Graphic Design & Illustration Courses
At City Lit, our exciting range of graphic design and ilustration courses will give you a creative insight into working with images and text in an emerging and innovative area. Explore a range of concepts and creative processes, within the areas of graphic design, illustration, children’s book illustration and animation, learning how to produce work visually in a diverse and exciting way.
Working with industry professionals and experienced tutors in our fully equipped design studios, students will have access to everything they need to complete their next creative challenge. Our studios offer space for creativity with all the equipment your need, including Apple Mac computers, Adobe CC software, Wacom tablets, a range of printers and scanners including access to our 3D printing and laser cutting digital suite.
We encourage playful experimentation, working with both analogue and digital tools. Our courses range from drafting story boards and cartoon design to film poster graphics, from typography and magazine layout to printed creative packaging and digital illustrations.
We host exhibitions throughout the year at City Lit Gallery where our students showcase their amazing work.
To arrange a conversation with our Visual communication coordinator about your interests, options and courses available, please contact our Visual Arts team at visualarts@citylit.ac.uk
- Developing illustration
Course start date: Mon 23 Sep 2024 (and 2 other dates)Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Adam GraffOur ‘Developing' courses help you take your next step in a chosen creative field.
This course will help progress your illustration practice by further exploring the practical skills (using a variety of analogue and digital media) and conceptual skills (researching and developing your ideas) integral to the discipline. You will also begin to consider which of the many ‘applications’ of illustration your developing personal style might lend itself to; for example, editorial, fashion, book, or product illustration, to name a few.Full fee £279.00 Senior fee £223.00 Concession £181.00 - Design with Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesignCourse start date: Sun 29 Sep 2024 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Gita HahnA fun and challenging introduction to these three programs, regularly used together for everything from infographics to packaging and magazine work. Learn how to integrate vector graphics, photographic images and page layout and design.Full fee £649.00 Senior fee £519.00 Concession £422.00 - Typography, typefaces and font workshopCourse start date: Mon 30 Sep 2024 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Andrew McCartenAll designers know, images are powerful. But have you ever considered the look of your text? In other words, the typeface? It’s amazing how many designers overlook this powerful aspect of communication. Words are powerful (of course), but it’s not just what they say, it’s how they say it. On this workshop, learn how to harness the power of type.
Take a deep dive into a specific process, media or tool, with our Visual Communication Workshops.
Workshops throw the spotlight onto niche areas of the visual communication field, enabling you to hone higher-level skills and gain deeper insights.
Workshops tend to have a practical focus, with little or no conceptual or contextual elements, although this varies by course.Full fee £229.00 Senior fee £183.00 Concession £149.00 - Illustrating animals workshopCourse start date: Wed 2 Oct 2024 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Ciara FloodAnimals are all around us – even in London! From Trafalgar Square’s flocks of pigeons, to rodents on the Underground, to the dog-filled squares and parks. Despite their ubiquity, animals are notoriously hard to draw – as, anatomically speaking, they’re so different to humans – as well as to each other! And, they don’t like to pose!
Learn how to overcome these challenges in our ‘Illustrating Animals’ workshop.
Our Workshops enable you to take a deep dive into a specific process, media or tool.
They throw the spotlight onto niche areas of the visual communication field, enabling you to hone higher-level skills and gain deeper insights.
Workshops tend to have a practical focus, with little or no theory or context, although this varies by course.Full fee £229.00 Senior fee £183.00 Concession £149.00 - Design with Adobe Photoshop and IllustratorCourse start date: Fri 4 Oct 2024
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Gita HahnA thorough, step-by-step introduction to Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator – programs widely used by designers and illustrators in the creative industries. Learn and experiment with a range of techniques that integrate vector and pixel-based images for design and illustration. - City Lit Children's book illustration courseCourse start date: Fri 4 Oct 2024
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Tim Ellis, Ciara Flood, Dee Shulman, Robyn Wilson-OwenThis 20-week course will take you on a journey from beginner to intermediate, direct.
The Children’s Book industry is thriving, largely due to globally rising literacy levels, and a growing awareness of the importance of early childhood education. As a result, Children’s Book creators are in demand.
Our tutors will teach you the many and various skills you’ll need to illustrate books for children - from drawing and painting (analogue and digital), sequencing and pacing the narrative, to editing the images digitally and overlaying text.
