Book Illustration Competition

The finalists have been announced for the Inaugural Book Illustration Competition. 

House of Illustration and The Folio Society have announced the finalists of the 'Getting inside The Outsider' competition selected by the judging panel including Quentin Blake, Simon Callow and Laura Carlin. 

The competition was launched in October 2010, and asked entrants to produce a series of illustration for The Folio Society's new edition of The Outsider by Albert Camus. The final illustrations, crafted by a mix of university students and award winning illustrators, have all used the traditional method of hand drawing, rather than using digital tools to create their submissions. 

In Monocle's latest podcast, its creative director, Richard Spenser-Powell, discusses the future of illustration, and whether is is a dying art form due to the rise of the e-book. His views were that the two will work side by side, 'print will become more beautiful and more exclusive, a higher medium.'

Many magazine and newspaper publishers still want to use people who can work by hand. Defining the look of a magazine is to keep a good relationship with the illustrators and designers. At the moment Monocle likes to use illustrators that use old techniques, they are not trendy, but they have a certain style and use a craft that Monocle admires. in their '50 things to improve your life' article, all the imagery was illustrated rather that photographic. They felt that using illustration adds extra life and energy to the publication.