Whitnie
Barnes
18 October 2016
Art 3460: Illustration
Art 3460: Illustration
The Mechanics of
Communication
Humans use communication
in many forms from aural to drawing. There are two major subgroups of
communication: Process School and Semiotic School. The Process School focuses
on the who, what, why, how and effect of the communications elements: the
sender, the message, and the audience. On the other hand, the Semiotic School
studies more of the “text” or the physical outcomes or products of communication.
The Communication Process:
- You: the originator of the message, the communicator.
- Message: the “thought” to be encoded by you and the code used to encapsulate that thought.
- Channel/medium: the physical means and media type by which your code is carried.
- Destination: the decoding of your message and the intended destination of that message.
Many different factors
contribute to the identity of the illustrator including: place, time, habitat,
social context, interests, age, personality, education, family group, dominant
culture, etc. Visual communication or communication in general consists of code
that is made up of signs (signifiers and the signified). The signifier is the
drawing, etc. and the signified is the meaning. Even though two images may have
the same elements, if they are arranged differently they can have a whole other
meaning. The main difference between an icon and a symbol is that a symbol is
something you have to be taught and an icon is something you can recognize from
real life. An index sign is a sign that occurs naturally.
Icon: a sign that resembles the object it
is signifying.
Symbol: a sign that is culturally agreed
upon but has no visible connection with what it signifies.
Index: a natural sign, which has a
physical connection between the sign and what it signifies.
Images that are combined
into a visual story are called sequential narratives and the associations of
elements in these narratives led to Structuralism. Also, sequential narratives
are influenced by story structure and visual rules. Codes consist of
description, narrative, metaphor, allegory, and humor. Illustrators can portray
a complex situation simply and directly by using a metaphor. They may also
employ allegory to their work which makes it more understandable and
“palatable/accessible” to its viewers. Humor in illustrations/images are based
around situation and wit is based on the accuracy with which illustrators
describe things whether it be physical or a phenomenon. Those who try to
reinvent existing codes react to these main components: political-led change,
economic-led change, social-led change, technological-led change, legal-led
change, and environmental-led change.
Three channels or mediums that encode the
message fall into these three groups:
- Presentational (voice, face, or body)
- Representational (writing, drawing, painting)
- Mechanical (press, radio, television)