Graphics as a form of art originated in the days of cave art, although the word itself has Greek roots and means "I write," "draw." Nowadays, it is an independent and multifaceted view, having its own genres and canons.
Types of Graphic Art
According to their purpose, graphic works are divided into the following types:
- Easel graphics. As a form of art, it is close to painting, as it conveys the artist’s vision and emotional world. Moreover, the master achieves this not due to the variety of the palette of paints and various techniques for applying them to the canvas, but with the help of lines, strokes, spots and paper tones.
- Applied graphics as a form of fine art. Examples of it surround us everywhere; it has a specific purpose. For example, illustration of books helps the reader more easily perceive its contents, posters and posters carry knowledge or advertising information. This also includes labels for goods, the design of envelopes, stamps, caricatures, and many others.
Any kinds of fine art (graphics, pictures are no exception) begin with a sketch of the drawing. All artists use it as the first step before writing the main canvas. It is in it that the projection of the position of the object of painting in space is created, which is then transferred to the canvas.
Graphic drawing
Graphics as a form of fine art, types of graphics of any direction begin with a drawing, like canvases in painting. For a graphic drawing, paper is used, most often white, although options are possible.
Its main distinguishing feature is the contrast of two or more colors - black, white, gray. Other types of contrasts are possible, but even if the master uses a black pencil on white paper, the shades of the strokes are rich in variety from soft black to deep black.
Black-and-white hues with the addition of one contrasting color are emotionally strong . This is eye-catching, and the focus of the viewer's eye is focused on a bright spot. Such graphics as a kind of fine art (the photo shows this very clearly) becomes an associative work when a bright accent evokes personal memories in the viewer.
Graphic Design Tools
The simplest and most affordable means are graphite pencils and a regular ballpoint pen. Masters also like to use mascara, charcoal, pastel, watercolor and sanguine.
Lead pencil is the most popular tool. This is a wooden or metal case in which either a grayish-black graphite rod is inserted, or a color one in which dyes are added.
Pastel pencils do not have a body, but their colors can be mixed to get new shades.
Mascara has a rich black color, easily lays on paper, and is used for calligraphy, drawing and drawing. You can apply it with a pen or brush. To get different shades of black, mascara is diluted with water.
Graphics as a form of art did not pass by such an instrument as coal. Charcoal for drawing was used as early as antiquity, and in the 19th century, charcoal was created from compressed coal powder and adhesive materials.
Modern graphic masters also use felt-tip pens with a different core thickness.
Printed graphics
This category of fine art includes:
- Woodcut is a woodcut with which the image is printed using the paint applied to it. It was born in China in the 6th century AD, appeared in the East in the 9th, and in Europe - in the 15th century.
- Engraving on metal, for which plates made of brass, copper or lead were used, was divided into in-depth, embossed and incisive. Depending on the method, the drawing was applied to the metal, covered with paint and then transferred to paper.
- Linocut appeared in the 20th century along with materials such as linoleum, plexiglass and plastic. It differs in simplicity and speed of creating art templates. This technique is characterized by pronounced black and white contrasts and any size. Many eminent masters worked in this kind of graphics. For example, Picasso, Matisse, Ivan Pavlov.
This is not all types used in printing.
Book graphics
This type of fine art includes the following:
- Book thumbnail. An ancient way to formalize manuscripts, which was used in ancient Egypt. In the Middle Ages, the main theme of the miniature was religious motifs, and only from the 15th century secular subjects began to appear. The main materials used by the master miniatures are gouache and watercolor.
- Cover design is a transfer of the emotional message of the book, its main theme. Here, the font and the size of the letters and the figure corresponding to its name should be harmonious. The cover presents to the reader not only the author of the work, his work, but also the publishing house and the designer himself.
- Illustrations are used as an addition to the book, helping to create visual pictures for the reader for a more accurate perception of the text. This graphic, as a form of art, originated in the time of printing, when manual miniatures were replaced by engravings. A person encounters illustrations in early childhood, when he still does not know how to read, but learns fairy tales and their characters through pictures.
Book graphics as a form of fine art in a preschool educational institution are known through illustrated books that carry information in pictures for the youngest children, and through text with explanatory images for older children.
Poster as an art form.
Another representative of graphic painting is a poster. Its main function is to transmit information using a short phrase with an image enhancing it. By scope of application, posters are:
- Political, the purpose of which is a call to action. The theme of political agitation is diverse - from protection (peace, animals, democracy, ecology) to exposure.
- Social posters urge a person to change something or join those who do it.
- Advertising poster graphics carries information about the product, events and their participants. As an example, these are film and theater posters, advertising stands. Their main task is to attract the interest of the viewer and the desire to acquire what they inform about. They are distinguished by bright colors and sonorous slogans that are easy to remember.
- Training posters carry educational information that should help reinforce student knowledge. This category also includes pictures with safety rules, the prevention and treatment of diseases, and many other types of warnings.
A poster is one of the most common types of graphics.
Applied graphics
Another type of graphic art is the design of labels, envelopes, stamps and covers for videos and music discs.
- Label is a type of industrial graphics, the main purpose of which is to give the maximum amount of product information with a minimum image size. When creating a label, color gamut is taken into account, which should cause the viewer sympathy and trust in the product.
- Disc covers carry the maximum information about a movie or music group, passing it through a drawing.
- The graphic design of stamps and envelopes has a long history. The stories for them most often become events taking place in different countries, the world around and big holidays. Stamps can be issued as single copies, or in whole series, united by a single theme.
Mark is perhaps the most common type of graphic art that has become a collectible.
Modern graphics
With the advent of computer technology, a new type of graphic art began to develop - computer graphics. It is used to create and correct graphic images on a computer. Along with its emergence, new professions appeared, for example, a designer on computer graphics.