Today’s illustrations are made in computers. And much of it isn’t even a craft.
Let's not confuse the means of production with the essence of the content. What separates fine art from illustration? Intention and marketplace. Fine art is one-of-a-kind; illustrations are intended to be reproduced on ordinary and often highly degradable printing paper for a mass market, and they are literally illustrations of a storyline. In the case of fine art prints, they are issued only in limited, numbered editions on highly durable media. Fine art, when new, joins the in-depth originality of the artist with the the subject matter in a way that is recognized by a limited number of people whose tastes and interests are on the front edge of society at key moments in history; often, the historic influence of a given piece of fine art is achieved only after the death of the artist, when a given piece of fine art is recognized to have moved the entire the genre forward.
Fine art exists in a different economic and copyright sphere than illustration, with the rights of the artists, the sponsoring patron or gallery and the exhibit space sharply differentiated by an ancient guild system; whereas the artitst' rights to illustration work vary widely according to the deal they make with the publisher. Courts are less likely to be able to defend the works of illustrators from copying than those of fine arts. A recent case in point is the Pepe frog figure that was co-opted byt the cyber-right wing, even after its use was denounced by its creator.
Very good illustrators do approach their work with a degree of originality, but the theme of the work is tied to a narrative created elsewhere, or implies a narrative aimed at a popular audience. Illustrators' use of materials is clustered around watercolor, tempera, inks or collage on cardboard or other craft media. Often the orginal illustrations have visible corrections such as white paint or airbrushing over a misplaced line or area of color, to make the errors invisible when the piece is photographed for mass reproduction.
Great illustration may move people in various ways, but it is rarely intended to be collected and preserved on the same level as fine art; and the originals are usually found in museums and collections only when the illustrator has achieved wide popularity in affordable venues like books, t-shirts or coffee mugs, such as the works of Peter Max, N.C. Wyeth or Milton Glaser.
I do understand the rabid loyalty people may feel to illustrators, but the emotional appeal of pop culture does not make a work "fine art."
just because it’s done on a computer doesn’t make it not art or less skillful. It’s a different set of skills. But in the end you either have the vision and the talent to make that vision real, or you don’t. Medium doesn’t matter.