Week 5 - 6, Editorial Illustration Overview

Editorial Illustration

Editorial illustration is viewed as a visual commentary usually being paired with journalism contained within newspaper and magazines. This suggests that the potential for its use is vast as the media industry is extremely diverse covering a range of themes and topics; daily weekly or monthly.

Historically and in contemporary context, illustration has a strong presence within publishing even when being in competition from photography. 

Nowadays, many broadsheets and tabloids publish colour supplements which contain certain 'lifestyle' artcucles that benefit and are enriched by illustrations. Other forms of editioorial illustration do no demand such an intense  intellectual or conceptual engagement they're seen as 'softer'.

Illustratuon within this context is used to evoke humour or opinion. We constantly are exposed to this as we see inserts that feature illustrations on a weekly basis. Traditionally magazines have been a forum for illustrators but this is branching out much further This enables new and upcoming illustrators to look at the most apparent visual languages and develop their own style. 

Prestigious magazines provide an illustrator with quality and a good reputation. If ones work appears in a certain high circulating magazine then it shows that as an editorial illustrator you have in fact made it. 

Unfortunatley, magazines and newspapers have a 'shelf life'. For magazines this could be a week or a month, depending on when the next issues is set to be published and for newspapers it could be as little as a day. 

Her are some examples of successful artists with editiroal illustration having their art work regularly feature in magazines, newspapers and on covers of these.

Commercial illustrator Wijtze Valkema, born 1983, graduated in Graphics Design in 2005 and did a total or four internships in the Netherlands and USA before starting a freelance career. Focusing on illustration since 2012, Wijtze has welcomed various editorial clients, providing the visual part of stories for magazines, newspapers and online media as well as collaborating with agencies, brands and publishers ranging form murals to books to apparel packaging.

Figure 1 - Shark Pool - Feature opener and spot illustrations for Reisgids on travel insurance

Figure 2 - Cover for La Gazette

Figure 3 - Cover 

Illustartor Mark Smith has worked for many popular and high end editorial newspapers and magazines including The New Yorker, ESPN Magazine, Penguin, Fast Company, Mens Health, The Financial Times, The Folio Society, Golf World, The Guardian, John Hopkins, The Times UK, The New York Times, The Washington Post and many more. 

Figure 4 - Institutional Investor - A digital threat is surfacing in the world of investing 

Figure 5 - Johns Hopkins Magazine - Families living in deep poverty

Figure 6 - Census Survey - Global data gathering

Image reference

- Figure 1 - Valkema, W. (no date) Wijtze Valkema’s portfolio - work. Shark Pool 

- Figure 2 - 3 - Valkema, W. (no date) Wijtze Valkema’s portfolio - work. Covers

- Figure 4 - 6 - Smith, M. (no date) Editorial.

Bibliography

- Maine, S. (2014) 5 top examples of editorial illustrations. Available at: http://www.creativebloq.com/computer-arts/5-top-examples-editorial-illustrations-81412592 (Accessed: 3 October 2016).

- Male, A. (2007) Illustration: A theoretical & Contextual perspective (advanced level). Lausanne: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC, Switzerland. (Accessed: 3 October 2016)

- Smith, M. (2013) Bio. Available at: http://www.marksmithillustration.com/bio.html (Accessed: 3 October 2016).

- Smith, M. (no date) Editorial. Available at: http://www.marksmithillustration.com/editorial.html (Accessed: 3 October 2016).

- Smith, M. (no date) Marksmithillustration. Available at: http://www.marksmithillustration.com (Accessed: 3 October 2016).

- Valkema, W. (no date) Wijtze Valkema’s portfolio - about. Available at: http://www.wijtzevalkema.co/about (Accessed: 3 October 2016).

- Valkema, W. (no date) Wijtze Valkema’s portfolio - work. Available at: http://www.wijtzevalkema.co (Accessed: 3 October 2016).

- Valkema, W. (no date) Wijtze Valkema’s portfolio - work. Shark Pool Available at: http://www.wijtzevalkema.co/work/sharkpool (Accessed: 3 October 2016).

- Valkema, W. (no date) Wijtze Valkema’s portfolio - work. Covers Available at: http://www.wijtzevalkema.co/work/covers (Accessed: 3 October 2016).