Build foundational drawing skills to serve as the basis for your illustrative works. Through in-class workshop assignments and at-home drawing exercises, students will learn the fundamentals of traditional figure drawing as well as novel techniques used by respected artists. Competencies covered include: composition, perspective, expressive light and shade and the creative use of reference. The course will include group critiques, examples of relevant artwork and demonstrations of tools, materials and techniques. By the end of the course, students will be familiar with the basic tools of drawing, and proficient at the fundamentals of traditional drawing practices.  

Learn to integrate digital tools into your illustrator’s toolbox! This course will explore ideas such as how you can use programs to enhance and streamline a traditional workflow, or how photographs can create a narrative. Students will gain confidence in using software such as Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign, as well as ProCreate. Lectures will focus on technical instruction with a digital approach, and will also cover topics such as composition and color theory that can apply to any illustration medium. Through homework assignments, students will learn the importance of disciplined, practical working methods from concept to sketches to finished art. While the focus of the class will be on understanding and integrating digital tools into the illustrator’s toolbox, students in this class will be encouraged to mix media between analog and digital. By the end of the course, students will be proficient at manipulating images from digital sources, and adept at moving between the drawn and the digital image. 

Learn the art of storyline development via visual sequential narrative. Find wonder where creative writing and literature meets visual expression and communication design. This course will teach students to pair text with imagery to create variations of a story. Using a variety of media and techniques, projects will cover picture only sequences, as well as text and image sequences. By the end of this course, students will be able to utilize storyboarding to execute cycles of drafting, critiquing, and editing within a sequence. The course will conclude with a final project in a format of student’s choosing to align with the goals of their professional portfolio.  

Round out your illustration skillset through professional applications! This course continues students’ exploration of illustration by simulating the experience of a professional illustrator working with clients. Through a wide variety of progressive real-world assignments in such areas as editorial, book, institutional, and children’s illustration, students will learn how to analyze an assignment, create concept sketches, and produce finished art. Students can use the media of their choice, including traditional hand-drawn, digital, or a combination, for class assignments and projects. This final course allows students to dive deeper into an area of interest, and put their illustration skills to practice while adding to their professional portfolio.