HandPicked: Design Challenge!

The founding principal of They Draw & Cook has always been to promote and showcase the work of artists from around the world and help them connect with art directors.

WHAT IS IT?

We’ve created HandPicked as a way for more Art Directors to see and discover the amazing work by our talented artists here on They Draw & Cook.

We invite professionals from a variety of creative businesses to be our Guest Curators and create a Featured Collection based on a theme of their choice. Each Guest Curator is in the business of looking for freelance talent and we want them looking at YOUR work. Double bonus; curated collections will run for two weeks rather than our standard one!

HOW DO I PARTICIPATE?

Sign up for our TDAC newsletter or follow us on IG so you know when we announce the design challenge themes. To participate, create an illustration based on the theme and submit your illustration here. Follow our standard size and submissions guidelines. As long as your illustration includes food it doesn’t necessarily have to be a recipe. It can be a pattern, an illustration of ingredients, a kitchen scene, a still life of food or whatever else comes to mind. Be creative and have fun! Submit as many images as you want.

WHAT ARE THE DUE DATES?

The design challenge theme will be announced three weeks prior to the duedate. We will send this out in a newsletter and share on IG and FB. It will also be available here on this page (below).

The Guest Curator will be able to view all submissions before selecting the four designs to be included in the Featured Collection. All new artwork must meet our standard guidelines in order to qualify.

New HandPicked Design Challenge

Curated by Jennifer Nelson, Founder of Jennifer Nelson Artists, Inc.

Meet Our Curator!

Jennifer Nelson Artists, Inc. is an illustration agency with a focus on surface design, editorial illustration and books. The agency opened in 2015 and represents top artists from around the world. Jennifer Nelson is an art director turned agent. She understands the needs of clients and artists alike. Our work appears on upholstery and quilt fabrics, tea towels, ceramics, calendars, journals, greeting cards, suitcases, commissioned and artist authored books, and just about any other place you can imagine! We are proud to say our clients include: Anthropologie, Boston Globe, Chronicle Books, Compendium, Dear Stella, Fringe Studio, Harrods, Harper Collins, Kate Spade, LA Times, Papyrus, Peter Pauper Press, Penguin Random House, Publix, Quarto Publishing, Studio Oh!, TAG, Taproot Magazine, teNeues, TJX, UNICEF, Vogue and many more!

Let's have a Picnic! (this challenge is closed)

We LOVE this theme! Now is the perfect time to think about planning a picnic or reminescing about some of your favorite picnics. We hope you are inspired by this theme and have fun illustrating the perfect picnic!

We are excited to have Jennifer Nelson as our Guest Curator. She told us that she is looking for new artists to represent and add to her agency. She is amazed by our community and is really looking forward to seeing all of the incoming illustrations. Maybe you will be the next artist to join her group!

Notes from our curator: "I love everything about a picnic. I am as thrilled about the blanket as I am about the food. I adore my mismatched napkins from different stages in my life. Opening the basket is like opening a present, with all of its little compartments and straps for the wine glasses. I am happy with crusty bread, a hunk of smelly cheese, roasted veggie salad, grapes and a can of sardines. What do you like to bring? What does your basket look like?".

Design Brief: Create an illustration based on the theme Let's Have a Picnic. All submissions must follow our standard size guidelines.

Due Date: This challenge is now closed to new entries. See all submissions here.

Our Guest Curator will select her top four favorites which will be showcased in our Featured Collection from August 10 - 24. She will also select an additional 20 favorites to include in our August 17th newsletter (you can subscribe here).

Multiple entries are welcome!

Whether you are a regular contributor or submitting for the first time, please make sure and include links to your website and IG along with contact info so that art directors can reach you!

Questions? Send Salli an email.