Commercial Illustration in the Republic of China —— The Style of Modern Commercial Illustration

The development history of commercial illustration has a long history, but seemingly ordinary and simple illustrations have great connotations. From the oldest illustrated cave mural in the world to Japanese ukiyo-e painting, the development of illustrations is displayed.

In the early years of the Republic of China, the reasons for the development of national industry at that time were analyzed, and its characteristics in commodity propaganda were pointed out. The development of national capitalism in the early Republic of China was called "short spring" for the following reasons:

1. The success of the Revolution of 1911 and the establishment of the Republic of China have removed some obstacles for the development of capitalism. In addition, the provisional government of the Republic of China promulgated a series of policies to encourage industrial development, which also contributed to industrial development.

2. The most important reason is that European imperialism was too busy with World War I to take care of China, and its economic aggression against China decreased, which provided a good external environment for the development of national industry in a short time.

3. Before and after the Revolution of 1911, mass anti-imperialist patriotic movements broke out one after another, especially the movement of boycotting Japanese goods and advocating domestic products against Article 21, which effectively promoted the development of national industries.

4. During this period, a group of industrialists such as Zhang Jian emerged, and everyone advocated "saving the country through industry", which also played a great role in the development of national industries.

Features:

Combination of commodity propaganda and patriotism

Combination of commodity propaganda and anti-feudal struggle

The style of modern commercial illustration when most people's understanding of illustration is still limited to low-end cultural products such as picture books, comics and children's picture books, illustration has penetrated into all aspects of people's lives with lightning speed, from anime blockbusters that people talk about to the cover design of records at hand, and even random product logo in supermarkets. Illustrations and their derivatives are everywhere. People can experience the meaning of "illustration" every day without looking up the dictionary. We still need to clarify the concept of commercial illustration: "Commercial illustration is a commercial transaction in which the author gives up the ownership of the work and only retains the right to sign when drawing illustrations for enterprises or products and getting relevant remuneration."

In fact, the power of illustrations in modern life comes from "art" and "business". As a form of advertising communication, commercial illustrations are an important part of modern commercial activities. Most commercial illustrations are commissioned and have a clear creative purpose; At the same time, with the development of printing technology, it has been copied in large quantities; Commercial illustration is inseparable from mass media, and it is destined to have a strong brand of the times and cultural characteristics.

Popular culture of commercial illustrations

The prosperity of commercial illustration can be traced back to World War II, when European countries stopped the development of design industry due to the extreme lack of materials. At this time, American commercial design flourished. From the beginning, it showed a different starting point from European design-not only for the rich, but based on ordinary people and mass consumption. Noble and exquisite is no longer important, but changeable styles, exaggerated decorative techniques and low prices are what people pursue. Correspondingly, the publishing industry is booming. Readers' Digest, Life, Time Weekly and other publications are popular all over the world, with a circulation of more than one million copies. These magazines are printed more and more beautifully, and a large number of advertisements are instilled in consumers, which stimulates their desire for consumption and objectively stimulates the demand for commercial illustrations. In addition, the natural readability of graphic language makes the application of commercial illustration more and more extensive. The application of commercial illustration has also expanded from book inserts to various fashion magazines, outdoor advertisements, packaging design, film and television advertisements and so on. Popular culture is the main field of commercial illustration today.

In the fifties and sixties, teenagers became the main consumers of popular culture, and in the seventies, they became the main force to promote social change in the West. This generation of young people grew up in an affluent era and received a good education. Their enthusiasm for new things and indifference to traditional values are completely different from their parents. They are more keen on rock music, pop art and hippie culture. During this period, commercial illustration has also been influenced by various popular cultures, forming a distinct style trend. At that time, many unconventional and distinctive things were quickly imitated, forming new consumption patterns, forms and fashions. Images such as "bull's-eye" and "national flag" created by American pop artist John often appear repeatedly in different commercial illustrations and become visual symbols representing pop style. In the hippie cultural movement, Wilson's font poster works with "Art Nouveau" style are difficult to identify because of excessive font deformation. However, because it reflects the anti-culture of hippie culture, it gives people a grotesque and wild feeling in form, which meets the emotional requirements of hippie youth, so it is also regarded as a symbol with strong symbolism. It is by absorbing and using different symbols of popular culture that commercial illustration has become a means for young people to express their personal views and a powerful weapon to distinguish different ideologies. Another force of popular culture comes from Japanese cartoon illustrations, which gradually matured after the 1980s and became popular among Asian teenagers. The rise of video games, animation and toy industries driven by animation illustrations has formed a cultural trend that affects our lives.

