Rookie Awards 2023: Meet the Judging Panel

Rookie Awards 2023: Meet the Judging Panel

We are incredibly honoured to introduce such an amazing line-up of industry masters for our Rookie Awards 2023 Judging Panel.

Each year The Rookies engages between 100-200 industry professionals to serve on the Rookie Awards judging panel. These individuals have been supporting the Awards since its inception, and their contributions have helped kick start the careers of so many young creatives.

Meet the talented, creators, makers, visionaries and professionals who will be following your Rookie Awards 2023 journey!


The judges this year will be deliberating on entries from 5 major Contest Groups:

  • Rookie of the Year - 10 x categories open to individual artists to showcase their specific industry based skills.
  • Film of the Year - 3 x individual/team based categories for artists working on films.
  • Game of the Year - 3 x individual/team based categories for artists working on games.
  • Career Opportunities - Various opportunities provided by production studios.
  • Specialty - Open to individual artists under 18 years.


RA2022 Concept Art Entry by Tanguy Macq
Collaborating with The Rookies is always fun, especially when reviewing students' work for the Rookies Awards. It is great to see the students' progress and witness their projects' development process.

- Pablo Munoz Gomez, 3D Artist and Founder of zbrushguides.com and 3dconceptartist.com

Virtual Fashion Entry by Grace Moore
I love being involved with The Rookies and the community they have built. I feel there is an opportunity within The Rookies to continue having outreach and support for artists outside of my regular job which I am very thankful for.

- Kelly Barschig, VP, Talent Acquisition, That's No Moon

Game Development Entry by Kris Yu
I am really excited to see what new colourful worlds, ideas and projects the current generation of Artists is bringing to the industry this year!

- Jasmin Habezai-Fekri, 3D Environment Artist at Airship Syndicate


Here are some tips to impress the Judges this year:

  • Create an entry page that shows off ALL your best work for the selected category. Treat the contest like a job application where you want to impress a recruiter with a wide range of skills related to the industry (category).
  • Explain how you created your projects, include extra images, video, and text to help.
  • Watch our introduction video to make sure you create the best entry possible.
  • Review entries from last year and use them as inspiration.
  • Read our F.A.Q article to clear up any common confusion.
  • Ask questions on our Discord Channel and network with pros and entrants.
  • Follow us @therookiesco
  • Stay updated with #rookieawards2023.