Online Illustration student reaches finals of international competition

Falmouth University Illustration BA(Hons) (Online) student Chantelle Lloyd has been named in the final 30 of the BOit! 2023 International Illustration Contest. 

Currently in her second year of online study, Chantelle joined the course with the ambition to change her career path and is already turning heads on the international illustration scene. Her submission for BOit! was initially longlisted from a pool of over 1,000 entries, to a shortlist of 150 and ultimately reached the final 30, with her piece currently on display at the SalaBorsa Library in Bologna, Italy.  

BOit! is an international competition open to creative people from every background. Now in its third year, the project seeks to promote creative work, facilitate networking and exchange between artists - including non-professional artists and people belonging to protected categories. In each edition, artists are asked to propose their vision of the city of Bologna by addressing the chosen topic along with a ‘shape.’ 

The ‘shape’ which this year’s edition challenged entrants to create represented the outline of the city itself, which recalls the cell of a beehive. The theme of this edition focused on climate change and carbon neutrality, as - along with 100 other cities - Bologna is aiming to become a carbon neutral city by 2030.  

The course has given me the tools I need to create more complex and thought-provoking illustrations.

Chantelle was particularly inspired by the theme and decided to create an entry. She told us: “My piece is called There’s No More Room for the Good Stuff. I wanted to show that we are slowly being squeezed into smaller and smaller spaces while corporations continue to dominate, pollute, and destroy our planet, leaving us with less room to thrive. I created my illustration through feeling rather than my usual overthinking.” 

Chantelle is part of a growing global community of creative online students at Falmouth. On her experience studying illustration online, she told us: “The course has given me the tools I need to create more complex and thought-provoking illustrations. I am developing a new way of perceiving and then challenging briefs I encounter and am now able to think about my own work more critically.” 

With ambition in abundance, Chantelle is relishing the prospect of turning her lifelong passion for illustration into a viable career. As she explains: “I was stuck in a career that I knew was not for me, and decided it was time to do something new and exciting. I searched online and found Falmouth’s online illustration course and after some research into the course and the university, I knew that it was the perfect fit for me.  

“My ultimate goal after I graduate is to become a book illustrator or a concept artist while taking on editorial commissions, and I may even aim for an Art Director position after a few years.” 

Inspired by Chantelle’s story? Explore Illustration BA(Hons) (Online) for yourself