Our Illustration and Animation BA (Hons) course will give you the skills you need to work as a visual artist. We often use visual language to communicate complex ideas and information and, with ever-evolving digital technology being used alongside traditional techniques, this is an exciting and fast-moving area to work in. Here at Cambridge School of Art, you’ll investigate the connections between illustration and animation, creating sequential narratives using traditional and cutting-edge digital image-making techniques, and cultivating your creative abilities and technical skills. While developing your personal visual style, you’ll also focus on the basics: refining your drawing skills through observation of the visual environment and telling stories through moving image. You’ll also look at the growing opportunities in contemporary illustration and animation practice, producing a portfolio that reflects your artistic capacities and meets the current demands of the creative industries. In the first year of the course, you’ll explore both illustration and animation through studio-based teaching, software training, practical projects, group critiques and individual tutorials.

The skills, knowledge and experience you gain on our BA (Hons) Illustration and Animation course will allow you to move into the creative industries as an illustrator, artist or animator, confident in the use of cutting-edge digital design technologies and with an understanding of traditional animation, illustration and communication. Many of our graduates now work with leading product and animation studios and UK broadcasters such as The Mill, 12 Foot 6, Slurpy Studios, Filofax, BBC and Channel 4. Our recent students have found success in many competitions, such as Marc Moynihan, who won the Red Bull Canimation Prize, and Jean-Louis Pecheur, who was the winner of the Animation Libation Global Animation Contest. They’ve also had their work screened at international festivals. Daisy, by Charlie Taylor, was shown at the Encounters Film Festival, the Fête de l'anim Animation Festival in Lille and the London Short Film Festival. Hold on Me by Georgia Yorke was shown at the Suffolk Film Festival, the Festival International du Court Métrage de Lille, and the Framed Film Festival at the Barbican, London, among others. You’ll also be able to take advantage of our industry relationships, and the networks we’ve built with local and international animators, illustrators and production studios. Our staff regularly go to animation festivals and seek out collaborations with creative partners, such as Les Rencontres Audiovisuelles, Breda University and St Joost Akademie.