Bachelor of Fine Arts in Art - Illustration California State University, Long Beach, USA

Students in this track will take a series of courses to help them develop skills for the field of illustration. Professional illustrators create work for a wide variety of applications. Some examples are: editorial work for magazines and newspapers, comics and graphic novels, textiles/clothing and the home and gift market, technical and biomedical illustration, entertainment (storyboards and visual development) and advertising. Students will focus on building their skills in drawing, painting and conceptualizing to create strong work geared towards their area of interest using their particular strengths.

Program Learning Outcomes

• Majors will possess an understanding of the common elements of art/design and of the interaction of these elements, and be able to employ them in their work.
• Majors will possess technical skills for producing art in several media, and will acquire substantial technical knowledge applicable to their area of specialization.
• Majors will be able to produce workable connections between concept and media as well as demonstrate perceptual acuity, conceptual understanding, and technical facility at a professional entry level in their chosen specialization.
• Majors will be familiar with a broad range of artists, designers, craft traditions and art movements and be able to place works of art/design in historical, cultural and stylistic contexts, particularly in their specialization.
• Majors will possess an understanding of contemporary thinking and current major issues in art/design.
• Majors will be able to generate competent verbal and written responses to visual phenomena, utilizing relevant vocabulary to communicate concepts to art/design professionals.
• Majors will be able to make assessments of effectiveness in design projects and works of art, especially the student’s own.
• Majors will be able to analyze works of art and design perceptively and critically, and convincingly form and defend value judgments of these works.
• Majors will be able to identify and solve visual problems within a variety of physical, technological, social and cultural contexts.
• Majors will be able to generate work and solve problems independently, resulting in a coherent set of artistic/intellectual goals that are evident in their work.
• Majors will be able to synthesize, as appropriate to the issue, their capabilities in studio, analysis, history and technology.
• Majors will be able to work collaboratively and will possess functional knowledge of basic business practices in the arts, as appropriate to their area of specialization.
• Majors will have had regular opportunities to exhibit original work, culminating in a senior exhibition with other graduating students in their area of specialization.