Illustration and Animation

BA (Hons)

Intermediate award(s): CertHE, DipHE
Full-Time

This course is available in Clearing, call us on 0845 271 3333 for more information

Our students submit work to festivals and have worked screened at Stoptrik International Film Festival and the Cambridge Film Festival amongst others.

Alex Stanlake

BA (Hons) Illustration and Animation

“I initially looked into an Illustration & Animation degree as both fields were potential career options. Cambridge is a great place to live and study so Anglia Ruskin was a great choice. I found out fairly quickly that the course was a lot of hard work. But it is definitely the most enjoyable degree I think I could have chosen. The studios and computer suites promote a great working environment, and a drawing trip to Porto in the second year was a highlight in terms of practice and making friends within the course.

Now in my third year, I am completely absorbed in animation and film making, but the experience I have gained from Illustration modules has been invaluable for my working process and creativity, as well as allowing me develop my own visual language. The projects have been stimulating and challenging, and the insight and passion of the teaching staff has been a major factor in my enjoyment and improvement during the course. Constructive criticism of my own work and others in class can be hugely rewarding, and I have seen marked progress in my films and artwork due to the supportive and creative environment defined by the staff and students.

The opportunity and support to produce animation of a standard that can be shown to prospective employers and submitted to film festivals has also been great - I was lucky enough to have my work screened as part of the animation programme at the 2010 Cambridge Film Festival. Festival submission actually being a compulsory part of the animation module was a huge boost to my motivation - meeting festival staff and other animators and having my film on the big(ish) screen was a great experience.”

Course overview

Our Illustration and Animation course looks to the interaction between the two disciplines. At the heart of this is visual communication, underpinned by the development of a personal visual language. Experimentation is seen as paramount in achieving this. A keen interest in the visual world should inform this experimentation and there is a strong emphasis on drawing as a means of exploring the visual environment. The development of sequential narratives through animation enables you to use structure and composition as a key ingredient, and this feeds back into illustration work, while elements of autographic mark-making and the use of text and image, developed through illustration practice, feed into the visual language of animation.

In the first year, you will spend around one third of your studio time on animation projects and two thirds on illustration. In your second year, this ratio is reversed, while in your third year, you are expected to negotiate your practice. The illustration modules in your first and second years are run jointly with students from the BA (Hons) Illustration course, where you are all taught together in our illustration studios.

A number of contextual studies modules are run throughout the course, culminating in a final-year research project.


An animated film by Alex Stanlake, student on the BA (Hons) Illustration and Animation degree course.



















Module guide

Year one core modules
  • Illustration Practice 1

    This module introduces and examines approaches, media and processes specific to illustrative image making. Drawing is the fundamental language of the animator and the illustrator. You will be encouraged to look closely at the visual world through studio and location based observational drawing, using sketchbooks and notebooks to develop and explore a personal, individual visual vocabulary. In the early stages of the module, numerous location based drawing trips take place in a variety of destinations, such as museums, markets and town centres. The module will include life-drawing classes in the drawing studio. From a basis in observational drawing, you will begin to explore imaginative drawing, sequential and interpretative drawing through a range of project briefs. Processes of graphic reproduction are introduced including printmaking and letterpress.

  • Illustration in the Round

    This module looks at how the illusion of 3D environment can be created through sequential movement on a flat screen. In this module you will, through practice, gain insights into the various practices in animation from traditional hand drawn cell animation, rotoscoping, stop frame animation, through to the practice and concepts which drive 3D animation. You will learn about parallax, illusions of camera-eye movement, keyframing, cell animation, layouts, storyboarding, overlays and loops.This module then examines the possibilities of building an imaginative 3D environment in an illustrative sense, engaging with tools that allow the illustrator the new freedom of working sequentially and in the round with digital technologies. This module gives you grounding in the historical antecedents. It will also include references to illustrators and artists who have immersed aspects of their practice into 2D, virtual and sculptural 3D space. You explore this practice through an experimental 'mark-making' environment, establishing illustration-focused ways of image creation. You will be encouraged to experiment and incorporate aspects of design and fine art into your practical work within this module.

  • Texture, Light and Surface

    This module introduces you to the use of texture, lighting and surface within 3D digital software as a means of developing narrative. How a virtual environment is lit and textured is fundamental to our ability to derive meaning. Within 3 D digital animation, how these aspects change sequentially over time can be used to create narratives. Notions of key-framing, cameraeye movement, image framing, composition and cutting are explored within the context of a virtual 3D environment. You are expected to draw from the world of cinema and theatre in exploring how the use of light and shadow can be used as driving forces within narrative. You are also expected to develop ways of using surface texture, in part by importing their own 2D experimental work into a 3D environment.

Year two core modules
  • Animation Practice

    Running over the whole academic year allowing students to create a number of animated pieces, this module deals with the translation of sketchbooks into moving image.

