Illustration

Course overview: Are you passionate about telling stories through captivating visuals? Do you love to experiment with drawing, digital painting, or even crafting entire worlds through illustration? Whether you're drawn to book cover illustration, children’s book illustration, editorial illustration, comics and graphic novels, printmaking, or vibrant poster design, this course at Teesside University is designed to bring your creative ideas to life.

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. With career-focused modules, you explore the diverse fields of illustration, learning how they operate, who drives them, and how to thrive in them.

Throughout the course, you work on live briefs that mirror industry challenges, whether that’s creating illustrations for online or printed publication briefs, designing striking posters, developing characters for comics or games, and much more.

Students are encouraged to experiment, innovate, and define their own unique identity as a visual storyteller, setting the stage for a fulfilling career as a contemporary illustrator.

You develop your portfolio through live briefs and international competitions, helping you become adaptable by responding to editorial, fashion, children’s books, social media, advertising, packaging, exhibition and corporate commissions. You receive feedback from clients, ensuring you know how to amend and flex in professional environments.

Top reasons to study this course:

1. Unique facilities: spend time in our very own international contemporary museum and gallery, MIMA (Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art). You gain a full artistic experience, learning in a social space that inspires dynamic ideas, fuels collaboration and allows you to build local, national and international networks with industry professionals. 2. Work-ready: the course includes short, career-focused modules helping you understand working in the arts and creative industries. You look at how the illustration industry works, how to access it, who shapes it and how to grow within it. From industry leaders’ professional wisdom and insight, to accessing professional opportunities and creative coaching, you become an industry insider and leave with a working understanding of the professional community. 3. Digital toolkit: our courses and campus are powered by Adobe and Apple. We’re Europe’s first Adobe Creative Campus and the only Apple-accredited university, equipping you with the digital tools and resources to transform the creative world. Our courses have a built in Creative Week - a workshop based, festival style, off-timetable week each semester where you can experiment with new materials, make visits and upgrade your tech skills. 4. Professional connections: we’re a member of the Association of Illustrators giving you access to interactive talks, guidance on contracts and licensing, and your own discounted membership. This gives you the tools you need for a successful career in industry.

Take advantage of our Creative UK membership and help futureproof your career, with networking events, a resource hub to support professional development, and bespoke workshops in partnership with industry leaders and mentors. Sign up for free student membership to get opportunities, events and newsletters sent directly to your inbox.

After the course: 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.