Course summary

This industry-informed degree delves deep into the essence of contemporary illustration, defining its role in today's dynamic landscape. Discover how to navigate commercial briefs and express your personal vision with equal finesse. Our BA (Hons) Illustration degree fosters a sustainable and fulfilling illustration practice, preparing you for success in a rapidly evolving industry. Illustration has the power to characterise moments, evoke emotion and propose alternate realities. From indie publishing and children’s literature, through to comic books and commercial products - this course will empower you to make your mark. Why Choose This Course? Our expert staff will support you in developing professional skills including creative problem-solving, project management, and working to briefs and deadlines. We place high value on imagination and energy, alongside conceptual thinking and idea development, and we will support you in honing your technical skills and knowledge of contemporary trends. Our experienced lecturers offer insights into culturally relevant, ethically sound, and commercially viable practices, ensuring a holistic development of skills in conceptualisation, image-making, and technical proficiency. Join us to nurture your independent creativity and pave the way for a fulfilling career aligned with your aspirations. As a student on this course, you will be based in a spacious and naturally-lit collaborative studio space, where you’ll cultivate a unique blend of skills and attributes, with a strong emphasis on curiosity and perseverance, making you a well-rounded practitioner. You will be challenged to develop authentic ways of working, assuming agency and autonomy as an image-maker and learning what this means to you as a practitioner. Our students benefit from high contact time with our dedicated Illustration team, who provide expert mentoring from an impressive range of specialisms including independent publishing, editorial, children’s books, printmaking, graphic design, and art direction. As well as introducing you to commercial practice, we also encourage you to explore your own ideas through self-directed and authorial approaches which will extend the boundaries of your visual language. From designing for Lego to writing and illustrating children’s books and gaining cult status in the world of independent apparel, our graduates enjoy diverse careers in the booming field of illustration, and this industry focus is truly embedded in our teaching. Develop Comprehensive Skills through Storytelling and Collaboration Throughout this course, you’ll approach independent work with a critical mindset, considering the design, manufacture, marketing, and distribution of your own original artwork, whilst seeking opportunities to collaborate with designers, creative directors, and animators to realise your ideas in charming new ways. We’ll also encourage you to foster communities across the university, showcasing your final outputs as part of enterprising collectives, pop-up shops, and curated exhibitions. Your studies will be complemented by an impressive programme of visiting lecturers, publishers and manufacturers including Hallmark Cards. You’ll also enter your work into prestigious competitions such as the Macmillan Prize, Penguin & Puffin Design Awards, and New Designer of the Year; and benefit from opportunities to secure work placements and respond to live briefs from industry. Our strong international connections allow our students to take a semester of study with one of our partner institutions within Europe and North America, and in turn, we welcome overseas students from those institutions to join us in our studios, creating an exciting cultural exchange.​ Graduates from this course go on to become commercial or freelance illustrators, in-house illustrators and designers, printmakers, children’s book illustrators, concept artists, studio managers, art directors, entrepreneurs, and more.