After three months, around 1000 entrants from 30+ countries, three rounds of competition, more than 10,000 public votes and many hours of deliberating, we are delighted to reveal the hugely talented winners of the 2014 Global Talent Search! It was so hard to choose from our outstanding six Finalists that we have decided to give THREE awards – the Grand Prize and two Special Studio Awards. Three art careers are about to change forever. Click on the video below to hear Lilla talking about who won and why, and scroll down to see their work!

(Note: In the video Lilla refers to MATS, her e-course Make Art That Sells, which starts on October 20. You can register here)

Grand Prize Winner:

TARA LILLY, USA

Congratulations Tara! The finalists were asked to design for a home decor line with Midwest CBK. Here’s a glimpse of Tara’s winning work for the competition (we will be sharing more in the coming days):

It was clear that Tara already had the talent, and then Make Art That Sells helped her understand the market potential for her work, and present it beautifully.

Tara had impressed us in the Make Art That Sells e-course. Her work was frequently in the top reviews. Here’s what we loved: we adore her sophistication and charm, with an extraordinary color palette. Her background in graphic design takes her presentation that much further. Check out the “Page 1” and “Page 2” flags. It’s that attention to detail that wow’d us. If you look closely, you’ll see her almost tactile textures. The kitchen canisters are a perfect example of utilizing her art in a really marketable way. She is thinking like a product designer. For example, look at the pom-poms on that yellow cushion! And finally, we could easily envision her beautifully handling all of the GTS prizes.

We are thrilled to announce that Tara has won TWO YEARS’ INTERNATIONAL REPRESENTATION BY LILLA ROGERS STUDIO, with a host of licensing deals, professional development opportunities and international promotion and an all-expenses paid trip to England to participate in a major art event in June 2015! See the full list of incredible prizes here.

We are thrilled to welcome Tara into the studio fold and cannot wait to start working with her!

Special Studio Award Winner:

REBECCA JONES, Australia

Here’s the winning work Rebecca created for the third and final round of the competition:

Rebecca’s art has a robust joyfulness with a big wow-factor. The use of dark backgrounds and bold lettering really pops on the screen. She gave so much. For example, each bird is different and well-designed. The grey coordinate is a lovely, sophisticated touch. Look how she took a photo of an interior (lower left) and mocked up the lamp and wall art piece so beautifully! We adored seeing what Rebecca came up with in the reviews each week in Make Art That Sells.

Special Studio Award Winner:

FLORA WAYCOTT, New Zealand

And here’s Flora’s gorgeous work from the final round:

We loved her style for her delicacy and very intimate quality. We loved the contrast of the grey watercolor silhouetted florals with the pen and ink hand-drawn line art. Reviewing her site and the work she had done for the e-course, we were impressed with her strong body of work that we are dying to get our hands on!

We are excited to announce that Rebecca and Flora have both won TWO YEARS’ INTERNATIONAL REPRESENTATION BY LILLA ROGERS STUDIO and a home decor or gift license with Midwest CBK! So our stable of talented artists just increased by three, and we couldn’t be more thrilled!

Like Tara, both Rebecca and Flora are also graduates of Make Art That Sells, and it shows. Congratulations to our three amazing winners.

 

LOVE WHAT YOU SEE?

If you are an Art Director… Want to talk to us about licensing or commissioning work with our newest artists? We’d love you to contact us. Hurry! These artists are going to get booked up fast. And of course we have all your favorite artists, too.

If you are an artist… Want to see your career skyrocket? We would strongly encourage you to consider joining the next round of Make Art That Sells (which starts on Monday 20 October). Even though the finalists were chosen independently by leading industry experts, and by the general public, all of them were graduates of Make Art That Sells, which just goes to show how the course really teaches artists how to up their game. We couldn’t be more proud.

If you want to learn how to make great art that sells in the top ten markets for art internationally, whilst staying true to yourself, there is no other course like this out there. There are still a few places left if you are quick – register here!

 

 

With this lovely sped-up collage video Make Art That Sells alumnus Wendy Brightbill shares what she learnt from the course:

What might you learn about making your work more commercially viable? Sign up and find out. It might be the most important investment you ever make in your art career. Make Art That Sells starts on Monday 20 October. Don’t miss out. Book your place here!

 

In this lovely 1-minute video Anne Bollman, graduate of our online course Make Art That Sells (MATS), shares how the course helped her take risks with her art, and why taking it paid off in many ways:

Ready to take some good risks with your art? Make Art That Sells starts on Monday 20 October. Don’t miss out. Book your place here!

As we enter the final leg of the 2014 Global Talent Search, Lilla shares her thoughts on dealing with pressure and competition in a creative career. Plus, she gives a hint of what is in store for the 2014 GTS Finalists. Watch here (6 minutes):

In the video Lilla mentions the judges’ comments from the Semi-Final. You can read them here.

We were so thrilled that every single one of the six finalists for the 2014 Global Talent Search – picked independently by the judges and general public – were graduates of the Make Art That Sells course. To celebrate and give even more artists the opportunity to learn how to make their work more commercially viable, we are having a flash sale! If you sign up for Make Art That Sells A + B by Friday September 27 2014 you will get the Bootcamp 2015 class for free! See HERE for more details and register now.

 

We were so thrilled that every single one of the six finalists for the 2014 Global Talent Search – picked independently by the judges and general public – were graduates of the Make Art That Sells course. To celebrate and give even more artists the opportunity to learn how to make their work more commercially viable, we are having a flash sale! If you sign up for Make Art That Sells A + B by Friday September 27 2014 you will get the Bootcamp 2015 class for free! See HERE for more details and register now.

It was clear that the Make Art That Sells course had helped the Finalists develop fantastic marketable art, choose amazing colors and present it professionally. You can see what the judges said about each piece here. We cannot wait to see the work that comes out of the next class (beginning October 20 2014!)

Click here to register for A + B and get Bootcamp 2015 for FREE! (You must register by Friday September 27 to take advantage of this offer)

The waiting is over. It’s time to reveal the 2014 Global Talent Search Finalists, chosen from the 50 Semi-Finalists (who were selected from nearly 1000 artists’ work). We are thrilled to unveil the six Finalists, knowing that one of these artists’ careers is about to change forever. Five were chosen by our panel of industry experts, and one was chosen via public vote. The overall competition winner will be represented by Lilla Rogers Studio for two years, and win a host of licensing deals from prestigious companies (see here for details). The assignment was to create a personified animal character for a young child’s t-shirt.

So without further ado, here we go…

Over 10,000 votes were cast by the public, and we can now reveal that the 2014 Global Talent Search People’s Choice Finalist is:

 

KATE MASON

A number of the judges also singled out Kate’s work, saying:

• The facial expressions on each of the characters are fabulous! The small patterns peppered throughout the design…in the dresses, lanterns, etc…make the design.
• This is by far the most exciting composition and I really enjoyed finding new details each time I looked at it.
• I like the detail in the images, the variety of animals and the  little girl
• I think both mothers who buy the clothes and the little girls who wear them will like these images. Sometimes only the mother or the child likes the images and that causes problems.
• There are also several images and designs that will stand alone or have unlimited combination possibilities for additional product.

Our stellar panel of judges – with more than a century of industry experience between them in the Gift, Home Décor, Editorial and children’s book illustration, Fabric and Stationery, markets – took days deliberating over the Semi-Final gallery. It was incredibly hard to choose, but in the end the following five were selected as the other Finalists (in no particular order):

FLORA WAYCOTT

What the judges said about this piece:

• Such a sweet rabbit character – should appeal to very young children and babies. The message of gardening and growing produce would also be a great one to teach little ones!
• Overall, I found Flora’s submission very strong: she placed her supersweet character in a lovely environment that’s detailed but not too busy
• Flora devoted just as much design and illustration attention to the typography. I love the way she’s built this out. The thermos is adorable and the toss patterns are fantastic: very different concepts but still of the same world.
• Love all her stuff and definitely think this character is marketable across many lines of business.
• Flora has a very cute design and nice color palette that suitable for the younger market, especially for babies and toddlers.
• As an aside, I really like seeing the sketchbook section on her site.

LINDSAY GARDNER

What the judges said about this piece:

• Dig Mister Moose’s nice, fresh ,clunky perspective, his witty humanoid pose, hot beverage, and thoughtfully gathered collection of camping equipment.
• Not anatomically or spatially correct but that’s a good thing; it’s a sincere and dry set up that cuts through the clutter, with lots of good patterns and moments of handsome color.
• There’s an appealing ease and freshness with Lindsay’s watercolours. Her t-shirt design is a bit strange and edgy compared to the rest of the submissions and I think that’s to her benefit here.
• A fun, quirky, retro, and unique look that can appeal to a gender-neutral audience.
• I also really love Lindsay’s watercolor art on her website. It’s beautiful and marketable.

