Illustration
The Illustration department encourages the combination of fundamentals and technical skills with your original ideas, to prepare you for work across multiple creative industries.
The illustration elective course options form pathways in Visual Development, Publishing, Fashion Lifestyle and Licensing, Comics and Sequential, or Gallery Artist. Through these pathways, you will develop a portfolio specific to your career goals and creative interests.
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Illustration students integrate the fundamentals of visual storytelling, figure drawing, color, composition, and perspective with industry-relevant coursework.
Our pathways will help you create a focused portfolio for freelance or studio-based careers in illustration, and that combined with our business-centric courses and optional Creative Entrepreneurship minor will prepare you for work in a studio or opening your own.
Visual Development is for artists interested in the creative advancement of characters and environments for the animation industry. Gain an in-depth understanding of the industry pipeline and gain hands-on animation production experience- both feature and series length- all while building a portfolio project specifically geared toward industry placement.
Publishing is for students who are interested in the various paths within print and digital publishing, like editorial, book cover and interior illustration, children’s picture books, and posters. Students will develop a focused portfolio and gain in-depth knowledge of industry practices, and trends within this well-known area of the illustration industry.
The fashion, lifestyle and licensing pathway combines illustration with design on a variety of surfaces and products. Emphasis is placed on cutting-edge market and trend research utilizing industry-standard databases and resources. The Fashion, Lifestyle, and Licensing illustration markets are major growth areas in the Illustration industry, and our course content evolves with it.
Students use visual storytelling skills for both self-published ‘zines and mainstream comics and graphic novel markets as well as storyboarding for television and film, in the Comics and Sequential pathway. Students will develop technical drawing skills alongside storytelling skillsets like acting, film theory, and script interpretation.
The gallery artist pathway balances classical skillsets with personal voice development and conceptual theory. Coursework includes more extensive figure painting and students’ resulting portfolio will be ready to submit to galleries and for solo and group exhibitions.
Your Future, In Motion
With our extensive industry connections spanning over a century, we ensure that the active learning our students engage in aligns with industry needs, preparing them for careers.
Cutting-Edge Spaces for Creative Minds
Enjoy unlimited access to industry-standard facilities that prepare you for real-world production.
Internationally, nationally and right here in Detroit, Illustration graduates pursue multiple avenues upon graduation
Possible Career Choices
Kickstart your portfolio preparation with our free online workshop.
Designed for students aged 14 to 18, these free online workshops from CCS allow you to refine your technical and artistic skills right from home.
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