Chronologies 3 - Illustration

Firstly, I was quite excited for this lecture, I have a strong interest in the field of illustration and appreciate it on the same level that I do animation. The idea of image making is something that really appeals to me, and illustrations close ties to animation made this particular lecture even more worth while for me, so I was very interested in what was said. What is Illustration? The word 'illustration' refers to, similarly to the word 'illuminate', shining a light on or lighting up. In the context of illustration this means putting a meaning to a piece of text or producing an image with a meaning or purpose. In early publications, images that accompanied text were even referred to as 'illuminations'. So overall, illustration is to put it simply, images with a purpose and strategic image making. This can also be called, 'visual communication'.

The phrase applied art, also plays a part here. Applied meaning that images produced are applied or joined to something else.  Matt, who was conducting the lecture is a practicing illustrator and said that good illustrations have aesthetic and meaning. In other words, they have a pleasing and interesting aesthetic to them, whilst also holding on to a meaning and fulfill their purpose as a back up for perhaps a piece of text. The idea of an illustration is to be a fundamental for conveying a message, and combined with a concept and an idea it becomes visual communication, communicating via images or visuals. Different illustrations have different concepts and aesthetics based on the overall idea behind the illustration and the artist producing the illustration. Most illustrations contain the artists 'tone of voice', this relates to the way an artists work is crafted and the style the artist portrays in their work, I almost want to say that an artists tone of voice is the feeling you get when you observe or look into their work. There is a such a broad range of illustrators out there and artists, that there is an unthinkable amount of different styles and 'tones of voice'. Depending on the style of different illustrators, they can collaborate to enhance their work and create something new with a new tone of voice, or even collaborate with people across different practices in order to create something original and innovative.

Illustration, like graphic design, photography, animation, and a number of other artistic practices are essential in being able to interpret and convey information and ideas to the world, through serious and emotive work or for the purpose of entertainment. I really appreciate and enjoy that I can try and focus on a broad range of practices, within my general life and whilst studying at University. Being able to practice, illustration and photography within the animation course reinforces how free it is and how the different focuses compliment each other not only for study purposes but in the real world too.