Illustration Courses in London
Bring your creative ideas to life and explore various approaches to mark making, illustrated letterforms, visual narratives and cartooning, using both traditional and digital processes. Gain confidence in the fundamentals of illustration practice and learn how to respond to a creative brief, generating a range of ideas and exciting work that can be book based, digital or framed.
Work with award winning and industry experts in our fully equipped design studios. Start with our illustration for beginner’s course, or for students looking to develop a wide-ranging portfolio of illustration work, check out our illustration projects course.
Courses available both in-person and online
At City Lit, you can choose to study in-person or online. Our fantastic in-person courses are taught in our attractive campus, located in the heart of Covent Garden, central London. Here, our students can benefit from a variety of services and resources, including our café and state-of-the art equipment.
Our online courses are tailored to give you a social and interactive online learning experience, allowing you freedom to study from anywhere and with like-minded fellow classmates from all over the country without the need to travel. Use the Location filters on this page to choose your preferred learning method. See our guide to online learning for more information about accessing our live online courses.
For more information about courses available, please contact our Visual Arts team at visualarts@citylit.ac.uk
- Introduction to illustration
Course start date: Mon 2 Jun 2025 (and 2 other dates)Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Adam Graff, Lucia VintiOur '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 - Illustrating people and places workshop Course start date: Thu 5 Jun 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Lucia VintiBe inspired by the people of London and the architecture and environments they inhabit. This course all about drawing people and places, providing you with ample opportunity observe London life, situations and scenarios that will inspire your work.
Learn how to document and sketch from life in different locations and then develop artwork into compelling illustrations that are full of life.Full fee £229.00 Senior fee £183.00 Concession £149.00 - Storyboards and narrative illustration Course start date: Fri 13 Jun 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Ciara FloodThe art of telling a story through a sequence of images is thousands of years old. In modern times we call it storyboarding. Being able to take a narrative and translate it into imagery is essential for children’s book illustrators, graphic novelists, animators and film makers. Learning this skill will allow you to successfully convey your ideas to art directors and editors at the early stages of any creative project.Full fee £229.00 Senior fee £183.00 Concession £149.00 - Developing graphic novels Course start date: Mon 23 Jun 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Stephen MarchantOur 'Developing' courses help you take your next step in your chosen 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. - Character design workshop Course start date: Wed 25 Jun 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Ciara FloodTake a deep dive into a specific process, media or tool, with our Visual Communication Workshops.
In this workshop, learn how to create compelling characters for illustration projects, and beyond.
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. - Botanical illustration workshop Course start date: Fri 4 Jul 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Ciara FloodLearn how Botanical Illustrators accurately depict flowers, leaves, stems and seeds - for the purpose of genus and species identification by Botanists and Biologists.
Work from both primary and secondary source material to create an array of illustrative work, including anatomical and/or decorative. - Procreate for illustration Course start date: Fri 4 Jul 2025 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Lucia VintiProcreate is an innovative digital drawing software taking the illustration world by storm! In this workshop you will explore a number of different techniques to create striking illustrations on Procreate.
Please note* you will need your own iPad with Procreate installed, and a stylus such as an Apple Pencil.Full fee £229.00 Senior fee £183.00 Concession £149.00 - Pet Illustration: weekend workshop Course start date: Sat 12 Jul 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Explore techniques to create an impressive illustration of your pet.
Over two days you will explore a range of image-making techniques from drawing and painting to digital image manipulation, collage and table-top printmaking. At the end of the weekend you will take home a finished and unique illustration of your favourite pet.Full fee £169.00 Senior fee £169.00 Concession £169.00 - Botanical illustration Course start date: Mon 15 Sep 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Alison BarrattLearn how Botanical Illustrators accurately depict flowers, leaves, stems and seeds - for the purpose of genus and species identification by Botanists and Biologists.
Work from both primary and secondary source material to create an array of illustrative work, including anatomical and/or decorative.Full fee £239.00 Senior fee £191.00 Concession £155.00 - Illustrating animals Course start date: Thu 18 Sep 2025
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 £239.00 Senior fee £191.00 Concession £155.00 - Drawing cartoons Course start date: Fri 19 Sep 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Stephen MarchantTake 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 £239.00 Senior fee £191.00 Concession £155.00 - Illustrating people and places Course start date: Sun 21 Sep 2025 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Be inspired by the people of London and the architecture and environments they inhabit. This course all about drawing people and places, providing you with ample opportunity observe London life, situations and scenarios that will inspire your work.
Learn how to document and sketch from life in different locations and then develop artwork into compelling illustrations that are full of life.Full fee £239.00 Senior fee £191.00 Concession £155.00 - Developing illustration Course start date: Mon 22 Sep 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Adam Graff, Lucia VintiOur ‘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. - Illustration into printmaking Course start date: Wed 24 Sep 2025 (and 2 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
This course is a playful, explorative and creative introduction into the collaborative world of illustration and printmaking.
Full fee £239.00 Senior fee £191.00 Concession £155.00 - Introduction to graphic novels Course start date: Tue 7 Oct 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Michael-Aubtin Madadi, Sophie WolfsonOur '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 £389.00 Senior fee £311.00 Concession £253.00
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