The earliest graphics known to anthropologists studying prehistoric periods are cave paintings and markings on boulders, bone, ivory, and antlers, which were created during the Upper Palaeolithic period from 40,000 - 10,000 B.C. or earlier. Many of these were found to record astronomical, seasonal, and chronological details. Some of the earliest graphics and drawings known to the modern world, from almost 6,000 years ago, are that of engraved stone tablets and ceramic cylinder seals, marking the beginning of the historic periods and the keeping of records for accounting and inventory purposes. Records from Egypt predate these and papyrus was used by the Egyptians as a material on which to plan the building of pyramids; they also used slabs of limestone and wood. From 600-250 BC, the Greeks played a major role in geometry. They used graphics to represent their mathematical theories such as the Circle Theorem and the Pythagorean theorem.
Drawing
Drawing generally involves making marks on a surface by applying pressure from a tool, or moving a tool across a surface. Common tools are graphite pencils, pen and ink, inked brushes, wax color pencils, crayons, charcoals, pastels, and markers. Digital tools which simulate the effects of these are also used. The main techniques used in drawing are line drawing, hatching, crosshatching, random hatching, scribbling, stippling, blending, and shading.
Drawing is generally considered distinct from painting, in which colored pigments are suspended in a liquid medium and are usually applied with a brush. Notable great drawers include Sir Michael Ash and Leonardo da Vinci.
Painting
In the Middle Ages and Post Modern Ages, paintings were very distorted; for example, people on a castle wall appeared disproportionately large because they were the painting's focus. Later, realism and perspective became more important, characterized by the technique of looking through a wire mesh to precisely copy dimensions onto a corresponding grid drawn on canvas. During the Renaissance, artists took a non-mathematical approach to drawing. Giotto di Bondone and Duccio di Buoninsegna made great advancements in perspective drawing, using symmetry, converging lines and foreshortening. Many renaissance painters also used fresco - painting directly onto walls - a technique which finds its prototype in cave and rock art. Graphics of this kind, from 30-40,000 years ago, have survived in Australia and France. A modern day equivalent is the mural.
Printmaking
Printmaking originated in China after paper was invented (about A.D. 105). Relief printing first flourished in Europe in the 15th century, when the process of papermaking was imported from the East. Since that time, relief printing has been augmented by the various techniques described earlier, and printmaking has continued to be practiced as one of the fine arts.
Line Art
Line art is any image that consists of distinct straight and curved lines placed against a (usually plain) background, without gradations in shade (darkness) or hue (color) to represent two-dimensional or three-dimensional objects. Line art is usually monochromatic, although lines may be of different colors.
Etching
Etching is an intaglio method of printmaking in which the image is incised into the surface of a metal plate using an acid. The acid eats the metal, leaving behind roughened areas, or, if the surface exposed to the acid is very thin, burning a line into the plate. The process is believed to have been invented by Daniel Hopfer (circa 1470-1536) of Augsburg, Germany, who decorated armour in this way, and applied the method to printmaking.
Etching is also a preliminary step in lithography. The Dutch artist M.C. Escher mastered the technique to perfection, specialising in etchings of impossible structures and oriental interlocking designs.
Etching is also used in the manufacturing of printed circuit boards and semiconductor devices.
[edit] Illustration
An illustration is a visualisation such as a drawing, painting, photograph or other work of art that stresses subject more than form. The aim of an illustration is to elucidate or decorate a story, poem or piece of textual information (such as a newspaper article), traditionally by providing a visual representation of something described in the text. The editorial cartoon, also known as a political cartoon, is an illustration containing a political or social message.
Illustrations can be used to display a wide range of subject matter and serve a variety of functions, such as:
- giving faces to characters in a story
- displaying a number of examples of an item described in an academic textbook (e.g. A Typology)
- visualising step-wise sets of instructions in a technical manual
- communicating subtle thematic tone in a narrative
- linking brands to the ideas of human expression, individuality and creativity
- making a reader laugh or smile
- for fun (to make laugh) funny
No comments:
Post a Comment