Editorial illustration for newspapers or magazines

Editorial illustrations are mostly used for stories and articles in magazines and newspapers. Their purpose is to add another dimension to the article. One that only text can’t achieve. You want to avoid making only a decorative superficial illustration. That just doesn't serve the medium.

What I think is important to have in an editorial illustration is at least one of these three elements:

Humor

I believe a lot of problems are solved with humor. People can relativize because of humor. It makes reality less harsh and easier to cope with.

Emotion

Most writers want their stories to be meaningful and give impact. If you want a person to understand the necessity of the story you need to evoke an emotion that suits the article. I can easily understand someone else’s perspective and lean into the emotion that is wanted for the story.

Attraction

The first thing you see when you open up a newspaper or magazine are the illustrations, so it better be intriguing enough to seduce the people to read the articles. This can be because of a color explosion, a very fine and detailed piece of art or because the illustration is slightly off, magical or pleasing to the eye. I like to work with catchy colors, fine detailed lines and some touch of magic realism.