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Home > Essays

Essays in Non-Commissioned Work

Engaging essays on a wide-variety of illustration-based subjects by knowledgable authors, scholars, artists, and students can be explored here.

Bascove’s Shifting Perspective

Steven Heller | March 7, 2022 - Bascove’s work was in high demand among those art directors who appreciated the strength of her black print technique.

Tattooing and Cultural Appropriation

| February 24, 2021 - A Brief History and Analysis of Tattooing in the United States from 1790 to 2020.

Accidentally Swedish: Josef Frank’s Design Theory in His Pattern Design

Paloma Diaz-Dickson | February 16, 2021 - Josef Frank was an Austrian-born Swedish architect, furniture designer, and textile designer. In addition to his professional practice, Frank wrote extensively about design.

The Hidden Emotions in M.C. Escher’s Artwork

Dongyan Xu | February 16, 2021 - Contrary to M.C. Escher’s statement that his work contains no hidden meanings, the artist’s experiences, emotions, and worldview are reflected in the artwork he made throughout his life.

The Drawing Methods and Techniques of Peter Paul Rubens

Siyuan David Zhou | January 14, 2021 - A study and explanation of Rubens’s drawing techniques through an interpretation of his drawings.

Belonging to the Realm of Ideas: A Look at Goya In Comparison to the Modern Day Illustration Practices of Andrea Kowch, Amy Cutler, and Shaun Tan

Jordan Cannon | January 14, 2021 - Francisco Goya utilized fantastical elements to critique, communicate, and introspect. Today, Kowch, Cutler, and Tan exhibit these same focuses within their art through the development of their own magical realities.

How Recent Technology Impacts Audiences and Artists: A Study on Social Media and Big Data.

Yuanyuan Zhou | January 13, 2021 - Social media's influence on audience preference of artworks, and how big data inspired artists to create new designs.

How Modern Illustrators Inherit the Chinese Traditional Art Style

Haochen Zhao | January 7, 2021 - Three Chinese illustrators incorporate aesthetic values from Chinese traditional art in their works.

Genres
  • Advertising
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Global Perspectives
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Art Works. National Endowment for the Arts. arts.gov

This project is supported in part by an award
from the National Endowment for the Arts.

"The great band of illustrators have shown us to ourselves and I am proud to be among their company."
- Norman Rockwell

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