iJungle Illustration Awards 2026

The iJungle Illustration Awards 2026 celebrates illustration across professional, commercial and personal practices, with categories covering Book, Editorial, Comics, Commercial, New Talent (Student) and Self-Promotion. The competition is open internationally to illustrators, agencies, representatives, students and teachers. A jury of illustrators and art directors selects the awarded work, with winning entries featured in the iJungle Illustration Annual 2026 and the competition's online gallery.

The competition accepts illustration work from around the world. According to the organizers, works first created or published between 2023 and 2026 are eligible. Each illustrator can submit a maximum of five works across all categories. The competition currently excludes works by Russian participants residing in Russia due to European sanctions.

AI-generated images are not accepted in the competition.

All winning entries will be featured in the iJungle Illustration Annual 2026, a free online publication distributed to art directors, illustrators, representatives, gallerists and curators. Awarded work will also appear in the iJungle online gallery.

Who Can Enter the iJungle Illustration Awards 2026?

The iJungle Illustration Awards are open to illustration work from any country in the world, subject to the organizers' stated restriction on Russian residents in Russia.

The competition is particularly relevant to:

• Illustrators
• Illustration agencies
• Representatives
• Students
• Teachers
• Professional illustrators working on commissioned, personal or experimental projects

The New Talent (Student) category is open to illustration students in all countries. The organizers also state that work created during an academic course can qualify as student work even if the participant has already graduated.

What Can You Enter?

The competition has six categories, covering commissioned, unpublished and student illustration work.

Book

Illustration created for printed or digital picture books, book covers, interior illustrations, interactive books, fiction and non-fiction, zines and artist books.

Editorial

Illustration created for printed or digital magazines, newspapers, fanzines and other publications, including illustrations for articles, news items, cartoons, political satire and reports.

Commercial

Commercially commissioned illustration for advertising, merchandising, posters, greeting cards, annual reports, packaging, brochures, calendars, toys, record sleeves, stamps, board games, animations, websites and other commercial applications.

New Talent (Student)

Illustration work created by students. The category is open to illustration students in all countries.

Self-Promotion

Unpublished work, gallery art, personal or experimental work, and commissioned but unpublished work by professionals.

Comics

Printed or digital comics and graphic novels. The competition allows submissions of up to five illustrations/pages for this category.

Entry Fees

The current entry fees are listed in euros.

Single Image Entry: €25
Multiple Image Entry: €48 for up to five related uploads
New Talent / Student: €25, with up to five uploads

The competition website states that the €25 single-image fee applies to one upload per entry, while the €48 multiple-image option allows up to five related uploads. Students can submit up to five images for the €25 student entry.

The organizers state that no additional fee is charged if an entry receives an award. The starting competition fee is the only stated expense for inclusion in the catalog or online gallery.

What Do Selected Entrants Receive?

Awarded illustrators can receive several forms of recognition:

• Best of the Best: €2,500
• Gold Medal: €500 per category, with up to one Gold Medal available in each of the six categories
• Silver Medal: Up to one per category
• Merit Awards: Up to 20 per category
• Award Certificate for awarded illustrators
• Publication in the iJungle Illustration Annual 2026
• Inclusion in the iJungle online gallery
• Dedicated interviews and social media promotion for Gold Medalists
• Presentation of winners to art directors through the Annual ebook

The current competition page lists €5,000 in total prizes, consisting of the €2,500 Best of the Best prize and the remaining €500 Gold Medal prizes.

Submission Requirements

Entries are submitted online only through the iJungle submission system. Physical samples are not accepted.

Before submitting, entrants should prepare:

• Email address
• Artwork title
• Artwork description in English
• Digital artwork files

File Specifications

Images

• JPG or PNG
• RGB color mode
• Not CMYK
• 1280 pixels on the longest side
• Less than 4 MB

Awarded entries will later be asked to provide a new, higher-resolution file.

Student Entries

For the Student category, the organizers state that student work can include work created during a course such as an MA, doctorate or other academic program. Participants who have already graduated can still submit work created during their academic year.

Important Rules

AI-generated images: Artificial Intelligence images are not accepted.

Original work: Participants must confirm that they are the original authors of their submitted work and hold the necessary copyright.

Multiple categories: A project can be submitted to multiple categories, but a separate entry form is required for each category.

Category selection: Participants should choose the category that best represents their work. The jury may move an entry to a more appropriate category if necessary.

Maximum submissions: The competition states that each illustrator may submit up to five works across all categories.

Physical submissions: Physical samples cannot be submitted; entries must be submitted online.

Copyright and usage: By entering, participants grant the organizers permission to use submitted works for the event catalog/book, event promotion, social media, advertising and a possible exhibition. Other uses require participant approval.

When Will Entrants Be Notified?

The organizers state that results will be announced up to two months after the final deadline.

Results will be published on the iJungle website and its social media pages, and participants will also be notified by email.

Things to Consider

Best for: Illustrators, illustration students, agencies, representatives and professionals working in book, editorial, commercial, comic or personal illustration.

The competition covers both commissioned and unpublished work, so participants do not need to be limited to commercial client projects. The Self-Promotion category specifically accepts unpublished, personal and experimental work by professionals.

The New Talent (Student) category provides a separate submission route for students, and the organizers allow eligible academic work to be submitted even when the participant has already graduated.

The main practical consideration is the entry structure. Single-image entries cost €25, while multiple-image entries cost €48 for up to five related uploads. The competition also limits each illustrator to five works across all categories.

Awarded work receives several forms of exposure, including inclusion in the annual ebook and online gallery. Gold Medalists additionally receive interviews and social media promotion according to the organizers.

Before entering, consider which category best matches your work, whether your submission was created or published between 2023 and 2026, and whether your files meet the competition's technical requirements.

Enter the Competition

Interested in submitting your work?

Enter the iJungle Illustration Awards 2026

For the complete rules, category descriptions, current fees and submission process, visit the official iJungle competition page.

Looking for more open calls? Browse all competitions and opportunities on Good Stuff Weekly.

Last verified: September 23, 2026