Openings in commercial field for first-class artists. The essence of commercial art, whether it takes the form of an illustration to a book, an advertisement in a magazine, or the drawing of a machine in a catalogue, is utility. In this respect it differs vastly from ordinary pictorial drawing, which is almost exclusively ornamental. Artists, nowadays, will usually practice either form, if commissions are large enough and the price paid is sufficiently high. A president of the English Royal Academy drew for a soap firm and other Academy members design advertisements. The same thing is true of painters in France, and in this country many of the leading artists derive the major part of their incomes from commercial art. One reason for this is that the chance of not selling for a fair figure is eliminated, for such work is in steady demand and is usually done upon direct orders, the full price contracted for being paid upon completion; while picture painting is largely done with the hope that someone may some day take a fancy to the picture, and pay the artist a fair price for it. Out of this price, furthermore, usually comes a commission to the dealer who exhibits the artist's work in his gallery.
A glance at the advertising pages of any magazine will show the high character of modern commercial art, for these pages are mostly as well, and, in many cases, better illustrated than the body of the periodical. The best that can be obtained is not considered too good, and the finest grades of work, by the best artists at the highest prices, are continually being used.
Many artists, as did Gustave Dore or Mucha, may find, when their studies with the master are finished, that they have not the final something that will make them great picture painters, yet they may have talent of great practical value. And possessing this other resource they may become great black-and-white illustrators, first-class poster artists, good designers, photo retouchers, or proficient in some one of the many things artistic for which the world is continually calling—and paying.
Strange as the statement may seem to the beginner, such work rests largely on a base of ideal drawing. The lettering must be perfect and the balance and composition excellent; figures, where used, are generally decorative and must show ideal proportion; and masses must be properly placed, colors correctly harmonized and contrasted. Even in the drawing of machinery, the lights must be carefully thought out, the tones perfected, and the detail drawn in perfect harmony with other parts of the machine. In designing borders, for instance, the modern commercial artist is the equal, and oftentimes the superior, of that of earlier times. Frontispieces by Giulio Romano and other renaissance artists, or those of the rococco or later periods, do not excel the best modern commercial work.
Necessity of knowing the technical requirements for reproduction. Most artists work for the graphic arts, either as illustrators, designers, or retouchers; they draw for magazines, books, catalogues, advertisements, and posters. Their work is done in color, monochrome, brush, pen and ink, and other mediums, but always to be reproduced on zinc, copper, stone, or otherwise, and finally to be printed by letterpress, lithography, or some other process. In this way the artist's drawing becomes part of a book, for example, and must conform to the rules that govern the printing of books. If it does not so conform it is useless for the purpose for which it is intended.
If, for example, a zinc etching is desired and a pen drawing is called for, though the artist makes a pen drawing that is very good as a drawing, one that is exquisite in the treatment of light and shade, one in which the figures may be gems, and the composition perfect, it will nevertheless, be useless for the desired purpose if it is drawn in such a manner that a zinc etching cannot be made from it.
Practically anything that can be drawn can, in turn, be reproduced for printing, so as to secure a facsimile of the artist's work, if it is not specified to be printed in any particular manner or place, and if expense is no consideration. But special types of engravings are costly things to buy, and usually require special care' in the printing, together with high-grade ink and paper, all of which makes them valueless for general commercial use. The pen drawing referred to in the previous paragraph, for instance, was perhaps intended for use as a zinc etching to be printed in a magazine or newspaper on poor stock. If, therefore, a drawing is made that cannot be reproduced as a zinc etching, but can be made into a high-light half tone, this latter would, nevertheless, be of no use, because it could not be printed on the regular paper or with the ink that was specified. For this reason it is necessary to make all drawings to fit the purpose for which they are to be used. An engraving that will print splendidly on colored cover stock will probably look bad on coated white stock, while a fine half tone that looks fine on the latter would not print at all on the former.
It is impossible to impress this fact too strongly upon beginners, that drawings for practical work must be drawn to fit some special purpose. This, however, does not mean at all that each drawing must be made on different artistic principles, but merely that each drawing must conform to some type of technique that will fit it for the place in which it is to be used. One does not make an engraving suited only for a high-grade catalogue and try to print it in a newspaper. By certain devices and manipulations, such as changing the fineness of half-tone screens, the engraver may make a new plate of the same subject that will print in a newspaper. An engraver may, perhaps, refit a partly unsuitable drawing to its final use, but the first move should be made by the artist in the technique that is used in his drawing. Certain things are impossible to reproduce at all or without great expense, and even if reproduced, they would be useless for ordinary work. The greatest artists whose name and fame may be worth more than the extra cost of reproduction may sometimes outrage technical necessities. But the ordinary run of drawings (upon which thousands of artists are continually employed) must be made so they can be readily reproduced, at a minimum cost, and easily printed. The artist must know and conform to these facts.
