The Informed Illustrator: 2014

Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Santa Comes Around

Once again, this is the time of year for Santa. Whether you love the holidays or loath them, and whether you look forward to them or look beyond them, come mid-September the holidays begin to trickle in, until eventually there is a flood, all around us. For illustrators, Christmas truly does start in July. Publishers and advertisers have already launched their December 25th marketing strategies and are clamoring for images.

When it comes to picturing Santa, let’s face it, an illustration works best. And it seems that there is no end to how the jolly gentleman has been portrayed. With that in mind, and in consideration of things not always being what they seem, I present to you, an illustration of Santa from a different point of view.

Happy Holidays!

Tuesday, December 9, 2014

Stylistic Illustration: 2. Abstraction

Until impressionism arrived in the latter years of the 19th century, art was In the first half of the 20th century both art and illustration were being redefined. concerned primarily with documentary and narrative interpretations of subject matter. As the Arts and Crafts movement progressed to Art Nouveau, and movements that sponsored further exploration of non-traditional style and abstractionism, the lines between that of the artist, illustrator, and designer were only beginning to be differentiated. Artists who indulged in experimental composition and presentation of subject matter such as Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Alphonse Mucha, Ferdinand Leger, Erté, and Raoul Dufy produced both artistic personal works and illustrative commercial commissions, although in time they primarily became classified as fine artists rather than illustrators. Non-the-less, their influence on stylistic illustration was considerable.

Artist: Alphonse Mucha, 1896.

Artist: Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, 1892

Artist: Romain de Tirtoff a.k.a. Erté, 1936.

Artist: Raoul Dufy, 1934.

Artist: Ferdinand Leger, 1924,

In the 1940’s and 50’s the various markets for art, illustration, and design proceeded to be more rigidly defined. For illustration, it was the editorial, advertising, and corporate communications markets that emerged as viable markets, and for fine art it was the gallery and boutique markets. Fine art, illustration, and graphic design matured as individual types of businesses. Fine Art Galleries flourished. This offered fine artists exposure, and patrons of fine art an opportunity to experience it and purchase work. Illustration and design studios were created, as well as a large freelance market, dedicated to the creation of illustration that contributed to, and were incorporated into, other forms of communication.

The Beginning of Abstraction

Some of the first uses of abstractionism in illustration appear in the work of Leonetto Cappiello, an Italian poster artist who lived in Paris and worked from 1896 to 1936. His style, which was very unique and influential at the time, led to him being later referred to as “the father of modern advertising”. Cappiello’s work was more simplistically stylized, which made it step beyond the work of his predecessors, such as Jules Chéret and Alfred Choubrac. Cappiello influenced the entire genre of poster art and advertising including A.M. Cassandre, Jean Carlu, and Severo Pozzati to name a few.

Artist: Leonetto Cappiello, 1921.

Artist: Alfred Chobrac, 1898.

Artist: Jules Cheret, 1894.

Too Abstract To Be Illustration

From the late 1920’s through the years of World War II, abstractionism became a predominant form of illustration. Pure shape, line, texture, and color became ever-present pictorial conventions in the illustrations of that era. Some illustrators, such as Joost Schmidt, E. A. Barton, Edward McKnight, and Leo Marfurt, created compositions that took the use of abstract form to the extreme. This presented quite a challenge for an audience that was primarily accustomed to realist imagery.

Artist: E.A. Bardon, 1925.

Artist: Edward McKnight Kauffer, 1930.

Artist: A.M. Rodchenko, 1923.

Artist: Fortunato Depero, 1930.

Artist: Lucio Venna, 1930.

Artist: Charles Loupot, 1930.

Artist: Severo Pozzati, 1928.

Artist: Joost Schmidt, 1923.

Artist: A.M. Cassandre, 1928.

The Acceptance of Abstraction

The purity and simplicity of abstract illustrations, and their inventive conceptual style began to romance the general public. The result was a fervent appreciation for the abstract aesthetic. Illustrated advertisements and announcements were distinctly effective at drawing a viewer’s attention and reinforcing their product retention. Editorial content that was based on concepts that could not be observed in the real world e.g. thought processes, etc., could suddenly be visualized through abstract illustration. Structurally, abstraction provided a means whereby strange juxtapositions of subjects could be illustrated without seeming to be so strange and compositionally out of place.

Artist: Paolo Garretto, 1933.

Artist: Severo Pozzati, 1938.

Artist: Alexey Brodovitch, 1939.

Artist: Bernard Lancy, 1937.

Artist: Claude Gadoud, 1930.

Artist: Fortunato Depero, 1930.

Artist: Hermann Keimel, 1931.

Artist: Leon Dupin, 1931.

Artist: Paolo Garretto, 1932.

Artist: Anibel Tejada, circa 1930.

Artist: Jean Carlu, 1935.

Artist: A.M. Cassandre, 1932.

Monday, November 24, 2014

Why Use Illustration For Advertising

There was a time long ago when all advertisements that contained visuals were illustrated. Although that time has long since past, illustration is still being used to visualize advertising campaigns, adding artistic distinction, style, and individualism to concepts and content communicated by advertisers. Companies who commission illustration for their advertisements recognize the advantages illustrations has over other types of visualization in certain situations, specifically photography. As a matter of fact, it's the capability of photography to depict or document a person, place, or thing in a precise manner that can present a disadvantage in some advertising situations.

Illustrative Advertising Campaign Advantages

Advertising thrives on creativity, and Illustration as a visualization media, when brought into the creative problem solving process, can expand the range of conceptual solutions for advertising messages. Illustration can invent a person who never existed, bring a dead person back to life, or depict a person whose age, race, or even gender is not identifiable. It can portray fictional characters, mythological gods, fantastic creatures, devils, angels, and as in the case of Monty Python and the Holy Grail, even God.

Pictorial Advantages

Illustration can show what it would be like to walk on the bottom of the ocean, fly through the atmosphere of Venus, or swallow a cow. It can picture subjects and communicate concepts that cannot be documented photographically, such as bipolar disorder; electrons, protons and neutrons in action; how an electronic circuit works; how the universe began, etc. Illustration can render a building in a landscape before it has been built.

Stylistic Capability

Through the application of stylization an illustration can convey exaggeration, attitude, emotion, expression, and personality. Through artistic methods, it can convey a stylistic uniqueness that is difficult for photography to impart. Additionally, illustration can visually simplify and explain confusing or complicated subjects.

Cost Effectiveness

Illustration can be a very cost efficient way to implement advertising concepts. Especially photographic ones that would require location work, extensive sets, actors, props and post production digital manipulation. Illustration not only can be used to visualize unreal concepts, it can also be used to pictorialize photographable subjects at a much lower cost.

Illustrative Campaign Traits

Creative advertising concepts aside, there are definitive traits that illustrations created for a coordinated campaign must exhibit. These traits relate to formal artistic concerns as much as to conceptual, contextual ones. Composition, application of media, use of objects, artist’s style, and color treatment must all be coordinated from one ad to the next.

Composition

Scale and placement of elements, perspective attitude, and figure/ground relationship are compositional considerations, i.e., the design of the image. These and other determinations have to be consistently applied to each individual ad in a set to be identified as a campaign.

Client: Panasonic. Illustrator: Paul Grelet. Agency: Proximity BBDO, France.

Client: Yuju. Illustrator: Pinata. Agency: hasan & partners, Helsinki, Finland.

Client: xpixpi. Illustrator: Thomas Damtsios Agency: attp, Athens, Greece.

Client: OgilvyOne. Illustrator: Patrick Munyi. Agency: OgilvyOne Worldwide, Africa.

Elements

The choice of elements such as people, characters, objects, and setting reinforce
the visual consistency of an ad campaign. When considering content more than context, subject choices must be consistent. If applicable, this can include season, time of day, and environmental attributes. It can also include surface textures and simulated materials.

Client: maygreen organic fashion. Illustrator: Sabrina Dibbern. Agency: weigertpirouzwolf
Hamburg, Germany.

Client: Sarson's. Illustrator: Paul Thurlby. Agency: mcgarrybowen London, UK.

Client: ATSS Keyless Entry Systems. Illustrator: Mark Gmehling. Agency: McCann,
Mumbai, India.

Client: Surfrider Foundation. Illustrator: Pieter van Eenoge. Agency: Y&R, Amsterdam, Netherlands /
Y&R, Paris, France.

Client: Proctor & Gamble. Illustrator: Amaia Arrazola. Agency: Leo Burnett, Toronto,
Canada.

Rendering

The choice of artist’s media, albeit digital, conventional, or mixed, along with the rendering technique (style of mark making), application of media, and amount of detail will determine the level of consistency a campaign will exhibit. This is where an illustrator's unique style plays a central role in establishing a unique appearance to a campaign.

Client: AFS International Programs. Illustrator: Ana Pareja. Agency: Calvo Miami Ad
School, Madrid, Spain.

Client: Mai Sushi. Illustrator: Jakaterina Budryte. Agency: Not Perfect | Y&R Vilnius,
Lithuania.

Clint: Copic. Illustrator: Gustavo Dorietto. Agency: FCB Chicago.

Client: Anjali Kitchenware Fruit Peeler. Illustrator: Rahul Arora. Agency: Makani
Creatives, Mumbai, India.

Client: mob fun and food. Illustrator: Eduardo Rosa. Agency: CCZ*WOW, Curitiba,
Brazil.

Color

Color methodology, either a natural color, or a pseudo color (invented) color scheme, contributes to the mood and atmosphere of an ad and can have a profound influence on reinforcing a campaign identity. In addition to being an attractor, color can also be used as an indexing device to distinguish the elements within an ad or between ads within a campaign.

Client: Duracell. Illustrator: Surendra Gohey. Agency: Grey, Mumbai, India.

Client: Talidat. Illustrator: Therese Larsson Agency:Grabarz & Partner, Hamburg,
Germany.

Client: Pfizer Preparation H. Illustrators: Tamas Kovacs, Rajath Ramamurthy Miami Ad
School, Miami, USA.

Client: Bulmers Cider. Illustrators: Alan Murray, Thomas Bürden, Duncan Edwards,
Paul Knowles. Agency: Adam & Eve DDB, London, UK.

Client: Barkov Vodka. Illustrators: Sarah Kamada, Natalia Theil / Zombie Studio. Agency:
WMcCann, Brazil.