The competition welcomes eligible illustrators, artists, students, studios, agencies, publishers, creative teams, and other qualifying entrants worldwide. Entrants should select the Professional or Emerging division according to the official eligibility requirements.

The Professional division is intended for illustrators, artists, studios, agencies, creative professionals, and teams with established professional experience in illustration or related creative fields.

The Emerging division recognizes illustrators at an early stage of their creative or professional journey who are building their portfolio, recognition, and professional presence.

Eligible entrants may include current students, recent graduates, early-career illustrators, and developing independent practitioners who meet the official Emerging eligibility requirements.

No. The Emerging division is not limited to students.

Eligible entrants may include current students, recent graduates, early-career illustrators, and developing independent practitioners who meet the official eligibility requirements.

Yes. Eligible Emerging entries may include student work, personal projects, self-initiated work, unpublished work, commissioned work, and early professional projects.

No. Eligibility is based on career stage and professional context rather than age.

Yes. Formal art or illustration education is not required.

Potentially, yes. Where your illustration practice itself remains at an early stage of development, Emerging may be appropriate.

Yes. Eligible studios, agencies, publishers, creative teams, and other qualifying organizations may submit work and should enter as Professional Division, subject to the official entry and credit requirements.

The MUSE Illustration Awards may request clarification, review eligibility, or reclassify an entry where permitted under the official competition rules.

The MUSE Illustration Awards recognizes work across 17 main illustration disciplines:

• Advertising Illustration
• Editorial Illustration
• Publishing Illustration
• Children’s Illustration
• Animation & Motion Illustration
• Book Cover Illustration
• Product & Packaging Illustration
• Science & Technology Illustration
• Experimental & Personal Illustration
• Site-Specific & Environmental Illustration
• Entertainment Illustration
• Fashion & Beauty Illustration
• Portrait Illustration
• Poster Illustration
• Surface & Pattern Illustration
• Character & IP Illustration
• Student Illustration

Each main discipline includes relevant subcategories to support a broad range of illustration practices and applications.

Yes. A standalone illustration may be submitted as an individual entry.

Supporting images may be included where necessary to provide relevant context, detail, application, installation, publication, process, or presentation.

Yes. A cohesive illustration project or related series may be submitted as one entry where the works demonstrate a clear creative relationship.

This may include work created as part of one project, campaign, publication, collection, narrative, visual system, or related body of work.

Each entry may include:

• 1 Primary Image
• Up to 7 Supporting Images
• Maximum 8 Images in Total

No. Unrelated illustrations may not be grouped together as a single project or series entry.

Works submitted together must demonstrate a clear creative relationship and shared context.

No. The same applicable entry fee applies whether an eligible submission presents a standalone illustration or a cohesive illustration project or related series.

Yes. Entrants may submit multiple eligible works or projects.

Each separate entry is evaluated independently according to its selected category and the official judging criteria.

Yes. A work or cohesive project may be entered into more than one relevant category where appropriate.

Each category submission is treated separately and requires the applicable entry fee or one eligible entry credit.

Where available, entrants may select the relevant Other subcategory and specify the type of illustration through the required custom field.

Individual entry fees depend on the submission period and division.

view deadline & entry fees

A Bundle Entry Package provides multiple entry credits for entrants planning to submit several works or enter work across multiple relevant categories.

One Entry Category = One Credit

Each credit may be used for one eligible category submission within the applicable MUSE Illustration Awards competition year.

Yes. Entry credits may be used across multiple eligible works, projects, and category submissions, subject to the official package terms.

Yes. Where one work or cohesive project is relevant to multiple categories, separate credits may be used for each eligible category submission.

No. Unused credits expire at the end of the applicable competition year and cannot be transferred to future competition years unless otherwise stated in the official package terms.

Eligible entries are evaluated by an international jury of experienced professionals across illustration and related creative fields.

Meet the international jury

Entries are evaluated across five core criteria:

• Creativity & Originality
• Concept & Visual Storytelling
• Artistic Craft & Execution
• Communication & Impact
• Context & Relevance

The official award levels are:

• Platinum Winner: 85–100 Points
• Gold Winner: 75–84 Points
• Silver Winner: 65–74 Points
• Below 65 Points: Not Awarded

No. Award levels are determined by jury scores and are not guaranteed by category placement or number of entries.

A category or subcategory may have multiple winners, one winner, or no winner at a particular award level.

Professional and Emerging entries are evaluated within their respective divisions for Platinum, Gold, and Silver recognition and for their respective highest individual honors.

Eligible entries from both divisions compete together for Category Winner of the Year recognition within each of the 17 main illustration disciplines.

Yes. Eligible Emerging entries compete alongside Professional entries for Category Winner of the Year recognition within each main discipline.

The 2027 MUSE Illustration Awards offers US$4,700 in total cash prizes.

The MUSE Illustrator of the Year – Professional receives:

• US$2,000 Cash Prize
• One Complimentary MUSE Statuette

The MUSE Emerging Illustrator of the Year receives:

• US$1,000 Cash Prize
• One Complimentary MUSE Statuette

Yes. One outstanding work from each of the 17 main illustration disciplines will be named a Category Winner of the Year.

Each receives:

• US$100 Cash Prize

Yes. An eligible entrant may receive more than one distinction where the judging results support the recognition, subject to the official competition rules.

Eligible winners may receive:

• Official MUSE Recognition
• Digital Winner Certificate
• Official Winner Badge
• Online Winner Showcase
• Winner Profile Recognition
• Promotional Consideration
• Editorial Feature Consideration
• MUSE Statuette Ordering Eligibility

Specific benefits may vary according to award distinction, competition year, eligibility, and official competition terms.

One complimentary official MUSE Statuette is presented to:

• MUSE Illustrator of the Year – Professional
• MUSE Emerging Illustrator of the Year

Yes. Other eligible MUSE winners may order the official MUSE Statuette, subject to applicable ordering terms, verification, pricing, production, shipping, and availability.

No. Social media, editorial, and promotional opportunities are selective and may vary according to editorial relevance, award distinction, competition year, and available opportunities.

No. MUSE recognition does not guarantee employment, commissions, representation, commercial outcomes, media coverage, or other professional opportunities.