Graphic Act :- TASK 2 - What Is Illustration And Drawing?

WHAT IS ILLUSTRATION/ DRAWING

What Is Illustration?

            Illustration art, aka "commercial" art is used to embellish, clarify, or decorate something. It can range from a simple black-and-white cartoon to a full-color billboard and beyond. Illustrators in the Golden Age were required to draw and paint expertly and fast. They might be required -- in a few days -- to provide artwork for a battle scene, a love story, a historical drama, a glimpse of the future, and a beautiful American girl. The best of the best commanded top dollar and were as famous as their Hollywood and Broadway pals. Illustration art is also something which has been readily embraced by Joe and Jane America who ordered the illustrator's calendars, asked the magazines for prints, and made scrapbooks of a favorite artist's work. (copyrighted)

Figure 1 :example of illustration artwork using ink

What Is Drawing?    

            Drawing is the art or technique of producing images on a surface, usually paper, by means of marks, usually of ink, graphite, chalk, charcoal, or crayon. Drawing as formal artistic creation might be defined as the primarily linear rendition of objects in the visible world, as well as of concepts, thoughts, attitudes, emotions, and fantasies given visual form, of symbols and even of abstract forms. This definition, however, applies to all graphic arts and techniques that are characterized by an emphasis on form or shape rather than mass and color, as in painting. (Hatter, 2014) 

            Drawing as such differs from graphic printing processes in that a direct relationship exists between production and result. Drawing, in short, is the end product of a successive effort applied directly to the carrier. Whereas a drawing may form the basis for reproduction or copying, it is nonetheless unique by its very nature. Although not every artwork has been preceded by a drawing in the form of a preliminary sketch, drawing is in effect the basis of all visual arts. Often the drawing is absorbed by the completed work or destroyed in the course of completion. (Hatter, 2014) 

Figure 2 : simple drawing

WHAT UNDERSTANDING ABOUT ILLUSTRATION/ DRAWING

 Understanding About Illustration

            Understanding Illustration asserts the continued power of illustration as a vehicle for meaning and message by offering an in-depth examination of a selection of great images by a broad range of artists. While many illustration books have minimal information surrounding their pictures, Understanding Illustration in contrast focuses in on a selection of work by 37 artists with an analytical and in-depth approach, showing how illustrators communicate through their images in order to narrate a story or stimulate thought. This stunning book offers both glorious images as well as informative text, including information on the artist but more importantly an explanation of the ideas behind the work. Looking at a broad range of illustration, from journalistic reportage to children's books, it offers an insight into how an artist might tackle a brief, or build up layers of information within their image in order to get a message across. A fantastic book for students and professional illustrators, or indeed anyone interested in the thinking behind contemporary illustration. (Brazell, 2014)

                “(Understanding Illustration) effectively showcases the diversity of illustration, the different formats and endless variation of style whilst revealing the extent of illustration as means of visual communication in the 21st century.” –  Flora Cox, Association of Illustrators – (Brazell, 2014)

Figure 3 : variation of style

Understanding About Drawing

            Drawings can be awkward things. The act of drawing may feel like bending a coat hanger around something. It's safe to say that too much drawing can destroy form and pattern. Fact is, paintings are best made of patches, not lines. Beyond this, drawing is a beautiful thing in itself--often more lyrical and sensitive than the final works that follow. While often overburdened with clarity, drawings can also be mysterious, unfinished poems--the drawer explores and the observer completes. (Gem, 2012)

Drawing seems to be useful when used to pull together large concepts or to help to us see a broad pattern. Drawing may also have value for readers who do not naturally visualize as they read to help them make that visual connection to the words of a story. It can serve as a memory aid for large concept as well as small bits of information such as vocabulary words. (Manchey)

Figure 4 : lip drawing

Figure 5 : Red-breasted Nuthatch Pen and Ink On Paper by Glen Loates

WHAT’S THE HISTORY OF ILLUSTRATION/ DRAWING?

