Integrated Foundation - Bachelor of Arts (Honours) - Illustration

The Illustration programme at Derby nurtures innovative, diverse, and professionally-minded illustrators. Through a journey of exploration and experimentation, students engage with challenging projects and activities, developing self-motivation and confidence to go beyond simply meeting a brief. The course encourages the ability to explore, redefine, reimagine, and question conventional interpretations of the subject.

Students are encouraged to experiment and challenge what illustration is, with opportunities to participate in live projects and high-profile competitions. The course is delivered in a dedicated and inspiring illustration studio, fostering peer networking and the development of lifelong professional connections. It allows for specialisation in a specific field of illustration and flexibility to pursue self-authored projects. Facilities include a drawing room, printmaking studio, and Digital Design Hub, where traditional and contemporary techniques are explored, such as drawing, screen-print, lino, mono-printing, drypoint, risograph, solar etching, photography, digital image making, 3D model making, painting, and multi-media collage. Students are introduced to a variety of illustration practices, including sequential image-making, characterisation, reportage, and editorial illustration.

The teaching team comprises practitioners with expertise across diverse illustration backgrounds, including exhibiting artists, printmakers, storyboard artists, and commercial illustrators. The staff bring specialist skillsets alongside expert knowledge of broader design practice, providing individualised guidance throughout the course. A high-profile lecture series introduces students to leading industry speakers from a variety of disciplines, such as Sam Arthur, founder of Nobrow Publishing, and ceramicist and illustrator Laura Carlin. Trips to galleries and events, locally and further afield, as well as participation in pop-up showcase events in the city, further enrich the student experience. All students become members of The Association of Illustrators, gaining opportunities to network with influential professionals, receive guidance on freelancing, portfolio consultations, and access to resources including legal and pricing advice.

The course immerses students in the exploration of craft and design, encouraging the development of drawing skills, idea communication, and visual storytelling. It supports the cultivation of a distinctive personal voice while producing illustrative work across diverse formats, including publishing, editorial and educational design, graphic novels, narrative projects, printmaking, moving image, children’s books, and packaging. Studio study is complemented by history and theory modules, which enhance intellectual development, graduate and academic skills, and provide an awareness of the wider contexts pertinent to illustration.