What is decorative illustration? Think music. Music uses repetition. There are patterns in songs. Every song has an intro... then think verse, chorus...verse...chorus...bridge...chorus. Some songs are slow and other songs are fast and energetic...this dictated by the rhythm and voice.
Decorative illustration has patterns, repetition, and rhythm. Remember line is voice, and shapes are sounds. Find a theme to inspire you, and create visual music to it.
Nature has patterns that develop in it. Think of the veins of a leaf, or a snowflake. Nature is considered organic. Geometric Shapes are shapes not usually found in nature. They are inorganic shapes or consider mechanical because they are constructed by humans. Pyramids are not created naturally. Humans build them. The combination created above shows an interesting visual contrast.
Si Scott is a decorative illustrator and designer who takes the concept of line is voice to an amazing level. Scott's lines transform into elegant flourishes that swoosh and swirl in a ballet of ink and gesture.
In complete contrast to Si Scott the images above use more primitive lines. This means they are bold gestural strokes that louder and more uneven. However, these are still decorative images because of the patterns and repetition of shapes.
This brilliant decorative illustration uses contrast to bring attention to the face with using the black larger mirror to draw attention to the face. Then the hair is where the patterns begin, and the bees reinforce the hair pattern by their own contrasting yellow and black patterns. The focus of this piece is to be aesthetically pleasing. Notice this work of art is also still using the rule of thirds.
The perfect ending of a song brings us full circle to reminding us of the sounds that keep us listening in the first place. So we finish with decorative musical illustrations by looking at gig posters.
