The ability to capture your surroundings is a must when it comes to reportage illustration. As Frits Ahlefeldt says, “reportage drawing is about making illustrations live, where the action happens. It is one of the oldest and most used forms of drawn journalism.” Reportage illustrations are ways of communicating stories through catchy visuals and were initially seen on newspapers alongside articles helping the viewer understand the story with creatively interpreted drawings.

Some briefs require the artist to work on location; for example Laura Fittion’s collaboration with The Word where they were commissioned to represent the life in South Tyneside using reportage drawing which required them to create series of images based on various locations as well as illustrating different local stories after working with a range of people which was then combined with online reportage practice due to the pandemic. There’s a sense of flexibility that comes with reportage illustration; even though it is hugely known to be a form that takes place in person, most artists these days tend to combine it with remote practices which they learnt during the limitations that came during the pandemic. Other briefs are directed more towards the digital aspect; such as the work that Katie Chappell creates. Chappell mainly works on live events which are held on zoom/teams where she illustrates the conversations and/or ideas that are being shared during the meeting/event into something that visually engages the audience; she says, “helping people feel seen and heard is a really important part of live illustration — being able to capture all of that in an image”.

Sources:

Drawn Journalism by Frits Ahlefeldt. (2019). Reportage drawing. [online] Available at: https://drawnjournalism.com/reportage/

www.youtube.com. (n.d.). An interview with Laura Fitton - Reportage Artist. [online] Available at: https://youtu.be/waLY09gr8iE

Katie Chappell Illustrator. (n.d.). About Katie Chappell. [online] Available at: https://www.katiechappell.com/about-katie-chappell