An illustration is an image presented as a drawing that is created to elucidate or dictate sensual information (such as a story, poem or newspaper article) by providing a visual representation graphically. The earliest forms of illustration were prehistoric cave paintings. Before the invention of the printing press, books, such as Medieval illuminated manuscripts, were hand-illustrated. Illustration has been used in China and Japan since the 8th century, traditionally by creating woodcuts to accompany writing. During the 15th century, books illustrated with woodcut illustrations became available. The main processes used for reproduction of illustrations during the 16th and 17th centuries were engraving and etching. At the end of the 18th century, lithography allowed even better illustrations to be reproduced. The most notable illustrator of this epoch was William Blake who rendered his illustrations in the medium of relief etching. Notable figures of the early century were John Leech, George Cruikshank, Dickens’ illustrator Hablot Knight Browne and, in France, Honoré Daumier. The same illustrators contributed to satirical and straight-fiction magazines, but in both cases the demand was for character-drawing that encapsulated or caricatured social types and classes. The British humorous magazine Punch, which was founded in 1841 riding on the earlier success of Cruikshank’s Comic Almanac (1827–1840), employed an uninterrupted run of high-quality comic illustrators, including Sir John Tenniel, the Dalziel Brothers and Georges du Maurier, into the 20th century. It chronicles the gradual shift in popular illustration from reliance on caricature to sophisticated topical observations. These artists all trained as conventional fine-artists, but achieved their reputations primarily as illustrators. Punch and similar magazines such as the Parisian Le Voleur realised that good illustrations sold as many copies as written content. The American “golden age of illustration” lasted from the 1880s until shortly after World War I (although the active career of several later “golden age” illustrators went on for another few decades). As in Europe a few decades earlier, newspapers, mass market magazines, and illustrated books had become the dominant media of public consumption. Improvements in printing technology freed illustrators to experiment with color and new rendering techniques. A small group of illustrators in this time became rich and famous. The imagery they created was a portrait of American aspirations of the time. Technical illustration is the use of illustration to visually communicate information of a technical nature. Technical illustrations can be component technical drawings or diagrams. Technical illustration in general aim “to generate expressive images that effectively convey certain information via the visual channel to the human observer”. Nowadays, many illustration programs are used to create technical illustrations due the need for detailed imaging and repeated updating. Besides the commonplace 2-D Adobe Illustrator, there are many 3-D computer graphics software that are often utilized to create illustration for textbooks, especially scientific ones. Illustration of a drum set. Technical illustrations generally describe and explain the subjects to a nontechnical audience. Therefore the visual image should be accurate in terms of dimensions and proportions, and should provide “an overall impression of what an object is or does, to enhance the viewer’s interest and understanding”. Today, there is a growing interest in collecting and admiring original artwork that was used as illustrations in books, magazines, posters, blogs, etc. Various museum exhibitions, magazines and art galleries have devoted space to the illustrators of the past. In the visual art world, illustrators have sometimes been considered less important in comparison with fine artists and graphic designers, the term “illustrative” sometimes being used as a negative critique. But, possibly in part due to the growth of video game and graphic novel industries, as well as a recent swing in value towards illustration in magazines and other publications over photography, illustration is becoming a valued, popular and profitable art form that can acquire a wider market than the other two, such as in Korea, Japan, Hong Kong and USA. Original illustration art from the best-known magazine illustrators is known to bring prices into the hundreds of thousands of US Dollars at auction. Norman Rockwell’s work transcends even these high standards, with his painting “Breaking Home Ties” selling in a 2006 Sotheby’s auction for USD15.4 million. The best-known pinup artists such as Gil Elvgren and Alberto Vargas also bring tremendous prices at auction, with a number of Elvgren’s works having sold for over USD100,000 in Heritage Auctions. Digolo and Mazrui subcategorize illustration into the techniques, which are being applied, such as: drawing, painting, printing and pasting. These technices affect the art in various ways, being chosen for the different impact the chosen medium produces. The choice can be based on the requirements of the illustration, constraints of the artist, cost, or other factors. Various illustration techniques have been available to the artist over the centuries. The invention of paper pushed its boundaries even further. Traditional illustration focuses on reproducible ways of creating illustration and can be classified into different types. Engraving. Etching. Intaglio. Linocut. Pen-and-Ink Illustration. Sumi-E. Woodcut. Pen-and-ink illustration has been around in various forms. The Chinese Sumi-E can be attributed to this technique, incorporating the use of paints and dyes. Navigational maps have been produced using this technique in the 14-15th century. The technique has not fallen out of disuse and is still popular with artists and illustrators, due to its simplicity of use, drying time and visual impact. Modern artists use a