@chrisaakins I really liked the concept for your tiger entry. i felt like it would have been more effective if your point of view hadn't been higher than the sitting grandpa. a lower point of view would have made me see it through the eyes of the young tigers being painted.
I have some thoughts on this, but I’m traveling today. I’ll try to chime in sometime tomorrow. : )
Hi Chris, I'm sorry to hear your disappointment about the outcome of the contest. As artists we've all been there from time to time. I think it's a healthy emotion sometimes, it keeps us going forward. And I see your improvement from month to month of the contest pieces. How you try new things like tilting the angle a bit like this storm piece. It's a very good one in my opinion. The rendering, the color, the composition looks very good. Maybe the storytelling part is a bit less interesting. Like they said concept is king. I think it needs a bit more of a unique story.
For me, I think entering the contest is more important for improving our storytelling skills more than our art skills. I think story is a lot more important than art.
I've just read a interesting article here, maybe it's relatable to you.
https://notepd.com/idea/10-mind-altering-tips-for-artists-who-want-to-achieve-greatness-in-their-lifetime-qdtjl
And a short clip interview of Brad Rushing, I like what he said in the first 3 1/2 min.
visit my website: https://turnip.co/
@aurelia Thanks for posting this article. They are all good points. For me, #1 and #2 are things that I need to make sure that I focus on. The first one is hard not to do as an artist. I know that Lee, Jake, and Will have all talked about a lot (along with some of the other points). It is good advice, but hard to follow 
.
@chrisaakins I like your work and it is cool to see the the progress you have made over time. I think that concept is always key in the contests, so if the story is not compelling enough, then it may not get chosen. Maybe you could compare your entries with others and see if your story is compelling compared to them. In fact, ask other people (without letting them know which one is yours) which idea is more interesting since we are usually are biased towards our own or people we know. This could let you know if your concept is interesting to others.
It is hard to not know how you could improve your piece if they don't get picked or critiqued, so I understand the frustration with that. It would be cool and scary to see a video of Lee, Jake, and Will picking the top 16 and get an insight of why they choose what they choose (like they mentioned during the last Critique Arena). It would be hard to see your own piece taken out, but at least you would know why it happened.
Hiya @chrisaakins, sorry to hear you are feeling a bit disheartened about the contests but please don't be. You have been entering for a long time, you've had some wins, some losses, but it's all experience. It sounds like they have been very worthwhile for you as you have used them to learn and develop, which I feel is the aim of them. You now have a portfolio and regular work. Brilliant!
I would try and keep seeing them as a bit of fun and use them to continue to hone your skills, paid work should come first and then the prompts are the chance to just go wild! You've got nothing to lose, the worst that can happen is you don't get picked. The aim is... (to quote Lee) "Every time you'll learn something brand-spanking new"
Look at the positives - your storm entry didn't get picked, but you said it was one of the best illustrations so far - which is great. Personal development is what we are all here for. Looking at it all I would say is the boy was not doing anything that anyone wouldn't normally do in a storm, but that is only in the context of the critique arena and not every image needs to be tailored to the arena. A children's book does not have crazy-wild images on every page, the kids would be exhausted! Look at it outside of the arena context - is a wonderful image in it's own right so yes, you should be very proud of it (that brickwork is spot on!).
Like you have said the critique arena is a bit of a one-shot image. I always think it's a chance to just go wild with the concept but some months it's to challenge myself to do something I'm not good at. Full backgrounds and environments just aren't my thing - I'm terrible at them!
Celebrate your personal 'wins'. Look back at WHY you think it was your best so far, write down what you think it was. Did you manage to make a breakthrough with a rendering technique you were struggling with? Learn to shift perspective/POV a little which made the scene more dynamic and it's now something you will keep in mind in the future? Actually found the perfect brush for the job? It all adds up. If have improved something then that's great, you can now use that new skill for something else.
If you are feeling a bit burnt-out then take a break, I'm having trouble having time to even come on the forum lately (not because of illustration work unfortunately) but I'm still watching the replays because I find then really interesting and useful.
You are free to pick-and-choose the prompts that excite you and leave the ones you don't. If you see a prompt that makes you think HELL YEAH then go for it! Make prompt-time into fun-time! 
