Can an illustrator draw?

This view is a very bias view, to define an illustrator is complex in itself, is fine art illustration? Is a photograph an illustration? These questions always come up when we look at illustrators work.

My opinion on this subject is that they don’t necessarily have to draw, but I feel that planning for an illustration has to be done. I personally think anyone can draw, with enough time and effort. The facts are true artists study the art of drawing to represent themselves and things around them. Imperfection drawing are always beautiful drawings, Picasso didn’t draw what he saw in front of him, neither did Dali, but they had a clear idea about what they wanted the world to see through there eyes. In my opinion I think a good illustrator has to have a back catalogue of well drawn pictures. They don’t necessarily have to be good, but it depends what you define as a good drawing.

Myself I think that computerised images are quiet tacky, you haven’t put enough thought into what the page needs to look like a lot people go on Photoshop and create a beautiful picture but it has completely no meaning in it what so ever, yet a collage such as Jamie Reid’s work has genius. It’s about how you present yourself in your work. Digital art to me looks tacky because I don’t feel it, I think a digital photograph looks beautiful, but for art, a computer shouldn’t come into use a lot of the time, maybe to finalise an image, this is acceptable.

Again its not about the drawing, its about the thought process put into an image. Then it’s a piece of work.