ilustrados to create a new illustrated version of the classic ‘Alice in Wonderland’ by Lewis Carroll.
The vibrant and rich illustrations create a new perspective on the traditional story. Showing energetic movement and dynamism with action packed illustrations.
Instead of Alice appearing childish, Xavier’s approach is modern and fresh with bright colours and bold shapes.
Xavier Mula is an illustrator based in Spain
Nimo Jiang – Folding world
Folding world is a series of four illustrations, exploring how our imagination can build entire worlds.
For this project, Nimo chose four of their favourite artists and visually condensed elements from the artists work into a building.
The illustrated series uses playful perspective and composition to allow us to peek inside each artist’s world.
Nimo Jiang is an Illustrator based in the USA
Jasmine Hortop – I am here, I am safe, I am brave, we are together
This beautiful project was created as a piece of artivism to prompt conversation following a three month immersive art residency with CIC Reclaim The Sea in Plymouth.
The organisation work with refugees and asylum seekers with sea trauma, to reclaim the sea as a safe space through teaching swimming and surfing.
This powerful piece of work brings attention to the important work of RTS, while raising awareness of sea trauma of migrants.
Jasmine Hortop is an illustrator based in Cornwall.
Doug John Miller – Lithium and Beyond
Commissioned for Chemistry World magazine this illustration depicts the ever changing world of battery technology and the huge implications that the use of lithium has on our daily lives.
Playing with scale, this illustration emphasises the level of impact by creating highly detailed worlds that sit within each battery.
Doug’s ability to capture such a complex subject matter into something that’s engaging and insightful is key.
Doug John Miller is an illustrator based in the UK.
If you enjoyed reading this curated list, be sure to keep explore the rest of the WIA2024 Shortlist Showcase. We will be adding materials until September.
We’ll be sharing the winner of The Huion Cross Category Award at the WIA Awards Ceremony on 10th September 2024.
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