  • Debates and Practices

    Students explore issues around contemporary practice.

Year three core modules
  • Research Project

    Students research an area of contemporary discourse through an extended essay.

  • Major Project

    Students are expected to negotiate a programme of study in accordance with their career aspirations

Assessment

Assessment will be through both written work and practice.

Facilities

Our course offers full facilities for both illustration and animation. Illustration is taught within our purpose-built Edwardian studios, which you will use as your base, with easy access to etching, screenprinting, lithography and relief presses, letterpress facilities and a full range of digital facilities. For animation, you are introduced to traditional stop-motion and CGI (Maya) animation during your first year, and you are encouraged to develop your own voice as animator in whatever medium you choose.

Libraries

Our campus libraries offer a wide range of publications and a variety of study facilities, including open-access computers, areas for quiet or group study and bookable rooms. We also have an extensive Digital Library providing on and off-site access to e-books, e-journals and databases.

We endeavour to make our libraries as accessible as possible for all our students. During Semester time, they open 24 hours a day from Monday to Thursday, until midnight on Friday and Saturday and for 12 hours on Sunday.


IT Resources

Our open access computer facilities provide free access to the internet, email, messaging services and the full Microsoft Office suite. A high speed wireless service is also available in all key areas on campus. If you are away from campus or a distant learner, our student desktop and its many applications can be accessed remotely using the internet. Your personal student email account provides free document storage, calendar facilities and social networking opportunities.

Throughout your studies you will have access to our Virtual Learning Environment (VLE), providing course notes, reading materials and multi-media content to support your learning, while our e-vision system gives you instant access to your academic record and your timetable.


Special features

In the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) for Art and Design, 70% of our research work was 'internationally recognised', 'internationally excellent' and, in some cases, 'world-leading'. As a result, our income from the RAE to support our research is double our 2002 allocation.

Related Links

CSA graduate named YCN 'Student of the Year'
BA Illustration graduate wins prestigious Show and Tell award
Ruskin Gallery
Cambridge School of Art Student Exhibitions website

Course Leader

Jim Butler

Links with industry and professional recognition

Our course was written with the kind assistance of personnel from Nexus Productions, StudioAKA and Th1ng.

Associated careers

There is a growing demand for illustrators, fine artists and graphic designers who have exposure to both 3D design and animation. Graduates from this course should have the right skills to help meet that demand.
UCAS Tariff points: 200 - 240
Additional Requirements: Required subject(s): Any Art, Design or Media A level grade C., OR ND in Art & Design. Preferred contrasting subject(s): BTEC Foundation diploma in Art & Design (level 3) is an advantage. Non-Academic Conditions: Art Portfolio, Interviews GCSE(s) Required: English grade C or above (or equivalent)
Entry requirements listed are for September 2013 entry. Entry requirements for other intakes may differ.

Please note AS levels are acceptable only when combined with other qualifications.

Portfolio Requirements

We want to see plenty of images which hopefully give us a sense of where your passions lie. Make sure you include the work you enjoyed making as this will give us the best sense of whether you will enjoy working with us

While we would expect to see some examples of finished projects, we are also very keen to see your working / thought process.

Examples of experimental work are always of interest, and we are just as happy to work in traditional media (printmaking, painting photography) as computer generated work. The content and composition, not the medium, is what matters!

We particularly want to see sketchbooks, so scan or photograph plenty of pages from these. We place a lot of value on drawing here and we would expect you to draw directly from observation. This can include formal life drawing, but also just quick drawings of your surroundings / streets / cafes / friends. If you haven't been working this way, it would be worthwhile to give it a try.

Any examples of visual narratives or sequential images would welcome.

If you have any moving image, (short films or animations) we would love to see them although this is not a requirement.

If invited to interview you will receive a letter further detailing the requirements for submission of your portfolio.

International Applicants
International applicants are encouraged to host their portfolios online and provide us with the URL or submit in pdf format by email attached. CD or hardcopy formats submitted by post to our International Admissions Office are also acceptable but please note that these will not be returned to applicants.
Our published entry requirements are a guide only and our decision will be based on your overall suitability for the course as well as whether you meet the minimum entry requirements.

We welcome applications from International and EU students. Please select one of the links below for English language and country-specific entry requirement information.

If we have confirmed you do not meet our entry requirements you might want to consider a preparatory course at Cambridge Ruskin International College (CRIC), our partner college, based on our Cambridge campus, before coming to study with us.

How to apply

UCAS code

WW26

Location

Duration

3 Years

Available starts

September

Student finance

Open Day

Saturday 22 June
Undergraduate Open Day

Advice & support

Employability

Related links


Faculty

Arts, Law & Social Sciences

Department

Cambridge School of Art

Contact us

UK and EU applicants:International applicants:
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