Illustration Meeting the Brief

This book is aimed at students and illustrators who are looking to create artworks to fulfill a specific brief, as part of their course, job or career. It leads the reader through the whole thinking process, not just of creation but from the basic essentials which are often overlooked. It explores the very foundations which underpin the choices made in creating an artwork: How is illustration used today? Who is the target audience? How is the image used to convey information? What is the message? Should it be created through truth or metaphor?

Packed with lively illustrations itself, Meeting the Brief looks at everything required to make informed decisions from gathering research and the relevance of media placement, to subject matter and the use of visual language. This educational guide guides the reader through his or her brief in detail, covering both the needs of the client as well as considering the audience, in order to get the best possible illustration, not just in artistic terms but in commercial terms too.

This is a key text for anyone wishing to make their living in this field.

Professor Alan Male is an illustrator and writer and directed the Illustration course at
University College Falmouth between 1993 and 2010. He was conferred Professor of
Illustration in 2009 and is now Director of Study for research and a member of the
School of Art and Design Professoriate. He has lectured throughout the United States.
Alan is an illustrator himself, has won several awards (gold from the Society of
Illustrators Los Angeles and a Texas ‘Bluebonnet’ for children’s books) and is a regular
contributor to magazines and journals. He has also written a previous book on
illustration: Illustration: A Theoretical and Contextual Perspective (AVA, 2007).

Introduction
What is Illustration?
Influence and Significance
The Future

1 History of Illustration
Where has it come from?
Origins of Visual Communication • The Renaissance and the Age of Enlightenment • The 19th Century • The Golden Age • Into the Contemporary Scene
Time Line

2 A Working Art
Where Illustration is seen
Print • Moving Image • Installation • Interaction
Illustration and Industry
An Industry Overview • The Art Director
Professional Practice
The Workplace Experience • Self-promotion and the Portfolio • Acquiring Work
Opportunities
Related Disciplines • Collaboration and Breadth of Association • Transferrable Skills
A Map of Contexts

3 Interpreting and Meeting a Brief
An Introduction to Problem-solving and Process
The Intellectual and Creative Challenge • An Ethical Perspective
Identifying Needs
Who is the client? • Where does it go and what is its media placement?
Contextual Analysis
What does it do and what is its context? • Who is the audience? • Effective communication • Addressing a global audience
Information Gathering and Research Strategies
Acquiring reference
Subject Matter
What is the theme or content? • Understanding and empathy with subject matter • A diversity of theme and subject
Conceptualisation and Generating Ideas
What has to be said and how? • What will it look like? • What visual language will be employed? • Truth or metaphor
Realisation through Completion
Strategies for design and construction • What methods will be employed?

4 A New Practice: Illustration and Research
The Theorist-Practitioner
The Context for Research and Illustration • Strategies
The Research Project
The Research Degree • Preparing for Research • Methodologies • Completion
Authorship
Having a ‘voice’ • Application to Context

Glossary
Appendix
The Illustrator’s Agent
References
Index

What is included with this book?

The New copy of this book will include any supplemental materials advertised. Please check the title of the book to determine if it should include any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.

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Illustration Meeting the Brief

Summary

Author Biography

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials