Winners announced!  Winners announced! Winners announced! Winners announced! Winners announced! Winners announced!

Plymouth
Illustration
Awards


The Plymouth Illustration Awards recognise and platform outstanding illustration from within the UK, run by BA (Hons) Illustration at Arts University Plymouth.

The first annual award was open for entries from November 2025.
 The deadline for submissions was midnight, 1st March 2026.


2026 Plymouth Illustration Award Winners:

Emerging Talent Award

For anyone over 16 and not yet studying a degree.

Winner:

Jing Zhou
blushwilder
Jing’s submission had a strong presence and lasting effect on each of the judges. 

The work has a wonderfully contemporary feel whilst suggesting nostalgia through the colour choices and subject matter. 

The judges loved the subtle storytelling present in Jing’s work with questions being asked about the narratives on first and seconds visits to the piece.



Student Award
For anyone over 18 and currently studying a degree.

Winner:

Myrtle Lily
myrtle_lily_
illustration
Myrtle’s multi-page submission is ambitious, curious and confident. The work is accompanied by a written narrative but it was the soft painting techniques and warming lighting effects that got the judges speaking. 

A lovely mixture of landscape, people and place. This work feels deeply personal and explorative. The judges loved it!



Graduate Award 

For anyone who completed a degree in the last 3 years.

Winner:

Yulia Shchelkunova
yuliashchelkunova
Yulia’s work is a confident mark in the space of commercial illustration. 

Characters are bold and confident and the interesting perspectives present across the submission make for an interesting an at times humorous narrative. 



2026 Shortlist Galleries  

See the gallery of shortlisted entries in each category here: 
  New Talent
Shortlist GalleryStudent
Shortlist GalleryGraduate
Shortlist Gallery


How to enter

Entries for the Plymouth Illustration Awards 2027 will open later in 2026. 
Enter your email below to be notified!


News

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Contact

illustration@aup.ac.uk  
@aup_illustration  
BA (Hons) Illustration at AUP
Arts University Plymouth



About

The Plymouth Illustration Awards are run by BA (Hons) Illustration at Arts University Plymouth, organised by joint Course Leaders Ben Wright and Sam Rowe. The awards were established in 2025 and run annually – with entries welcomed from across the UK. 

Featured background work by Ariel Buhlman, Arthur Kellior, Caitlin Angel, Charlotte Leadley, Don Borione, Jamie Shannon, Kate Channing, Kezia Lovell, Lucy Walton, and Shri Gunasekara.