April 24, 2014

The First Ever Pretty Much World Famous Illustration Contest for Children's Illustrators!!!

Fasten your seat belts and prepare for take off!  It's finally here!

The First Ever Pretty-Much-World-Famous Illustration Contest!!!
the fact that this particular illustrator resembles a female
is in no way meant to deter any male illustrators! :)

The ContestDraw/Paint/Create a children's picture book cover illustration (no text required - art only) for one of the following stories (which you will recognize as the top finishers in the March Madness Fractured Fairy Tale Writing Contest - a little extra surprise for those authors :)):


 - The Three Wiggly Worms Bluff by Wendy Greenley
 - Goldilockup by Mike Allegra
 - Goldibawks And The Three Pairs by Dawn Young
 - The Sweetie Witch by Pen Avey
 - The Princess And The Stinky Cheese by Lauri Meyers
 - Mongoose's Holi Party by Darshana Khiani
 - The "Princess" And The Pete by Jennifer Caritas
 - The Jackrabbit Who Cried Gila Monster by Elliah Terry

Illustrations should be 8x10, horizontal or vertical, any medium, posted in jpg at least 72 px
All stories can be read on the March Madness Finalist Post HERE so you will know what to illustrate :)  Illustrators may enter more than one entry if they're feeling ambitious enough to illustrate more than one book title :)

Post:  Your entry should be posted on your blog between right now this very second and Monday April 28 at 9 PM EDT (contest deadline!), and your post-specific link should be added to the link list below.  This post with the link list will remain up through Tuesday April 29 so that people can come visit and enjoy your gorgeous artwork!  (For regular blog followers, there will be no PPBF on Friday April 25, no new post on Monday April 28, but there will be a brief interruption for WYRI on Wednesday April 30 because I forgot to leave it open for the contest :)).  If you don't have a blog but would like to enter, please copy and paste your entry into the comments below.  (If anyone has trouble commenting, which unfortunately happens, you may email me and I'll post your entry for you!  Also, since this is the first time we've done an illustration contest, I'm not sure if you actually CAN paste your entry into the comments.  If this turns out to be a problem, email them to me and I'll add them directly to this post.)

Judging:  entries will be judged by multi-talented, award-winning author/illustrators Iza Trapani, author and illustrator of over 20 gorgeous picture books, and Lisa Thiesing, author and illustrator of at least 16 beautiful and fun picture books and early readers!   Judging criteria to include:

 - is the picture readable to a young audience,
 - how well does it show the character(s) and
 - is the character(s) appealing (character development),
 - does it make you want to read the story,
 - originality
 - skill.

They will narrow down the entrants to 6 finalists (or possibly a couple more or less depending on the number of entries :)) which will be posted here on Thursday May 1 for you to vote on for a winner.  The vote will be closed at 5PM EST on Sunday May 4 and the winner will be announced on Monday May 5.  (No PPBF on Friday May 2.)

The Prizes!:  There will definitely be a 1st prize.  Whether we give prizes for 1st only, 1st-3rd, or 1st-6th will depend on how many entries we get.  We need at least 12 entries to place through 3rd, and at least 20 to place through 6th.

    First Prize is absolutely amazing!  A portfolio critique by celebrated author/illustrator Michael Garland, who has over 20 picture books to his credit!!!

 - Second Prize - a $50 gift certificate to Dick Blick Art Materials (which is online)
 - Third, Fourth & Fifth Prize will be winner's choice of one of the following books:
      - Writing With Pictures by Uri Shulevitz
      - 2014 Children's Writer's and Illustrator's Market by Chuck Sambuchino

 - Sixth Prize - a Canson sketch pad and a small set of Derwent or Faber Castell colored pencils

I'm so excited to see what everyone comes up with!  As a person whose artistic ability is limited to stick figures, scribbling and relatively easy coloring books, I am in awe of anyone who can draw/paint/cause anything recognizable to appear on paper/canvas/computer screen :)  I hope we'll get plenty of entries, and that there will be at least one attempt at every title!

Tweet: Enjoy the art! Enter yourself! Children's Book Cover Illustration Contest @SusannaLHill http://ctt.ec/58ZUb+ #kidart #illustration

Let the artistic fun begin!!!  :)

Don't miss Laura's entry for The Three Wiggly Worms Bluff in the comment section! (click HERE and be a little patient :))

And here's Katie's entry for Goldibawks And The Three Pairs! (click HERE and be a little patient :))

And here's Laura's entry for The Sweetie Witch! (click HERE and be a little patient :))

And here's Angela's entry for The Three Wiggly Worms Bluff! (click HERE and be a little patient :))

and here's Suzy's entry for The Three Wiggly Worms Bluff! (click HERE and be a little patient :))

Entry from Hilary Swann for The "Princess" And The Pete

Hilary Swann - The "Princess" And The Pete


131 comments:

  1. I am so looking forward to all the art. This should be lots of fun. :)

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  2. I love this idea!!! But alas, I can't even draw an convincing stick man. More like a sick man. lol

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  3. Wish I were an artist! This is awesome and love the little illo at the top! I look forward to seeing the entries. Thank you, Susanna, for this initiative!

