Illustration, which is closer to the visual communication language, attracts great interest due to its use in a wide range of areas and offering career opportunities. Experts state that digital illustrations are frequently encountered in the rapidly rising world of NFT in recent times, and that collections created from digital characters, in particular, can be both followed by large audiences and imitated with their different variations. Assist. Prof. Dr. Ezgi Şen points out that thanks to NFT, it has become much easier to meet with collectors to whom it was previously impossible to deliver the artwork.
Thanks to NFT, collectors can easily come together
Assist. Prof. Dr. Ezgi Şen from Üsküdar University Faculty of Communication, Department of Cartoon and Animation, made evaluations regarding illustration and NFT technology, whose use has become widespread in recent years.
NFT is on the rise
Assist. Prof. Dr. Ezgi Şen stated that NFT, or Non-Fungible Token (a valuable asset whose exchange is not possible), has recently seen a rapid rise and begun to be on many people's agenda, saying, “This system can basically be defined as digital collecting in the digital world. Works described as NFTs can be anything. An illustration, a video, or a tweet. In the NFT operating system, artworks are purchased with a digital wallet and the cryptocurrency Ether, and are encrypted using blockchain technology, which is the foundation of cryptocurrencies, to belong only to their owner. This way, the ownership of the original artwork is registered.”
Collections can be imitated
Assist. Prof. Dr. Ezgi Şen, stating that the word 'illustration' is derived from the Latin word 'lustrare', said, “Illustration means to illuminate and to make understandable. In other words, it helps to describe and make a text, a situation, or a concept understandable. Therefore, it is closer to a visual communication language, distinguishing itself from art. Illustrations can be presented in different techniques and forms. It is possible to frequently encounter digital illustrations in the NFT world. Especially collections created from digital characters can be both followed by large audiences and imitated with their different variations.”
Can be used in very wide areas
Assist. Prof. Dr. Ezgi Şen said, ‘One of the reasons why illustration attracts so much interest is its usability in a very wide range of fields,’ and added, “Illustration is a powerful form of visual communication that helps us visualize many abstract or concrete subjects and situations. It also has a wide career field. For this reason, it maintains its popularity by being frequently used. Therefore, at Üsküdar University Faculty of Communication, we provide illustration education starting from the 2nd year under the Visual Communication Design department.”
Facilitates meeting with collectors
Assist. Prof. Dr. Ezgi Şen stated that NFT is a large digital marketplace that gives individuals the opportunity to follow new techniques and formations, adding, “It is quite interesting in terms of creating a digital marketplace for art and design products. This formation allows reaching larger audiences by offering the opportunity to share collections or artworks with people from different cultures. For example, it has now become much easier to meet with a collector to whom it was previously impossible to deliver the artwork.”
Artificial intelligence is developing in the field of illustration
Assist. Prof. Dr. Ezgi Şen said that while discussing the relationship between NFT and illustration, there is actually a bigger picture that should not be missed, and continued her words as follows:
“Artificial intelligence, one of the powerful symbols of technology, is developing further every day in the field of illustration. In January 2021, the OpenAI company announced GPT-3 DALL-E, which can be described as text-based data visualization. The illustrations created by DALL-E are important as a concrete output of how much artificial intelligence is beginning to approach human limits. GPT-3 DALL-E 2, announced in 2022, appears much more advanced than the model announced in 2021. The realistic visuals, compositions, and resolution quality of the works are much better compared to the previous year. In the future, the future of art and design products will be shaped through artificial intelligence.”