Ch. 4 The Editorial Brief
Magazines and Newspapers have been a part of human culture for a long time, bringing news, lifestyles, art, and sports.
History
- Johannes Gutenburgs invents of alphabet cast metal characters-1468
- Erbauliche Monaths-Unterredungen first world magazine in Germany-1663
- The London Gazette first newspaper-1666
- Pierre Fournier invents the typographic point system-1712-1768
- Alois Senefelder develops lithography-1771-1834
- The Illustrated London News introduces woodcuts and engravings-1842
- Photography become important thanks to its advances in the 19th century
- Magazines and Newspapers become more available by the 20th century
- Full color printing appears=1930s
Criteria
- Illustrations should be a visual hook
- Illustrations should summarize the heart of the story
- Illustrations should stand alone while working with an article
- National news
- International news
- Feature stories
- Political analysis
- Business section
- Education section
- Media section
- Arts section
- Society section
- Consumer section
- Sports section
- Gardening section
- Food section
- Property section
- Star signs
- Syndicated strip cartoons
- Other strip cartoons
- Weather
Roles within a Newspaper/Magazine/Editorial website
- Editor- content and visual appearance of the publication in controlled by this person
- Creative director- visual look and feel of a publication is what this person is responsible for
- Art director- Illustration and photography is this person responsiblility of this person to commission
- In-house designer- Composing the pages of a publication is this person job using a computer
- Picture editor- Works closely with the art director when it comes to collecting editing and reviewing illustrations and photography
Illustrating for the modern magazine brief
- Fashion
- Home and lifestyle
- Computing
- Men's lifestyle
- Sport
- TV and satellite
- General interest
- Business and current affairs
Editorial illustration: summary of procedure
- Initial Research- Research the content in which you illustrating before approaching a newspaper, magazine or editorial website. Make sure the place you would like to work is suitable for your style, subject, and content.
- Prospecting for work- Have a portfolio to show prospecting art directors as they will want to see some of your work to decide if they would like to commission you.
- Securing the commission- Have a cell phone so commissioners can get a hold of you. The art director will let you know the subject matter, the time span of the job, points for the roughs and final, the physical size of the work, and the fee. Make sure you look carefully of the parameters of the job before you agree.
- Starting work- Pencil and paper are the best tools to start with. Let idea flow to the paper. The more you sketch the more you'll start to see the connection. Visual distinctive will begin to take form. You may need to do some research, make sure to save all research.
- Submitting the roughs- An overall concept will begin to emerge. You may need several ideas for longer projects. After have several roughs email them to the art director and wait. Usually the corrections will be small and they will check if the illustration is appropriate for the publication.
- Producing the final artwork- Once you've made the changes you can move on to the final piece. There may be color directions, otherwise use colors similar to what was illustrated in your portfolio.
- Securing payment- You will have to purchase an order number when you agree to the commission. You will be told how long between the final and payment. You must provide proof that you are commission to the commissioner.
