What is an illustration and what does it mean? The definition of "illustration" in Ci Hai is: "refers to pictures inserted in books and periodicals. Some are printed in the middle of the text, and some are inserted in the pages to supplement the content of the text or for artistic appreciation. This explanation is mainly aimed at the definition of book illustrations, which is a narrow definition. With the advent of the information age and the development of modern society, the meaning of modern illustration has changed from a narrow concept (limited to paintings and pictures) to a broad concept. "Illustration" refers to the pictures inserted between words in newspapers, magazines, various publications or children's picture books that we usually read, collectively referred to as "illustration". Illustration, in Latin, means "light up". Reading words and thinking about meaning were originally used to increase the interest given by words in publications and make the words more vivid and vivid in readers' minds. In today's various publications, the importance of illustrations has far exceeded the foil position of "luminous words". It can not only highlight the theme, but also enhance the artistic appeal. Illustration is an art form. As an important visual communication form of modern design, it occupies a specific position in modern design with its intuitive image, true sense of life and beautiful appeal. It is widely used in many fields of modern design, involving cultural activities, social undertakings, commercial activities, film and television culture and so on. Application of Illustration The scope of application of Illustration publications: Illustrations for book covers, book inner pages, book covers, book content assistance, etc. Including illustrations used by newspapers, magazines and other editors. Commercial publicity: print advertising DD includes newspaper advertisements, magazine advertisements, signboards, posters, leaflets and illustrations used in TV advertisements; Business image design: product logo, corporate image (mascot); Commodity packaging design; Packaging design and description Illustrate DD consumer guide, product description, instruction manual, chart, catalogue, film and television multimedia: the role and environment of artistic setting or interface design in film and television drama, advertising film, network, etc. Game design: game promotion illustration, game character setting, scene setting animation, cartoon, cartoon animation original painting setting, cartoon design, cartoon design basically all commercial paintings can be counted as illustrations. The two types of illustration application are in the field of graphic design, and literary illustration and commercial illustration are the ones we contact most. Literary illustration-a visual art form that reproduces the plot of an article and embodies the spirit of literature. Commercial illustration-an image expression that conveys commodity information for enterprises or products and integrates art and commerce. The illustrator gets the remuneration related to it, gives up the ownership of the work, and only retains the right of signature, which is a commercial transaction. The function and function of illustration The definition of illustration is different from that of general artistic illustration. Their functions, forms of expression and media are different. The service object of modern illustration is commodities first. Commercial activities require that the information they carry be conveyed to the audience accurately and clearly, and people are expected to correctly receive and grasp this information and make the audience feel beautiful while taking actions, so it is said to serve commercial activities. Generally speaking, artistic illustrations have three functions and purposes: first, as a supplement to words; Second, let people get the satisfaction of perceptual knowledge; Third, show the artist's aesthetic concept, performance skills, and even show the artist's world outlook and outlook on life. The function of modern illustration is very strong, and pure art that deviates from the purpose of visual communication often weakens the function of modern illustration. Therefore, the design should not make the theme of illustration ambiguous. It must be based on clarity, simplicity and accuracy. The appeal function of modern illustration The basic appeal function of modern illustration is to convey the information to the audience in the simplest, clearest and clearest way, arouse their interest, try to convince them of the delivered content, and accept the propaganda content gladly in the aesthetic process, thus inducing them to take the final action. (1) Show vivid and concrete images of products and services, and convey information intuitively. (2) Stimulate consumers' interest. (3) Enhance the persuasiveness of advertisements. (4) Enhance the attractiveness of commodities and stimulate consumers' desires. Forms of Illustrations Modern illustrations have various forms, which can be classified by media or function. According to the classification of media, it is basically divided into two parts, namely print media and film and television media. Print media includes poster advertisement illustration, newspaper illustration, magazine book illustration, product packaging illustration, corporate image publicity material illustration, etc. Film and television media include movies, television and computer screens. Poster advertising illustration: also known as poster, poster. In the era when