PETRA HAEMMERLEINOVA

What the judges said about this piece:

• Her character had a sense of personality and was relatable to children. Strong composition with a bold central character, sense of detail, humor. The image stayed with me after I had left the page.
• I immediately liked this guy. I sort of thought “bear”. I wasn’t sure till I read her blog, but I didn’t care. He has personality, a story to tell. He’s got a good expression, and a fun lumpy body. I think he’s really resolved.
• It feels like a professional piece of work and is very marketable.
• The whole shirt design is appealing, the details, the lettering, his bird friend, the car lining at the neck. The shirt feels girly because of the sleeve cut, but the imagery could be for boys too.
• More individual stylistically
• Good emotional connection with friendly animal and integrated words/attributes. Approachable character. Warm palette.

REBECCA JONES

What the judges said about this piece:

• This piece stood out to me right away. Excellent composition, the character feels unique and like someone a child would like to get to know.
• The image is telling a story.
• Love the handlettering.
• Style, color choice, folkloric influence but presented in modern way.
• I like Rebecca’s work from both rounds. The first round is very sweet and cute, while the second round looks more edgy. Great presentation in showing different types of style.
• Creative character with fun details and discovery within the composition.  Good visual story-telling.

TARA LILLY

What the judges said about this piece:

• Brilliant illustration skills – such sweet detailing. Very cute kitten with a retro feel. Co-ordinating prints are also very stylish.
• Overall really good – could see this appealing to high end customers as well as main street.
• Tara has a lot of nice art on her site as well. I’m drawn to her delicate on trend techniques and themes.
• Good coordinates with her focal. Her kitty girl looks fresh.
• Who doesn’t like entrepreneurial cats with flush cheeks and pencils in their aprons and newsprint wrapped flower stems? Wonderfully lush, dazzling flowers, every one different, and the attitude of the cat: perfectly poised. Nice hints of old-timey-ness.
• Just beautifully thought through and organized.
• Spot on – talented in character, pattern, lettering… very able.
• A true talent.
• Tara’s work demonstrates confidence in her style and abilities. It is on-trend with a hint of retro qualities without being derivative of others’ works.

The judges also answered two important questions for us:

In general what stood out to you about the five artists you chose?

• Bold impact at a glance – not too wishy-washy or fiddly. Appealing face of the character and easily readable text.
• They all focused on developing specific characters with personalities. I was looking for characters that were expressive and had a story to tell. Fresh looks with distinctive line, pleasing use of color. Bold compositions that draw the eye. Images that resonated after I left the site. Direct child appeal.
• The characters had immediate appeal, the work felt original and all the supporting details strengthened the overall piece.
• Our customer gravitates to happy and well executed techniques that have a reason for them to purchase.
• I had an emotional response for one reason or another. I want to know more about the characters or I felt there was opportunity to add to the ideas.
• Variety of styles that they offered: painting, vector art, collage, textures, etc.
• Presentation, freshness and uniqueness of the art.
• Marketability: if the work can transfer to products and if it can sell.
• I tried to choose characters who were interesting but not too wacky or less-defined. Children like the comfort of familiarity and want an emotional connection with the character so a spirit of friendliness and a feeling of warmth seems important to me. That coupled with good composition that has a kinetic spirit of movement is great also.
• They’re telling conceptual visual stories, not just decorating a rectangle.
• I think the five I selected were more sensitive to who their audience is, whether that be the mother who buys the clothes or the “independent” kids of today who choose their own clothes.
• For me these 5 are a little more sophisticated for a higher end market.
• I will say, it was difficult to narrow down to 5 but I really connected with the artwork. All of the artists are commercially viable for one market or another but the artists I chose have something I feel I haven’t seen a lot of stylistically.
• I chose the ones that felt the most distinctive and original to me. Colors also had more contrast and veered away from the mid tones that many of the artists chose. I feel like the market is getting away from the lime, mid pink etc. and these 5 artists had more interesting color choices.
• The ones I chose all feel very relevant and I think their work has staying power, another key to being marketable.
• They each possess an interesting point-of-view: a freshness that’s wonderful for an art director to discover.
• I wanted them to be able to book a variety of jobs in the real world.
• They all show a high level of accomplished skill. I felt they all had diversity within their portfolios, and each brought something different to the game
• The ones that stood out for me could be part of Lilla’s family, but have enough distinct qualities that potential clients would be seeking out these illustrator’s unique traits, not their abilities to successfully copy existing styles.

What advice would you give to those who you did NOT choose, in order to make their work more commercially appealing?

