I want to mention a few things about our recent talent search. First and foremost, we were very impressed with not just the number of submissions we got, but also with where they all came from. It seemed like people all over the world were sending us their work. It was great fun going through them all and reading the work of the aspiring artists out there. Sadly, nothing quite rose to the level of making it into the magazine this time, and of course it was difficult for us not to find a story that we really felt was ready to be showcased, but such is the nature of a new talent search. It’s about finding those diamonds in the rough who, with a few nudges in the right direction, might soon be ready to make their professional debuts.
It is with that in mind (as the post-search post on our website stated) that the editorial team sent out e-mails to a select few participants whose work stood out to let them know what we will be contacting them in the coming weeks to provide a bit of feedback on how they might improve in the future and that we are looking forward to seeing more of their work. I did want to take a moment here, though, to say to anyone who didn’t receive one of these e-mails — don’t give up! Just because you didn’t hear from us doesn’t mean that your work is any less valuable. Some of the entries that we received still have a long way to go, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get there. Maybe you’re still at a point where you’re relying too heavily on mimicking others’ work and it’s inhibiting your own artistic voice. Or it may be that the story itself failed to showcase the potential of the art. If that’s the case and this is what you really want to do with your future, then by all means keep practicing. Take another look at your submission, maybe show it to your friends. Really make an unbiased assessment of the work you did and try to figure out what might have been lacking. Then go right back to the basics and practice some more — your drawing, your paneling, your storytelling…everything has to work together to make your talents really shine. We will hold a new talent search again this year, and I will be hoping that we’ll see many of you again with submissions that will absolutely blow our minds!
Remember, this was a talent search, not a competition. We wanted to see who’s out there. We want to give you an opportunity to show us your work. There are no winners or losers. But our eyes will be open, we’ll be looking at your work, and we will be hoping more than anyone else to find that budding new talent. I hope that prospect is as exciting to you all as it is to all of us!
–JuYoun Lee