It makes absolutely no difference what one may have been taught in an art school. That other way, if not in conformity with practical requirements, must be discarded out of hand if one is going to make good in the ranks of the artists who draw for reproduction. This is not a case for argument or theorizing, but a mere matter of confronting a fact that is unchangeable and to which one must adapt himself in order to hold down a job. Practical techniques must be used or the drawing is of no value. Any teaching that conflicts with this statement must be put away and discarded. If the artist does not know any. practical technique, he must learn one. It is for the purpose of making these techniques plain that this book is written.
High artistic standards in commercial art. One point that needs emphasis, because so many have a wrong conception of it, is that this presupposes no lowering in the ideals of art, no depreciation in the quality of the work. There is just as high an artistic demand in the commercial field as in any other. It is simply a change in the character of drawing and in its field of application. The basic requirements are always the same, and unalterable; viz., good drawing, correct composition, properly adjusted light and shade, etc., and these do not vary in the least under any change of technique or use to which the drawing is put. The artist who slights these basic requirements whether in reproductive or pictorial work, will never stand high in his profession.
The three mediums. Speaking generally, the body of this book is devoted to three mediums, which may be classed as pencil, pen and ink, and brush. Few artists work successfully in all three; they specialize, becoming expert, some in crayon, some in pen and ink, and some in brushwork. Even these techniques are of ten further subdivided, and an artist may specialize not only in one kind of technique, but even in some subdivision. Thus, in the pen-and-ink field, some are stipple artists, some work in free line, some in regular line, and again some in purely mechanical line. In brushwork it is the same; some artists work in body color, some in transparent wash, some in a mixture.
Specialization. The explanation for such specialization is simple. An artist discovers that he is particularly adapted to a certain type of line, that it comes easier to him than any other, and that he can do better
work with it, in less time, which means, of course, greater profit to himself and satisfaction to his customer.
In teaching, it will be found that most students have a leaning toward and a special adaptability for some one particular technique or part of it, and consequently like it better, and take more interest in studying it, which, of course, means that they become more proficient in its use, and more expert in that particular type of drawing. It is always advisable to pay more attention to that branch in which the student is most interested, and to endeavor to make him proficient in that branch, because his progress is both faster and easier, with consequent increase of enthusiasm. Though it is not necessary, it is a very good plan for every artist to have a knowledge of all techniques, because of the broadening influence on his work, and the fact that study and work in one, even if it is not intended that professional work shall be done in it, helps the other. For example, the study of wash, particularly body color, helps the pen artist very much in seeing tonal masses, and in keeping them in mind, while transparent wash impresses upon the student the slight variations in tone and their effect as part of a finished drawing, and also calls attention to the small chiaroscuric differences, which are always difficult to obtain with pen and ink. To the wash artist, pen and ink is invaluable because of its relations to detail and sharpness, and the fact that it calls for close attention to niceties of shape and outline, thus correcting the tendency of most beginners in brushwork toward being "sloppy" and vague.
In the following pages, no special studies are given, and the objects drawn, whether landscapes, ornament, or still life, are not intended to be studied as samples of their subjects, but merely as samples of the. various techniques they are drawn in. The teapot, for example, in Fig. B (Plate 4) is not to be considered as a teapot, but as a sample of pencil or crayon drawing; the landscape, Fig. A (Plate 12), must be studied as a sample of pen-and-ink drawing, not as a landscape; and the goat's head, Fig. A (Plate 2 1) , as a wash drawing, not as an animal. It is very necessary to make this statement, because the teapot, landscape, and goat's head are simply given as samples of some form of technique, and this book is an exposition of technique only, and is so intended, not as a study in landscapes, animals, etc. The facts and principles that apply in either case must not be confused with the objects used to illustrate them. It would have been perfectly feasible to have exchanged places, put the goat where the teapot is, or vice versa, though possibly the result might not have been quite so
obvious, as a special effort has been made to fit each figure appropriately to the principle to be taught.
Difference between aesthetic and applied art. Lastly, it must not be forgotten that the purpose underlying practical, reproductive, or commercial art is altogether different from the underlying idea of the art school. It is impossible to reiterate this too strongly, for the two underlying ideas are completely antagonistic. The object of the art school is art for art's sake only; that is, the sole viewpoint from which the student is taught, and from this it naturally follows that art with a utilitarian basis is very difficult for him to conceive. That he must change his standpoint is imperative if he wishes to do practical work, and the first thing he must understand is the technique required by the latter.