Rookie Awards 2019 - The biggest annual contest for aspiring artists in games, animation, immersive media and more.

Rookie Awards 2019 - The biggest annual contest for aspiring artists in games, animation, immersive media and more.

The Rookie Awards is an annual contest open to young creatives in film, animation, games, virtual reality, motion graphics and 3d visualisation. Entrants can win weekly prizes, jobs, educational scholarships and even studio internships. Entrants also receive an official industry ranking, become confident presenting their work and can see how their skills compare with other students.

Why should I enter the Rookie Awards?

The real question here is, why are you NOT entering the Rookie Awards. Seriously, if you are an aspiring artists trying to break into creative media industries then this is one of the best opportunities out there for you.

It's not all about winning. It's about getting your work seen by industry professionals. It's also an opportunity to figure out how you stack up against other artists and start growing your professional network.

Who can enter the Rookie Awards?

The Rookie Awards is open to all aspiring young artists. If you are trying to break into the creative media and entertainment industry, you are eligible. Students and self-taught artists are allowed to enter their work. Please note that absolutely no professional industry work is allowed.

Important Dates

March 7, 2019: Submissions Open: Eligible entrants are asked to create an entry page and upload their best work for the judges to review.

May 31, 2019: Submissions Closed: No extensions are ever allowed. This is a solid date, just like a production deadline. Don’t miss it!

June 30, 2019: Finalists Announced: Our Judging panel reviews every entry, awarding them an industry ranking and selecting top people per category.

July 16, 2019: Winners Announced: All judging completed and winners of jobs, internships, scholarships and People’s Choice are announced.

Success Stories

Some of our biggest success stories are from entrants that were just like you! They thought they didn't have any chance of winning. But they were discovered just by showing their work on The Rookies website.

Categories - Rookie of the Year

Eight categories open to individual artists to showcase their skills.

  • 3D Animation - Dedicated to the artistic style associated with films from Pixar and Dreamworks.
  • Visual Effects - Artists involved with creating realistic content for integration into live action plates.
  • Concept Art & Illustration - Illustration and concept artists who create work for film, games and entertainment.
  • Game Design & Development - All aspects of game design and development across all major platforms.
  • Immersive Media - The fastest growing category with artists creating virtual reality, augmented reality content.
  • 3D Motion Graphics - Video projects that feature composited text and 3D elements used in film and television.
  • Product Design - Artists who specialise in designing and visualising products in 3D and 2D.
  • Architectural Visualisation - Artists who specialise in creating 3D visualisations of architecture.

Categories - Film of the Year

Eight team based and speciality categories for extra opportunities.

  • 2D Animation - Films with a primary focus on using 2D animation techniques to tell a story.
  • 3D Animation - Dedicated to the artistic style associated with films from Pixar and Dreamworks.
  • Visual Effects - Artists involved with creating realistic images for integration into live action plates.

Categories - Game of the Year

  • Immersive Media - Game design and development for evolving Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality platforms.
  • Mobile - Best showcase of game design and development for major mobile app development.
  • PC & Console - Best showcase of game design and development for major platform games.

Categories - Specialty

Additional categories open to younger audience and schools.

  • Young Guns - Open to artists under 18 years using related software and skills.
  • *School of the Year - Calculated based on the performance of students and recent graduates.

*Schools don't actually enter, winners of this category are calculated based on the performance of entries submitted to Rookie of the Year Categories.

Why should my school get involved?

One of the core reasons we started the Rookie Awards was to help promote the amazing work that schools around the world are doing to help aspiring artists. There are so many great programs out there, but there are also some that should be avoided.

This is why we encourage both students and schools to get involved and show your skills. We want to see the projects that you have created, both individually and as teams.

Not only is this an incredible opportunity to promote how good your curriculum is, but it also gives students a free location on the web to share their work with other aspiring artists - and not be intimidated by the professional focused industries out there just yet.

Supported by big names

It's always good to know someone has your back. We have yours, and this beautiful list of companies has our back too. This is the list of the Rookies Awards 2018 sponsors. We will be sharing the Rookie Awards 2019 sponsor list very shortly – it's a thing of beauty too.

Ok, where do I sign up!

The Rookie Awards kicks off again March 7th, 2019. We are also launching a completely new website which is crazy exciting. Check out some sneak peak articles, here, here, here and here.

To make sure you don't miss any announcements, simply signup to our blog newsletter (below), or just follow us on any of our social media pages @ facebook | twitter | instagram.