The featured student for February is Erin McClean! The Q&A with Erin(@ERIBERART) is up on the blog. Below is an introduction to the Q&A that Kathryn Adebayo (@KATHRYNADEBAYO) conducted with Erin:

"From writing and illustrating handmade books as a kid, to building full dummy books and creating a portfolio of sweetly stylized characters and their adventures, illustrator Erin McClean has never put aside her goal of creating enjoyable children’s literature. Here are a few of her insights into becoming, and being, a visual storyteller."

Read the whole Q&A on the blog.

There is still time to submit your work! Post your art to this forum post by March 31st for a chance to be featured for April!

The featured student for Sept was Gary Wilkinson! The Q&A with Gary (@GARY WILKINSON) is up on the blog. Below is an introduction to the Q&A that Kathryn Adebayo (@KATHRYNADEBAYO) conducted with Gary:

"If you find yourself immersed in a world of vibrant colors and bold shapes, surrounded by a display of child-inspired imagination, emotion and creativity, you may be reading a book illustrated by Gary Wilkinson. In this Q&A, Gary shares some of his approaches towards his art, goals for the future and some useful advice."

Read the whole Q&A on the blog.

Don't forget to post your Inktober plan and 1-2 of your best pieces to the October Featured Student post by October 11th for a chance to be featured.

The featured student for August is Lisa Burvant! The Q&A with Lisa (@burvantill) is up on the blog. Below is an introduction to the Q&A that Kathryn Adebayo (@KATHRYNADEBAYO) conducted with Lisa:

"This month's featured artist fuels the fire within herself and other members of the SVSLearn community with a tenacious dedication to her craft. If you've been perusing the SVSLearn forums lately, you may know her! Here's a chance to learn from, and about, children's illustrator Lisa Burvant."

Read the whole Q&A on the blog.

Want to be featured on the homepage? Submit your art to this post by August 10th for a chance to be featured for September!

The featured student for May was Shawn Turek! The Q&A with Shawn(@DRAWNBYSHAWN) is up on the blog. Below is an introduction to the Q&A that Kathryn Adebayo (@KATHRYNADEBAYO) conducted with Shawn:

"There are some artists on the SVSLearn forum who consistently post incredible work in a style all their own. If you’re familiar with the forum or the SVSLearn monthly illustration contests, you may instantly recognize the work of one of these illustrators, Shawn Turek. Enjoy the chance to get to know him and his stories, insights and advice in the following Q&A."

Read the whole Q&A on the blog.

The featured student post for July is looking pretty empty right now. Head over to the post and share your work for a chance to be featured for July! Submissions are due by June 30th.

The featured student for January is Carlianne Tipsey! The Q&A with Carlianne (@CARLIANNE) is up on the blog. Below is an introduction to the Q&A that Kathryn Adebayo (@KATHRYNADEBAYO) conducted with Carlianne:

"Some people talk longingly about making art their profession. Others create on the side. Yet there are a few who take the plunge into earning their living from their art without looking back, including Neha Rawat Battish. In this interview, she tells a bit about that process and also shares some of the gems of knowledge that she’s picked up along the way."

Read the whole Q&A on the blog.

Want to be featured on the homepage? Submit your art to this post by January 31st for a chance to be featured for February!

The featured student for January was Gabby Correia! The Q&A with Gabby is up on the blog. Below is an introduction to the Q&A that Kathryn Adebayo (@KATHRYNADEBAYO) conducted with Gabby:

"If you’re looking for inspiration, you may find just what you need in the following interview with full-time digital painter, Gabby Correia. Her attitude of leveling up and staying focused is producing a display of enjoyable and creative artwork on her journey towards her illustration goals."

Read the whole Q&A on the blog.

May's Featured Student:
The featured student for May is Eric Castleman! The Q&A with Eric is up on the SVS Learn blog.

Instructions:
This post is a place to share work if you want to get a chance to be featured in the Student Art Gallery on the SVSLearn.com homepage for June. To be considered share 1-2 of your best pieces (you can re-share an image you posted last month, but this is also a great opportunity to push yourself and add a new piece to your portfolio) on this forum post. Make sure to share your image during the first 10 days of May to be considered for June. Also, make sure your images are at least 800 pixels on the shortest side and do not exceed 1mb in size.
Work will be selected based off of how well the work uses the following:

Concept: how well does your illustration convey a clear concept/story. Is it a unique approach? Does it make me want to know more about what is happening in the illustration?

Technique: How is the composition working? Does it have good use of lighting, rendering, mark making, etc.? Does the technique compliment the concept?

If you are selected, we will message you using the chat feature on the forum. Besides your art being displayed on the homepage, you will also be sent some questions for a Q&A blog post that will be shared on the SVS Learn blog.

