Illustration
Visualizing ideas and stories.
Perfect your drawing and painting skills, develop your artistic style, and unleash your visual creativity in our nationally-acclaimed Illustration major.
“Onigami”
Eric Wang ’20
Make your mark in this BFA program.
Master the fundamentals of color, composition, and anatomy in both traditional and digital media, and learn to compose effective and compelling illustrations. Study character design, development, and storyboarding in our Visual Development program. Our students win awards, scholarships, and kick start their careers in illustration at industry giants like Apple, Blue Sky Studios, Cartoon Network, Disney, EA Games, GM, Google, Hallmark, Riot Games, United Airlines, and Zynga.
Awards and Recognition
Paths Include
General Illustration
The General Illustration degree curriculum begins with learning the fundamentals of color theory, composition, and anatomy, employing both digital and traditional media. The goal is to compose works that effectively communicate a message. The core of every illustration is a story to be told, a problem to be solved, or a perspective to be shared. Working in 2D and 3D, students in the Illustration major are introduced to and familiarized with professional industry techniques resulting in a comprehensive and cohesive portfolio that showcases a student’s distinct visual voice. Employment opportunities include surface design for fashion, children’s books, editorial including magazine, newspaper, and book cover art, medical manuals, interactive web illustration, technical art, and advertising illustration. Ringling College General Illustration graduates have been hired by American Greetings, Apple, Blue Sky Studios, Cartoon Network, Disney, EA Games, GM, Google, Hallmark, Marvel Comics/Lucasfilm, Riot Games, United Airlines, Walt Disney, Zynga, and many others.
Visual Development
The Visual Development Emphasis focuses on concept art, used by illustrators to convey ideas across the entertainment spectrum in industries including gaming, comics, and graphic novels, film, television (live-action and animated), video, toy design, themed entertainment, publishing, and advertising. Students will learn to visualize and create the art for characters and environments that is later used by modelers, animators, designers, visual effects artists, and other creatives to bring the ideas to life through production.
Get To Know Your Major
Student work
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.
Opportunities for students
Design Center
Put your skills to work at the Design Center, our in-house design firm, where things get real. Working with our dedicated faculty and in-house designers, you will have the opportunity to solve real communications problems for external clients, as well as for Ringling College events, exhibitions, and recruitment efforts.
Internships
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 Competition
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.
INDEX
INDEX – Industry Experience at Ringling College – is our promise to provide every student the opportunity to have hands-on industry experience before graduation by offering real-world projects with real-world clients. This experiential education initiative allows students to learn how to turn passion into profession. INDEX opportunities are abundant and available through experiential learning in the classroom, the Design Center, Studio Labs, ART Network, the Makerspace, as client competitions and immersive experiences, volunteerism, internships, and elective courses.
