Illustration

Illustration is a discipline that asks you to make images that communicate, persuade, inform and give visual form to ideas and narratives. It is at once a technical craft and a creative art, demanding both skill in a range of media and the conceptual thinking to respond imaginatively to briefs, texts and contexts. Illustrators work across publishing, advertising, editorial, animation, games design, children's books, public art and digital media, and the field has expanded dramatically as digital tools have opened new possibilities for creating and distributing visual work.

At Teesside University this four-year, full-time programme begins with a foundation year that builds your technical skills and creative confidence before you enter the main degree. Throughout the programme you will develop your practice across drawing, printmaking, digital illustration and sequential imagery, building a versatile set of skills alongside a distinctive personal visual voice. You will learn to work in teams and respond to external briefs, with an emphasis on the communication, project management and negotiation skills that professional illustrators need.

The programme includes a sandwich year placement and a work placement, giving you direct experience in professional creative studios or agencies and helping you to build the industry relationships and portfolio that will support your career. You will graduate with a body of work that demonstrates both your craft and your ability to deliver creative projects to a professional standard.

Graduates work as editorial and book illustrators, children's book artists, graphic novelists, concept artists, motion graphic designers, visual development artists for film and games, and freelance illustrators across a wide range of commercial and cultural contexts. Some go on to postgraduate study in illustration, animation, visual communication or fine art, while others build independent freelance practices or join design studios and creative agencies. The skills in visual thinking, creative problem-solving and collaborative working that the degree develops transfer across the broader creative economy.