Why is there an ongoing battle between illustration and more
traditional drawing or painting? Throughout my studies in college I have had
some teachers who criticize students for drawing in a more illustrative manner.
I understand in the educational scenario that students should work on anatomy
and realism while we have the model in front of us. But there are plenty of
artists out there today that are getting many commissions and sales as an
illustrative artist.
Now, there is a difference between illustrative drawing and
cartooning. Cartooning is typically when the subject matter is making a
statement or story with the figures not being correct anatomically. Cartoon in
the Fine Art sense actually refers to the full design or plan drawn out for a
full scale painting or drawing. Illustration in the art world can me two
different things as well: illustrating can refer to decorative or explicative
images that compliment text, or it can refer to simplified and outlined figures
that are anatomically correct.
Illustration has changed a lot recently and is now becoming a
more popular art form. But Artists like Henri Toulouse-Lautrec were known for
their illustrative works in the late 19th Century. Some people still
consider his artwork paintings or printmaking, but I see it still consider it
illustrative because of the forms in the drawings.
A more current artist, Felix Hemme also has an illustrative
style that he sometimes uses in a more abstract manner.
+Let me know if you guys have any suggestions or things you want me to talk about or artists to write about!+
