For 63 years, the Annual has provided a platform to our global community to express, through illustration the events and movements of our times. The significance of the events of this year, documented through your visual narratives, will become an important archive. Generations of talented illustrators have captured history- in all its heartbreak, challenge, and triumph- with their pens and paper and screens.

By submitting work, you are supporting an endeavor much greater than the exhibit and book. Revenue generated from the competition enables us to continue to provide intensive educational, arts and social programming for underserved communities, student scholarships, events and exhibits, off-site community outreach programming and our comics festival, general operating costs, and the maintenance and conservation of our extensive Permanent Collection housed at the Museum of Illustration.

To learn more about our extensive programming, or if you are interested to know how you can be part of the good work we are doing, through volunteer or paid activities, please visit our website here.

We thank you and appreciate your support in helping us make a difference!

Illustrators 63 Annual Book and Exhibition Committee:
Chair: Cari Vander Yacht
Assistant Chair: Ping Zhu
Illustrators 63 Main Visual Artists: Min Heo, Everett Glenn, Amanda Baeza, Cannady Chapman

Deadline for Entries: Monday, October 26 (11:59pm EST)

New this year! THE SI GIVE BACK FUND!

The Society understands the unprecedented challenges that the world, and the illustration community, are experiencing right now. In the interest of making the competition more accessible for artists with limited resources, we have created a Fund for those who otherwise would not be able to enter the Annual. This Fund will also allow access to valuable educational and social/networking events attached to the Annual.
     • The Society is using an honor system for access to this Fund. Only Artists who need assistance should take advantage of this opportunity.
     • Artists are able to enter 1-3 single images or 1 series using the Fund.
     • Funding is limited and is available as long as the contributions continue to be replenished.
     • Entrants who are able may submit donations to the Fund. Any amount can make a difference. These donations will become available
      immediately. Donating to the Fund is tax-deductible.

Awards:
Gold and Silver Medals will be presented to the illustrators and art directors whose works are judged the best in each category.

Eligibility:
Any illustration created or initially published between October 1, 2019, and November 1, 2020, that has not been entered or accepted in the Annual previously, is eligible. International entries are welcome. Each submission will receive consideration by every member of the jury for its category.

Specs for Upload:
     • Vertical images should be 72 dpi, jpeg, and can be up to 1000 px on the longest side.
     • Horizontal images should be 72 dpi, jpeg, and can be up to 1400 px on the longest side.

Categories:
All commissioned work, whether published (killed projects included) or not, should be entered in one of the four categories: Editorial, Book, Advertising, and Institutional. Both commissioned and self-generated projects are eligible to be entered into the Surface/ Product Design category. Only self-generated projects should be entered in the Uncommissioned category.

Participants who wish to submit a series of images MUST enter their work in the appropriate category. A series is any multi-image project for which a sequence of images is necessary to fully convey an idea or story. Participants will be able to submit 3 to 10 images per series.

Participants who wish to submit a moving image MUST enter their work in the appropriate category. A moving image is an animation used for commercial purposes such as tv or online advertisements, short or feature-length movies, ebooks, apps. To enter this category, please submit a Youtube or Vimeo link. Gif files are also accepted and follow the same specs as single image/ series entries, with the exception of the file being gif and not jpeg.

Editorial
Examples: work commissioned by newspapers or magazines, medical and scientific journals, or online magazines.

Book
Examples: all illustrations originally commissioned for use inside or on the covers of hardbound and paperback books, including fiction and nonfiction, children’s and young adult literature, and comic books. Self-published books should be entered in the Uncommissioned category.

Surface/ Product Design
Work appearing in three-dimension. Only series are accepted in this category (no single entries). Entrants must include a photo reference of the finished product, as well as detailed images of the design. Uncommissioned projects are eligible for this category.

Examples: illustrations created for merchandise such as carpets, pillows, rugs, clothing, food and beverage labels, etc. as well as repeat patterns seen on wrapping paper, wallpaper, and other various textiles. Also includes stationery and self-initiated greeting cards licensed for use by corporations. Illustrations used as murals should be entered in this category.

Advertising
Work created to sell a product, usually commissioned by an ad agency.

Examples: consumer ads in magazines, newspapers, special supplements, television and web, billboards, cd/album covers, point-of-purchase, theater/music/movie posters.

Institutional
Work commissioned by and for an institution such as government services, in-house, or a corporation.

Examples: work appearing on announcements, annual reports, transportation, calendars, corporate projects, government service projects, greeting cards, newsletters, in-house publications, philatelic work and collectibles, stamps, work promoting a transportation authority or parks department, and work promoting a gallery.

Uncommissioned
This includes all self-generated work such as portfolio samples, sourcebook ads, and uncommissioned stock that are currently unpublished except as promotion for the artist or artist's representative. Commissioned but un-published work appearing as self-promotion should be entered in the category for which the work was originally done. Art created for exhibits and gallery shows should be entered in this category unless the art was used to promote the gallery (then it should be entered in Institutional). There will be no art directors or clients credited for uncommissioned works.

Entry Fees:
Members: $20 per Single Image, $50 per Series up to five images ($5 for each additional image)
Non-Members: $35 per Single Image, $75 per Series up to five images ($5 for each additional image)
The Hanging/Publication fee of $90 non-members/ $80 members is required for reproduction in the book, whether or not the work was displayed in the exhibition.

About the Book:
All accepted entries will be reproduced in full color in the Illustrators 63 Annual. Complete credit will accompany the image, including title, media, and artist’s and/or rep’s email addresses and website. All artists in the show will also have profiles through the Society's website, including an image and link to their websites.

About the Exhibit and Galas:
The Society continues to follow the guidelines that have been issued for the health and safety of everyone. In order to address the uncertainty of the current situation regarding the pandemic, the Society is planning for all possibilities. The Society will be including a virtual element to Annual-related programming, with details to be announced at a later time.



As a non-profit charitable arts organization with a long history, we are a reflection of the past, present, and future. This year’s Annual will prove to be significant, capturing images and stories that reflect the hardships and changes that the world is experiencing.

By the time the Illustrators 63 Annual becomes available to view in the new year, the Society of Illustrators will be 120 years old. This is the legacy of this esteemed competition and organization. Generations of artists have entered and had their work voted on by their peers and joined a continuum of talented illustrators who made a mark in this field. In that time, our artists have captured history- in all its heartbreak, challenge, and triumph- with their pens and paper and screens. The Annual serves as an account of our time, and this year it will become an important archive for your visuals and narratives of your current experiences.