The concept of commercial illustration
Commercial illustration is a commercial sales behavior in which the author gives up the ownership of the work and only retains the right of signature in order to draw illustrations for enterprises or products and get related remuneration.
This behavior is fundamentally different from our previous views on painting. Before art paintings are collected by individuals or institutions, they can be published or displayed in various media without restriction, and the author receives a small percentage of fees. However, commercial illustrations can only serve one commodity or one customer. Once paid, the author will give up the ownership of the work and get a larger proportion of the remuneration accordingly, which is the same as the result that artistic paintings are finally collected or auctioned.
However, the service life of commercial illustrations is short. When a commodity or enterprise is updated, this subsidiary work will be declared extinct or terminated. From the scientific definition, the ending of commercial illustration seems a bit tragic, but on the other hand, the brilliance of commercial illustration in a short time is incomparable to artistic painting. Because commercial illustrations spread through advertising channels and have a wide coverage, the social attention rate is many times higher than that of artistic painting. For example, this digital illustration of yogurt packaging (pictured) attracted consumers to buy more than 1 billion in two years of market sales because of its exquisite picture. Imagine that this number will increase before the next product replaces it. How many art paintings can hundreds of millions of people see in two years? Such brilliance is unparalleled!
Commercial illustrations have four components:
(a) commercial illustrations of advertisements
(B) cartoon mascot design
(3) Illustrations of publications
(D) Electronic game art environment
1. Advertising commercial illustrations
Service goods-must have a strong sense of consumption.
Serving advertisers-must have flexible values
Serving the society-we must have a sense of collective responsibility.
2. Cartoon mascot design
Product mascot-understand the product and find the combination of animation and product.
Enterprise mascot-customized according to enterprise CI standard.
Social Mascot-Analyze the characteristics of social activities, cater to them in time, and be easy to popularize.
3. Illustrations of publications
Literature and art-have a good artistic accomplishment and literary foundation.
Children's Books-Have a healthy and happy childlike interest and observation experience.
Natural science popularization-solid artistic foundation and extraordinary imagination
Social humanities-colorful life experiences and dictation skills
4. Electronic game art environment
Image design-emotional expression of personality exchange and separation of form and spirit
Scene Design —— Restoring the combination of micro and macro from a unique perspective
Story script-literary music is embodied by artistic means.
Commercial illustration has certain rules, and it must have the following three elements:
(A) directly convey consumer demand
(B) in line with the public aesthetic taste
(C) exaggerating and strengthening the characteristics of goods
Want to have these three points, it depends on the comprehensive quality of illustrators.
Express commodity information directly, because consumers will not take the time to understand the meaning of your painting. Because human consumption habits are quite persistent, in a dazzling shopping environment, if a consumer doesn't see or be attracted by your illustration within one second, I'm afraid he won't buy this product for a year or several years.
Suppose consumers see your illustration, but they are rebellious about the color composition or image of the picture, which will also lead to the previous results. So; Conforming to the public aesthetic taste is the second hurdle for commercial illustrators. People who can spend with artistic vision are too rare! Your work is too artistic for others to understand, too vulgar for others to look down upon. Only if you can do this can you be considered a qualified commercial illustrator.
With the attention of consumers, your work has entered the third level, compared with products all over the world. If the illustration does not strengthen and exaggerate the characteristics of the goods and is submerged by other goods, then the previous results will also be produced! In the supermarket, we often see the scene of picking it up and putting it down. A commercial illustration can only pass the test after checking out!
Answer the questions of commercial illustrators
Q: What is a commercial illustration? What's the difference between illustration and illustration?
A: As the name implies, commercial illustration is an illustration with commercial value, which does not belong to the category of pure art. Commercial illustration can be defined as the commercial sale of digital works drawn by enterprises or products. The author gives up the ownership of the works and only retains the right of signature. Illustration is a form of commercial illustration, and there are other examples, such as advertising illustration, cartoon mascot design, publication illustration and animated video game scenes.
Illustrations are images expressed by patterns. In line with the principle of unity of beauty and practicality, we strive to make lines and shapes clear and vivid, and make them convenient. Illustration is a universal language in the world, and its design is usually divided into characters, animals and commodity images in commercial applications.
Figures: Illustration is based on figures, and it is easy to hit it off with consumers, because figures can best show cuteness and intimacy, and there is a lot of room for imaginative creation. First of all, the proportion of shaping is the key. In life, the head-to-body ratio of adults is 1:7 or 1:7.5, and that of children is about 1:4. The facial expression of the characters is the focus of the whole, so it is very important to describe the eyes. Secondly, the use of exaggerated deformation will not give people an unnatural and uncomfortable feeling, but can make people laugh and feel happy, making the overall image clearer and more impressive.