You'll learn about the children’s publishing sector; gaining a sense of the different genres and markets for children's books, and where your illustration style might fit.Full fee £1,599.00 Senior fee £1,279.00 Concession £1,039.00 - Adobe Photoshop: a detailed introductionCourse start date: Sat 5 Oct 2024 (and 2 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Andrea MarzanoThis course is a solid introduction to Adobe Photoshop and has been designed for students who want to learn the professional and most effective way to use Photoshop from the ground up.Full fee £219.00 Senior fee £175.00 Concession £142.00 - Zine making: weekend workshopCourse start date: Sat 5 Oct 2024 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Pam WilliamsZines (short for magazine) are low-cost, self-made publications that offer an opportunity to be playful and creative. Use just about any topic as a starting point and explore various approaches and techniques to bring your zine to life.
An ideal workshop for any artists, illustrators or designers who wishes to explore self-made work.Full fee £169.00 Senior fee £169.00 Concession £169.00 - City Lit Pro: Adobe Illustrator intensiveCourse start date: Tue 15 Oct 2024
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Gita HahnCity Lit Pro courses provide accelerated learning for busy people who need specific skills for the workplace. On this intensive and fast-paced course you'll learn the fundamental skills you need to design and manipulate vector graphics to create graphics, logos and simple illustrations using Adobe Illustrator. Students should be comfortable with a fast-paced learning environment and have good computer skills. - Introduction to graphic novels Course start date: Tue 15 Oct 2024 (and 2 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Our 'Introduction' courses provide a perfect way-in to a creative field.
Comics – once considered lowbrow, or seen as exclusively for children, now occupy a higher cultural domain. Partly thanks to a re-brand, (as ‘Graphic Novels’), no weighty subject is off-limits. A graphic novel has even been nominated for The Booker Prize!
Alongside official publishing channels, exists a lively ‘zine’ culture, where comic and graphic-novel artists can legitimately self-publish and sell their work through a network of independent shops and fairs.
Learn how to create Comics and Graphic-novels with City Lit, and – once you have developed your practice – how to navigate this thriving sector.Full fee £369.00 Senior fee £295.00 Concession £240.00 - Introduction to illustration Course start date: Mon 21 Oct 2024 (and 3 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Adam GraffOur 'Introduction' courses provide a perfect way-in to a creative field.
Illustration is a form of visual communication which often exists alongside text. Illustrations can help to explain or clarify (or sometimes contradict) the words on a page. Most of all, you could say, they bring the message 'alive', by making it more immediate and exciting. For this reason, illustrations are found across books, magazines, newspapers, websites and social media channels.
Learn how to create powerful illustrations on our exciting range of Illustration courses.Full fee £369.00 Senior fee £295.00 Concession £240.00 - Introduction to graphic designCourse start date: Wed 23 Oct 2024 (and 3 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Pam WilliamsOur 'Introduction' courses provide a perfect way-in to a creative field.
Graphic Design is everywhere; in our books, magazines, and newspapers. Emblazoning packaging at the corner shop to the mall. On our screens- phones, TVs, computers and tablets. To say it’s important would be an understatement.
Don’t just consume. Learn how to use image and type to communicate your messages, emotions and ideas. Beyond this, learn about the movements and styles which have shaped the field of Graphic Design over the years, and how to find your place there.Full fee £369.00 Senior fee £295.00 Concession £240.00 - Children's book illustration studio
Course start date: Fri 25 Oct 2024 (and 1 other date)Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Tim EllisCity Lit Studios provide time each week for you to commit to working on a personal project or portfolio, alongside your peers. A tutor will be on-hand to provide insights and guidance, as and when you need it.
Studios are for experienced learners with a burgeoning creative practice they wish to hone, in a supportive environment. For example, those who have completed a Beginners and Developing course in a relevant subject, or have equivalent industry experience.Full fee £369.00 Senior fee £295.00 Concession £240.00 - Adobe InDesign: a detailed introductionCourse start date: Sat 26 Oct 2024 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Andrea MarzanoThis course is a solid introduction to Adobe InDesign and has been designed for students who want to learn the professional and most effective way to use InDesign from the ground up.Full fee £219.00 Senior fee £175.00 Concession £142.00 - From traditional to digital illustration workshopCourse start date: Wed 30 Oct 2024 (and 2 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Adobe Creative Suite is the principal software used by Illustrators and Designers all over the world. On this course, learn how to take scribbly sketches and inky splotches into Adobe Photoshop and transform them into illustrations, collages, pattern designs… the possibilities are almost endless; thankfully, you will also be taught a crucial skill of digital illustration - knowing when to stop!
Our Workshops enable you to take a deep dive into a specific process, media or tool.
They throw the spotlight onto niche areas of the visual communication field, enabling you to hone higher-level skills and gain deeper insights.
Workshops tend to have a practical focus, with little or no theory or context, although this varies by course.Full fee £229.00 Senior fee £183.00 Concession £149.00
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