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  4. Looking forward to seeing all the entries!

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  5. Yay! I love love love this idea, Susanna!

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  6. This is so much fun. Thank you for having this contest, Susanna!

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  7. So excited to see all the entries! What fun...

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  8. It is SO much fun, isn't it? It's especially fun to see different takes on the same story! I hope all the stories will end up being represented!

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  9. I'm so glad Ellen entered! Her illustration is fabulous! I'm having such fun looking at all the entries. I hope we'll get a lot more!

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  10. I'm glad you love it, Mike! I love it too :) I'm hoping we'll get lots of entries because it's so much fun to see how the different illustrators work with the subject!

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  11. I wish I was an artist too, Joanna, for so many reasons :) But it sure is fun to see what the artists are doing with the stories! I hope we'll get lots of entries!

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  12. I can't wait either! I hope there will be lots!

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  13. Yours is great, Cecilia! It's so fun to see the stories brought to life this way!

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  14. Me, too! Thank you for having this opportunity for her to take part. She might enter another picture. This is such fun. I'm loving all the fabulous entries!

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  15. Oh, yay! I hope she does! And I hope she picks a story that hasn't been done yet. I'm so hoping each of the authors will get at least one!

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  16. Oh, I do too! The one she's thinking of doing hasn't been done yet. :-)

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  17. YOWSA! Those are some talented artists!

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  18. Aren't they amazing? I'm glad I'm not judging this!

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  19. Thank you for this opportunity. I had lots of fun with my illustration piece. It's great to see other artists' works too! Creativity is overflowing here. :)


    If only I had the free time... would love to do another one for a different story.

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  20. Oh, goody, Julie!!! Looking forward to it! :)

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  21. This was so much fun Susanna!

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  22. I'm so glad, Telaina! I love your cover :)

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  23. hi Susanna :) I wouldn't let anything stop me from entering the first Illustrators contest! thank you for the opportunity! ..........working on my first ever watercolor entry :)

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  24. You did a beautiful job with that left hand, Nata!

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  25. If there's a stinkiest looking cheese prize, you are definitely in the running!

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  26. This contest is teaching me a lot about publishing. The editor's choice of illustrator and then the approach the illustrator decides to take can change enhance a story, change a story or turn that little story right on its head! Really fascinating to see all the different takes.

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  27. I love these! Seeing the illustrations for Wiggly Worms has me especially all happy wiggly inside. Good luck to everyone. :)

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  28. Hi, Susanna :)

    Well, Erik posted this on his blog (http://tinyurl.com/ko8ctqb) so I
    scooted right on over to check it out! :D (His sister, Josie, did an adorable
    illustration for it, too: http://tinyurl.com/m3w8fxz)

    Oddly enough, I already have an illustration--two, actually--I did for
    something else that just HAPPEN to fit Mike Allegra's GOLDILOCKUP (which is
    hilarious, btw lol), soooooo...I figured I'd post them :) They're just
    "collecting dust" here in my computer and my portfolio, so I figured---why not?
    ;) (Btw, I framed them to make them 8x10 since they're actually square.)

    That being said, I'm not so sure mine would qualify for this contest. So IF I
    qualify at all, I really don't want to be in the running for 1st prize, AND I
    already own WRITING WITH PICTURES (fantastic book!), but I wouldn't mind any of the other wonderful prizes you may offer ;)

    So, here you go:



    (the image of Goldi leaves room for text which is why such a large area is blank)


    Thanks for running this, Susanna :) You do such wonderful stuff :)

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  29. Yay, posting the images actually worked! Mine appear as if they're connected though. They are actually two separate images :)

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  30. What fun this is, Susanna! Each entry is so unique!

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  31. I can't comment on Louis's blog, but just wanted to say that I adored his Three Wiggly Worms Bluff art!

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  32. Also can't comment on Colleen's Goldilockup post, so am commenting here. That is a perfect sad expression on Goldilocks! Nice cover mock-up too.