The Art Form of Commercial Illustration

The forms of modern commercial illustrations are mainly classified through the media. Generally, it can be divided into three categories: first, print media, second, film and television media, and third, online media. Illustrations in print media are mainly divided into periodicals, newspapers, posters, product packaging and corporate image publicity materials. This kind of commercial illustration has a large circulation, wide circulation and short production cycle, which can involve all aspects of people's lives and is also the most common user. Illustrations in the form of film and television media are mainly distributed in TV and movies. The difference between them and film and television advertisements lies in the relative stability and stillness of the pictures. This form of illustration spreads quickly and contains a lot of information. As a film and television illustration, it is also a powerful media for manufacturers and enterprises to strengthen commodity promotion. Illustration in the form of network communication is a new illustration form developed with the development of computer network. Its main carrier is computer network, which is characterized by unique form, strong interaction and large spatial expression. As a new illustration form, illustration also has its limitations, that is, the audience level is uneven, but with the development of the times, this limitation will gradually disappear. Through the analysis of these three forms, we can see that commercial illustration, as a part of visual communication, must have its space, which is endowed by society, commerce and culture. From the very beginning, it is no longer a simple art form to spread specific information locally, but has developed into a visual communication element to spread information, spread influence and serve the society in time, space and audience.

The expression techniques of commercial illustrations should pay attention to the popularity and practicality of illustrations, so most commercial illustrations use expression techniques to express objective things, which are mainly divided into three forms: realism, abstraction and mixing.

Business illustration economic industry

For economic problems, we must first understand how illustration products are circulated. In fact, like any modern product, it needs to go through three steps in the process of entering the market: production-sales-consumption.

1, illustrator

As a designer in the digital age, we must master several basic drawing tools and use them skillfully, such as Photoshop, Illustrator, flash and so on. Because most illustrations are delivered in the form of electronic documents.

At the same time, the work style of illustrators is more free and diversified. Designers can choose to work in design companies, set up their own studios, or work part-time. Due to the highly developed software, hardware and communication means, more and more illustrators tend to intervene in the market in a personal way. Some star illustrators are mostly freelancers. Good reputation and excellent talents make it easier for them to get business.

In the Internet age, making a personal online portfolio website is a good way to obtain customer resources. Its advantage is that customers can see your website at any time, understand your work style and provide many potential customers for designers.

2. Distributor (sales channel)

In the traditional sales channels of art works. Art dealers have always played an important role, looking for painters' works with critical eyes and looking for buyers to profit from them.

Although illustrators have direct business contact with customers, it still takes a lot of time to find customers. Therefore, many people choose professional agencies to represent their works and contact related businesses and exhibitions. These companies actually play the role of art dealers.

3. People who consume illustrations

There will be differences between enthusiastic consumers and occasional consumers among people who consume illustrations.

Different people like the same illustration product to different degrees. For example, an old cartoon during the Cultural Revolution. Older people will show a strong love for it, while young people have no interest, mainly because young people have no relevant cultural experience in this old cartoon. This cultural experience makes people interested in the symbolic meaning of illustration works, thus producing enthusiastic consumers. Moreover, the more consumers like this kind of products, the more concerned they are, and the more relevant experience and knowledge they have accumulated. Compared with those leisure consumers, they have different views on the works.

Commercial illustration is different from general commodities, and it is a cultural industry. Its operation is different from the rules of other industries. Kevin Weiss, an American economist, put forward the vertical and horizontal differences of cultural products in Economics of Creative Industries. He pointed out that "cultural products are also different in characteristics, tone and style, which are independent of the buyer's evaluation of product quality." Economically, they have horizontal differences. When horizontally different products are sold at the same price, people's preferences are different. Creative products are usually a mixture of vertical and horizontal differences. "It is this characteristic of cultural products that constitutes its types and consumers benefit from it.

Commercial illustration design often shows the characteristics of cooperation between different cultural industries, and popular comic works are not only distributed as printed publications in large quantities. It is also likely to be adapted into cartoons, even movies and TV series. This phenomenon has evolved into a trend. Other related industries caused or spawned by illustration design can be called "added value", and the operation of added value of this cultural product should also be regarded as part of the long-term profit of illustration. In this regard, Disney's experience is worth learning. The image of Mickey Mouse has moved from comic books to the screen. And become the image representative of magazines, clothing, websites and other cultural products, and become the image representative of today's multi-billion-dollar entertainment empire. However, it is a new problem for the commercial illustration industry that how to sign a contract to accurately define illustration and its added value profit sharing in other industries.

Although some people still disdain the combination of art and commerce, it is undeniable that their combination has yielded fruitful results, and this trend is irreversible. Just like the bright and short appearance of commercial illustrations, the attitude of this era is exciting and thought-provoking.