The Versatile Master Artist

This is the Holy Hall of the Illustration Hall.

On the summit of the mountains, the king of kings.

The awards are announced every June, recognizing the most outstanding writers and illustrators.

Globally, there are only five slots, four for the [Excellent Contribution to Writing and Art Master Award] and one annual slot for the [Outstanding Contribution to Writing and Art Master Award].

The [Outstanding Contribution Award] is one of the most important awards in the illustration world, only slightly less prestigious than the long-standing Andersen Award, but not by much.

To put it simply, the difference between the two is about as serious.

For a more straightforward comparison, it’s roughly akin to the subtle gap between the literary world’s France’s Goncourt Prize (the oldest and most grand literary prize), the Commonwealth’s Booker Prize (the highest honor in English literature), and the Nobel Prize in Literature.

For 99% of illustrators, it’s the difference between unbelievably impressive and unimaginably impressive.

Past laureates include such well-known literary masters as Andy Warhol, J.K. Rowling, Stephen King, Jean Arnou, and George R.R. Martin.

The [Excellent Contribution Award] with four slots is slightly less prestigious, but it is still a highly valuable artistic award.

Keep in mind that competing for these four slots are not only veteran painters but also many renowned writers.

Scholastic Group is a publishing group that tends to award bestselling authors over illustration artists.

Over the past half-century, only five painting artists, including Jean Arnou and Andy Warhol, have received the Outstanding Contribution Award.

Jean Arnou is the only one who has received both the Andersen Award and the Outstanding Contribution to Writing and Art Master Award.

There have been even two who have won both the Nobel Prize in Literature and the Outstanding Contribution to Writing and Art Master Award: Patrick Modiano (2014 Nobel laureate) and Heinrich Böll (1972 Nobel laureate).

This underscores its rarity.

The Villerein Studio only managed to win the Excellent Contribution Award a few years ago after a decade-long collaboration with publishers.

”Oh? Initially, the Villerein Studio was supposed to take over this project.”

The square-faced head’s tone had a slight fluctuation as he looked down and flipped through the folder in his hand.

Indeed, he found a copy of the early communication email regarding the ”Little Prince” project between the art department and Villerein Studio submitted by Director Charlie.

These intention emails have no legal effect before the formal contract is signed, but they’re enough to prove Director Charlie’s words are not baseless.

The head was originally a detective in Scotland Yard’s economic investigation division, later hired by the publisher to oversee the group’s Internal Affairs Department.

Even if he is not a professional artist, he still has a clear understanding of the acclaimed ”Writing and Art Master Award” within the group.

Unquestionably,

The resume experience of a female painter Detective Cat, who only has some small fame online and not all of it good, is not remotely comparable to that of the Villerein Studio.

Like comparing a child to a strongman, they’re just not in the same league.

The behavior of the group’s executives in awarding the contract to Detective Cat indeed doesn’t make sense.

In terms of artistic achievement,

With the endorsement of a Master Award, Villerein Studio is not that much inferior to top illustrators like Van Doorn; what it lacks is just the opportunity to break into the fashion circle with golden days like Van Doorn.

”This indeed seems very suspicious. Why would the project group agree to give this opportunity to a... Excuse my bluntness... an online painter with no evidence supporting her qualifications for such a major project?”

The square-faced head leaned forward slightly, his tone hard and cold.

In criminal psychology, such an aggressive psychological posture can increase the psychological burden on the suspect, leading many white-collar criminals with weak psychological endurance to confess without coercion.

He stared at Vice Director Shubert and the fat assistant sitting at the round table,

mainly the fat assistant.

The Internal Affairs Department chose the fat assistant as the spokesperson instead of the supervisor, not only because he was the primary person in charge of communicating with the illustrator Detective Cat but also because these recently employed low-ranking employees have less social experience and are more easily broken down psychologically.

”I... I don’t know.”

Just as the head expected, the fat assistant was very nervous, sweat appearing in circles on his round face, his chin trembling.

He was not foolish.

It’s hard to believe that there wasn’t some inside information behind the supervisor and vice president’s non-compliant actions.

”Fatty, the group’s marketing department expects ’The Little Prince’ to sell three hundred thousand copies in its first year, with a hardcover pricing at around twenty euros per copy, which adds up to six million euros, and that’s just the first year’s anticipated sales volume.”

Charlie glared aggressively at the fat assistant: ”What about in two years, three years, ten years? One million copies would be twenty million euros, and three million copies would be damn sixty million euros!”

”Sixty! million! euros!”

The director enunciated each word, spit spraying onto the fat assistant’s face.

”Sixty million euros in expected revenue, ruined by a lousy illustrator. Can you take responsibility for that! Think clearly, if you are to take the blame, how many years in jail your superior will have you serving!”

The head took a glance at Director Charlie, he knew that the amount of commercial crime wasn’t calculated this way, but the head didn’t mind intimidating the young assistant a bit.

The fat assistant was visibly flustered, with his head lowered: ”I didn’t commit any crime, I was just following my superior’s instructions.”

”Oh, what did your superior instruct you to do?” The head immediately pursued.

The fat assistant fell silent again, locked in internal conflict.

”Alright, he’s just an assistant, no need to scare this young man.”

Vice Director Shubert, who had always been silent, suddenly intervened to ease the situation.

”If you want to know why Detective Cat was chosen, you should ask President Osborne. As for the rest, we are just following company procedures.”

Charlie sharply turned his head, glowering at Vice Director Shubert.

In return, Shubert expressionlessly spit out a few grape seeds as a response.

Escalating it to the Internal Affairs Department, either the contract continues, and he gets officially entrenched in the art department, or they all get fired; there’s no middle ground.

With nothing to lose, the Vice Director firmly stood his ground.

”From the time the draft was uploaded to being taken out of the system, it was in the public backend for less than ten seconds, which is still compliant. Painting knife painting? It’s dogshit painting knife painting that could pass the art department’s review, is this ’following procedures’?”

Charlie sneered ominously.

Initially, he had promised to block Detective Cat’s draft.

In the end, as soon as the ’Little Prince’ project group uploaded the draft to the art department’s backend, Shubert used his access rights to retrieve the file.

He didn’t even get a peek at Detective Cat’s draft.

Charlie nearly exploded in anger.

He only found the external annotations of the draft in the system backend’s history records, where the theme classification was labeled as ”painting knife painting”.

”A ridiculous painting technique.”

For how long has Scholastic Group not handled illustration commissions involving painting knife styles?

Charlie felt that even without setting her up, Detective Cat wouldn’t meet the art department’s review standards.

Seeing this classification, Charlie already equated Detective Cat’s oil painting level with half-baked frauds.

As long as it’s painting knife painting, her work couldn’t possibly be any good.

This was the confidence behind his willingness to stir up trouble.

Artists with familial connections getting high-quality commission contracts that do not match their abilities — such things aren’t news in the illustration industry.

The condition being, it doesn’t get exposed.

”I work diligently every day, and I just happened to see the notification from the backend at that time.”

Shubert said slowly: ”As for painting knife painting, when has the company ever stipulated that painting knife painting isn’t part of illustration commissions? I just think her painting is excellent.”

”Diligently working every day? Is your job to play darts?” Charlie laughed in exasperation, ”Excellent painting knife painting? Don’t be ridiculous, how many people can actually do painting knife well.”

If it was a draft by Professor Borges from the Brooklyn Art Academy, a professional painting knife artist.

Charlie would leave immediately.

But an online painter...

”You really think Detective Cat’s paintings are great, are you being honest with yourself?” he mocked.