I’m really excited to be involved in a competition created by ILM & Artstation starting on the 18th of May. I’ve signed up along with a few thousand other artists!

“Industrial Light & Magic, Wacom and ArtStation are teaming up to engage a community of artists with the world of film concept art and a galaxy far, far away. Offering an opportunity to engage directly with ILM Art Directors in the world of Star Wars, we hope to find new and exciting creators eager to prove themselves.”

Just to be part of this will be amazing. As someone who’s created Star Wars art since childhood I’m sure it will be fantastic to work on a brief set by the actual team at Industrial Light & Magic.

If rules permit I’ll post my work done here. There may only be one piece as in reality the chances of getting past the first round are extremely slim but I’m going to give it my best shot and have fun with it.

Do or do not… 🙂

The ILM Art Department Challenge is a “production challenge” and will entail 3 phases:

1. “The Moment” — Briefing will be released 18 May 2016
All entrants will make submissions for this phase based on the briefing provided. Submissions will be judged to select “semifinalists” to move to the next phase.

2. “The Ride” — Briefing will be released 13 June 2016
Semifinalists will make new submissions for this phase based on the briefing provided (you cannot reuse your submission from any prior phase). Submissions will be judged to select “finalists” to move to the next phase.

3. “The Job” — Briefing will be released 11 July 2016
Finalists will make new submissions for this phase based on the briefing provided (you cannot reuse your submission from any prior phase). Submissions will be judged to select the prize winners.

The ILM Art Department staff will brief you on the requirements of each challenge at the beginning of that challenge—like you would if you were in the studio waiting for the next task. This is a simulation of working as a concept artist in a production environment. It will be fast paced. Expectations will be high. Directions may be vague and could be changed at the last minute… But hey, all in a day’s work at ILM. Some phases will be time-consuming; turnovers will be quick and may interfere with your daily schedules.

Click on the Ralph McQuarrie art below to view the competition details.

ILM concept art competition