brush, pen or quill to achieve the desired effects, samples see references. The book illustration is specific type of illustration, which appears in books. Some of modern illustrations are performed by American Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. Modern book illustration comes from the 15th-century block books and closely followed the development of printing. The xylography and lithography triggered the production of illustrated issues and were exploited by such masters as Daumier, Doré or Gavarni. Book illustration as we now know it evolved from early European woodblock printing. In the early 1400s, playing cards were created using block printing, which was the first use of prints in a sequenced and logical order. “The first known European block printings with a communications function were devotional prints of saints.” These later turned into block books in the mid-1400s, used to spread religious messages to illiterate masses. Each page was carved from one single block of wood and printed as an image. As the demand for books grew, and paper became more available, printers across Germany, the Netherlands, France, and Italy began devising ways to “mechanize” book production using movable type. This is when Johann Gutenberg invented typography and the printing press in the 1450s. As printing took off and books became common, printers began to use woodblocks to illustrate them. Hence, “centers for woodblock playing-card and religious-print production became centers for illustrated books. An Illustrator is a narrative artist who specializes in enhancing writing by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text. The illustration may be intended to clarify complicated concepts or objects that are difficult to describe textually. Illustrations have been used in advertisements, greeting cards, posters, books, magazines and newspapers. A cartoon illustration can add humor to humorous essays. Traditional illustration techniques include watercolor, pen and ink, airbrush art, oil painting, pastels, wood engraving and linoleum cuts. John Held, Jr. was an illustrator who worked in a variety of styles and media, including linoleum cuts, pen and ink drawings, magazine cover paintings, cartoons, comic strips and set design, while also creating fine art with his animal sculptures and watercolor landscapes. There are no formal qualifications needed to become an illustrator. However, many established illustrators attended an art school or college of some sort and were trained in different painting and drawing techniques. Universities and art schools offer specific courses in illustration (for example in the UK, a BA (Hons) Degree) so this has become a new avenue into the profession. Many illustrators are freelance, commissioned by publishers (of newspapers, books or magazines) or advertising agencies. Most of the scientific illustrations and technical illustrations are also known as information graphics. Among the information graphics specialists are medical illustrators who illustrate human anatomy, often requiring many years of artistic and medical training. A particularly popular medium with illustrators of the 1950s and 1960s was casein, as was egg tempera. The immediacy and durability of these media suited illustration’s demands well. The artwork in both types of paint withstood the rigors of travel to clients and printers without damage. Computers dramatically changed the industry and today many cartoonists and illustrators create digital illustrations using computers, graphics tablets, and scanners. Software such as Adobe Illustrator or Adobe Photoshop are now widely used by those professionals. A graphic designer is a professional within the graphic design and graphic arts industry who assembles together images, typography or motion graphics to create a piece of design. A graphic designer creates the graphics primarily for published, printed or electronic media, such as brochures (sometimes) and advertising. They are also sometimes responsible for typesetting, illustration, user interfaces, web design, or take a teaching position. A core responsibility of the designer’s job is to present information in a way that is both accessible and memorable. A degree or certificate from an accredited trade school is usually considered essential for a graphic design position. After a career history has been established, though, the graphic designer’s experience and number of years in the business are considered the primary qualifications. A portfolio, which is the primary method for demonstrating these qualifications, is usually required to be shown at job interviews, and is constantly developed throughout a designer’s career. One can obtain an AAS, BA, BFA, MFA or an MPhil / PhD in graphic design. Degree programs available vary depending upon the institution, although typical U.S. graphic design jobs require at least some form of degree. Current graphic designer jobs demand proficiency in one or more graphic design software programs. Arguably, the most common software used in the graphic design industry is Adobe Creative Suite. The “Suite” has three primary programs used by a designer. Photoshop -manipulate photos, typography and create images with a variety of effects. Illustrator -create logos and typography. InDesign -create typography, and output print layouts. Outside the graphic design industry many people use Microsoft Word to make a layout or design. However, depending on the job at hand, most designers create the layout in either InDesign or QuarkXPress. Specifically, the designer will type the text in the layout program, importing the graphics and images they created in PhotoShop or Illustrator. There are a couple reasons a designer builds a layout in this fashion. Files going to press are printed at 300 dots per inch. As a result, the file size can become very large. So by using a layout program and importing the graphics and images, the working file is a fraction of the file size. When the designer