Welcome to your Illustration course

In September you will embark on an exciting, creative journey, where over the 3 years of study, through practical workshops, seminars, lectures, group critiques, tutorials and self-directed study, you will get the opportunity to experience and develop a unique, personal visual language and an emerging portfolio of work.

With an emphasis on drawing and creative thinking, our illustration course reflects the rich and diverse nature of contemporary image-making, and through a range of projects and briefs, all students have the opportunity to explore traditional and digital media in our dedicated studio, workshops and online learning environments. The course helps foster experimentation, imagination, reflection and collaboration across a wide range of visual practice including; printmaking, publishing, experimental formats, narrative & editorial, packaging and promotion, visual storytelling, characterisation, concept art and animation.

In the first few weeks of the semester, you will be introduced to the course, its team and the wider University community. You will engage in a range of exciting collaborative, creative projects and explore visual themes and drawing tasks. This creative experimentation will help build the foundations for the next 3 years of study, to help hone and develop your personal, illustrative visual language.

Meet the Illustrators ...

Over the summer we would like you to create an image to share with the group on your arrival in September. For this, we would like you to bring a full body portrait / character illustration of yourself that communicates an aspect of your personality or an interest. This should be no bigger than A3 in size and can be produced in any medium.

Reading:

Below is a list of books, journals and sites that are relevant to the course. We don’t suggest that you should purchase all of these publications, but rather, wish to make you aware of them. Many can be found in the University Library. They will help you understand the illustration industry, in an historical and contemporary context, and help develop your passion for the subject.

Books:

Male, A., 2007. Illustration: A Theoretical and Contextual Perspective. AVA Publishing

Doyle S., 2019. History of Illustration. Fairchild Books

Male, A., 2014. Illustration: Meeting the Brief. Bloomsbury.

Zeegan, L., 2012. The Fundamentals of Illustration. AVA Publishing.

Journals:

Varoom Magazine/The Association of Illustrators magazine.

Creative Review

Websites:

The AOI (Association of Illustrators): http://theaoi.com/

Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration: https://www.qbcentre.org.uk/

It’s Nice That: http://www.itsnicethat.com/

Digital Arts Online http://www.digitalartsonline.co.uk/

Equipment and materials

Equipment and materials can be acquired as you work through the course, they do not necessarily have to be purchased at the start of your course, and what you require will vary in quantity and range depending on the work you carry out.

In the meantime, here are some suggestions…

• A4 & A3 sketchbooks
• Layout paper (A3) or Tracing pad (A3)
• A2 Cartridge Paper
• Range of pencils (Some hard, some soft, graphite and colour) / Eraser / Sharpener
• Fine liner pens (various widths)
• Brush pens (as an alternative to ink pots)
• Marker pens, black, range of greys, dark medium and light and primary colours.
• Paints: Acrylics/watercolour or gouache starter kits / Black & coloured Inks
• Thin and medium artist paintbrushes
• A3 cutting mat
• Steel ruler
• Scalpel and 10A blades
• Adhesive (PVA & Glue stick)
• USB memory stick for storing digital work (32 GB minimum)

Always have drawing implements and a sketchbook to-hand to document thoughts and images about the world around you!

For home working it is important to have a space where you can create, however we understand that space can be limited. We can recommend a desktop drawing board, however this is not essential but it is worth considering for an optimal drawing position.

Computers & Software

Please ensure that you have access to Microsoft Teams via a desktop, laptop computer or tablet device, and a good internet connection at home or halls of residence is essential.

As the course progresses it is useful to have your own laptop with access to relevant software, but you will have access to all IT equipment and software over the three years in the studio space and other digital labs throughout the university campus. We instruct you on Apple Mac computers in the use of Adobe Creative Suite. Some students enjoy using a tablet device (i-pad, etc) with drawing Apps such as Adobe Fresco and Procreate.

Download software

In the first year of your course, we hope to have the opportunity to take you on some exciting, creative trips. This will be with students across the Visual Communication cluster of courses (Illustration and Graphic Design), to help build the creative community you are joining.

Throughout the 3 years of study, students will get the opportunity to engage with both national and international trips, that are integrated within the course structure and offer many exciting learning possibilities.