Anthropomorphism is a term that is widely used in illustrations and visual culture, especially within works of fiction and storytelling. We can find many of these in storybooks, children's books and in animation that communicate character representation and subverted human tropes through various depictions and artistic interpretations.
It is usually expressed that Anthropomorphism is often to take human characteristics and apply it to subjects, one of them arguably being animals, which is the most popular to be given human-like traits and persona, especially in fantasy stories and fairy tales, to make them relatable towards the audience, as well as to fit into character archetypes and stereotypes. The story book “The Wind in the Willows” whose characters and personas were inspired to reflect characteristics of the British as quoted from the article, Inside Out “(1) The lively imagination of Grahame which created a rich cast of characters and captured the essence of a quintessentially English countryside, was inspired by his home near the Thames and many hours spent holidaying at Fowey, Cornwall.”
Illustration of the character Toad Hall by E.H Shepard, 1931. The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame.
They are often used to simplify the story telling process, including drawings or concept of characters, in which it would help to them make them understandable towards children with simplified identification.
Here is my anthropomorphic personification depiction on 'Illustration'. The personification of 'illustration' is to depict that most illustrators are to have a 'keen eye' who are to absorb visual information around them to explore and observe for ideas and creativity, thus the representation of 'illustration' being in a physical form of a bird for its anthropomorphism personification makes sense in terms of relating the distinct characteristics of a bird to the characteristics of an illustrator.
From what I said, anthropomorphism can be used as metaphors to assign the qualities of human personalities or various social class/groups, however the term 'Anthropomorphism', or 'Anthropomorphised does not mean it is used exclusively for animals. While the term means an attribution of human form and characteristics, it is also used to display, as quoted from TV Tropes on Anthropomorphic personification, "(2) the embodiment of a fundamental abstraction".
Quoted from another
source, ‘The Poetics of Personification’
“(3) Personification consists of
representing a absent person as present, or in making a mute thing or one
lacking from articulate, and attributing to it a definite form and a language
of certain behaviour appropriate to its character. Personification may be
applied to variety of things, mute and inanimate.”
This can be said for the anthropomorphic
personification of “Death” or the “Seven Deadly Sins” whose personification are
somewhat connected to their name. “Death” having only one purpose who is depicted
as a skeleton (to bring death) and the “Seven Deadly sins” whose classic
interpretations, as quoted from the article of the Seven Deadly Sins in TV tropes, are “(4) typically personified as practicing the sin: A Narcoleptic, a Big Eater, a Kleptomaniac, a Green-Eyed Monster, a Miles Gloriosus, Mr. or Ms. Fanservice and a Berserker”.
One of the early depictions of “Death” in recorded history.
References
(1) BBC, Inside Out, 2005
(2) TV Tropes, Anthropomorphic personification
(3) Paxson, 1994
(4) TV Tropes, Seven Deadly Sins
Bibliography
BBC, Inside Out, 2005, the
Animals of the Wind in the Willows. [Online] [Accessed: 16th
March 2015] Available from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/insideout/southwest/series7/wind_in_willows.shtml
Paxson, James J. (1994). The
Poetics of Personification. Cambridge, Press Syndicate of the University of
Cambridge.
TV Tropes. Anthropomorphic
Personification [Online] [Accessed: 16th March 2015] Available
from: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AnthropomorphicPersonification
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