I was looking forward to the treehouse one as I love making crazy structures but I didn't think I was going to be able to enter. I ended up doing my panda treehouse on the day before deadline. I just really WANTED to do it and ended up finishing it off while round at a friends BBQ (the joy of the iPad). I didn't feel like HAD to do the prompt, I wanted to, which I think is important. I knew it was a bit rough and lots of bits need more development but I just had some fun. I also know that my illustrations are a bit too detailed for viewing in the arena but that is my style and I just wanted a panda's treehouse for my portfolio. Did anyone notice the bamboo cocktail with bamboo straw? - Probably not but it didn't matter because I it gave me a giggle drawing it (although they have now changed it a little so you can see around the images a little more before voting).
Thanks for tagging me, I'm so pleased and honoured that you find some of the concept/progress examples I have put up in the past as useful. I would not say that I am farther ahead than you tho, your work is excellent. I do not have ANY paid illustration work, I'm also getting rejections/radio silence from agents etc. so I still have a very long way to go to get to a real pro level. I'm full of self-doubt and low confidence but I'm going to keep trying.
Feel free to give me a shout if you want to discuss anything.
Chris you're doing great so a big congratulations to all you have achieved so far.
I'm finally back from my trip so I wanted to weigh in really quick. First off, congratulations on getting consistent work in illustration! That in itself says a lot about the work you are doing and your level. Very well done!
I took a look at your website and the work over the past year has been TONS better than the stuff from 2021! There is still some inconsistency showing in the work overall, but overall such a vast improvement. It still seems like you are finding your style to me, but it's coming along nicely.
The thing about your entry in this specific month is that it falls under what I call "Segue or Story advancement Art". I have two categories that work generally fits into (not just with the contest, but overall within all of illustration). The other category is "Show or Sell Art". Here's how I define the two:
- Show/Sell Art:
Has "wow" factor - great for portfolio or gaining new clients or followers.
New, Unusual, or unfamiliar take on common/familiar things
Is interesting even without all the "Art Elements" (Value, lighting, paint, color, etc.)
Common uses are Covers, contest entries, stand alone portfolio pieces.
- Segue or Story advancement art
Sticks closely to specific text or descriptions.
Common or typical subject matter, Feels familiar
Can be more intimate and sentimental than Show/Sell art.
NEEDS art elements done PERFECTLY to actually pull it off in an interesting way
Comon uses are interior art and spot art to move a story along
The thing about segue or story advancement art is that it can be done very well and be perfect for an interior. BUT, these types of images will never win in a contest. This is what we thought about your image for the contest. "Hey, this is pretty nice" is what we thought (and it is nice!). But it just didn't seem to add anything new or make us feel that there was more here. It was just a nice image. For a contest, it needs to probably lean toward the Show/sell kind of image. It needs to either be new subject matter (or at least unfamiliar), OR show something familiar in an entirely new way. To showcase an example of this, compare these two images: 
Both are very well done. But that star image is so unexpected and funny and creative and and and! It just does so much in terms of being interesting and making us say "hey wait, who did this one??!!!! It's awesome!". Ultimately the storm image just doesn't rise to that level. If you did want to showcase this imagery, I think you have to lean into your art elements more to add some drama and make it more unique.
Hopefully this all makes sense. I'm actually doing a full video with examples of this exact topic that will be uploaded today on my patreon (cheesy sales trick here!). But overall it's important to know what kind of image you are doing. Is it a show/sell image? or is it a seque/story advancement image?
As for the question of entering anymore or not, that can only be answered by you. The contests are great for being locked into subject matter we may not normally do and really trying to lean into it and get something good. As others have said, making the top 16 should never be the goal, but I understand why it's nice to hit that and can be discouraging not to get in. I am never a fan of people doing work that they don't need to be doing instead of doing the work they SHOULD be doing (that's why i hate murmay!). So maybe you enter the ones that lean toward what you want to do and skip the ones that don't fit? Just a thought.
I do think as people advance there is a need to go from general study to more specific study in a particular area. This means studying with a teacher or mentor one on one. It's hard to get to the pro level without this at some point. The needs of each person become so specific that a general class or video can't address what is needed.
Again, you are doing great work and obviously you are seeing the results from that in client work and getting in the contest top 16, etc. So I'd just say keep on keepin' on! You are doing great!
SVS Faculty Instructor
www.leewhiteillustration.com
@Lee-White great insight thank you for sharing you thoughts on this.
@chrisaakins I really liked the concept for your tiger entry. i felt like it would have been more effective if your point of view hadn't been higher than the sitting grandpa. a lower point of view would have made me see it through the eyes of the young tigers being painted.
