Illustration BFA, BA & Minor

About this Program

Transform your ideas into compelling visual stories through Illustration BFA, BA and minor pathways while mastering traditional and digital illustration techniques and building a professional portfolio.

Explore a wide range of creative approaches as you build skills in drawing, painting, visual storytelling and digital illustration. Through projects inspired by publishing, gaming, product design and other creative industries, you’ll learn to communicate ideas with clarity, imagination and purpose while engaging with the philosophical and ethical questions that shape contemporary visual culture.

Learn from accomplished illustrators, artists and designers who provide personalized mentorship in a collaborative studio environment. Using industry-standard tools and emerging technologies, you’ll refine your technical abilities, experiment with new creative processes and build a portfolio through critiques, workshops, internships and professional networking opportunities with organizations in Seattle and beyond.

Whether you’re pursuing intensive professional preparation, a flexible interdisciplinary education or a way to complement another field of study, Illustration offers pathways to support your goals. You’ll graduate with the artistic, technical and professional skills to pursue careers in illustration, concept art, graphic novels, publishing, product design and other creative industries.

Quick Facts

Program Type

Major or Minor

Degree

Bachelor of Fine Arts
Bachelor of Arts
Minor

School

Cornish College of the Arts

Campus

South Lake Union

Learning Format

In-Person

Duration

4 years

Start Date

August, January

Credits

120 semester credits

Find YOUR Creative Path

Our Illustration programs are designed with flexibility in mind. Students can explore different academic and creative paths early in their studies and, if their interests evolve, easily transition between the BFA and the BA without losing progress toward their degree. BA students benefit from the freedom to study across disciplines by pursuing a double major or minors, while students pursuing a BFA receive specialized training. This structure helps you find the program that best supports your artistic and professional goals as they evolve through your course of study.

Illustration BFA

The Illustration BFA is an immersive, studio-based program designed for students who want to pursue illustration as a professional creative practice. You’ll build expertise in traditional and digital illustration while developing skills in drawing, painting, visual storytelling and concept development. A sequence of required cohort studios provides a strong foundation in the history, theory and contemporary practice of illustration, while studio electives allow you to deepen your expertise in areas that match your creative interests and career goals.

Throughout the program, you’ll create work that responds thoughtfully to a wide range of audiences and industries while developing a distinctive artistic voice. You’ll learn from practicing illustrators, participate in critiques, workshops and professional experiences, and graduate with a polished portfolio showcased in a public capstone exhibition. Whether you aspire to work in publishing, game development, product design, graphic novels or other creative fields, the Illustration BFA prepares you to enter the profession with confidence and a strong body of work.

Illustration BA

The Illustration BA combines a strong foundation in illustration with the flexibility to explore additional academic and creative interests. You’ll study alongside BFA students in core illustration courses while building skills in drawing, painting, visual storytelling and digital illustration. With fewer required studio courses, the program gives you the freedom to pursue electives, double majors or minors while developing your own artistic voice and preparing for a range of creative careers.

Designed for students seeking an interdisciplinary education, the Illustration BA concludes with a professional portfolio course that prepares you to enter the marketplace with confidence. You’ll learn from practicing illustrators and designers, engage with real-world creative challenges and graduate with a portfolio that showcases your technical skills, creative thinking and unique perspective. Whether your interests include publishing, game art, graphic novels, product design or another creative field, the Illustration BA provides the flexibility to shape your education around your goals.

Illustration Minor

The Illustration minor gives you the opportunity to strengthen your visual communication skills while complementing a wide range of majors. You’ll build a foundation in traditional and digital illustration, drawing, painting and visual storytelling while exploring how illustration can communicate ideas across industries such as publishing, game development, product design and graphic novels. Whether you’re expanding your creative practice or adding artistic skills to another field of study, the Illustration minor helps you develop a portfolio and a versatile set of visual storytelling abilities.

Core Skills & Techniques

Drawing and Painting: Traditional and digital techniques for creating detailed and expressive illustrations.
Visual Storytelling: Developing narrative techniques to convey stories and concepts through images.
Digital Tools: Proficiency in industry-standard software for illustration, including Adobe Creative Suite.
Surface Design: Creating patterns and designs for products, packaging and textiles.
Typography and Layout: Integrating text with images to create cohesive visual compositions.
Character and Concept Design: Designing characters and concepts for games, animation and graphic novels.
Professional Practices: Career development, portfolio creation and networking in the Illustration industry.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of the Illustration BFA, you will be able to:

Produce illustrations for a variety of contexts that respond sensitively to content and purpose.
Synthesize theory, history and research to inform the illustration process and product.
Demonstrate analog & digital skills at professional standards of craft and originality.
Compile and display a professional illustration portfolio with resume and cohesive voice for public facing presentation (which includes a capstone exhibition).
Engage projects and outcomes that begin or deepen service to a broader community outside of the university setting.

Upon successful completion of the Illustration BA, you will be able to:

Produce illustration for a variety of contexts that respond sensitively to content and purpose.
Synthesize theory, history and research to inform the illustration process and product.
Demonstrate analog & digital skills at emergent professional standards of craft.
Compile and display an illustration portfolio.
Engage “real-world” projects and outcomes that prepare you for service to a broader community outside of the university setting.

Connect Your Passion to New Possibilities

Explore purposeful academic combinations while pursuing a rigorous arts education to enhance your career preparation. At Seattle University, you can combine an Illustration BA with a wide variety of other majors or add any minor while staying on track to graduate in four years. You can also customize an Illustration BFA by pursuing any minor offered across Seattle University without extending your time to degree.

While this is not an exhaustive list, explore some of the many ways Illustration can be paired with other disciplines to enhance your academic journey and strengthen your professional preparation:

Visit Cornish College of the Arts

For more than a century, Cornish College of the Arts has inspired artists, performers and designers to push creative boundaries and shape the future of their fields. Today, at Cornish College of the Arts at Seattle University, you can experience that legacy firsthand while exploring the studios, performance spaces and collaborative community where creativity comes to life. Schedule a campus visit, take a virtual tour or connect with our admissions team to discover how you can make this historic creative community your own.