Newcastle College University Centre Student Wins a Place in Global Illustration Annual

Newcastle College University Centre Student Amelia Palmer has won a place in the Cheltenham Illustration Annual 2020, after reaching the final of a competition to select 50 illustrations.

This year there were over 800 entries submitted by both students and established artists worldwide, and Amelia’s artistic interpretation of the theme “I am Many Stories” secured her one of 50 coveted places.

Amelia’s work, titled ‘The Storytellers Attic’, uses digital arts techniques taught throughout her BA (Hons) Illustration degree to showcase a visual story-telling that goes beyond the present moment.

“I’ve always loved children’s book illustrations and would love to get into writing and illustrating books in the future. My inspiration came from memories of childhood and the stories I enjoyed reading, looking at it from a child-like perspective when your imagination had no limits,” Amelia commented.

20-year-old Amelia entered the competition with support from her tutors at Newcastle College University Centre after completing her final project last summer.

She continued: “My tutors have always been supportive of my work and encouraged me to continue experimenting with different materials and practices. Being on an illustration course it makes sense to enter competitions like this as it’s a good way to get your name out there and network, something that can be quite difficult in the creative industry.

“It was really unexpected, I didn’t think my illustration would be chosen but I’m really excited to see it published in the annual.”

All entries were assessed by an academic and peer selection panel which looks at different styles of illustration to maintain a variety of concepts in the published annual.

The annual with the final illustrations is now being published and will be distributed internationally to education institutions and industry publishers early this year. As well as being published, 30 of the chosen winners will take part in a touring exhibition starting at The Museum in the Park, Stroud, in March this year. Confirmation of this is dependent on Covid-19 restrictions and the final 30 have not yet been selected.

Amelia’s winning submission alongside her other work can be viewed on her Instagram account @amelias.studio

Find out more about studying a digital arts degree, including illustration, at Newcastle College University Centre.