Illustration
Illustration is a discipline with a long and distinguished history, concerned with the making of images that communicate, narrate, interpret, and give visual form to ideas and stories. Unlike fine art, illustration is typically produced in relation to a brief or context, whether a book, a magazine, an advertising campaign, a game, a film, or a public information project, and the illustrator's skill lies in responding imaginatively and distinctively to that context. Contemporary illustration is an expansive field, encompassing editorial work, children's publishing, graphic novels and comics, character design, surface pattern, map-making, data visualisation, and a growing range of digital and moving image applications.
At the University of Derby, this three-year full-time programme includes a foundation year, a sandwich year with placement, and a year abroad, giving you an unusually rich range of experiences within the degree. The foundation year provides a supported entry into higher-level creative study. The placement year enables you to gain professional experience in a relevant work environment during your degree, and the year abroad option allows you to study in an international context, broadening your creative influences and personal horizons.
Throughout, you will be encouraged to explore and experiment, developing a distinctive personal practice and the self-motivation to push beyond conventional interpretations of a brief. You will build a substantial portfolio of work that demonstrates both your technical range and your creative voice.
Graduates work as illustrators across publishing, editorial, advertising, animation, games, surface design, and digital media. Many combine commissioned work with personal practice, and the freelance market for illustration is significant. The combination of creative confidence, technical skill, and professional experience developed on this programme equips you well for the realities of building a practice.
Further study at postgraduate level in illustration, animation, or related creative disciplines is also an option.