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  33. lol...I finally figured out where everyone was looking to view artwork! I am SUCH a dunce *sigh* Didn't realize those were links! Anyway, my blog's not launched, and I don't think I qualify anyway, but thought it would be fun to participate, so I pasted my entry ALL the way at the bottom of my "pre-launch" page.
    And I have to tell you, the artwork is really blowing me away! I'm hoping to see some come in for stories that haven't been done yet. Mine is there simply because I already had something pertaining to "Goldilocks." If I had the time, I'd make a new one, but...
    So much fun, Susanna :D

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  34. Hi Darshana,
    I've illustrated the cover for your story. Would you let me have your blog address so I can link back to your page. I can't find it, must be wearing Mor's goggles... :) Hope you like what I've done... :)

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  35. The Three Wiggly Worms Bluff

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  36. Love this Laura, especially love the birds quarrelling in the background. Nice touch :)

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  37. Thank you Catherine. I love it!!! my blog address is www.flowering-minds.com

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  38. So glad you like my illustration. I've got you linked now.
    Love your site, loads of great information. :)

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  39. This is great, Laura! Love the arguing birds :)

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  40. I'm so glad you entered, Donna! I can't wait to get over and see your cover! :)

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  41. Yeah, there are a couple of people who linked to sites where you can't comment :( Hopefully they'll check in here!

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  42. These are great, Donna! I especially love the bears! Thanks so much for joining in the fun!

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  43. You've gotten quite a few! I'm so pleased :) And they're all so different it's really fun!

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  44. It really is an education isn't it? When people talk about the marriage of text and art they're not kidding!

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  45. Very appropriate for the first ever illustration contest :)

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  46. Thanks, Susanna :) It IS fun :) I wasn't paying attention to the "cover" aspect of it! I really should make a version with the title and author if I don't want to feel even MORE bogus! lol

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  47. No, you don't have to worry about that, Donna! The judges were specific that that should not be part of the competition - that you should just focus on the art - because not everyone would necessarily be able to do the text.

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  48. OK, I know I didn't have to, but still I felt like I had to, just to be more legit, so I added the title, author and BARS! lol

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  49. It looks really good! I like it this way! :)

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  50. Thank you :) It was VERY basic stuff in Photoshop Elements since I only KNOW basics in PSE! lol

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  51. You're way ahead of me because I'm not even sure how to open PSE :)

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  52. thank you Lauri!

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  53. first and first~yes appropriate :)

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  54. Great job, Laura! I love the expressions on the worms and the birds bickering in the background. So fun!

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  55. Nice job, Hilary! What a fun picture! It portrays the story well.

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  56. There is on at the bottom of the actual post, and one in the comments. As far as I know :) The rest are in the link list.

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  57. Great! Thank you! :-)

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  58. Thank you, glad you like it. Sorry for posting it on my portfolio site (only registered users can leave comments). My second entry was posted on my Tumblr site though - it's powered by Disqus commenting system, so I hope I'm doing it right now. :)

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  59. The Sweetie Witch, computer generated.

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  60. I love Goldi! Thank you Nata for choosing her :)

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  61. Here is my entry for Goldibawks & the 3 Pairs.

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  62. Katie, this is brilliant, really eye catching :)

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  63. Fabulous job, Katie! So bold and bright! And who can resist a basketball-playing chicken?! :)

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  64. I love this, Laura! A cookie walkway, jelly bean steps, lollipop plants - YUM! :) And I love the kitty :)

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  65. This is such a fun cover!

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  66. Like the detail. Very cute.

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  67. Love the expressions on their faces. very nice!

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  68. I am last minute getting in but here is my entry for the Three Wiggly Worms Bluff

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  69. Aw! So cute, Angela! I love their little outfits :) Thanks so much for joining in the fun! :)

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  70. Sharing my creation for Wendy Greenley's delightful fractured fairy tale, The Three Wiggly Worms Bluff. I will connect a link to my Word Press, also. Thank you. ~Suzy Leopoldhttp://sleopoldblog.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=324&action=edit&message=6&postpost=v2

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  71. Yay! Arlene did the Mongoose story! I'm so glad someone did. I was too nervous to try it. :)

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  72. Cute! That bird better watch out for those worms...LOL!

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  73. Delightful, Suzy! I love their little hats :) And what a pretty tree... and a sneaky robin hiding behind it :) Thanks so much for joining in the contest fun!

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  74. Cookie path...mmmm! That cat is show-stealing!

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  75. I love the colors you chose for the tree. Lovely!

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  76. These worms made me laugh out loud. Great job.

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  77. So happy to see a vibrant illustration to go with this energetic story. Nicely done.

