Communicating a story or idea through visual storytelling without words is a central concept of illustration. Nothing exists in a vacuum, all of our experiences color and inform the work we create in front of us today and tomorrow. It’s those experiences that help create a connection between the artist and the audience. 

With my personal original illustration work, a lot of what I do is solely based on what I, as a person, like. With my pieces Liminal and Happy Halloween they’re illustrated with experimentation baked into their process. Everything there is meant to convey a vibe rather than a concrete story. It’s a visual first approach to communication, I’m using these illustrations to tell the audience about me and these original characters I’ve made are reflections of my own self.

Usually these drawings don’t end up getting much attention due to the nature of their existence. They are primarily personal so unless your experience as a person is relatable- you probably won’t be reaching a massive audience off of original work alone. Unless you’re eloquent enough with your abilities, but that takes years to cultivate that skill. Personal work turning into their own universes takes time and sometimes the artist doesn’t want to reveal all their cards in case for the future.

Fan art however, is a whole separate ball park as opposed to original work. To create a successful illustration in the digital age one has to catch the audience’s attention, to be able to tell the viewer the general idea to then help them get sucked into the details. Fan art relies on the crutch of “the story is already made by someone else”  its up to fan artists to evoke a specific feeling that bounces off that exist media’s story

In my fan art of Heartbreaker Reaper, pinks mainly comprise the illustration as this is a valentines piece, so lovely! Reaper is lounging on a little sofa, making eye contact with the viewer (you!). His character is grumpy so he has a little scowl going on, suggesting some sort of emo boy angst. With this drawing I wanted to convey the fact that… he’s hot! Sometimes with communication in art form it doesn’t have to be this convoluted poem about how everything has meaning and everything is intentional. Messages can sometimes be direct and straightforward leading them to become more effective when creating for in the digital age.

In illustration as a gift, one must be able to convey their feelings to the recipient- like a lovely victorian maiden constructing a bouquet to tell her secret lover all the places she longs for their touch. Art for an audience of one must be personal and must require care and thoughtfulness. 

With Aleksander Cottontail, I read the bio and looked at the existing work as a baseline. Like fan art of major IPs, most of the work is already done for you. This time, it’s about making a connection between you and the recipient and what your intentions are for them. It can either be something more fun like with Aleksander Cottontail or more sentimental like with Small things.

As cliche as it sounds, a picture truly is worth a thousand words. Working as an illustrator or in any art field means being able to communicate through visuals alone and it’s a skill that proves to be necessary in the active part of creation at every turn.