History Of Illustration

This first part goes since the beggining in the caves to 1900. The first illustrations were made in a cave (well, maybe it was in a tree, but we do not have samples right now). Have you ever seen the bulls of the Lascaux caves? Or the hands printed on the walls in red? These are the first samples of a whole new art. Greece and Rome developed extended forms of art, even in some sorts of erotic graffiti, as you can see at Pompeii (specially at the entrance of the brothels). The second step in the history are the Woodblock Printing (200 AD), an extended technique in the East of Asia. (Lara, 2009)

Before 15th Century, books were hand illustrated. Some notable examples in this period (476 AD- 

1492 AD) are the mediæval illustrations accompaning the manuscripts. Books were made working over coat or cow leather and using the “illumination” technique, decorated with thin layers of gold to illuminate the illustrations. And suddenly in the year 1430 appears the Intaglio Printing, which it used cooper or zinc as the medium for printing. (Lara, 2009)

Figure 6 : Europe leading for contemporary illustration and graphic art hosted  illustrative in Zurich

History Of Drawing

            The first drawings goes back to the Superior Paleolithic , 35.000 years ago, when the Homo sapiens represented on the cave surfaces of the caves or on the skin of the coats, animals that he hunted. An example of this artistic manifestation can be found in the cave paintings of the caves of Altamira, in Cantabria (Spain). It had passed thousands of years and the drawing had evolved substantially. From the single-coloured and static composition of the prehistory, a new stride had been made to the balance, thoroughness and coloring of the theological representations in temples and sanctuaries. There was a need to detail the figure of gods to thank them the splendor of the Egyptian empire. They obtained in the drawing the means to reflect what the useful constructions needed to be . The first maps arose and with them the architecture was born. The technical drawing required a bigger technique and mathematical knowledge about what had been forged until that moment. (Bou, 2004-2014)

Figure 7 : drawing in cave

EXAMINE ILLUSTRATION/ DRAWING CHANGES FROM PRIMITIVE TO CONTEMPORARY

Examine Illustration Changes From Primitive To Contemporary

Illustration covers so many genres, styles, and purposes that it is difficult to encapsulate them with one definition. In the most broad sense, an illustration is a visual representation of a subject accomplished by means of a drawing, painting, or a photograph. The most traditional understanding of illustration is relegated to free-hand drawing, drawings reproduced as wood-cuts or etchings, and, in recent years, computer illustration. Illustration not only works to describe textual information in practical applications, but also functions to interpret characters in a narrative, often expressing subtle concepts. Illustration tends to be representational, and therefore, has often be relegated to the position of low art. This may have been exacerbated by its popularity in books and magazines, which hit an all time high during the first part of the twentieth century, illustration's Golden Age. The second, shorter Golden Age of illustration occurred in the 1950s and 1960s. Magazines and billboards used illustration and in the U.S., the work of Norman Rockwell was embraced as an affectionate reflection of 'everyday folks'. The decline of traditional illustration came with the rising popularity of photography and design in visual communications. Yet with the advent of personal computer technology taking off in the 1990s, illustrators began to experiment with drawing software like Illustrator and Photoshop. The emergence of digital illustration has added a new dimension to the field, yet students are still trained in the traditional methods of illustration. Fusion illustration is a byproduct of this, crossing the boundaries of the hand-drawn and the computer drawn creating hybrid works that incorporate illustration, graphic design, typography, and photography. Today illustration still struggles to find its place within the realm fine art, with its proponents working to reclaim a place in magazines and advertising and bring it back from the margins of the public imagination.  (Smith, 2014)

Figure 8 : Contemporary Illustration 

 Examine Drawing Changes From Primitive To Contemporary

         Drawing is one of the most fundamental forms of artistic expression. The mesmerizing drawings from the caves of lascaux and elsewhere in Europe provide some of the best evidence of the timeless compulsion to make pictures with outline, yet beyond those cave pictures, it is much harder to conjure up in the mind's eye accomplished instances of draftsmanship before the period known as the Italian Renaissance. At that moment, of course, drawing seems to take on new significance. (Art, 2000-2014)

Figure 9 : Contemporary Drawing

WHAT’S THE FUNCTION ILLUSTRATION/ DRAWING

The Function Of Illustration

            Illustration is the use of examples to make ideas more concrete and to make generalizations more specific and detail. Examples enable writers not just to tell but to show what they mean. For example, an essay about recently developed alternative sources of energy becomes clear and interesting. (Nordquist, 2014)

