Illustration
— Martin French, Department Chair
The Illustration department’s curriculum emphasizes a strong interdependence between timeless technical mastery and contemporary marketplace savvy. Our students learn to approach their work both as artistic visionaries and as pragmatic professionals. They acquire proficiency in traditional studio media as well as the latest technology-based mediums. They learn to think in terms of client-needs and deadlines, social contribution and critique. Above all, students learn to generate powerful, relevant ideas and to communicate them through an equally powerful and distinct artistic voice.
By fusing professional practice with personal vision, Illustration students develop the hybrid skill-set needed to flourish in today’s dynamic, multi-media marketplace. Whereas many illustrators learn primarily how to draw, our students learn that their drawing skills are simply one powerful tool among many that are needed to create the visual messages that will skyrocket a company or redirect a culture. Rather than technicians who merely render old ideas visible, PNCA illustrators become creative fire-starters. They learn to engage marketplace and culture with strong conceptual strategies and an array of media, which, when combined, help their work go beyond making tired sense to making fresh meaning.
Learn more about the current students and faculty of the Illustration program on the Illustration Tumblr site.
Professional Development
- Unique mentorship programs which hones individual students skill sets for application to the contemporary illustration marketplace
- Professional practices instruction
- Portfolio preparation
- Internships for seniors and recent graduates at companies like Nike, Wieden+Kennedy, Microsoft, Dark Horse Comics, and Nintendo
