Nafa illustration students bring local children’s books to life

SINGAPORE – For two days, two students from the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (Nafa) went around neighbourhoods in Jurong and Aljunied to photograph HDB facades, lift landings, and polyclinics from specific angles.

These images served as visual references for Miss Cindy Callista Lim, and Miss Cathleen Briggita Kandou, both 19, when illustrating Finding Missing Mali.

The book, by Nurul Amirah Muhd Azmy, was one of three English children’s manuscripts assigned to Year 2 students in the illustration design with animation diploma course, as part of their academic curriculum. 

Said Miss Kandou: “The goal was to get the perspective right. In children’s books or graphic novels, perspective is crucial, as it helps guide the reader’s eyes and keep scenes clear.”

Their attention to detail paid off. The duo was among three pairs of students awarded the Student Illustrator Book Prize this year, for each of the manuscripts, which were due to be published. The competition is jointly organised by the Singapore Book Publishers Association and Nafa, University of the Arts Singapore.

The second winning team comprised Miss Carmelita Angelica Josopandojo and Miss Tanya, who goes by only one name, both 19. They illustrated The Way Ahead by Emily Lim-Leh, a story about a mouse on a treasure hunt, where each obstacle he faces becomes a lesson in resilience.

Miss Demitria Jocelyn Gunawan, 20, and Miss Thara Adristi Aulia Aspriandhi, 21, were also awarded for their work on The Little Girl Who Made it Snow, by an anonymous author. The book has been withdrawn from publication for undisclosed reasons.

Each winning team received a cash prize of $1,000. 

The winning student illustrators of two manuscripts will also have their work used in the books, which will be launched at the Singapore Children’s Book Festival in mid-2026.

This year’s edition – the second time that the competition has been held – highlighted local voices and heritage, promoting children’s books by Singaporean authors and illustrators that reflect the rich multicultural tapestry of the nation.

Twenty-four pairs of students were given roughly eight weeks to complete the work. Using software such as Procreate and ibis Paint X, each team came up with 10 pages of illustrations.

Ms Marie Toh, senior lecturer from Nafa’s School of Design and Media, said that the students’ works were assessed by clear documentation of their design rationales and experimentation, as well as how polished and well-executed their final outcomes were.

The teaching team shortlisted the top two entries for each manuscript and then handed them over to the respective publishers – Epigram Books, Bubbly Books and Pustaka Nasional – to select the final winners.

Ms Emily Lim-Leh, 53, author of The Way Ahead, said: “My publisher Bubbly Books and I decided on Carmelita’s and Tanya’s illustrations as the winning entry as they have a charming and whimsical interpretation of my The Way Ahead manuscript. We’re impressed by the quality of these Nafa students’ artwork and design style.”

She said that the team won her heart with “a magically dreamlike drawing of a deer with antlers that grew out like greened branches of a tree”, adding: “I feel they have brought in creativity and their sense of wonder, which makes this a wonderfully collaborative effort.”

When deciding which manuscript to illustrate, Nafa student Miss Lim said Finding Missing Mali stood out because it reflected her own experience of moving from Indonesia to Singapore two years ago for her studies. 

The story follows Hana, a shy girl who moves from Thailand to Singapore and prefers to stay at home with her cat Mali than to go out into the intimidating world. But when Mali goes missing, Hana ventures out to find it, and along the way begins to connect with people in her new neighbourhood. 

“Singapore was still a foreign country, so it was hard (for me) to adapt, similar to how Hana struggles to communicate in the story,” said Miss Lim. “Mali, the cat is like her coping mechanism. I also have a cat, so I related to that a lot.” 

Most of the winners told TLDR that being able to see their illustrations published was a boost to their decision to pursue a career doing commissioned artwork.

Miss Tanya, who began taking commissions from hobbyist artists to illustrate character designs at the age of 13, said: “Before entering art school, I was already active in online (art) communities and had a clear understanding of what the career demands... That gave me confidence going in.”

For instance, she had a clearer idea on what shape language to use and how to design commercially appealing characters. She and Miss Josopandojo designed the main characters with a round shape language, as they wanted the mouse to be a cute and affable protagonist.

Miss Tanya added: “I took on commissioned work to show my parents that this could be a viable career. So I think that’s why they are extra supportive.”

She added that while she and her peers are aware of the difficulties in the industry, the concerns are not in the forefront of their minds. “Our focus now is to hone our skills and put our best foot forward, so that we can be competitive in the field.”

Added Miss Kandou: “I believe that what matters most now is that our book is given a chance to find its way into more hands and hearts.”