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  78. Oh, I love those birds arguing in the background while the worm family is safe and smiling!

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  79. Love your cat and that cookie path . . .I want one!!!

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  80. You did a very good job with the twisty worm bodies. Great!

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  81. Wait, what?! Seriously, Teresa, where do you see that? I only saw that Catherine did it!

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  82. Oh Susanna! And you were afraid no one would come to the party! It looks like you've drawn out the lurkers. This was so much fun. There were a lot of charming entries. I wish I'd had time to tackle all my ideas.


    Hilary Swann did a terrific cover! I didn't know where else to comment. . so I'm putting it here. I hope she sees this.


    Also, Darshana, I so much wanted to illustrate your story, put I'm not much of an animal illustrator. I am just dying to paint the elephant hosing down the guests, but it'll take a lot longer than three weeks. I'll let you know when.


    Thanks again, Susanna, for the inspiration. And thanks to all the writers for your wonderful stories!

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  83. I'm so thrilled, Joanne! I can't believe how many wonderfully talented artists came to the party! So many fantastic illustrations! And I think every story did get at least one, although The Princess And The Stinky Cheese seems to have done more that it's share of inspiring :) Thank you so much for entering - I love your illustration! - and if you do Darshana's let me know - I'd love to see it!

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  84. Never mind - I see she's added to the link list at #27!

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  85. Just a little bit :) I'd been here so long making a list for the judges and tweeting all the new illustrations I forgot to refresh my browser :)

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  86. You are a masochist, Susanna! LOL! These contests are so much work for you. Wish I could pass along one of those chocolate cupcakes I made today as a reward. :)

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  87. I wish that too! I think I saw them on FB and they looked delicious!!!

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  88. It's the best cupcake recipe! And it makes 24 so even though I share with my crit group, we still have plenty left to eat. Mmmm!

    Good night! Get some rest!

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  89. Oh Susanna...I am so happy to see all of these wonderful illustrations! Looks like it is going to be a tough contest to judge. ;)

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  90. How lovely, Suzy! Great job...those worms look very determined...they are on a mission. ;)

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  91. Angela...what fun! Love their scarf/collar accessories...and is that the shadow of a worm-eating bird on the pavement? :)

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  92. Katie...bold vivid colors...go UCLUCK!

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  93. A cookie cobblestone path...that is perfect, Laura. :)

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  94. Okay, this has seriously been THE funnest thing EVER to see four unique illustrations from my picture book manuscript. They are all so wonderful in their own ways.

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  95. This is fun, love the shadow of the bird and the little worm looking down... :)

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  96. Beautiful, love the colour of the leaves and that little robin is cute... :)

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  97. Mike Allegra writerApril 29, 2014 at 10:59 AM

    And you thought this contest wasn't gonna be popular!

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  98. Cute! I like the two bickering birds in the background.

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  99. Worms with clothes, who would have thought? This is adorable!

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  100. This is a perfect illustration for the Goldibawks story! :)

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  101. Love the candy details! I think the candy cane shutters are my favorite.

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  102. I really wasn't sure, since it was the first one! But I'm thrilled with the turn out, and everyone's illustrations are so fantastic! Your story got a bunch of really good ones!

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  103. Isn't it amazing? And you got some seriously fantastic ones, I thought!

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  104. I'm so glad I don't have to judge it! I couldn't do it. I don't know enough about art techniques, and I like all the pictures :)

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  105. Very cute and such a clean style!

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  106. Very fresh style with lots of white space! Very nice!

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  107. So cute! Love the expressions and their "tube" shirts!

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  108. This is so cute! The lollipops in pots are just how I imagined them :)

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  109. One never knows, Teresa! ; ) Looks can be deceiving. Walk softly and carry a big beak! Thank you for your compliment.

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  110. You are too kind, Oh, Susanna. And I am delighted to be a part of The First Ever Pretty Much World Famous Illustrator Contest. Thank you for hosting.

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  111. Your compliments are appreciated, Joanne. Thank you.

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  112. Together, the three, as a team, should be able to avoid the wrath of the robin! Thank you for your kind words.

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  113. Catherine: Your thoughts warm my heart. Thank you for the kind words.

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  114. So many wonderful entries, Susanna. Wish I had the time. :-(

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  115. How lovely of you to share a few lovely lines, Loveable Lobo. Thank you for the compliment.

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  116. I wish you did too, Tracy! Maybe we'll do this again some time :)

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  117. Katie,
    I love Goldi! She is darling and plucky! Thank you for choosing her:) Good luck!

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  118. I'm going to enjoy sitting back and admiring the talented illustrators in this contest, Susanna!

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