Illustrators

Two Hundred Fifty Sixth Post: Illustrators

When I finished my Army School in graphics, I had learned a lot but unfortunately lacked the computer equipment that I had learned on. I had to rely on my Window 95 486 66Mhz to do my work with Corel Draw 4. It wasn’t so bad because there wasn’t much demand for me at the time to make graphics. At my reserve unit I found out that there was an illustrators box. This was a green box loaded with art supplies. Though the problem was my tools weren’t in the greatest condition.

But think about the box. It makes me imagine a time before computers and portable cameras back to a time where an illustrators job was to sketch the battle and log the squads activity. I pictured a young artist keeping a journal and reflecting on the impact of the war. Maybe he had been in charge of the maps. Maybe he had even been a fighter in times of need.

Back to the future, illustrations make more presentations and leaflets than journals. However, I wish there was some way of following the history of the illustrators before me. After all they helped recorded the history of previous wars. There has got to be some great stories around there lying undiscovered in some warehouse of records or in an attic with old uniforms preserved by an old Veteran’s memories.

Too make much explaining simple, sometimes you don’t have the proper tools to work with. And it is nice to now how your job was handled by others before you. That is why you learn traditional art as an illustrator. Not just because computers are available, but because it is what the whole concept of the duty is based on.

Oh, I finally did get a portable laptop graphics station. But there was still the mystery of the green box that folded into a drafting table that intrigued me. But until your green box is replaced by a laptop... May the Creative Force be with You