WIA2026 New Talent Winner Showcase – Jury Reflections

[Helen Ridley]

The WIA2026 New Talent Winners represent the very best up-coming illustrators in the industry.

Image Credit: Poppy Robertson – A Whisper of Hope

With over 4,500 entries from 83 countries, these shortlisted projects showcase the amazing illustration work being created worldwide. We asked our fantastic judges for their thoughts on what made these particular winning projects stand out!

Tina Tang:
Whimsical Seasons​

New Talent Advertising Category Winner​

This illustration and style is beautiful. It is soothing, and draws you in to find more. Its a great balance of showing an overall picture and looking for more. I also like the depicition of the characters in there. Reminds me of some childhood books and yet it’s fresh.

Harsh Kapadia – Chief Creative Officer, Grey Worldwide India

Tamaki Tran:
MAMAMIMUMEMO​

New Talent Animation Category Winner, sponsored by Procreate​

This felt a little like watching a David Lynch film, there were parts I didn’t narratively understand but it didn’t matter because it all added up to a cohesive disquieted and exciting feeling. The flat designed invaded by the rendered shapes was such a nice device. And some great subtle but deft animation/camera tricks. May be my favorite thing seen in both categories.

Cari Vander Yacht – Illustrator and Animator

Bryan Perez:
Death of a Salesman​

New Talent Book Covers Category Winner, sponsored by London Book Fair​

Its conceptual element is effective and striking. It gets its point across immediately without needing any flourishes, which I think is particularly important and effective on a book cover. I also appreciate that the artist combined mediums—graphite, tracing, and digital painting. I think this illustration works exactly as intended.

Kerri Resnik –Senior Art Director, Wednesday Books / Macmillan Publishers

Yung Hsuan Wang:
A Tea Time That Will Not Repeat​

New Talent Exploration Category Winner​

This work embodies the spirit of the exploration category, prioritising personal expression, experimentation, and process over commercial outcome. Created live during an exhibition, it captures a rare immediacy: a record of decision-making in real time, unmediated by digital tools or post-production. The piece is bold in both scale and execution. Its use of repetition and negative space creates a dynamic rhythm, while the colour palette feels instinctive and unapologetic. Despite its spontaneity, the composition remains balanced and resolved, demonstrating a high level of control within an improvised framework. The title suggests something fleeting and unrepeatable, and the work reinforces this through its performative creation, an image that exists as both artefact and moment. This sense of ephemerality, combined with the risk inherent in live-making, sets it apart.

Mark Farhall – Founder of DIY Art Market Ltd

Ray Yue: How to Be a Grown Up:​

New Talent Children’s Publishing Category Winner​

We asked Alisha Niehaus Berger for their thoughts on these this project:

The concept and execution make me laugh, especially the girl slouched in the chair. All of the various grown-up faces are quite spot-on. I think kids especially would really engage with the faces of all the people, and appreciate the perspective (particularly the cover image!).

Alisha Niehaus Berger – Editorial Director, NorthSouth Books

Annie He: Crafted Heritage – Gamble House Silk​

New Talent Design, Product & Packaging Category Winner​

The execution of the artwork, along with the garden and setting really pulls you in and there’s always something new to see everytime I look at it. The building with the environment and elements is beautifully balanced, works as a scarf and could even be framed and hung on a wall.

Omar Mobarek – Founder and Creative Director of UNTY

Duyen Pham:
As Time Goes On​

New Talent Editorial Category Winner, sponsored by Procreate​

I loved this illustration! I immediately connected the message it was trying to convey and felt a real sense of emotion from both the human subject and the butterfly — one grieving the freedom they once had and the other empathizing with a living being trapped or stuck inside. Also love the notes of foggy or smudged textures in the tree and interior room that helps really convey the passage of time.

Jade Cuevas – Visuals Editor, POLITICO

Ashley du Rand: Nightbound, A Series of 2 Comic Books​

New Talent Publishing Category Winner, sponsored by Rebelle​

This could well be a professional piece already: the muted colour scheme with small bursts of colour is really very effective, and the breaking of the frame occasionally provides a visual change that keeps the reader interested throughout. The whole comes across as a menacing and dark work that bristles with movement. Will be fascinated to see where this new talent goes in the future.

James Rose – Head of Editorial , The Folio Society

Jessica Eggers: Gonzo Ichthyology A Graphic Guide​

New Talent Science & Technology – Category Winner and OVERALL NEW TALENT WINNER​

An ambitious project whose detailed, graphic approach captures the natural surrealism of underwater worlds in a compelling way. Impressively detailed images, yet beautifully composed. Lodfve how they are combined in the layout. Visual density and controlled chaos. The anatomical content is rigorous. None of it is simplified, it is amplified, made stranger and more memorable by the format. Love the irreverence, joy, absurdity, and genuine expertise.

Beth Rakouskas – Creative Director, Science

Poppy Robertson: A Whisper of Hope​

New Talent Site Specific Category Winner​

This calming large-scale feature wall blends traditional printing techniques with digital methods, retaining a strong sense of the hand and authenticity. As someone who commissions work in the health sector, I feel a strong connection to this piece; the flowing water becomes a gentle metaphor for the IVF journey — the highs and lows, ongoing, uncertain, but moving forward. Site specific work like this plays an important role in calming and reassuring those experiencing high levels of anxiety while waiting.

Emily Malins – Arts & Culture Programme Manager, University Hospitals Bristol & Weston NHS Foundation Trust

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A big thanks to our judges for sharing their thoughts. Explore the full WIA2026 Winner Showcase in our news section.