Modules

Experiment with a range of media and practices – including established and emerging technologies - to realise your own authentic visual language and style.

You'll be encouraged to push your creative limits and enhance your technical and practical skills through project work and industry-informed briefs. You'll also gain valuable professional practice experience through a combination of lectures, webinars, guest talks and discussion forums, while expanding your critical analysis and visual problem-solving skills

Stage One:
You'll begin the online Illustration course by exploring the art of visual problem-solving, identifying a range of strategies for research and idea development. Through practical work and critical theory sessions, you'll discover and experiment with varying media and processes, using established and emerging technologies to explore your own visual language. You'll also investigate the wider contextual, ethical and professional environments of the industry, focusing on Editorial and Narrative applications.

Modules:
Innovate
Apply
Explore
Communicate

Stage Two:
Through critical theory lectures, workshops in life drawing, digital skills, colour and composition and print-making, you’ll refine your practice and expand your industry knowledge. Embarking on project briefs independently and in collaboration with your peers, you’ll investigate information illustration and then move on to an advertising project. Collaborative work will build your project management, communication and team-working skills, which are vital in industry.

Modules:
Shape
Evolve
Refine
Share

Stage Three:
Through self-negotiated projects, you’ll continue to refine your creative practice and visual problem-solving skills, formulating a range of strategies to best communicate ideas to audiences. In ambitious live projects, working with clients and/or your peers, you’ll showcase your honed team-working and professional practice skills. You’ll also evidence your strategic critical and analytical skills, choosing to take an entrepreneurial, educational or illustrative pathway.   

The final Employability module is all about launching your illustration career. You’ll gain real feedback from leading international designers, publishers, editors and art directors and have the opportunity to participate in a self-organised work placement.

Modules:
Define
Reflect
Reach
Connect

The modules above are those being studied by our students, or proposed new ones. Programme structures and modules can change as part of our curriculum enhancement and review processes. If a certain module is important to you, please discuss it with the Course Leader.

Assessment methods

The online Illustration degree employs a variety of assessment strategies over the course of the year. These can include submission of portfolios, reviews and reports, pitches, reflective journals, competition analysis and final projects.

Your summative (final) assessments occur at the end of each module, usually at the end of the study block. You may also have interim formative assessments part way through a module as well. These assessments help ensure that you remain on track with your work.

You will receive continuous written and/or verbal feedback on all your work throughout the year. At the end of the module, you will receive detailed feedback in written form.

You'll be able to check in with your online tutor to discuss your progress and ask any questions you have about your course.