is ready to go to press, they will either create a press-ready PDF; or do what is called, “Collect For Output.” InDesign or QuarkXpress make it possible to work with large multipage layouts like catalogs and booklets. Since InDesign and QuarkXPress import the original file, linking to the graphics and images, the designer can change the “original file” and it will update all instances throughout the document to save time. A web designer should understand how to work with XML, HTML, and basic web programming scripts. A print designer should understand the processes involved in printing to be able to produce press-ready artwork. Designers should be able to solve visual communication problems or challenges. In doing so, the designer must identify the communications issue, gather and analyze information related to the issue, and generate potential approaches aimed at solving the problem. Iterative prototyping and user testing can be used to determine the success or failure of a visual solution. Approaches to a communications problem are developed in the context of an audience and a media channel. Graphic designers must understand the social and cultural norms of that audience in order to develop visual solutions that are perceived as relevant, understandable and effective. Graphic designers should also have a thorough understanding of production and rendering methods. Some of the technologies and methods of production are drawing, offset printing, photography, and time-based and interactive media (film, video, computer multimedia). Frequently, designers are also called upon to manage color in different media. Fifty years ago, the graphic designer’s portfolio was usually a black book or large binder in which samples of the artist’s best printed pieces were carried to show prospective clients or employers. Printed pieces are often protected inside by being mounted on boards or slipped into Acetate sleeves. Since the 1990s, portfolios have become increasingly computer digitized, and now may be entirely digitized and available on the Internet, or on CD, DVD, or via email. Graphic design relates heavily to corporate identity, the branding and “persona” of a corporation. A number of occupations are commonly classified under the broad term of graphic designer. Graphic design career paths cover all ends of the creative spectrum. Many of these job descriptions overlap heavily. Creative directors are in charge of a creative team that produces artwork to be displayed in advertising campaigns, or on products. A creative team can consist of artists (e.g. art directors, graphic designers, illustrators, photographers, copywriters, production artists) and a production staff. Creative directors initiate or inspire creative ideas and make sure that the art works include those ideas to the client’s satisfaction. Creative directors usually are promoted from an art director or copywriter position. A creative directors job may also involve responsibilities usually associated with a client representative or a project manager. Art directors make sure that illustrators and production artists produce and complete their work on time and to the creative director or client’s satisfaction. Art directors also play a major role in the development of a project by making decisions on the visual elements of the project, and by giving the final say on the selection of models, art, props, colors, and other elements. Art directors need advanced training in graphic design as they often do artwork and designing themselves. However, an art director’s time may be consumed doing supervisory and administrative work. Art directors also work closely with vendors and clients to make sure the creative is in line with any budgets. Art production managers or traffic managers oversee the production aspect of art to improve efficiency and cost effectiveness. Art production managers supervise artists or advise the supervisors of artists. Creative directors and art directors often assume the role of art production managers, especially when production cost is not a critical concern. Brand identity design is concerned with the visual aspects of a company or organization’s brand or identity. A brand identity design is the visual element that represents how a company wants to be seen; it is the company’s visual identity, and is how a company illustrates its ‘image.’ A company’s brand identity can be represented in terms of design through a unique logo, or signage, and is then often integrated throughout all the elements of a company’s materials such as business cards, stationery, packaging, media advertising, promotions, and more. Brand identity may include logo design. Brand identity development is usually a collaborative effort between creative directors, art directors, copywriters, account managers and the client. A broadcast designer is a person involved with creating graphic designs and electronic media incorporated in television productions that are used by character generator (CG) operators. A broadcast designer may have a degree in digital media (or a similar degree), or is self-taught in the software needed to create such content. The job of a logo designer is to provide a new and innovative way to express the key message of a company through an image. Logo designers take the information given to them by the client and work, using their own creativity along with marketing strategy to find an appropriate image that their client can use to represent what they are trying to encourage, sell, or what they are. It is not likely that a company will specialize in logo design or have a position for a designated logo designer. Art directors and graphic designers usually perform logo designs. Illustrators conceptualize and create illustrations that represent an idea or a story through two-dimensional or three-dimensional images. Illustrators may do drawings for printed materials such as books, magazines, and other publications, or for commercial products such as