Hey, folks--just wanted to let you know that one of our own, @Neha-Rawat won the SCBWI (Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators) Summer Spectacular Portfolio Showcase that just wrapped itself up a few minutes ago. Out of around 450 participants, she was one of two Grand Champion winners! Here at SVSLearn, she was a featured student for February 2020!
You may recall a couple weeks ago, Neha created a thread that actually asked if participating was worth the experience... I wasn't too optimistic, but I have to eat my own words as it obviously worked for her!!! She wins free admission to the next virtual conference in February, meetings with three art directors, and a $1000 gift certificate to Blick Art Supplies.
There was a group of us on Instagram DMing each other as we watched the sessions (thank-you so much @Coley for setting it up and corralling us all together), and we had a great time! It was nice touching bases with everyone as the event unfolded. Apparently, the usual attendance for the conference held annually in LA is around 1200, but because everything was online this year they had over 4000 participants from all over the world. Neha's work was seen by thousands of people.
You can see Neha's showcase here. Judging criteria included: 1) children's book publishing appropriateness, 2) consistency of a strong illustrative "voice" throughout, and 3) a fresh and unique style.
The entire collection of illustrators can be found here. It's a great resource, and useful to see what imagery other illustrators are including in their portfolios. It will be available through the month of August.
Congrats again, Neha!!!