Illustration

Illustration is the discipline of making images that serve a communicative or narrative purpose, working at the intersection of fine art, graphic design and storytelling. Illustrators create work for a huge range of contexts, from picture books and editorial illustration through to advertising, brand identity, motion graphics, textile design, game art and sequential narrative. The discipline demands both technical skill and a distinctive visual voice, the ability not just to draw well but to generate images that have something particular and irreplaceable to say.

At the University of Cumbria this four-year programme includes an integrated foundation year that develops your skills and confidence before you move into the main degree. The foundation year provides a supportive environment for students with alternative qualifications or those who want additional preparation. In the main degree you will develop technique alongside individuality, given the space, resources and inspiration to find your own visual voice.

The programme values creative courage, recognising that great illustration requires both craft and the willingness to take artistic risks.

Illustration graduates work across publishing, advertising, editorial media, children's books, surface pattern design, fashion, gaming, animation, film, product design and the growing digital content market. Many illustrators build portfolio careers, combining book projects with editorial commissions, brand work and exhibition, using the distinctive voice developed during training as the foundation of a professional practice. Others move into art direction, animation, character design or visual development roles within larger creative organisations.

Postgraduate study in illustration, animation, or visual communication is a natural route for graduates who want to develop a more specialist or research-oriented practice or who wish to teach in higher education.