Illustration covers a lot of different areas:

Technical Illustration – such as:

• Surgery
• Car Mechanics
• Wildlife Illustration
• Machinery
• Medical Illustration

Narrative Illustration – such as:

• Stories
• Children’s Books/Covers
• Graphic Novels
• Animations

Editorial Illustration – such as:

• Newspapers
• Political
• Journalistic & Personal Interpretations

Persuasion & Identity – such as:

• Logo design
• Billboard
• TV Adverts
• Poster
• Commercials
• Creates identity through illustrations – industries use these to persuade customers to buy the product

Crossovers:

Sometimes the areas above cross over depending on what illustrators are trying to do e.g. Fashion Design = technical ideas + magazine illustration to persuade shoppers.

Research Point 1:

I need to identify a range of illustrators whose work or ideas I find interesting, I will also reflect on what resources I used to find out the info about the illustrators.

Tove Jannson

H R Geiger

Theodore Seuss Geisel (Dr. Seuss)

Quintin Blake

Malika Farve

Hayao Miyasaki

Edward Gorey

Tim Burton

What do these illustrators tell me about current illustration practices?

When looking through all of these illustrators’ work I feel there is a lot of diversity in current illustration practices. I feel as though each of these Illustrators’ styles is so unique from one another. The mediums that each Illustrator uses range from lithography to digital to watercolour.

Where do they fit within the different areas of illustration practice?

• Tove Jannson – Children’s book illustration
• H R Geiger – Illustration concept ideas for television
• Theodore Seuss Geisel (Dr. Seuss) – Children’s book illustration
• Quintin Blake – Children’s book illustration
• Malika Farve – Editorial & Fashion Design
• Hayao Miyasaki – Illustration concept ideas for television and Graphic novel (Manga) illustration
• Edward Gorey – Children’s book illustration and Book cover design illustration
• Tim Burton – Children’s book illustration and Illustration concept ideas for television (crossover)

*I will also share my findings on the OCA forum

References:

I used Google Images to look up photos of Illustrators and find examples of their work.

https://www.artst.org/famous-illustrators/

https://www.nyfa.edu/student-resources/5-of-the-most-influential-and-famous-illustrators-of-all-time/

Research Point 2:

I now need to reflect on my illustrations and identify some pieces that best reflect my personal voice. I need to pick out my favorites and the ones I feel are the closest to what I’m interested in doing or that reflect my interest the best.

What do my choices say about my developing voice as an illustrator?

My choices show that I obviously have a massive interest in digital illustration although I still allow myself to experiment with different mediums and styles also. I also enjoy incorporating photography within my research and final works. My art style is still evolving but I am starting to see some stylistic approaches develop in the way I use linework and character styles.

How do I see myself developing in the future?

I see myself developing my art style and also taking more risks with experimental design/mediums. I hope to also come out of my shell a bit more with my ‘dark’ art style as I enjoy illustrating the macabre ideas that come out of my mind – for instance Space Kid in Exercise 4 of Part 4 in Graphic Fiction.

What types of projects am I interested in exploring?

I have read through all the briefs for this unit and I am interested in exploring the animation aspect as well as science illustration. I am excited to experiment and come up with creative ideas for all the projects within this unit.

What skills do I need to develop?

I would like to develop my digital design skills (for instance how to properly use the whole Adobe Creative Cloud that I recently purchased) and also my research skills.

Research Point 3:

I need to start making a visual diary. For this, I will be using a combination of Pinterest and a scrapbook that I will add to over time.

I will use my Pinterest account for inspiration and things that catch my eye and use my scrapbook for art and photos that I find in physical resources such as newspapers, magazines, and other paper works.

My Pinterest:

***I will be adding to my sketchbook over the coming weeks and months and will add photos in later sections of the unit.