Editorial Illustration

Editorial illustration is a very wide genre of illustration, especially as it has grown over the last decade with the internet and with newspapers and magazines preferring to reach their audience with online articles. This has created a boom for digital art and other more creative ideas, like GIF's, as it has grown and established a whole new place in the market.

This was from the first task I was set, which was to take some random shapes and body parts and create an image with them. It included such objects as ladders, the world, hourglasses, arrows etc, which are quite commonly used by some editorial illustrators, such as Aude Van Ryn. They are used in a symbolic way, as editorial illustration has to show a subject in one frame of illustration, which can be quite hard.

I based my style of this piece on Van Ryn, how she will use textures to contrast with very stark, black silhouettes and trying not to make the image too busy. As said in this interview about her collaborating with OuterEdit, her 'mantra is less is more' and she tries to 'keep the information needed to a bare minimum'[1]. I looked at her common colour choices and subject matters and tried to make a piece I thought would fit into her portfolio[2].

My next piece was inspired by the work of Eric Fraser. His illustrations were usually very contrasted and black and white, creating values with cross-hatching and patterns[3]. I tried to create an illustration similar to this style. I also wanted to use a subject matter similar to what I have seen of his illustrations, and a lot of his work was based on myths, legends and history. I took the story of Saint George slaying a dragon to save a damsel in distress as my subject, and tried to use his style to create an atmospheric piece that could be used in a Radio Times, perhaps for advertising a showing of a drama based on this legend or a radio play.

I thought for one of my pieces, I would take a look at a hard-hitting subject that has to be handled delicately. I looked at some GIF artists, such as Lilli Carré[4], and Guillaume Kirkdjan[5], and took some inspiration from their styles. I liked how they used texture and lighting to create mood, and I decided to try and use the light as a main part of my piece. I also used textures like carpet and cracked walls on an overlay layer to make my piece have added depth and tonal qualities. I made the characters in silhouette as if their shadows were being projected onto a wall, and then created a loop of someone or something being punched repeatedly. There isn't a description of what is being punched, so this could either be a piece about domestic violence or perhaps even anger issues. The fact that it isn't shown leaves it up to the eye of the beholder. I feel I did handle this subject matter delicately enough as to not offend people or alienate a potential client for this piece.

I wanted something completely different for my final editorial illustration. I decided to create an illustrated page for a recipe that could be included on a website or in a magazine. I was inspired by illustrator Ohn Mar Win[6] and all the artists on the page, 'They Draw and Cook'[7], to create a recipe card that would be attractive to people looking at it. I really wanted to make it look professional by adding different background textures, as well as having a running theme of colour.

Overall there are a lot of different routes to editorial illustration, some that are more traditional and others that are pioneering a whole new breed of illustrators. It's still a growing market, and as we move on more into a digital age, websites and online articles will naturally take precedence over the printed media with the ability to create money without anyone having to buy a physical copy through advertising space.


References -
[1] OuterEdit (2012) OuterEdit Collab 5 - Aude Van Ryn. [Online] Available at: https://vimeo.com/50470763 [Accessed 25th November 2015].
[2] Heart Artist's Agency. Aude Van Ryn Artist Portfolio. [Online] Available at: http://www.heartagency.com/artist/AudeVanRyn/gallery/1/image/3542 [Accessed 25th November 2015].
[3] BACKEMEYER, Sylvia (1998). Eric Fraser: Designer and Illustrator. Lund Humphries Publishers Ltd, London.
[4] Lilli Carré. MOVING DRAWINGS. [Online] Available at: http://lillicarre.tumblr.com/ [Accessed 26th November 2015].
[5] Guillaume Kirkdjan. Guillaume Kirkdjan - Animation. [Online] Available at: http://guillaumekurkdjian.com/ [Accessed 26th November 2015].
[6] Ohn Mar Win. Ohn Mar Win. [Online] Available at: http://ohnmarwin.com/ [Accessed 26th November 2015].
[7] They Draw and Cook. They Draw and Cook. [Online] Available at: http://www.theydrawandcook.com/ [Accessed 26th November 2015].