• Some of the designs looked a little too much like cartoon characters that you would see in animation, and on some the faces did not have appealing smiles.
• All the finalists were talented and it was difficult to choose! In the end, I tended to eliminate designs that lacked a central focus and seemed too busy. For picture books and for a t-shirt, I think a strong, memorable central image is important — it must pop out from the background and many of the artists elected to add a lot of background details which made the piece feel more like a pattern than a story. These kinds of designs might work well for stationery items but not books and t-shirts.
• Many of the designs were just too cute for me
• Be sure your character is really the focal point of your piece, but that there are a lot of wonderful things to look at, but that you always come back to the main event.
• Coordinates are important.
• Many used colors that we would not consider… it is easy to change, but it slows down our production process
• I want to see depth, contrast, simplicity, maybe clever messaging.
• Consider the emotional connection…
• Movement within composition and friendly color and typography are integral to the whole piece.
• Give the viewer something to fixate on beside pattern and eye candy. Develop a visual fulcrum, or some thing or axis that the story can rotate around.  No matter how small, if well considered, it’s what delights the viewer and makes them feel smart for appreciating it.
• I looked for a mix of detail, strong pattern, strong character development, strong lettering skills.
• Show me diversity and how your work could fit for a whole range of needs.
• I think there would be a benefit in paring down a bit. Make the design (and its presentation) a touch more clear: remove some of the pattern and visual clutter so that the main image or illustration pops a bit more. White space or negative space can be very effective and should be used as a tool to accentuate your work; there’s no need to fill every nook and cranny.
• I would be careful of the message that I included. Sometimes the art is great but the message would not make sense to a child or their mother.
• I would recommend that the artists show additional possible products if possible… For me, the more ideas and the more information that the artist gives me, the more likely I am to select their work.
• I responded to the designs that I felt I had not see a version of before…
• Look for ways to move beyond the commercial norm, and try for more distinctly different work that what is currently available in so much of the marketplace.
• I think it’s important to have a vision and an individual perspective that’s immediately obvious. The market is saturated with imitators and art directors are constantly seeking something unique for their projects.
• Commitment to your own brand. Keep on updating your work/website. Show more variety of works and art techniques (for example: illustration/surface/pattern/products, watercolor, vector, etc).
• I think all of the artists are strong in their own ways but when I am reviewing their work I want to see something fresh…a new approach perhaps. I feel many designers are influenced by what they see as on trend when I am looking for the counter trend.

Congratulations! 

Congratulations to everyone! We are thrilled that together 10,000 public votes, plus our judging panel comprising some of the top art directors and creative professionals in the industry, independently selected a set of Finalists where EVERY SINGLE PERSON is a graduate of Make Art That Sells. It was clear that the course helped them develop commercially-viable art, choose amazing colors and present it professionally. We cannot wait to see the work that comes out of the next class (beginning October 20 2014!)

***FLASH SALE*** If you sign up for Make Art That Sells A + B by Friday September 27 2014 you will get the Bootcamp 2015 class for free! See HERE for more details and register now.

Gratitude

Huge thanks to everyone who entered the competition, and especially to the 50 semi-finalists who put so much time, energy and love into their submissions. We are sorry that you cannot all be in the Final, but hope you have enjoyed taking part, and that the exposure has been valuable to you. We would also like to thank everyone who voted, and all our judges who took so much care selecting their choices and sharing their thoughts.

What happens now?

The Finalists will be sent their third and final assignment later today by email. They will be asked to submit their entry by Tuesday 30 September, and in the meantime will have a 1-1 Skype call with Lilla so they can find out more about each other. After that Lilla and her team of agents will select the winner, who will be announced here on the blog on Thursday 9 October 2014. And then a whole new phase of their art career will begin…

We are in the middle of public voting week for the 2014 Global Talent Search and have already received thousands and thousands of votes – thank you! Lilla wanted to share a peek into the judging process, give you an idea of what the judges are looking for, and explain why YOUR vote is so important. Plus, she shares a tip on how you can use the voting process to make your own art better!

Not voted yet? Cast your vote HERE!

We’d love to hear WHY you voted for the pieces you chose (although no need to mention WHO you voted for) – please share in the comments below.

We’ll be back tomorrow to announce some additional prizes and hot new judges!

It is with huge excitement that we unveil the online gallery for the 2014 Global Talent Search Semi-Final! 

Fifty artists were selected from around 1,000 entrants to go through to this round of the competition, and tasked with designing a personified animal character for a young child’s t-shirt. The artists were encouraged to be themselves with a vengeance and create a character with personality.  Check out the fabulousness they created in our online gallery which is open here now!   

Now is the chance for you to cast your vote. 

Five finalists will be chosen by our esteemed panel of judges, and one finalist will be chosen by the public! YOUR VOTE COUNTS. The person with the most votes when the gallery closes at 9am PST / 12 noon EST / 5pm GMT on Friday, September 12th will go through to the Final as The People’s Choice.

