With my Drawing Class over, Illustration Workshop complete, and my Creativity Workshop on the horizon, part of me is in teacher mode, so I thought it a good time to answer a pressing question some of you have asked! … which is:

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What’s the difference between drawing and illustration?

Aren’t they the same thing? … Well, yes and no.

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DRAWING is pretty much as straight forward as it sounds. A subject is chosen, let’s say a bowl of fruit, which is then recreated using pencils, ink or charcoal. Styles and techniques vary, and the subject may be interpreted realistically, simplistically, or as an unrefined sketch – but the subject is still being represented as a bowl of fruit.

ILLUSTRATIONS can be representational (think botanical, anatomical, medical, architectural) – however, they become more than a drawing, and often a different animal entirely, when pencils meet ideas.

An illustration visually interprets an idea. It problem-solves how best to depict a narrative, a feeling, thought or emotion, often relying heavily on imagination. And while an illustration might be executed in the form of a drawing, the stylistic range is much broader  – it could be painted, collaged with paper or made with a mixture of mediums, all of which open whole new doors to creative expression.

For example, instead of a simply drawing of a bowl of fruit, the fruit might be rendered to look like it’s made of flower petals. An illustration can also be a brilliant New Yorker magazine cartoon. Or a business promotion. Or maybe the adventures of a cat, a fiddle, a dish and a spoon. Or the life of a beagle who imagines himself a pilot. Or, of course, a book-reading dragon. The possibilities are endless!

So.

Drawing tells us about a thing.

Illustration tells us a story.

And there you have it.

Next up, a 3-day workshop on November 5-7 called Unleashing Your Creativity. On Fridays in January I’ll teach a Writing & Illustration a Children’s Book class, then a class version of Unleashing Your Creativity on Fridays in February. All are held at the Sedona Arts Center. Join me if you can!