Animal image: Animals have a long history as cartoon images. In real life, many animals have become people's pets, and these animals are more popular as cartoon images. When creating animal images, we must attach great importance to creativity and personification. For example, one difference between animals and humans is that their faces don't smile for a long time. Anime images can give animals the same smile as human beings through personification, and humanize animal images. It is easy to be accepted by people to use animal schools that they know and love in their lives.
Commodity image: it is the expansion of animal personification in the field of commodities, and anthropomorphic commodities give people a sense of intimacy. Personalized modeling has a refreshing feeling, thus deepening people's direct impression of goods. As far as the concept of personalized goods is concerned, it can be roughly divided into two categories:
The first category is complete personification, that is, exaggerating goods and using the characteristics and modeling structure of goods to personify performance.
The second category is semi-anthropomorphism, that is, adding hands, feet and heads unrelated to commodities as anthropomorphic characteristic elements.
The above two anthropomorphic molding technologies make the goods humanized and personalized. Through the form of animation, emphasizing the characteristics of goods, its actions and words are directly related to goods, and the publicity effect is more obvious.
Illustrators often draw illustrations for graphic designers or directly for magazines, newspapers and other media. They are generally professional illustrators or freelance artists, and have their own themes and painting styles like photographers. Their professional sensitivity and desire for new forms and tools have led many of them to use cg animation design tools to create illustrations. The software function of Cg animation makes their creative talent play a greater role. Whether it is simple or complex, whether it is traditional media effects, such as oil painting, watercolor, printmaking style or the endless new changes and new interests of digital graphics, it can be completed more conveniently and quickly. Digital photography is the latest development of photography. Photographers shoot objects with digital cameras or scan traditional positive films into computers through scanners, then adjust, combine and create new visual images on computer screens, and finally output positive films or negative films through film recorders. This new photography technology has completely changed the creative concept of photographic optical imaging, with digital graphics processing as the core, also known as' darkroom photography'. It blurs the boundaries between photographers, illustrators and graphic designers. Nowadays, as long as they are talented, they can complete all three tasks on the same computer.
poster；playbill
According to the meaning of the poster, "move" means to attract attention, and "paste" means to post, that is, "attention-attracting post". The English name of the poster is "poster", which means the notice displayed in public places in the Oxford English Dictionary. In the advertising dictionary published by "International Textbook Publishing Company" in London, posters refer to printed advertisements posted on cardboard, walls, large wooden boards or vehicles, or displayed in other ways. It is the main form of outdoor advertising and one of the oldest forms of advertising. Some people interpret the meaning of posters according to their root structure and anecdotes, and think that posters are converted from "posts", which means posts, so posters refer to all notices posted on posts.
The earliest poster in the world is a 20cm×25cm advertisement for missing persons in Egypt 3000 years ago, which is about chasing an escaped slave. This poster is now in the London Museum.
The earliest printed poster found in the world is an advertising poster that appeared in China AD 1 1 century (Song Dynasty) and is now in the Chinese History Museum.
Posters have another name in China, and no Chinese dictionary has given a special explanation to the word "poster". However, it is said that during the Qing Dynasty, foreigners parked foreign goods on seagoing ships at the coastal wharf in China, and put up posters in conspicuous places along the wharf to promote their own goods. Coastal citizens call this poster a poster. If this development continues, all posters with similar purposes and other information will be called "posters" in the future.
As a visual communication art, poster can best reflect the formal characteristics of graphic design. It has the most important basic elements of visual design, and its design concept, expression means and techniques are more typical than other advertising media.
The establishment of international authoritative design institutions, the continuous holding of international poster exhibitions, and the publication of related poster design monographs and poster yearbooks have strongly promoted the development of modern posters to a higher level, making them still in the main position of visual expression. Important international poster exhibitions include: Warsaw International Poster Design Art Biennial; Czech Brno International Graphic Design Art Biennale; Colorado International Advertising Poster Invitation Biennale; Mexico International Advertising Design Art Biennale; Moscow International Advertising Design Biennale, Russia; Lahti International Advertising Design Art Biennale, Finland, etc.
The style of modern commercial illustration when most people's understanding of illustration is still limited to low-end cultural products such as picture books, comics and children's picture books, illustration has penetrated into all aspects of people's lives with lightning speed, from anime blockbusters that people talk about to the cover design of records at hand, and even random product logo in supermarkets. Illustrations and their derivatives are everywhere. People can experience the meaning of "illustration" every day without looking up the dictionary. We still need to clarify the concept of commercial illustration: "Commercial illustration is a commercial transaction in which the author gives up the ownership of the work and only retains the right to sign when drawing illustrations for enterprises or products and getting relevant remuneration."