The Function Of Drawing

            Throughout the history of post medieval art, at least until the 20th century, drawing has been a technically ancillary, although essential, activity. It has served many purposes; but, unlike paintings, drawings were not often made as ends in themselves, as finished works of art. One of drawing's primary functions has been as a means of recording and preserving visual knowledge. Its other main function has been to serve in the preparation of other works of art—painting, sculpture, or architecture. (Whyjoker, 2014)

STUDY AVANT GARDE ILLUSTRATION/ DRAWING

Avant Garde Illustration

Figure 10 : The Weeping Woman by Pablo Picasso

The painting from Pablo Picasso and it called The Weeping Woman. The Weeping Woman series is regarded as a thematic continuation of the tragedy depicted in Picasso's epic painting Guernica. In focusing on the image of a woman crying, the artist was no longer painting the effects of the Spanish Civil War directly, but rather referring to a singular universal image of suffering. The Weeping Woman, 1937 came at the end of the series of paintings, prints and drawings that Picasso made in protest. The technique Pablo Picasso used in her artwork is Cubism Technique. (Copyright, 2009)

The Cubism Technique works are immediately recognizable due to their flattened, nearly two-dimensional appearance an inclusion of geometric angles, lines, and shapes and a fairly neutral color palette. As the technique evolved, color, texture, and graphic elements (like text) were added, to the point where later Cubist works often appeared more like collage than anything else. But Cubism wasn’t just a specific “style” or “look”, it actually allowed artists an entirely different way of seeing and depicting real-life objects. Unlike traditional still-lifes, landscapes, or portrait paintings, Cubist paintings aren’t meant to be realistic or life-like in any way. Instead, after looking at the subject from every possibly angle, the artist will piece together fragments from different vantage points into one painting. (Dan, 2006-2014)

Modern Cubic House Architecture Influence By Cubism

This modern movement was also influential in contemporary architecture. The Cubist houses are being recognized by having many geometric lines, sharp edges and many facades with fantastic perspectives from different angles.   Even the colors used in the house designs are monochrome or very limited. Formed in cubic form facade of white, square tiles on, has multifarious utilizations with new perspectives of residence architecture design. The  design and concept of house architecture more to geometric shape and distort. (Adriana, 2010)

Figure 11 : Architecture influence by cubism

Fashionable Interior Design Cubism Technique

                Artistic Cubism interior is which inspired from Pablo Picasso art style. Sharp lines, bright color, and abstract shapes are the basic instinct of this art. While most of people like to decorate their residence in classic, rustic, or modern style; Cubism design seems uncommon idea to live in. Instead of serenity, this style is delivering futuristic feeling and somehow elaborated art with contemporary bright color. (Cubism Interior Design, 2003)

Figure 12 : interior design influence by cubism

Figure 13 : interior item influence by cubism

Bibliography

Adriana. (2010). The Influence Of Art History On Modern Design-Cubism. Pixel77.

Art, T. M. (2000-2014). Drawing In The Middle Ages. Heilbrum Timeline Of Art History.

Bou, D. M. (2004-2014). History Of Drawing. Dibujos Para Pintar.

Brazell, D. (2014). Understanding Illustration. Bloomsbury Publishing.

Copyright. (2009). The Weeping Woman,1937 by Pablo Picasso. Pablo Picasso Painting, Qoutes and Biography.

copyrighted. (n.d.). What Is Illustration. American Art Archives.

Cubism Interior Design. (2003). Super Cool Interior Ideas.

Dan. (2006-2014). What Is Cubism and Introduction Artist Painters. Empty Easel.

Gem, R. (2012). Drawing For Understanding. The Painter's Keys.

Hatter, H. R. (2014). What Is Drawing. Encyclopedia.

Lara, P. (2009). History Of Illustration. Franceso Mugnai.

Manchey, T. (n.d.). Drawing : Another Path To Understanding. PDF.

Nordquist, R. (2014). The Function Of Illustration. About Education.

Smith, D. (2014). Illustration. Artspan Contemporary Art.

Whyjoker. (2014). The Function Of Drawing. Hubpages.