Illustration
Illustration is an art form that dates back tens of thousands of years. The moment you grab a pencil and begin sketching you're adding your own unique voice to a rich artistic heritage. As a Ringling College Illustration major, you will use both traditional and digital media, along with the core principles of Illustration - color, composition, visual concepts, and style - to bring your artistic creations to life. You will develop a solid foundation of technical skills, along with a familiarity of professional tools and resources. Paired with an understanding of storytelling and conceptualization, you will emerge as an effective visual communicator, bringing creative problem-solving skills to workplaces around the globe. These abilities are what make Ringling Illustration graduates so attractive to companies in so many fields – music, entertainment, fashion, publishing, media, greeting cards, science, medicine, and literally hundreds of others. Illustration has an incredibly rich history, but it also has a remarkably bright future. More About Our Program Course Descriptions
Fearlessly make your mark.
BFA Program
Awards & Accolades
The Art Career Project just ranked the Ringling College Illustration program #2 on its list of "The Best U.S. Schools for Illustration and Drawing 2018".
Ringling College of Art and Design remains the top performing college in history in the Society of Illustrators’ Annual Student Scholarship Competition. This year, 21 entries from Ringling College were accepted into the exhibition.
Student Work
Where are they now?
Ringling Illustration graduates are working in hundreds of industries around the world!
Cameron Cottrill ’14
Tampa Bay Times | News Artist
Morgan Davidson ’14
Freelance | Illustrator
Teresa Mai ’14
Creativo Surface Design | Graphic Designer
Charlotte Mao ’14
Google | Visual Designer
Veronica Valencia ’14
Floyd County Productions | Storyboard Artist
Natalie Andrewson ’13
Freelance | Editorial Illustrator
Matt Howley ’13
Harper Collins Publishers | Cover Illustrator
Andres M. Labrada ’13
Freelance | Illustrator; Storyboard Illustrator
Wren McDonald ’13
Freelance | Illustrator; Cartoonist
Patu Phan ’13
American Greetings | Lead Illustrator
Tyrell Dion Waiters ’13
Abercrombie & Fitch | Associate Graphic Designer
Brett Carville ’12
Freelance | Contract Illustrator, Puppet Fabricator and Comic Illustrator
Jordie Bellaire ’10
Freelance | Comic Book Colorist
Sarah Watts ’08
Cotton+Steel Fabrics; Wattsalot
Cofounder/Designer; Illustration/Art Licensing
Tristan Henry-Wilson ’04
McCann Echo | Senior Graphic Designer; Oil Painter
Tim Rogerson ’04
Walt Disney Company | Fine Artist
Daniel Miyares ’02
Hallmark | Master Artist; Author/Illustrator
Brian Blomer ’01
United Airlines | User Experience Designer
Shawn Barber ’99
Memoir Tattoo | Co-owner/Tattooist; Safehouse Atelier; Instructor; Self Employed; Painter/Illustrator
Phil Noto ’92
Marvel Comics/Lucasfilm | Artist
See more career opportunities on our career support page.
Turning Passion Into Profession
Opportunities for Illustration students
Student Publications
Students are invited to submit artwork each semester for collaborative, theme-based student publications. Contributing to these publications offers students exposure to art directors, editors, art buyers, and also helps them build a fan base. Current publications include a graphic novel called Meanwhile, a theme-based children's book, and a visual development book called Design Unscripted.
Work with our Career Services Center to prepare and guide you to finding an internship focused on your area of interest – we are here to help! With networks around the region and the country, we help you gain exposure to professional best practices and practical application of your technical skills. We are constantly connecting with industry professionals to find new, exciting opportunities to put your skills to work and get a taste of real-world work demands.
Society of Illustrators Annual Competiton
To date, Ringling College students have won more awards in the 40 year history of the Society of Illustrators than any other college and comprise the highest number of accepted entries into the Society’s annual Student Scholarship Competition. About 300 works are chosen from more than 8,700 entries submitted by professors of college-level students nationwide. A competition which can kick start a career, the Student Scholarship Competition challenges students to bring their most sophisticated, well-crafted and original work to be tested by a jury of professional peers, including illustrators and art directors, who selects the most outstanding works created throughout the year.
The Collaboratory
We are proud to say that every Ringling student, regardless of major, is guaranteed the opportunity to gain professional work experience. Our Collaboratory Commitment pairs teams of Ringling students with local businesses to give students a taste of real-world projects, expectations, and deadlines. Facilitated by Collaboratory staff, students will meet with clients looking for creative, unconventional solutions to their branding and design challenges and execute the entire creative process of concepting, presenting, and building campaigns that meet their demands.