In fact, the power of illustrations in modern life comes from "art" and "business". As a form of advertising communication, commercial illustrations are an important part of modern commercial activities. Most commercial illustrations are commissioned and have a clear creative purpose; At the same time, with the development of printing technology, it has been copied in large quantities; Commercial illustration is inseparable from mass media, and it is destined to have a strong brand of the times and cultural characteristics.
Popular culture of commercial illustrations
The prosperity of commercial illustration can be traced back to World War II, when European countries stopped the development of design industry due to the extreme lack of materials. At this time, American commercial design flourished. From the beginning, it showed a different starting point from European design-not only for the rich, but based on ordinary people and mass consumption. Noble and exquisite is no longer important, but changeable styles, exaggerated decorative techniques and low prices are what people pursue. Correspondingly, the publishing industry is booming. Readers' Digest, Life, Time Weekly and other publications are popular all over the world, with a circulation of more than one million copies. These magazines are printed more and more beautifully, and a large number of advertisements are instilled in consumers, which stimulates their desire for consumption and objectively stimulates the demand for commercial illustrations. In addition, the natural readability of graphic language makes the application of commercial illustration more and more extensive. The application of commercial illustration has also expanded from book inserts to various fashion magazines, outdoor advertisements, packaging design, film and television advertisements and so on. Popular culture is the main field of commercial illustration today.
In the fifties and sixties, teenagers became the main consumers of popular culture, and in the seventies, they became the main force to promote social change in the West. This generation of young people grew up in an affluent era and received a good education. Their enthusiasm for new things and indifference to traditional values are completely different from their parents. They are more keen on rock music, pop art and hippie culture. During this period, commercial illustration has also been influenced by various popular cultures, forming a distinct style trend. At that time, many unconventional and distinctive things were quickly imitated, forming new consumption patterns, forms and fashions. Images such as "bull's-eye" and "national flag" created by American pop artist John often appear repeatedly in different commercial illustrations and become visual symbols representing pop style. In the hippie cultural movement, Wilson's font poster works with "Art Nouveau" style are difficult to identify because of excessive font deformation. However, because it reflects the anti-culture of hippie culture, it gives people a grotesque and wild feeling in form, which meets the emotional requirements of hippie youth, so it is also regarded as a symbol with strong symbolism. It is by absorbing and using different symbols of popular culture that commercial illustration has become a means for young people to express their personal views and a powerful weapon to distinguish different ideologies. Another force of popular culture comes from Japanese cartoon illustrations, which gradually matured after the 1980s and became popular among Asian teenagers. The rise of video games, animation and toy industries driven by animation illustrations has formed a cultural trend that affects our lives.
The Art Form of Commercial Illustration
The forms of modern commercial illustrations are mainly classified through the media. Generally, it can be divided into three categories: first, print media, second, film and television media, and third, online media. Illustrations in print media are mainly divided into periodicals, newspapers, posters, product packaging and corporate image publicity materials. This kind of commercial illustration has a large circulation, wide circulation and short production cycle, which can involve all aspects of people's lives and is also the most common user. Illustrations in the form of film and television media are mainly distributed in TV and movies. The difference between them and film and television advertisements lies in the relative stability and stillness of the pictures. This form of illustration spreads quickly and contains a lot of information. As a film and television illustration, it is also a powerful media for manufacturers and enterprises to strengthen commodity promotion. Illustration in the form of network communication is a new illustration form developed with the development of computer network. Its main carrier is computer network, which is characterized by unique form, strong interaction and large spatial expression. As a new illustration form, illustration also has its limitations, that is, the audience level is uneven, but with the development of the times, this limitation will gradually disappear. Through the analysis of these three forms, we can see that commercial illustration, as a part of visual communication, must have its space, which is endowed by society, commerce and culture. From the very beginning, it is no longer a simple art form to spread specific information locally, but has developed into a visual communication element to spread information, spread influence and serve the society in time, space and audience.
The expression techniques of commercial illustrations should pay attention to the popularity and practicality of illustrations, so most commercial illustrations use expression techniques to express objective things, which are mainly divided into three forms: realism, abstraction and mixing.
Business illustration economic industry
For economic problems, we must first understand how illustration products are circulated. In fact, like any modern product, it needs to go through three steps in the process of entering the market: production-sales-consumption.
1, illustrator
As a designer in the digital age, we must master several basic drawing tools and use them skillfully, such as Photoshop, Illustrator, flash and so on. Because most illustrations are delivered in the form of electronic documents.
At the same time, the work style of illustrators is more free and diversified. Designers can choose to work in design companies, set up their own studios, or work part-time. Due to the highly developed software, hardware and communication means, more and more illustrators tend to intervene in the market in a personal way. Some star illustrators are mostly freelancers. Good reputation and excellent talents make it easier for them to get business.
