The development of digital forms of illustration and their impact on print publishing from 1990 to the present, with particular reference to children's books (2 Volumes)

During the last quarter of the twentieth century, electronic and computer technology advanced at a staggering pace. The field of print publishing has been transformed by digital technology, and all illustrations are now digitised for printing purposes. This presents a challenge to illustrators: what combination of traditional skills and digital techniques can be used to best develop an individual style or should an illustration be wholly created on a computer? This research aims to explore the impact of digital technology on illustration, especially with reference to children's books and their publishing practice since 1990. In order to fulfil the aims, the study was in two parts: an examination of the attitudes and experiences of practitioners using digital technology; and an evaluation of the visual appearance of digital forms of illustration. The research was conducted with a semi-structured interview approach, focusing mainly on illustrators and experts in the field of children's books from both the United Kingdom and Taiwan. Analysis of data from the interviews highlighted the emergence of many significant issues namely, the experiences of digital usage in children's book publishing, the working processes which have been commonly used in producing digital illustration, the rationale for adopting digital means, the visual appearance of digital illustration and its distinctive features from traditional illustration. To distinguish between traditional and digital illustration, the research refers to traditional illustration as a process that does not include any form of digital technology. On the other hand, digital illustration refers to the creation of illustrations that includes digital means within its working processes, which could include either using digital methods entirely or an integration of traditional and digital methods. In this research, the working processes for digital illustration do not necessarily omit the use of traditional methods. The contribution of the research is to offer insights into the concepts and thinking behind digital forms used so far in children's book illustration. Taking examples from both countries, the thesis provides a broad understanding of digital influences on children's book publishing in both Taiwan and the United Kingdom. In addition, many students are now being taught how to employ hand drawing and digital technology as part of the drawing process; thus the study serves to provide a platform for considering how the computer can be integrated into an artist's drawing process