what is illustration? and what is fine art?
to my understanding, illustration is commonly used to convey a certain message or to tell a story using graphic symbols. to put it in better words, illustration is creating an image to communicate a message or an idea. illustration can be done in any medium as long as it is a visual representation of something. examples of places you could find illustrations would be in picture books, advertising, magazines, newspapers, instruction manuals, posters for gigs or movies, products like t-shirts or greeting cards and even in fashion and film (What is Illustration?, n.d.).
whereas the term "fine art" refers to an art form practised mainly for its aesthetic value and its beauty, rather than its functional value. fine art is rooted in drawing and design-based works such as painting, printmaking, and sculpting (Fine Art: Definition & Meaning, n.d.). fine artists make art pieces with the objective of capturing the beauty of a certain object or scenery as much as they can; illustrators don't focus on that, their objective is to communicate messages using their art pieces.
illustrations can be spotted everywhere and around us even when we do not realise it is an illustration. illustration can be such a powerful tool and play many roles in different contexts. they can document a text, decorate the page, sell the story, create a mood, or interpret the story. illustrations can be used for activism and protest. illustrations make a contribution to the total meaning which words alone cannot convey. the words and illustrations are co-dependent; they work best together.
illustrators must be able to problem-solve. they need to portray their client's message through their artworks (Fine Artist vs. Illustrator, n.d.). fine artists on the other hand are searching and seeking some elusive idea, or thought, or meaning. (Fine Artist vs. Illustrator, n.d.). they both have different goals when creating a piece of artwork. illustrators care about the reaction they get from the audiences and not the amount of people looking at their artworks (Ege, O. F.,1949).
Ege, O. F. (1949). Illustration as a Fine Art. College Art Journal,9(1), 3. doi:10.2307/773076
Fine Art: Definition & Meaning. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/definitions/fine-art.htm
Fine Artist vs. Illustrator. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://fineartviews.com/blog/18678/fine-artist-vs-illustrator
What is Illustration? (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.martinagleesonillustration.com/what-is-illustration.html
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