Edible Flowers (this challenge is closed)

Curated by Mia Galison, Founder, President, and Creative Director of eeBoo (Piece and Love: Jigsaw Puzzles Freshly Made)

Create a food illustration or illustrated recipe inspired by this colorful theme.

Challenge is closed. Top 4 picks shown below. See all entries here.

Showcased in our Featured Collection March 30 - April 13

Thanks to everyone who participated in our previous HandPicked Design Challenges. What a success!

We hope you have enjoyed the design challenges of 2019.  Many good things have come from these challenges. Artists have been featured in publications and hired for projects. Art directors have discovered new talent and have commissioned artists for work. We posted and shared over 1,200 yummy new illustrations thanks to all of you!

Global Cuisine  (This challenge is now closed)

Curated by Joy Aquilino, Editorial Director, Quarry Books and Rockport Publishers

Create a food illustration or illustrated recipe of your favorite foods, flavors or dishes from around the world. We would love to see holidays foods and recipes too. This is like one big international party!

Challenge is closed. Top 4 picks shown below. See all entries here. See our Pinterest Board here.

Here are a few words from our curator Joy about all of the entries, "Thank you all for your fantastic submissions. An inspiring trip around the culinary world, including many holiday offerings, all with beautifully presented recipes, ingredients, and lettering."

Showcased in our Featured Collection December 23 - January 6

Favorite Food Memories! (This challenge is now closed)

Curated by Lynne Shlonsky, Creative Director, American Greetings

Create a food illustration or illustrated recipe inspired by this memorable theme. 

Challenge is closed. Top 4 picks shown below. See all entries here.

Here are a few words from our curator Lynne about all of the entries,"I am blown away by ALL the contributions to the Favorite Food Memories challenge! I could literally feel the love coming through each and every illustration and story. The range of approaches and techniques is inspiring and I find myself looking at them over and over. I hope to reach out to many of you in the future for potential freelance work. Thank you for sharing your amazing work and triggering even more food memories for me (and each other!). I hope tapping into happy memories from your past continues to be a great source of inspiration for your work."

Showcased in our Featured Collection October 28 - November 11

The Food Geometry! (this challenge is closed)

Curated by Janine Vangool, Publisher, Editor, Designer, UPPERCASE Magazine

Create a food illustration or illustrated recipe inspired by this theme. It is completely open for your interpretation!

Challenge is closed. Tops 4 picks shown below. See all entries here.

Here are a few words from our guest curator Janine, "It was fun to go through over 250 interpretations of the theme. There was an interesting variety of styles and approaches, but I saw few common ways that the illustrators tackled the brief. First, to reduce an ingredient or food's shape to its geometric essence. Second, to use the mathematical diagrams as a way to apply geometry to food. And third, to repeat the shape of a food item into an organized pattern. My top picks use one of these techniques successfully."

Showcased in our Featured Collection Sept. 2 - 16

Birthday Bash! (this challenge is closed)

Curated by Ceci Butler, Owner and Creative Director of Design House Greetings

Create a food illustration or illustrated recipe inspired by this festive theme.

Challenge is closed. Tops 4 picks shown below. See all entries here.

Here are a few words from our guest curator Ceci: "First and foremost everyone has to remember that we are coming to this with a greeting card perspective - so we look at every illustration as a potential greeting card.

It is important to remember that birthdays are fun and festive occasions, and that a card should contribute to that feeling, so we tend to be attracted to palettes that reflect that vibe. We like bright vibrant colors and we like pieces to feel joyful and fun. 

We also like images that are a quick read. We think of our cards like a billboard, they have to draw people in right away, and when a card is on a rack full of other cards that is sometimes a tough challenge. With this in mind it is important that images for our cards feel dynamic and be graphically strong.

It also really helps a card design when the type is well integrated with the image - stylistically, through illustration and or placement of appropriate fonts, colors used etc. It is important to consider the placement of the type and how you break lines, what words you make larger or smaller and how the type flows within the illustration and in the readers eye."

Showcased in our Featured Collection July 1-15

Super Great Super Foods (this challenge is closed)

Curated by Lydia Hess, Creative Director, Amber Lotus Publishing

Create a food illustration or illustrated recipe inspired by this super theme.

Challenge is closed. Top 4 picks shown below. See all entries here

Here are a few words from our guest curator Lydia about the contest entries:
"Previewing all these incredible SuperFood entries has been not only extremely fun and surprising but also excruciatingly challenging. You all made my job really hard…I was so impressed with the caliber, quality and quantity of the submissions for this recipe challenge. The diversity in styles, mediums and techniques that were submitted were off the charts. I really appreciate every one of the entries. - look for my comments on your work." 

Showcased in our Featured Collection May 6-20

Eat the Rainbow (this challenge is closed)

Curated by Sandra Salamony, Creative Director, Spirituality & Health Media

Create a food illustration or illustrated recipe inspired by this colorful theme.

Challenge is closed. Top 4 picks shown below. See all entries here

Here are a few words from our guest curator Sandra: 
"A pot of gold! The joyous use of color impressed the whole team at Spirituality & Health magazine. And we enjoyed reading all the stories that came with the submissions. 

I admired the thoughtful concepts and clever details: representing the beak of a crane as the skewer for a kebab; utilizing a single vegetable or non-traditional food to create a rainbow such as heirloom carrots, jelly beans, or teas; and playfully including health benefits along with the food selections. And while I loved the written recipes, I also respected the deft way some artists handled expressing a recipe without words."

Thank you, Salli, for inviting me to guest-curate a challenge. I look forward to licensing work in the future and seeing many of you in the pages of Spirituality & Health!" 

Showcased in our Featured Collection March 11-25