In the Internet age, making a personal online portfolio website is a good way to obtain customer resources. Its advantage is that customers can see your website at any time, understand your work style and provide many potential customers for designers.
2. Distributor (sales channel)
In the traditional sales channels of art works. Art dealers have always played an important role, looking for painters' works with critical eyes and looking for buyers to profit from them.
Although illustrators have direct business contact with customers, it still takes a lot of time to find customers. Therefore, many people choose professional agencies to represent their works and contact related businesses and exhibitions. These companies actually play the role of art dealers.
3. People who consume illustrations
There will be differences between enthusiastic consumers and occasional consumers among people who consume illustrations.
Different people like the same illustration product to different degrees. For example, an old cartoon during the Cultural Revolution. Older people will show a strong love for it, while young people have no interest, mainly because young people have no relevant cultural experience in this old cartoon. This cultural experience makes people interested in the symbolic meaning of illustration works, thus producing enthusiastic consumers. Moreover, the more consumers like this kind of products, the more concerned they are, and the more relevant experience and knowledge they have accumulated. Compared with those leisure consumers, they have different views on the works.
Commercial illustration is different from general commodities, and it is a cultural industry. Its operation is different from the rules of other industries. Kevin Weiss, an American economist, put forward the vertical and horizontal differences of cultural products in Economics of Creative Industries. He pointed out that "cultural products are also different in characteristics, tone and style, which are independent of the buyer's evaluation of product quality." Economically, they have horizontal differences. When horizontally different products are sold at the same price, people's preferences are different. Creative products are usually a mixture of vertical and horizontal differences. "It is this characteristic of cultural products that constitutes its types and consumers benefit from it.
Commercial illustration design often shows the characteristics of cooperation between different cultural industries, and popular comic works are not only distributed as printed publications in large quantities. It is also likely to be adapted into cartoons, even movies and TV series. This phenomenon has evolved into a trend. Other related industries caused or spawned by illustration design can be called "added value", and the operation of added value of this cultural product should also be regarded as part of the long-term profit of illustration. In this regard, Disney's experience is worth learning. The image of Mickey Mouse has moved from comic books to the screen. And become the image representative of magazines, clothing, websites and other cultural products, and become the image representative of today's multi-billion-dollar entertainment empire. However, it is a new problem for the commercial illustration industry that how to sign a contract to accurately define illustration and its added value profit sharing in other industries.
Although some people still disdain the combination of art and commerce, it is undeniable that their combination has yielded fruitful results, and this trend is irreversible. Just like the bright and short appearance of commercial illustrations, the attitude of this era is exciting and thought-provoking.
Do you know these six common styles of illustrations and posters? 2020 can be said to be the world of illustration.
Long time no see, Regan Noodles who has touched countless people.
To recent posters of various holiday brands.
You can look at the illustrations.
Do you know what are the common illustration styles?
Xiao A will pass this article.
Take you to understand the common styles of illustrations and posters!
Graphic style illustration is mainly color blocks, geometric modeling, smooth outline and more intuitive information, which makes people understand the information conveyed by the interface at a glance.
The flat interface can also better realize the transformation of pictures, and the webpage loading speed is faster. Therefore, graphic style illustrations are widely used in various fields.
Stroke style is an extension of plane style.
Adding outline and brush strokes to plane elements and adding brush strokes to the outline of line-drawing illustrations are more three-dimensional and lovely than plane styles, and are often used in posters, guide pages, logo, etc.
Texture style illustration, also known as grain noise style, is another branch of plane style. The page is superimposed with grain texture, showing a matte texture, which is a bit like sand painting, but more delicate than sand painting.
The main manifestation is the use of a large number of color blocks. Elements are single and clean, and textures are often superimposed on highlights and shadows of elements. Increase the details in the picture through graininess, the picture is natural, three-dimensional and vivid, and the painting style is relaxed and casual.
Ukiyo-e painting refers to "a prosperous and empty world" in Buddhist language. Ukiyo-e painting shows the ups and downs of the world in the form of painting.
Ukiyo-e painting style is based on traditional prints, emphasizing the plane painting of lines and color blocks, with bright colors and birds, fish and waves as the main forms of expression.
MBE illustration is a style created by the designer of Dribbble. It depicts elements with thick black lines, removes unnecessary elements in the picture, and the color blocks are clearly distinguished, round and lovely. With small elements, it is often used in boot page, startup page, logo, etc.
Watercolor illustration is a popular painting method in recent years. Simple lines, gentle colors, quiet and natural, simple and casual lines. Watercolor illustration is particularly creative, which can not only express various styles such as realism, abstraction and magic.
Illustration is one of the most common design elements in our life.
In recent years, it has gradually become the mainstream of poster design.
Different styles of illustrations bring people different visual feelings.
Which one do you like?