The winner of this competition will be represented by Lilla Rogers Studio for two years and win a host of licensing deals and professional development opportunities, so this is your chance to contribute to a LIFE CHANGING OPPORTUNITY for one artist. Their career will be set.

You can vote for up to 5 people, with one vote per image per email address. VOTE NOW!

Want to see how the competition works? See all the stages here.

Thank you for being a part of this truly unprecedented competition.

xoxo

Lilla, Beth, and the Studio Ladies

Ta-da! We were blown away by the level of talent in this year’s Global Talent Search and are excited to reveal the Top 50 artists who will proceed to Round 2 – the Semi-Final! Congratulations to everyone who entered. It was extremely difficult to narrow down the entries from 999 (from 50 countries!) when there was such an abundance of top submissions. Take a look and savor the beauty! We are so eager to see what our Semi-Finalists do for the second assignment.

Before we reveal the Top 50, here is Lilla with some thoughts on the decision making process, and some tips for everyone who participated, whether you made the Semi Final or not…

Click here to download a summary of how Lilla and her team approached the shortlisting – you may find it valuable reading!

In the video Lilla mentions her online course Make Art That Sells. This class has already transformed the careers of thousands of artists.

You could be next. Join us here.

And now for the big reveal… these are our Top 50 pick from the outstanding work submitted.

Meet our 2014 GTS Semi-Finalists (in no particular order)!

Andie Hanna

Andrea Lauren

 

Angie Rozelaar

 

Anisa Makhoul

 

Kellie Bloxsom

 

Jennifer Orkin Lewis

 

Bee Brown

 

Srdana Modrinic

Chris Lensch

Diane Neukirch

Doris Lee

Liz Ablashi

Irene Chan

Erica Hite

Erin Dorholt

 

Flora Waycott

 

Gill Eggleston

Harriet Mellor

Heather Fortin

Ine Beerten

Jana Curll

Jan Avellana

Karma Voce

Kat Kalindi Cameron

Kate Mason

Katie Doucette

 

Lindsay Gardner

Lucky Nielsen

Lucy Banaji

Lynette Taylor

Malu Lenzi

Maria Parrish

Monika Forsberg

Nancy Lemon

Nastja Holtfreter

Nikki Upsher

Simone Downey

Petra Haemmerleinova

Phrosne Ras

Rachael Schafer

Rachel Mosley

Rebecca Jones

Sara Gardner

Sarah Ehlinger

Stephanie Chambers

Sue Dennen

Tara Lilly

Tatjana Maiwyss

Tjarda Borsboom

Victoria Johnson

We would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who participated in the first round of the 2014 Global Talent Search. Putting yourself out there is a tough thing to do, and every experience like this is a great learning for your career.

You can see a gallery of all 999 submitted pieces here.

What happens next? 

The semi-finalists will be sent their next Assignment by email, which is due for submission by Thursday 4 September (9am PST / 12 noon EST / 5pm GMT/UK). These will then be shared in an online gallery which will be open for public voting from Monday 8 – Friday 12 September. Details will be released on this blog on Monday 8. The artist with the most votes will be the ‘People’s Choice Finalist’.

At the same time our panel of judges will review all the work and make their recommendations for the final.

Six artists will be selected for the Final, of which five will be chosen by the judges and one will be the ‘People’s Choice Finalist’.

Good luck everyone!

Want to learn how to make your art more commercially viable without selling out?

Join us for Make Art That Sells, to learn everything you need to know about creating and selling work in the top 10 markets for art – from home decor and gift to children’s picture books and paper. Find out more and register here. 

On the eve of the Global Talent Search registration closing (Thursday is the last day to register), we wanted to share an insight into the upcoming Global Talent Search from a judge’s perspective. Art Director Margo Tantau of Midwest-CBK is one of the founding judges of the competition and was responsible for turning last year’s winner’s art into an incredible home decor line.

Lilla’s producer Beth Kempton caught up with Margo to find out what she looks for when judging, and reveals some of the actual products that are now available as a result of the 2013 winner’s prize. If you are registered for GTS, be sure to watch for some top tips and insight. And if you haven’t yet registered, we hope this video will help bring the competition to life, so you can see this is a very real competition with very real prizes that could seriously change your career.

Tomorrow is the last day to register. Go on, take the leap and register now. Someone has to win and it might just be you.

Want to know more about what happened to last year’s Finalists? Click below to see what they have been up to (HINT: They have been very busy!)

ZOE INGRAM (Grand Prize Winner)

DANIEL ROODE (Special Studio Winner)

VESPER STAMPER

EMILY BALSLEY

LIZZIE MACKAY

JOSEPHINE KIMBERLING