Telford university student in running for award
A University of Wolverhampton illustration degree student is putting his talent in the picture by making the long-list of the Association of Illustrators Awards.
Patrick Campbell-Brookes, 21 from Telford, is a Class of 2021 graduate studying at the Wolverhampton School of Art and has been long-listed in the Site Specific – Enhancing Public Spaces category.
The World Illustration Awards showcase work being made by illustrators all over the world today and in 2021 is celebrating the resilience of illustrators and the industry during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Patrick’s work, which was fully made in Adobe Illustrator, was created for the Mander Shopping Centre in Wolverhampton.
The task was to create a vector-based image for a mural with multiple other artists.
The team was commissioned to produce artwork for three hoardings, measuring three metres by 60 metres for a new pop-up games arcade to attract visitors to the centre.
The five students were working on the live creative brief, led by Stuart Varley, senior lecturer in illustration, before the crisis escalated and continued to work and collaborate online throughout lockdown.
Patrick said: “It feels amazing being long-listed for the World Illustration Awards for my part in the Mander Centre project as it's something I'm really proud of.
"For it to be chosen from all those thousands of entries shows that it’s good enough to stand out from the crowd. It's been a needed confidence boost as I finish university and am getting ready to step into the unknown.
“It was great working on the Mander Centre project. It was one of the first times I worked on a group project in a professional setting and the first live brief I've been involved with, and I really enjoyed the entire process.
“The project allowed me to gain experience in working in a group environment and got me more comfortable with large scale vectors/illustration and I learnt the overall process from planning all the way up to the printing and installation.
"It was super helpful and an informative experience, and it's given me some really good experience to use in the future and I feel like it's a nice kickstart to my portfolio/career.”
Amy Evans, lecturer in illustration at the university, said: “Despite multiple lockdowns and a very challenging year, Patrick has engaged fully with the professional context module, preparing an illustration portfolio, making promotional materials and identifying potential clients, collaborators, and competitions to enter, all with the intention of positioning himself amongst the top creative graduates both nationally and internationally.
“It’s fantastic to see his talent recognised by the Association of Illustrators at the World Illustration Awards, alongside extremely high-quality work and in such an exciting category.”
The shortlist for the awards is announced in September with winners revealed in October.
