competitions, info, teachers' resources

Design a cover comp (tips!)

As you know, Alphabet soup runs an annual cover-design competition. The 2011 competition is now open and entries close 16 September 2011. Here are the covers done by our 2009 and 2010 winners, K Larson and A Hatton:

"Issue 5 cover (winner of 2009 design-a-cover comp)""Alphabet Soup magazine issue 9 cover"

Aren’t they brilliant? Yes! And now we need a cover for our summer 2011 issue.

We know you are busting to get to it, so here are some tips for all you budding artists.

COMPETITION DETAILS

Using any materials you like, design a cover for Alphabet Soup magazine.

Important – your artwork must be on one side of a sheet of white A4 paper. Make sure the paper is portrait orientation. Do NOT include the Alphabet Soup logo.

You may eneter as many times as you like, but each entry must have a competition entry form with the declaration signed by you and a parent. (Entry forms can be printed from the website, or contact us to have one sent to you.)

The winner’s artwork will be used on the cover of the summer 2011 issue of Alphabet Soup magazine (out in November 2011), and the winner will receive one copy of the summer 2011 issue and art supplies worth $20.

The theme for the cover is: MEDIEVAL.

Artwork can be realistic, or abstract, or collage, or cartoon-like, or any style you choose. It must be your own work and it must be original (no tracing pictures!). Remember that the magazine’s readers are aged 6 to 12.

If you’d like some more info on Medieval life, ask your parents if you can check out these sites:

Remember that our covers don’t usually have a lot of unused white space. If you draw one item in the middle of the page and nothing else, it would be tricky for us to turn it into a cover for the magazine!

There will be one winner chosen. By entering the competition, you agree to us using your artwork on the cover of the summer 2011 issue of Alphabet Soup magazine. We cannot return entries.

Download an entry form from the Alphabet Soup website.