There are many styles and genres of illustration, both very old and very recent. Despite all the variety, there are several main directions, which I will discuss below.
- Fashion Illustration
It has been around for about 500 years, but this style only gained popularity in the early 19th century – the time when a large number of fashion magazines appeared. One of the founders of fashion illustration was the American Carl Erickson, who is famous for his work for Vogue and the American cosmetics company Coty. - Poster Illustration.
The poster theme has been used by illustrators since the middle of the last century. It was widely used in advertising and the socio-political sphere. One of the founders of this genre is considered to be the French Jules Chéret and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. - Retro Illustration
To us nowadays such illustrations are retro, but to Earl C. Bargy, for example, it was a modern reality for him. The American illustrated a huge number of books, magazines, and newspapers in the famous “vintage” style that is now so popular. - Decorative Illustration.
This is probably one of the oldest styles of illustration. The most prominent decorator of the twentieth century was William Morris, the unofficial leader of the Arts and Crafts Movement. - Illustration of children’s literature.
Another classic genre of illustration. Techniques, styles, and eras change, one thing does not change – illustrations for children’s books should be colorful, funny, and interesting.
One of the most famous children’s illustrators is Edmund Dulac. Agree, it feels like it was Dulac who illustrated one of your children’s books.
- Comic book illustration.
Comics, of course, is a separate genre, but you can’t deny that, in essence, a comic book is an illustrated story. Besides, the famous illustrator Charles Schultz, with his sketches of the boy Charlie and the dog Snoopy, is considered the godfather of modern comics. - Satirical Illustration.
The origins of satirical illustration are the all-time favorite caricatures. They do not lose their popularity even now. Remember at least the famous French magazine Charlie Hebdo with its provocative caricatures.
One of the earliest cartoonists was the Englishman George Cruikshank. His favorite subjects were socio-political and social problems.
- Conceptual illustration
Conceptual illustration emerged as a reaction to the emergence and spread of photography and developed under the influence of various modernist movements in art. In addition to the illustrators listed above, Robert Osborne can also be singled out. - Fantastic Illustration.
Every illustration has its share of fiction, but in fantasy illustration, fiction is the basis of everything. The masters of this kind of illustration are Edd Carter, whose illustrations have graced the covers of a large number of magazines and books, and Boris Valeggio. - Sports Illustration.
Sports illustrations peaked in popularity in the 1930s and 1950s, when they could be found in almost every newspaper. One of the most famous artists was Willard Mullin, who spent most of his career working for The New York World-Telegram.