What Activities Do Illustrators Do?
Illustrators are artists who create original artwork for publications, commercial projects, video games and animation. Their illustrations may be for entertainment, but many illustrators also work with lawyers to illustrate crime scenes or combine artistic ability with science knowledge to illustrate structures that are impossible--or too disturbing--to photograph, like cutaway views of tissues and cells for biology textbooks.
Other People Are Reading
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Advertising
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Some illustrators work in advertising, creating ad campaigns based on characters that help identify a brand. One easily recognized example is Joe Camel, the iconic and controversial illustrated Camel cigarette mascot. Unlike most cigarette companies, Camel has used illustration in its packaging since the debut of the Camel brand almost a century ago. Charmin toilet tissue uses a bear family in its advertising campaigns, MetLife insurance commercials star Charles Schultz' Snoopy, and Brawny paper towels feature a brawny lumberjack, presumably to remind consumers about the trees that are cut down to make disposable paper products. Brand illustration for advertising does not always take the form of characters. Instantly recognizable product logos are also created by illustrators, like the red, white and blue Pepsi ellipse or the Nike swoosh. Some products lack both character and logo, but almost all commercial packaging and advertising is created by an illustrator. Illustrators are also responsible for advertising storyboards, a tool advertising agents use to visually demonstrate a commercial concept or ad campaign to a client.
Publications and Products
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Book covers, greeting cards and paper products are all created by illustrators. So are illustrated T-shirts, cartoons, comics, graphic novel art, and postage stamps. About 60 percent of all artists work freelance, so a talented illustrator might have the opportunity to work on a design for gift wrap one day and the cover of a potential best-selling novel the next. Some illustrators work full time for companies and do similar projects every day.
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Video Game Design
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Video games are dependent on illustrators, usually graphic artists who work almost exclusively in digital art. The success of a video game depends heavily on the artwork. Characters, landscaping, props and scenery have to be convincingly realistic to engage the player. Gamers are sophisticated and discerning. It takes a lot of talent to produce artwork with enough wow factor to dazzle end consumers who have grown up on groundbreaking animation techniques.
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References
- Photo Credit Illustration of a butterfly image by Steve Johnson from Fotolia.com
