Department of Visual Arts

Two BYU Students Recognized in Prestigious Illustration Competition

by Daniel Ng

Imagine watching a cellist struggle his way through a concert while the rest of orchestra performs smoothly around him.

Or imagine a beautiful red rock arch, covered by layers of snow in a fantasy-type world.

Now imagine creating illustrations of both scenes from your own mind.

For Brigham Young university students, Elisabeth Pulido and Tyler Carter, this laborious and intricate process is one they understand well.

That’s because illustrations of a struggling cello player created by Pulido and the imaginative red rock landscape created by Carter were both entered as digital prints into this year’s Society of Illustrators: 2011 Student Scholarship Competition.

“This is the most prestigious annual student illustration competition because it’s the largest,” said BYU illustration professor, Richard Hull. “They get over 6,000 entries every year from university programs to private art college programs but only select about 130. So getting in is very significant.”

This year, Pulido’s piece, which she created for the BYU NOVA Chamber Players, titled, Lack of Practice, and Carter’s work known as, Crisium, were two of the hundred or so illustrations recognized by the Society out of the thousands of entries submitted.

“They have a whole bunch of entries that they narrow down,” Pulido said. “Those are the one’s that will make it into their New York gallery. That alone is a huge accomplishment.” From there, Pulido explained that the advantages of being placed in the competition get even better.

“They also put out a publication of all the works in the show,” Pulido said. “As a student, it’s a really big honor to be placed in the publication because publishers, other artists and even agents are going to see that publication and your work. It’s a really good way to break through.”

Carter, whose works have been selected by the competition three times now, agreed with Pulido.

“It’s a really big opportunity for free advertising of yourself if you get in,” Carter said. “It’s really good publicity by making [it into] this magazine that they send out to everybody. When you get something in there you’re just thrilled about it.”

Bethanne Anderson, a BYU illustrations professor, noted nothing beats having “Society of Illustrators” stamped across a resume or portfolio.

“When they start to take their portfolios around and it says ‘Society of Illustrators’ on it, that says a lot to art directors and art buyers,” Anderson said. “I mean, this competition is competitive.”

On top of the publicity, recognition and possible networking opportunities gained by entering their works into this year’s contest, Pulido and Carter also qualified themselves for a possible scholarship paid for by the Society that will be determined in the coming weeks.

According to the Society’s website, scholarship recipients will receive anywhere from $5000 to $500.

Ultimately, Pulido and Carter both hope their work can truly inspire and relate to future audience members who will either walk through the Society’s gallery or pick up its student competition publication.

Pulido’s inspiration comes from the belief that most people have encountered a difficult situation in their life before because of a lack of preparation.

“Everyone can relate to not practicing,” Pulido said. “I know that I feel very in tune with the subject because as an artist you are always fighting your medium and own fears. It’s the same thing for a musician. As much as talent may exist, in the end it’s hard work that separates people. It’s all about practice.”

For Carter, the idea that his imaginative landscapes and characters could affect someone is worth all the sleep he’s sacrificed while working on his projects.

“When you go and see a movie, like Avatar for example, it really takes you to a different world for a few hours,” Carter said. “That’s what I really love about my work. I just love the power behind an illustration and being able to touch someone for a few minutes or seconds.”

Even if Pulido and Carter don’t touch every person that comes across their work, both Hull and Anderson agreed that the two have a bright future ahead of them.

“I’ve had Tyler in one illustration studio class,” Hull said. “He is very imaginative and has great craft. In the case of Crisium he just uses the nature of aerial perspective so effectively. He also used his color palette very properly. His work is just very playful and bold.”

As for Pulido, Anderson could also only brag about the talent that she brings to the table.

“I just love Liz,” Anderson said. “She is a hard worker, really fun, and has a natural storytelling sense to her. She is also very passionate and always feels strongly about her work.”

Carter plans on working in a visual development capacity at a major studio in the future. Pulido on the other hand, hopes to write graphic novels someday.

Either way, both are bound to be successful as long as they keep up the work they produced for the Society of Illustrators.