Reportage Illustration ─ Visual Journalism

The power of reportage drawing is in the immediacy of the images that are created and the feeling of the illustrator's presence on location. Comparable in some ways to photojournalism, reportage illustrators are acting as visual journalists, proactively creating narrative work about issues and subjects, translating what they witness into handmade imagery. There is evidence that illustrations connect to people in powerful ways whether they are drawings created while embedded with troops in Afghanistan, documenting during a courtroom trial or recreating the energy of the crowd at a rock concert. This area of applied illustration also provides career opportunities for students and takes them out of the classroom and into different environments and situations. With practical information about tools, techniques and coping in various situations as well as inspirational interviews and advice from reportage artists working in the field, this book will fill a gap in this growing market.

Gary Embury is a senior lecturer at the University of the West of England, Bristol and an illustrator with over 20 years of experience. Clients include The Guardian, The Daily Telegraph, Radio Times, Aardman Animations, BBC, BritishTelecom, Barclays Bank, The Economist, New Scientist, The Sunday Times Review, Sunday Times Magazine, Microsoft, Penguin Books, Macmillan, and many other advertising, editorial and publishing clients. Awarded Gold, in Images 30, The Best of British Contemporary Illustration 2006 and took part in a discussion on Radio 4's Front Row program hosted by Kirsty Lang on the future of illustration in the digital age. He is the editor of which showcases and initiates projects in the area of drawn reportage.

Mario Minichiello is a Professor at the School of Design Communication and IT at Newcastle University, Australia. He is also Head of the Hunter Centre for Creative Industries and Technology as well as the author of The Art of Conflict, which contains his reportage drawings during his assignment in the Afghanistan war.
Over the past fifteen years, alongside his academic career, he has worked as an Illustrator, primarily in the field of national and international broadcast and broadsheet media. His reportage illustration work for BBC Newsnight formed part of their BAFTA Award for news and current affairs. Among the events he covered during the late 1980's included the Birmingham Six hearing, Beirut hostage releases and Spy Catcher trials. His work has also appeared in The Guardian and Financial Times