Illustration
When words aren’t enough, you complete the picture.
You have creative talent—and you’ll take it to the next level in our top-ranked Illustration program. Here, you’ll develop the skills you need to communicate ideas and emotions through pictures. You’ll master drawing and rendering techniques and learn how to use new tools, guided by faculty members who have active creative practices in illustration.
As a CCAD student, you’ll learn how to breathe life into character designs, craft attention-grabbing motion graphics, create out-of-this-world 3D objects, and much more. You’ll graduate prepared for what you want to do next, whether that’s writing and illustrating your own books, creating eye-catching prints and posters, or contributing to the cutting-edge concepts, characters, and worlds that top entertainment companies are looking for.
Illustration Student Work
Children's Picture Book
Clynn Yeoh
Character Study
Bailey Schmee
Cat Cycle Days
Abbie Ridpath
Walrus Character 3D Digital Model
Joseph Neff
Chroma
Bill Wang
Perspective Drawing
Haejung Lee
Orville Peck Poster
Heidi Lamerson
Exterior Architecture Perspective Drawing
Emily Wick
Adventure Together
Hillarie Mattox
Children's Picture Book
Clynn Yeoh
2023
Character Study
Bailey Schmee
2024
Walrus Character 3D Digital Model
Joseph Neff
2022
3D Digital
Perspective Drawing
Haejung Lee
2024
Orville Peck Poster
Heidi Lamerson
2023
Exterior Architecture Perspective Drawing
Emily Wick
2024
Adventure Together
Hillarie Mattox
2027
Spaces to Make
Our campus has the tools and the spaces to help you make your vision real.
Faculty
Meet the people who will help you along your creative and professional journey.
Adjunct Faculty
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Vincent Alexander[email protected]
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Eric Buescher[email protected]
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Thomas Glick[email protected]
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David Hovey[email protected]
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Jason Johnston[email protected]
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Julian Lee[email protected]
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Penelope Miller[email protected]
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Evangelia Philippidis[email protected]
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Isabella Raines[email protected]
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Mark Riedy[email protected]
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Amanda Root-Thompson[email protected]
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Phil Weasley[email protected]
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Brian Williams[email protected]
Course Spotlight
Character and Environment Design
You’ll strengthen your illustrative drawing skills—and your storytelling ability—in this course, which includes character development and storyboards. You’ll do that in part thanks to class assignments that will help you better observe and depict the human figure through drawing (clothed) models.
Illustration First Year Experience
Academic Year
Total Credit Hours
Freshman Year - Fall
Course Title |
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2D Creative Practice |
Systems of Drawing |
Collaboration |
Mod Contemporary or Historical Art History |
Writing and the Arts |
Freshman Year - Spring
Course Title |
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Intro to Illustration |
Drawing for Entertainment Design |
3D Making with Care |
History of Comics and Illustration |
Liberal Arts Self and Society Course |
Illustration careers
After earning their BFA in Illustration, our graduates leave ready to take on such roles as:
- Advertising designer
- Apparel graphics designer
- Book illustrator
- Character and asset designer
- Editorial illustrator
- Fine artist
Recent Employers
- American Greetings
- Bath & Body Works
- Boeing
- Cartoon Network
- CBS News
- DC Comics
- Disney Consumer Products
- DreamWorks Animation
- Forever 21
- Hallmark
- Hasbro
- LEGO
- Lucasfilm
- Marvel Comics
- New York Times
- Ogilvy & Mather
- Orange Barrel Media
- Pixar
- Wall Street Journal
Illustration News
The ink had barely dried on their diplomas when Wes Talbott (Illustration, 2013) and Lillie Talbott (Advertising & Graphic Design, 2013) upped and moved to Billund, Denmark, where Wes had been offered a position with childhood toy favorite LEGO Group.
They may not be able to leap tall buildings in a single bound (let’s leave the Superman antics to the Man of Steel himself), but a group of CCAD students recently played superhero for some young artists in the making.