Two recent graduates and a lecturer from the University for the Creative Arts (UCA) have been shortlisted for the 2026 World Illustration Awards.

The awards, presented by the Association of Illustrators in partnership with the Directory of Illustration, celebrate outstanding illustration from around the world.

This year's shortlist features 200 entries selected from 4,500 submissions across 80 countries.

Duoduo Wang, who graduated this year from BA (Hons) Illustration, and Livvy Seabrook-Wilkins, a 2025 BA (Hons) Animation graduate, have both been shortlisted in the New Talent Animation category.

Duoduo, who is originally from China, responded to the "What's so funny" brief with an animated short called How to Pass as a Human.

Framed as a broadcast from an alien attempting to mimic human behaviour, the film combines slime materials, hand-drawn textures and live-action facial features using collage-like techniques.

Livvy's film, Strokes of Wildflowers, was dedicated to her grandmother, who had suffered multiple strokes.

Created using hand-drawn animation with charcoal, paint and ink, it draws on interviews with her grandmother and other members of a Stroke Club and explores the role of community in recovery.

UCA Illustration lecturer Beatriz Lostalé has also been shortlisted in the Professional and Site-Specific category for work commissioned by Shake Shack in Cambridge.

Her illustrations appear on the building's external hoarding and interior murals and depict the city's green spaces and parks.

The winners and highly commended entries will be announced online on September 8.