66 



THE IRRIGATION AGE 



vital points a great love of fiction, 

 and a thorough knowledge of draw- 

 ing in every field, still-life, figures, 

 landscape, both picturesque and 

 pastural, perspective and c o m- 

 position. Keen wit to adjust ones- 

 self to publishers' wants, and the 

 author's desires insight into the 

 methods needed for best reproduc- 

 tive. 



Or shall our embryo illustrator, 

 submerge self and engage to fur- 

 nish the papers with the "latest 

 fashions" as a bread winner, until 

 he has reached some plain in his 

 career to choose an avenue and 

 tread it to the end. 



Shall he bend his energies to the 

 field of advertizement which is 

 ever alluring, but menial, a con- 

 stant demand on time and thought 

 but the widest field yet open to the 

 illustrator. 



Or shall he be a "specialist" and 

 travel some new road, over which 

 no one has ever passed, and make 

 for himself a name as did Charles 

 Dana Gibson, famous for his 

 "American Girl," Edwin Abbey, 

 noted for his Shakespereian charac- 

 ief drawing a Pennell with his 

 -crisp bits of Europe; or a Remming- 

 ton famed f6r his strong drawing 

 of cowboys and mustangs. 



After one decides the avenue to 

 travel another tantilizing doubt 

 stops him at the beginning what 

 medium is best to use for repro- 

 duction:' Should he choose Wash 

 drawing, Dry Point or Pen and 

 Ink. It is universally acknowl- 

 edged pen and ink drawings repro- 

 duce most satisfactorily. Wash 

 drawings are best for some compo- 



sition. Dry point for others, 

 which ever field one enters make 

 one medium subserve your pur- 

 pose and pei severe in that line 

 until the best work is reproduced 

 from it. Let "the lights and shades 

 be crisp and clear, simplify the 

 method, use no extra lines. Tell 

 the story direct, so that the eye 

 can see at once what the mind 

 wishes to unfold and you are on a 

 fair way to success. 



What an open field for women. 

 One can mention on one hand 

 those famous as book illustrators, 

 As news paper designers, for 

 posters, for calendars, for book- 

 covers charactertures; there is 

 much room in the front rank. 



Who cares now in this age, 

 where the love of art is beginning 

 to be felt in every home, to read a 

 book, paper or magazine that is 

 not illustrated. As the Turk said 

 at the World's Pair, "I cannot 

 read English papers, but I can 

 read the pictures.'' It is a uni- 

 versal language. 



Illustration brings to our very 

 doors great works of art. Great 

 masterpieces are made a familiar 

 thing to the school children. 

 Their minds are enlightened and 

 kindled with a desire to see and 

 know more. 



We measure and estimate the 

 style of a book or magazine by the 

 style of its illustrations. If su- 

 perior, we enjoy and glow with 

 pleasure over a refined picture 

 cleverly reproduced. While a 

 coarse cut repulses us and we 

 refuse to buy a magazine on 

 account of its poor reproductions. 