textiles, packaging, wrapping paper, greeting cards, calendars, stationery, and more. Illustrators use many different media, from pencil and paint to digital formatting, to prepare and create their illustrations. An illustrator consults with clients in order to determine what illustrations will best meet the story they are trying to tell, or what message they are trying to communicate. Illustrating may be a secondary skill requirement of graphic design or a specialty skill of a freelance artist, usually known for a unique style of illustrating. Illustration may be published separately as in fine art. However, illustrations are usually inserted into page layouts for communication design in the context of graphic design professions. Similar to illustration are other methods of developing images such as photography, 3D modeling, and image editing. Creative professionals in these positions are not usually called illustrators, but are utilized the same way. Photographers are likely to freelance. 3D modelers are likely to be employed for long-term projects. Image editing is usually a secondary skill to either of the above, but may also be a specialty to aid web development, software development, or multimedia development in a job title known as multimedia specialist. Although these skills may require technical knowledge, graphic design skills may be applied as well. Multimedia developers may come from a graphic design or illustration background and apply those talents to motion, sound, or interactivity. Motion designers are graphic designers for motion. Animators are illustrators for motion. Videographers are photographers for motion. Multimedia developers may also image edit, sound edit, program, or compose multimedia just as multimedia specialists. Content developer is a generic term used for describing illustrators, visual image developers, and multimedia developers in software and web development. The term has a broader scope that includes non-graphical content as well. A generic name for content that is used in a digital composition are digital assets. Visual Journalists, also known as Infographic Artists create information graphics or Infographics; visual representations of information, data or knowledge. These graphics are used anywhere where information needs to be explained quickly or simply, such as in signs, maps, journalism, technical writing, and education. They are also used extensively as tools by computer scientists, mathematicians, and statisticians to ease the process of developing and communicating conceptual information. They are applied in all aspects of scientific visualization. A layout artist deals with the structure and layout of images and text in a pleasing format. This can include magazine work, brochures, flyers, books, CD booklets, posters, and similar formats. For magazines and similar productions, color, typeface, text formatting, graphic layout and more must be considered. Is the chosen typeface good for long term reading, or will the eyes get tired? Does that title typeface fit the feel of the rest of the article? Are the photos arranged in such a way that is pleasing to the eye, and directs the reader in the right flow or direction? These are just some of the questions a layout artist must ask themselves. Page layouts are usually done by art directors, graphic designers, production artists or a combination of those positions. Entry level layout work is often known as paste up art. Entry level layout graphic designers are often known as production artists. Interface designers are graphical user interface (GUI) layout artists. They are employed by multimedia, software, and web development companies. Because GUI elements are interactive, interface design often overlaps interaction design. Because interfaces are not usually composed as single computer files, interface design may require technical understanding, including graphical integration with code. Because interfaces may require hundreds of assets, knowledge of how to automate graphic production may be required. An interface designer may hold the job title of web designer in a web development company. A web designer’s work could be viewed by thousands of people every day. Web designers create the pages, layout, and graphics for web pages, and play a key role in the development of a website. Web designers have the task of creating the look and feel of a website by choosing the style, and by designing attractive graphics, images, and other visual elements, and adapting them for the website’s pages. Web designers also design and develop the navigation tools of a site. Web designers may make decisions regarding what content is included on a web page, where things are placed, and how the aesthetic and continuity is maintained from one screen to the next. All of this involves skill and training in computer graphics, graphic design, and in the latest in computer and web technology. Depending on the scope of the project, web design may involve collaboration between software engineers and graphic designers. The graphic design of a website may be as simple as a page layout sketch or handling just the graphics in an HTML editor, while the advance coding is done separately by programmers. In other cases, graphic designers may be challenged to become both graphic designer and programmer in the process of web design in positions often known as web masters. A package designer or packaging technician may utilize technical skills aside from graphic design. Knowledge of cuts, crease, folding, nature and behavior of the packaging material such as paper, corrugated sheet, synthetic or other type of materials may also be required. A customer may see the top/outside of a package at first, but may also be drawn to other package design features. A packaging design may require 3D layout skills in addition to visual communication to consider how well a design works at multiple angles. CAD software applications specifically for packaging design may be utilized.