Illustration in journalism has a long and rich history dating back to the 1700s. Many 19th century American artists, such as Winslow Homer and Frederick Remington, began their careers in journalism.

For much of the 20th century, illustrators on newspapers were confined to the sports pages and to editorial cartooning, but in those places readers could find top-notch artists. With the current emphasis in newspapers on graphics has come a renewed interest in newspaper illustration. Many newspapers and web sites are expanding their art staffs and looking for people who can combine artistic skills with a sense of news and information. They are also looking for people who are adept at using the computer.

As the name implies, illustration-based graphics use illustration rather than type or charts to form the basis of the graphic. A illustration may be hand drawn or generated by a computer; or it may be hand drawn and then enhanced by a computer.

Publications use illustrations for two purposes: to draw attention to a story and to make a point about the story. Usually, illustrations do not duplicate photographs. They go beyond the photograph in helping the editors emphasize something about the story or in some way adding to the reader’s understanding of the information in an article.

Drawings

As mentioned above, a drawing may be generated by hand or with the aid of a computer. When a drawing is originated by hand, it is entered into a computer system by means of a scanner. A scanner operates like a photocopying machine, but instead of transferring the image onto another piece of paper, it translates the image into a set of computer signals that can be recognized by a software program. The image is picked up by a drawing program (such as Adobe Illustrator) and can be enhanced in a number of ways. For instance, it can have color or shades of gray added to it. It can be combined with other images that have been generated by computers or scanned into computer systems.

Many publications use clip art files as a basis for their illustrations. Clip art is a set of computer drawings in a format that can be accessed by a publication’s computer system. These drawings are sold by the disk and cover a vast array of subjects. Publications buy the rights to use them when they purchase the disks. These drawings can be called up by a staff artist and changed in whatever way is necessary for the publication.

Drawings can illustrate things that cannot be photographed. One of the most common uses of drawings in this way is for courtroom pictures. Many courtrooms still do not allow the use of video or still cameras, but most will let illustrators do drawings of the participants.

Drawings may also be used to help explain why things happen. For instance, if a bridge collapses, a photograph can record the aftermath and effects of the event. A drawing can present the structure of the bridge and emphasize the points where the collapse occurred. Both photographs and drawings can help the reader understand the event.

One point should be emphasized about good newspaper illustration and especially drawings: they take time to produce, and generally the better the drawing, the more time it takes. Computers can speed the process along, but a good illustration still takes the time of a talented person.

 

References

James Glen Stovall, Infographics: A Journalist’s Guide. Allyn and Bacon, 1997.

James Glen Stovall and Edward Mullins, The Complete Editor, Allyn and Bacom, 2005.

Advanced reading material

Harris, Robert L. Information Graphics. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000.

Harrower, Tim. The Newspaper Designer's Handbook. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2001

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