ILLUSTRATOR IN FILM AND TV… (In the Entertainment industry. What does an Illustrator in film and TV do?)

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ILLUSTRATOR IN FILM AND TV… (In the Entertainment industry. What does an Illustrator in film and TV do?)

Bruce Bisbey…please follow me at: https://dumbdogproductionsllc.blogspot.com or https://www.facebook.com/DumbDogProductionsLLC/ thank you.

What does an Illustrator in film and TV do?

Being a film and TV illustrator is a career in itself and has many levels of opportunity and duties. Story boarding, concept and development artwork, location and set design. Working with the production designer, art directors, set decorators, construction and scenic departments. Bringing to life interior and exterior sets, greens, location, wardrobe and numerous other departments. It is and can be a great stepping stone to becoming a set designer, art director and production designer.

An illustrator is an artist who creates two-dimensional images for various companies and industries, such as film, TV, commercials’, documentaries, development, pre-production, technical designs, pre-sales and advertising. The illustrator will use various techniques to create effects, like the simplicity of black and white, the richness of color, or the use of light and shadows.

An illustrator will usually begin by sketching out a draft of the images they want to make. Once they have an idea of the quantity and the general outline of the whole project, they begin working on drawing each illustration. Illustrators can work from pencil and paper or digitally on the computer. They can choose the medium that works best for their style and their client’s needs. Every illustrator has excellent drawing skills so that they can produce all kinds of images and designs.

It is important for the illustrator to listen and understand the director and production designer’s needs, and be able to exchange ideas and rework multiple concepts until both parties come to a final interpretation and illustration. Natural talent, education and continuous practice is necessary in order to become successful as an illustrator.

The position of “Illustrator” is an evolving one which didn’t exist as such just a few years ago. In the past, a designer could communicate with a director, producer, or studio personnel via plans and a white model. A set designer or production designer might do a set sketch as well. But films have changed dramatically in recent years as budgets and concepts have grown. For big action and fantasy films, locations and stage sets need to be extended or altered digitally in post-production. And of course some sets are entirely digital.

The illustrator has become a key member of the production team. Often we are asked to illustrate built sets simply to give the director and studio a cool, dramatic snapshot of the finished product. Often we are asked to illustrate set extensions, additions or other changes planned for locations and/or stage sets. And of course the illustrator creates sketches and renderings for digital sets which are added to green-screen shots in post-production. Another factor which has nothing to do with filmmaking is that all high-concept films end up sparking video games, board games, and books. If you look at any “The Making of...” books they are packed with production art and illustrations. Video game companies use production art in creating their products because they’re working independently of but at the same time as the production crew, so cannot benefit from set photos, etc. There is one more important facet of the illustrator’s job. He or she may be the person on a job longer than anyone else in the art department, including the production designer. The big change is the illustrator’s involvement with a film during the period generally called “postproduction.”

Typically, there has been a clear separation between production and post... the only people spanning both periods being the director, producers, and VFX people. As more and more of a film is created after camera wrap, the designer attempts to inform the creation of visuals in post as thoroughly as possible. It’s the illustrator who will be asked to create renderings of sets that no carpenter will build and no painter will paint. And whenever possible the illustrator will be given frames from scenes which have been shot, to lay in set extensions and/or eliminate objects which don’t belong. All of this goes directly to the VFX vendors to be used as guides for their work. And a film can change as editors begin to assemble footage and assess the work. When those changes involve scenic elements and other visual work, the illustrator is the one who might be kept on board to create artwork that is of a piece with the intentions of the designer.

The illustrators’ tools

Aside from the obvious need to be able to visualize sets or scenes based on reference materials and/or rough plans... an illustrator can work effectively even if he or she can’t do beautiful hand drawings or sketches. With hand sketches and a great deal to do with Photoshop and/or 3D modeling. Hand sketches are often used simply as a conversational tool between the illustrator and production designer. 

Adobe illustrator & cad tools

Adobe Illustrator is a great tool for the film illustrator, particularly if you’re involved early enough in the design process that you are working out rough plans and elevations along with the sketches. With a really useful plug-in called CAD tools, Illustrator becomes a great CAD drawing and drafting tool.

CAD tools (www.hotdoor.com) is a whole CAD drafting package that allows you to do just about any kind of drawing... plans, elevations, or isometrics in scale. You have all the advantages of working in Illustrator, with CAD capabilities to boot. And there are add-on libraries of standard textures and symbols.

ADOBE PHOTOSHOP (ADOBE CS5)

Photoshop is the powerhouse of illustration. I use it at just about every stage of illustration no matter which direction I go... hand drawing, digital sketch or 3D rendering. I like doing traditional hand illustration whenever the job calls for it. I’ve developed a general method for turning hand illustration into a color rendering by doing a very finished pencil rendering, which I then scan into Photoshop. Sometimes I’ll draw an empty set in one sketch, and do the furniture and dressing in a second overlay sketch. Either way, I then paint the sketch in Photoshop. The advantages are many. If revisions are needed you don’t have to redraw the whole sketch... just redraw the revised areas, scan and add them to the Photoshop document, and paint them in to match the existing.

Fully digital sketches are renderings which are created totally on the computer, usually in Photoshop, and which rely on a combination of placed and painted images. There are advantages to this method of creating illustrations. For instance location photos can be used as a base for added imagery, lighting and texture to approximate the final scene. There are internet sources for a lot of imagery that can be used in digital illustration.

And finally even if you used 3D modeling to create set illustrations, those model renders are generally not “finished”. They often benefit from Photoshop overpainting, and added imagery to bring them to life.

Sources, References & Credits: Google, Wikipedia, Wikihow, Pinterest, IMDB, Linked In, Indie Wire, Film Making Stuff, Hiive, Film Daily, New York Film Academy, The Balance, The Numbers, Film Maker, TV Guide Magazine, Media Match, Quora, Creative Skill Set, Investopedia, Variety, No Film School, Daily Variety, The Film Agency, Best Sample Resume, How Stuff Works, Camerapedia, Career Trend, Producer's Code of Credits, Producers Guild of America, Film Connection, Entertainment Careers, Adhere Creative, In Deed, Glass Door, Pay Scale, Merriam-Webster, Job Monkey, Studio Binder, The Collective, Production Hub, The Producer's Business Handbook by John J. Lee Jr., Target Job, Greg Hill,

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