Digital Forms

Since the 1990s, digital technologies have developed rapidly, placing the computer in all its forms at the center of daily communication. These continuously developing technologies affect the appearance and reproduction of illustration to a great extent. Not only do they make distribution of images possible on a large scale and give individual illustrators direct access to global audiences, but the aesthetics and technical structures of new media also have given rise to radically new forms of digitally based illustration. Not only are these moving, interactive, and programmed images (experienced on the web, in apps, and in game environments) shaped and influenced by the abilities of the computer, but they also shape and influence how we understand technology in return. This chapter investigates what is new in new media illustration through examples that document a wide range of creative expression and digital resources. It also explores how digital technologies have stimulated new commercial relationships that have revitalized artisanship and thus shaped current illustration practices.