About the Competition

SILA – The Society of Illustrators of Los Angeles presents our 55th annual Illustration West.

Illustration West is an annual competition and exhibition highlighting the year’s best illustration – both from L.A. and from all around the world. SILA is proud to represent established and emerging artists and demonstrate that this continues to be an exciting era for illustration.

Show Chair

Steve Hughes

Primary Hughes

poster by Scott Bakal ©2016

Judges

Our Exhibition Sponsors

WB

 yodelist

Competition Rules

      • Submission Deadline

EXTENDED DEADLINE!

FRIDAY OCTOBER 21, 2016

      • Entry Fee
        $35 per entry (standard non-member entrants).
        $15 per entry for SILA Members (non-members visit si-la.org for membership details).
        $15 per entry for entries in the Student category.
        Entry fee in full must accompany all submissions. Entry fees are not refundable.

Payment can be made by going to www.paypal.com and then clicking on the “Send Money” tab. The, using our main email address info@si-la.org, follow their directions. You can put “ILW55” in the notes field. You can also mail a check (USD). Contact Alyce at the office if you have any questions. 800-799-6368 or info@si-la.org.

      • Exhibition Fee – Only paid if you are accepted by the judges and choose to exhibit
        $55 per accepted entry (standard non-member entrants).
        $35 for SILA Members.
        $35 for students exhibiting their own artwork in the Student category.
        The exhibition fee is required for inclusion on the illustrationwest.org website. There is no extra charge for the public gallery hanging but you must be part of the Illustration West website exhibition to be included in the public gallery exhibition.
      • Eligibility
        Except for the Visual Development category, any illustration created in or published between June 2015 and June 2016 is elegible. The work in Visual Development category can date back 2 years. Entries from around the world are welcome.
      • Procedure
        Each original illustration is a separate entry. Do not submit campaigns or complete books as one entry. Complete and submit an entry form for each individual piece – uploading your images and all applicable details. Fees can be paid using Paypal or by mail with a check or money order.

Entry Categories

For examples of work in these categories from last year’s exhibition, browse the Category menu of Illustration West 54.

      • Advertising
        Commissioned and published work used for consumer/trade print ads, fashion, point of-purchase, product, packaging, outdoor, websites and other forms of promotional media.
      • Book
        Commissioned and published work for fiction/non-fiction, hard & soft cover books. Includes juvenile, young adult, adult, and cookbooks.
      • Children’s Market
        Commissioned and published work used for the children’s market.
      • Editorial
        Commissioned and published work for newspapers, magazines, blogs, courtroom sketches including spots, and humorous works.
      • Entertainment & Visual Development
        Commissioned and published work for promotion or packaging of entertainment events, products and organizations, including: music, motion picture, DVD/video, television, computer games, live entertainment or Commissioned work for a production of a motion picture, animation, video games, and television. Examples: character designs, layout, visual development, background paintings, and storyboards.
      • Gallery
        Any work produced for the purpose of showing at a gallery or museum.
      • Graphic Novels / Comic Books
        Commissioned and published work for fiction/non-fiction, comic books, and graphic novels. Including: character designs, layout, visual development, background paintings, pin-ups, and storyboards.
      • Institutional
        Commissioned and published work for annual reports, corporate projects, capability projects, in-house publications, illustrated company logos, calendars, menus, calligraphy, non self-promotional greeting cards, philatelic, and collectibles.
      • Student
        Work created for classroom projects only. Must include photocopy of student ID with entry.
      • Unpublished & Self-Promotional
        Any self-promotional work, whether commissioned or not commissioned. Sourcebook ads, mailers, gallery work, portfolio pieces, experimental, fine art. Includes all Artist’s Rep or Gallery commissioned work.

Fill out entry forms completely. Email notifications will be sent once final judging has closed. SILA reserves the right to verify information and/or reassign an entry into the correct category.

By submitting entries, artists acknowledge SILA’s right to use images and associated information for public exhibition, education, publication and promotion of Illustration West and SILA – The Society of Illustrators of Los Angeles.

Acceptance

All entrants will be notified by email.
Judges’ decisions are final.

Awards

For examples award-winning work from last year’s exhibition, browse the Awards menu of Illustration West 54.

      • Joseph Morgan Henninger Award – Best of Show
        This award is presented to the best of all the Gold Award winners and is named for SILA’s first President during our founding year in 1953.
      • Patrick Nagel Award for Excellence
        This award is presented to the second best of all the Gold Award winners and is named to honor a great illustrator, Patrick Nagel.
      • Gold, Silver and Bronze awards are awarded individually for in each category.

Work entered in the Student and Unpublished / Self-Promotional categories will not be eligible for the Henninger or Nagel Awards.
All accepted entries will receive Certificates of Merit.
Award-winning artwork must be available for use on the Web site.

  • Scholarship Awards

    • Scholarships are presented to the Gold, Silver and Bronze Award winners from the Student category.
    • Gold – Phillip Hays “I love it. I think it’s terrific.” $1000 Scholarship
    • Silver – Elin Waite & Dick Oden $750 Scholarship
    • Bronze – Bill Tara $500 Scholarship