We have had some amazing work submitted the last two months and I can't wait to see what you share this month!
Austin

The featured student for February is Neha Rawat Battish! The Q&A with Neha Rawat (@NEHA RAWAT) is up on the blog. Below is an introduction to the Q&A that Kathryn Adebayo (@KATHRYNADEBAYO) conducted with Neha Rawat:

"When it comes to paving a career in illustration, there is no straight path to follow. SVS Learn student, Carlianne Tipsey, is a great inspiration when it comes to someone who made the decision to pursue art as a child and who traveled on a unique journey to make that dream come true."

Read the whole Q&A on the blog.

Want to be featured on the homepage? Submit your art to this post by March 2nd for a chance to be featured for March!

Note: Katy luckily reminded me that I completely forgot to share the featured student from April here on the forum. Thanks Katy!

The featured student for April was Elia Murray! The Q&A with Elia(@ELIAMURRAYART) is up on the blog. Below is an introduction to the Q&A that Kathryn Adebayo (@KATHRYNADEBAYO) conducted with Elia:

"From day to day, it may be hard to remember the deepest reasons behind why we create art. What really propels us to put pencil to paper? Who, or what, drives our passion for visual storytelling? Here is a chance to jump into the mind of artist, Elia Murray, as she gives us her perspective on what moves her - from influential parents, to a commitment to joy and laughter, to some of the most heartfelt sources of inspiration."

Read the whole Q&A on the blog.

There is still time to submit your work for our special MerMay edition of the featured student Q&A! Post your new Mermaid inspired art to this forum post by June 1st for a chance to be featured for June!

We are excited to announce the new featured student gallery!

Starting this month we are now going to begin featuring the work of our students, and alumni on the homepage. The new gallery is already up. Go check it out!

We'll be featuring new work in our student gallery every week, and posting Q&As with our featured students and alumni a couple times a month. To help us find new work to feature every month we are asking anyone who is interested to share some of their best work (1-2 images) on a monthly Forum post (the post will be titled Featured Students for April this month). Make sure to share your image during the first 10 days of the month to be considered for the following month. Also, make sure your images are at least 800 pixels on the shortest side and do not exceed 1mb in size.

Work will be selected based off of how well the work uses the following:

Concept: how well does your illustration convey a clear concept. Is it a unique approach? Does it make me want to know more about what is happening in the illustration?

Technique: How is the composition working? Does it have good use of lighting, rendering, mark making, etc.? Does the technique compliment the concept?

If you are interested in being featured for next month then go post your illustration on the "Featured Student For April" forum post (its under the Artwork category).

I’m excited to see your work!

Thanks!
Austin

@Asyas_illos thats really weird. I just fixed it. Thanks for catching it!

@Georgios-Christopoulos No problem! I just switched out the one with the background with the non-background version on the CA website (sorry I took so long to get back to you!)

Everyone's submissions should now be viewable in the gallery on the current contest page. If you noticed that I missed one please let me know. Thank you for everyone's willingness to work with us on the changes!

The new prompt should be up on the Critique Arena site later this week (we will also be posting it here on the forum).

@Asyas_illos they looked good to me I am going to play around with the template and Procreate in the next few weeks and see if there is anything I can do to make the process smother. Thank you for working through all these problems last month!

@Asyas_illos no worries! I haven't tried doing this on a tablet, but that is certainly something we need to make sure runs smoothly too.

@Asyas_illos I just updated the pink house with your newer version. I'm sorry you have been having problems with the template. For the last design you made, I wonder if the problem might be that the image of your art is not very large (I just noticed the some of the other ones you posted were less than 1200 px on one side). That is total a guess, so I might be way off. One idea is that I could create a quick walk through video on how to use the template. What program are you using to open the template? If you want to create a short screen recording showing me the issues you are having you can email me a copy or a link to the video and I would love to go through it.

Thank you for working with us with the new template

@joosterwijk we will be uploading submission about once a week for now. I just uploaded yours. The size of the template is based on the the design of the website, but I think it's a great idea to include that information in the instructions on the website!

@Asyas_illos which image do you want to have updated or removed? I have uploaded three of your entries so far.

Thanks for all of the great submissions so far this month! For those that have not submitted theirs yet (here on the forum or through the new website) make sure you use the template linked at the top to formate your art before you submit it. You can totally change the color of the background or the font that your name is in at the bottom, but it is really important for the website that you use the template so it is the right size and the text is below the artwork. If you already posted something without using the template I added it into the template for you this time. Please email me if you have any problems or questions about the template (we want to make this process as smooth as possible).
Everyone that has submitted so far can go check out the new website to see their submission in the current challenge gallery. I'll keep adding in new submission every week until the end of the month.

The featured student for January was Gabby Correia! The Q&A with Gabby is up on the blog. Below is an introduction to the Q&A that Kathryn Adebayo (@KATHRYNADEBAYO) conducted with Gabby:

"If you’re looking for inspiration, you may find just what you need in the following interview with full-time digital painter, Gabby Correia. Her attitude of leveling up and staying focused is producing a display of enjoyable and creative artwork on her journey towards her illustration goals."

Read the whole Q&A on the blog.