Illustration with Foundation Year BA (Hons)

University of Derby

This course equips you with high-calibre skills for a dynamic career in publishing, advertising, education and design.

Course description

Become an innovative, unique, diverse, and professionally distinctive illustrator.

Through a voyage of discovery and experimentation you will apply yourself to challenging projects and activities, become increasingly self-motivated and confident to strive beyond the constraints of delivering a brief. We aim to foster a confidence to discover, re-map, re-imagine and challenge traditional interpretations of the subject.

You will be encouraged to experiment and challenge what illustration is, with the opportunity to take part in live projects and high-profile competitions that will challenge you to explore problem solving, sequential image-making, characterisation, reportage and editorial illustration.

Located in a dedicated and inspiring illustration studio you will network with your peers and forge lifelong connections. You will gain opportunities to specialise in a specific field or area of expertise in illustration and flexibility to discover and create self-authored projects.

You'll make use of our drawing room, printmaking studio and Digital Design Hub where you will be immersed in traditional and contemporary techniques such as drawing, screen-print, lino, mono-printing, drypoint, risograph, solar etching, photography, digital image making, 3D model making, painting and multi-media collage.

An art-school experience will introduce you to exploration of craft and design skills, drawing, communicating ideas and visual concepts, developing a unique personal voice in producing illustrative outcomes for various outputs, such as, publishing, editorial, educational design, graphic novels, narrative, printmaking, moving image, children's books, and packaging.

Studio study will be complemented with history and theory modules which will enhance your intellectual development, graduate and academic skills, whilst providing an awareness of wider contexts pertinent to illustration.

Careers

This course prepares you for an exciting career in illustration, with opportunities in newspaper and magazine editorial, education, publishing and book arts, children’s books, graphic novels, print production, advertising and the wider design industry. Some of our graduates also pursue careers as writers, educators and picture/research editors. With a large number of illustrators working on a freelance basis, the course also equips you with business skills and an entrepreneurial outlook.

Whatever branch of illustration you aspire to, you’ll graduate with a professional portfolio that is personal and distinctive, alongside a wealth of promotional material to launch your career. Many of our students are talent-spotted through the hands-on work they undertake during live briefs for employers, or through the competitions and exhibitions which form an integral part of your studies.