advertisements mainly rely on printed media to transmit information, they can be said to be in a dominant position in advertisements. However, with the emergence of film and television media, its application scope has narrowed. Newspaper illustration: Newspaper is one of the best media for information transmission. It is the most popular, low cost, large circulation, wide spread, fast speed and short production cycle. Illustration of magazine books: including the design of front cover and back cover and the illustration of words, which are widely used in all kinds of books. Such as literature books, children's books, science and technology books, etc. This kind of illustration is gradually declining. In the future, it will still exist in a large number of electronic books and newspapers. Product packaging illustration: product packaging makes illustration more widely used. Product packaging design includes three elements: logo, graphics and text. It has two missions: one is to introduce products, and the other is to establish brand image. The most prominent feature is that it is between plane and three-dimensional design. Illustration of corporate image publicity materials: it is the VI design of the enterprise. It is included in the basic system and application system of corporate image design. Film and television illustration in film and television media: point out the illustrations in movies and TV now. Generally, it appears in advertisements. Movie and TV illustrations also include computer screens. Now the computer screen has become the performance space of commercial illustration, and many graphic library animations, game programs and graphic tables have become a member of commercial illustration. The forms of illustrations, such as figures, free forms, realistic techniques, black and white, colors, materials, photos and computer production, can be applied to the production of illustrations as long as they can be "graphics". The classification of illustrations is based on the current market positioning: vector fashion comics, realistic pictures, concepts, etc., and according to the production methods: hand-painted, vector, commercial, cutting-edge. Pixels are classified according to the drawing style of illustrations: Japanese comics and illustrations, European and American illustrations, Hong Kong illustrations, Korean game illustrations, and Taiwan Province romance novel cover illustrations. Because there are too many styles now, I just classify them simply. In addition, there are hand-made origami and cloth patterns abroad, and all styles are neck and neck. Besides illustration style, what style of packaging design do young consumers like? Bread packaging design style, illustration style, cartoon style and British style are all suitable for young consumers. How to express the application of illustration in packaging design? Illustration, also known as illustration, as an important visual communication form of modern design, has been widely used in many fields of modern design and has become one of the important manifestations of packaging and product design. With its unique artistic charm and rich expressive language, illustration has been paid more and more attention by designers. At the same time, it has brought a refreshing experience to the packaging market and is deeply loved by the public because of its unique stylized performance. There are various forms of illustration, and different brushes and designers have completely different styles. It is precisely because of the variability of its style that we can create packaging works with strong visual appeal on the basis of analyzing the attributes and characteristics of the goods themselves and drawing on the creative style of illustrations, as shown in the following figure.

Illustration can express a completely different feeling from photography and create dazzling forms. The combination of illustration and packaging design gives designers great creative freedom, and designers can boldly try various styles of design: exaggerated painting style can highlight the characteristics of packaging, increase the interest of packaging, and is suitable for the packaging of creative products, as shown in the following figure 2. 1; Black-and-white sketch lines reflect the simplicity and naturalness of packaging, giving people a quiet and cordial feeling, which is applied to the packaging of humanistic goods, as shown in Figure 2.2; Illustrations of small fresh wind and healing wind give people a pleasing and warm feeling, which are deeply loved by women and are mostly used for packaging cosmetics, paper towels and other commodities, as shown in Figure 2.3 below. Illustrations with ethnic flavor, influenced by regions and customs, are often used in the packaging of tea and other specialty products, as shown in the following figure.

Illustration itself has rich artistic modeling language, and many styles such as aestheticism, realism and retro can be integrated into the packaging design of clothing, cosmetics and food, which not only meets the different emotional needs of different consumers, but also obtains good design and communication effects. Illustration packaging design gives people reverie through beautiful modeling, and guides consumers' associative feelings to convey information. The application of illustration in packaging endows packaging with new decorative forms and visual communication concepts, brings brand-new packaging means and visual effects to packaging design, and adds artistic charm and cultural connotation.