The Informed Illustrator

Tuesday, March 22, 2016

Drawing In Advertising 2

Drawing is the most efficient and immediate method for artists to visually record their thoughts, ideas, and observations. Drawing can be a process used for the construction and preparation of an intended work of art to be executed another media or the final form of execution itself. A drawing not only conveys content and idea, but displays a very distinct personality that is evident in the mark making of it’s draftsman, which is as unique as a fingerprint. It is this trait that is being recognized by contemporary advertisers who are seeking distinction in their ads and who are responsible for the resurgence in the use of drawing for advertising. For many years deemed as only a preparatory form of expression, drawing has now been reconsidered for use as a legitimate, finished illustration media, publishable in it’s natural state.

The Historical Place Of Drawing In Advertising

Being an easily reproducible media for all forms of print applications in past eras, drawing, with its clarity of tone and line, and lack of color, was more extensively used as a finished illustration media than photography was. In the early 20th century, drawing was much easier to convert into engraving or lithography for use by printers and publishers. Lithography was the primary method used to translate graphite drawing for print reproduction. Eventually lithography would replace both engraving (gravure) and letterpress as the preferred method of mass publishing. Refinements to plates and methods of image transfer made lithography superior for reproducing all forms of both monochromatic and panchromatic illustration media including graphite and pen and ink.

The Economics Of Drawing Media

Economically, drawing is the most cost-effective media for reproduction in print publishing. Drawing, whether traditionally or digitally produced, due to it’s contrast to paper white, with today’s printing technology, is easy to digitally process and reproduce.

The Examples

The drawing displayed in the following advertising example represents a range of illustrative styles from naive line work to elaborate obsessive-compulsive visualization involving complex compositional juxtapositions. All the examples attempt to present a fresh intuitive, spur of the moment, capture of an idea or impression, much the same as an improvisational stand-up comic might impart.

Agency: BBDO Berlin, Germany. Client: Smart.
Illustrator: Chrisse Kunst.

Agency: J. Walter Thompson, Shanghai, China. Client: Skullcandy.
Illustrator, Tin Yu.

Agency: Werbeagentur, Hamburg, Germany. Client: Abendblatt.
Illustrator: Felix Scheinberger.

Agency: JWT, São Paulo, Brazil. Client: Listerine. Illustrator: Pablo Lobo.

Agency: Bolero, Brazil. Client: Planet Rare Vinyl Records.
Illustrator: Allan Goldman.

Agency: Cheil, India. Client Dairybest. Illustrator: Shashank Mishra.

Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi, London, UK. Client: Campaign. Illustrator: Luke Ramsey.

Agency: Alma, Miami, USA. Client: Regulax. Illustrator: Carmen Cothern.

Agency: Master, Brazil. Client: Cultural Foundation Curitiba.
Illustrator: Yohke.

Agency: Master, Brazil. Client: Cultural Foundation Curitiba.
Illustrator: Oscar Zalles.

Agency: Master, Brazil. Client: Cultural Foundation Curitiba.
Illustrator: Antonio Komiyama.

Agency: Publicis, Brazil. Client Prosangue. Illustrator: Ashley Mckenzie.

Agency: Watercrab, Bangalore, India. Client: Sankara Eye Hospital.
Illustrator: Pratheek Unnikrishnan.

Agency: Yeah!, Curitiba, Brazil. Client: Wise Up English School. Illustrator: Roger Fernandez.

Agency: Yeah!, Curitiba, Brazil. Client: Wise Up English School. Illustrator: Raissa Schpatoff.

Tuesday, January 19, 2016

Illustration Career Self-Assessment

Every so often it’s important to pause and take some time to assess where you stand presently in your career. To take stock in the skills you possess, reflect on the experience you have acquired, and to review what your illustration has to offer and what it has achieved. Although companies engage in this kind of activity, for illustrators, a self-assessment is something many of us seldom take time to do. And paying someone to do it for us, as a company would, is simply not on the table. It’s not to difficult as time quickly goes by for our careers to experience a detour or two from the direction and even the type of work we originally intended to produce. An assessment can help determine if you are on course with your aspirations, or if not, how far off you may be. It is particularly helpful for illustrators who are just starting out or are early on in their careers. At the very least, it can provide food for thought about career focus or expansion, marketing needs, and personal goals.

The checklist below is provided to help you recognize, describe, and classify your work. It is divided into media, style, demographics, and assignments. The list is also to be used to identify possible directions you would like to pursue in your career.

How To Use This Checklist

Place a checkmark in the brackets [ ] to identify all the traits that pertain to your work at the present time. Then place a checkmark in the parenthesis ( ) next to all the traits that represent career aspirations. If you wish to continue a certain trait in the future that applies now then check both. By comparing what you have achieved in the present to what you may wish to achieve in the future, you can get an idea about which directions to pursue with your work and career.

Media

Method

[ ] ( ) Traditional Dry Media

[ ] ( ) Traditional Wet Media

[ ] ( ) Digital Raster

[ ] ( ) Digital Vector

[ ] ( ) Dimensional Low Relief

[ ] ( ) Dimensional High Relief

[ ] ( ) Sculptural

[ ] ( ) Other

Traditional Media

[ ] ( ) Graphite

[ ] ( ) Colored Pencil

[ ] ( ) Pastel

[ ] ( ) Ink

[ ] ( ) Watercolor

[ ] ( ) Marker

[ ] ( ) Gouache

[ ] ( ) Acrylic

[ ] ( ) Oil

[ ] ( ) Mixed Media

[ ] ( ) Sculpey

[ ] ( ) Other

Surfaces

[ ] ( ) Paper

[ ] ( ) Canvas/Fabric

[ ] ( ) Illustration Board

[ ] ( ) Wood

[ ] ( ) Composite

[ ] ( ) Scratchboard

[ ] ( ) Human Body

[ ] ( ) Walls/Brick

[ ] ( ) Other

Digital Media

Platform

[ ] ( ) Windows

[ ] ( ) Mac OS

[ ] ( ) Linux

[ ] ( ) IOS/Android

Software

[ ] ( ) Illustrator

[ ] ( ) Photoshop

[ ] ( ) Painter

[ ] ( ) Maya

[ ] ( ) LightWave

[ ] ( ) CAD

[ ] ( ) Cinema 4D

[ ] ( ) Other Raster

[ ] ( ) Other Vector

[ ] ( ) Other 3D

[ ] ( ) Mixed Media

[ ] ( ) Other Motion

Style

[ ] ( ) Expressionistic

[ ] ( ) Stylized

[ ] ( ) Representational

[ ] ( ) Cartoon

[ ] ( ) Distorted

[ ] ( ) Primitive

[ ] ( ) Conceptual

[ ] ( ) Comic

[ ] ( ) Montage

[ ] ( ) Technical

[ ] ( ) Iconographic

[ ] ( ) Retro/Nostalgic

[ ] ( ) Decorative

[ ] ( ) Surrealistic

[ ] ( ) Photorealistic

[ ] ( ) Impressionistic

[ ] ( ) Collage

[ ] ( ) Graphic

[ ] ( ) Other

Demographics

Genre

[ ] ( ) Narrative

[ ] ( ) Sci-Fi

[ ] ( ) Children’s Book

[ ] ( ) Fantasy

[ ] ( ) Historical

[ ] ( ) Nature

[ ] ( ) Humor

[ ] ( ) Portrait

[ ] ( ) Scenic

[ ] ( ) Graphic Novel

[ ] ( ) Informational

[ ] ( ) Animation

[ ] ( ) Medical

[ ] ( ) Concept Art

[ ] ( ) Visual Development

[ ] ( ) Other

Markets

[ ] ( ) Advertising

[ ] ( ) Corporate

[ ] ( ) Editorial

[ ] ( ) Book

[ ] ( ) Medical

[ ] ( ) Scientific

[ ] ( ) Fashion

[ ] ( ) Design

[ ] ( ) Product

[ ] ( ) Film

[ ] ( ) Teleplay

[ ] ( ) Technology

[ ] ( ) Architectural

[ ] ( ) Entertainment

[ ] ( ) Gaming

[ ] ( ) Art/Poster

[ ] ( ) Other

Clients/Employment

[ ] ( ) Ad Agency

[ ] ( ) Design Studio

[ ] ( ) Corporation

[ ] ( ) Non-Profit Org.

[ ] ( ) Manufacturer

[ ] ( ) Publisher

[ ] ( ) Broadcaster

[ ] ( ) Government

[ ] ( ) Gallery/Museum

[ ] ( ) Animation Studio

[ ] ( ) Motion Picture Studio

[ ] ( ) Individual Commission

[ ] ( ) Other

Region

[ ] ( ) Local

[ ] ( ) Regional

[ ] ( ) National

[ ] ( ) International

[ ] ( ) Specific

Audience

[ ] ( ) Preschool

[ ] ( ) Children

[ ] ( ) Adolescent

[ ] ( ) Teen

[ ] ( ) College Student

[ ] ( ) 20 Something

[ ] ( ) 30 Something

[ ] ( ) Baby Boomers

[ ] ( ) Seniors

[ ] ( ) Special Interest

[ ] ( ) Public

[ ] ( ) Gender Focused

[ ] ( ) Trade Focused

[ ] ( ) Private/Restricted

[ ] ( ) Other

Assignments

[ ] ( ) Digital Assets

[ ] ( ) Murals

[ ] ( ) Sets/Dioramas

[ ] ( ) Motion Based

[ ] ( ) Packaging

[ ] ( ) Models/Prototypes

[ ] ( ) Posters/POS

[ ] ( ) Direct Mail

[ ] ( ) Wallpapers

[ ] ( ) Wearables

[ ] ( ) Tattoos

[ ] ( ) Logos/Icons

[ ] ( ) Products

[ ] ( ) Single Illustration

[ ] ( ) Series Illustration

[ ] ( ) Other

Promotion

Media

[ ] ( ) Business Cards

[ ] ( ) Stationery

[ ] ( ) Mailers

[ ] ( ) Website

[ ] ( ) Blog

[ ] ( ) Chat Groups

[ ] ( ) Social Media

[ ] ( ) Advertising

[ ] ( ) Contests

[ ] ( ) Artist’s Rep

[ ] ( ) Other

Portfolio

[ ] ( ) Print Portfolio

[ ] ( ) Digital Portfolio

[ ] ( ) Host Site Portfolio

[ ] ( ) IOS Portfolio

[ ] ( ) Online Portfolio

[ ] ( ) Digital Slideshow

[ ] ( ) Other

Business

[ ] ( ) Business Plan

[ ] ( ) Expenses Budget

[ ] ( ) Marketing Strategy