Program Overview

Illustration (with Foundation Year) BA (Hons)

Overview

This course is designed to bring your creative ideas to life, whether you're drawn to book cover illustration, children’s book illustration, editorial illustration, comics and graphic novels, printmaking, or vibrant poster design. Guided by industry professionals with experience in book illustration, comics, motion design, and editorial work, you gain the practical skills needed to succeed in today’s competitive creative industries.

Course Structure

Foundation Year Core Modules

• Digital Art: Explore the fundamental principles of design and composition, studying image creation techniques using graphics software.
• Drawing and Making Fundamentals: Develop your knowledge of fundamental drawing and making approaches for many purposes and disciplines.
• Final Project: Create original ideas and concepts for your individual project, creating an artefact, report, campaign, comic, product or other form related to the arts, design and media industries.
• Study Skills: Develop key study skills in preparation for starting your degree, including critical thinking, teamwork, research and delivering presentations.

Year 1 Core Modules

• Collaboration Project: Enhance your skills in team-working, communication, project management and negotiation.
• Experimentation and Exploration: Study the creative facets of being an innovative image maker, exploring drawing, printmaking, digital painting, Photoshop, Illustrator and other experimental 2D techniques.
• Introduction to the Creative Industries: Learn how to start on your career path while developing vital employability skills such as networking and digital presence.
• Making and Visualising: Discover 3D and moving images through storytelling and characterisation, analogue and digital exploration of 3D techniques and short-form animation.

Year 2 Core Modules

• Creative Research Project: Develop critical thinking and analysis skills, exploring contemporary issues and debates related to the creative industries.
• Creative Response: Develop your creative voice through a range of fast-paced briefs that explore the diversity of illustration.
• Industry Project: Develop and explore, in depth, a creative industry-based project in your specialist area of design, art, media, music, photography or illustration.
• Working in the Creative Industries: Research the social, political or ecological challenges around us to generate a small-scale project.

Optional Work Placement Year

• Work Placement: Spend one year in industry learning and developing your skills.

Final-Year Core Modules

• Major Project: Produce a self-managed, individual extended piece of independent investigation and/or creative production or portfolio of work.
• Professional Practice: Plan and implement your departure from education to your first or new career, or to further study.

How You Learn

• Think, dream and make: Learn through doing, with focused studio time for practice-based creative work.
• Develop your creative voice: You are coached to find and grow your creative voice.
• Grow resilience: Develop a creative journal, capturing your challenges, milestones and reflections.
• Join the creative sector: Our intensive, career-focused modules help you understand working in the arts and creative industries.
• Become connected: Access our network of alumni and practising creatives at Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art (MIMA).

How You Are Assessed

• The modules are generally project based and assessed through a portfolio of designed work, sometimes accompanied by a verbal presentation.
• Creative projects are normally assessed on the final communication and visualisation of the work but also the development process of research and evidencing the analytical journey towards your final project.

Entry Requirements

• 32-88 points, including a creative subject, from any combination of recognised Level 3 qualifications or equivalent.
• Consideration will also be given to students without formal qualifications but with evidence of relevant experience at an appropriate level.

Career Opportunities

• You have a wide range of career opportunities including illustrator, designer, artist, creative producer, propmaker, or working in heritage, public engagement, marketing, advertising, packaging design, publishing, workshop facilitator, teaching and motion design.

International Applicants

• International applicants - find out what qualifications you need by selecting your country below.

Tuition Fees

• Full-time: £9,535 a year (UK applicants), £17,000 a year (international applicants)

Duration

• 4 years (5 with work placement)