Art & Design/Illustration (ARIL)

ARIL 101  Introduction to Illustration  (3 credits)

Prerequisite(s): ARFD 100. Restriction(s): BFA Illustration Majors Only or Department Permission. In this course, students plunge into the professional field of illustration through different media formats and functions, while gaining an introduction to the diverse markets within the illustration industry. This course applies foundational artistic principles to the practice of illustration through the utilization of composition, value, perspective, and color theory to foster conceptual thinking and facilitate visual narrative. Students will cultivate ideas and concepts through several projects that emphasize the vital roles that contemporary and historical research, and the use of photographic references, play in illustrative ideation. Students will learn the life cycle of developing an illustration through fast sketching, value studies, experimenting with a variety of artistic mediums, and group critiques, to bring their work to completion.

ARIL 200  Digital Painting 1  (3 credits)

Prerequisite(s): ARIL 101 and ARIL 103. Restriction(s): BFA Illustration Majors or Department Permissions. This course comprehensively introduces students to digital painting methods used in creating illustration. Students develop skills using image manipulation and painting tools to replicate and digitally interpret the array of traditional painting techniques. By examining historical and contemporary references and moving through a series of focused exercises, students learn the techniques of visual elaboration. Attention to principles of composition, light, hue, and value, as well as software tools to create clipping masks, speed painting, color blocking, bitmap painting, and vector drawing establish proficiency in industry standard practices. Critiques and discussions introduce students to the norms of digital illustration presentation expectations.

ARIL 202  3D Character Building  (3 credits)

Prerequisite(s): ARIL 101 and ARFD 103. Restriction(s): BFA Illustration majors only. Students are comprehensively introduced to digital painting techniques used in creating illustration artwork. Students develop skills using image manipulation and painting tools to replicate and interpret traditional painting techniques digitally, through exercises that emphasize techniques of visual elaboration with attention to composition, light, hue and value.

ARIL 225  Art of the Visual Narrative  (3 credits)

Prerequisite(s): ARIL 101. Restriction(s): BFA Animation / Illustration majors only. Students study the art of storytelling and creative writing through visual media. Projects include the application of narrative in advertising, video games, picture books, graphic novels, film, comic arts, animation, and illustration.

ARIL 261  Character Design for Illustrators  (3 credits)

Prerequisite(s): ARIL 101 and ARFD 124. Restriction(s): BFA Illustration majors only. This course focuses on designing and developing characters for illustration. Students will explore conceptualizing and sketching characters, humans and anthropomorphized objects and animals, in ink, pencil, and markers. Character persona, context, and emotional development are portrayed in sketch series that include physical details and 360-degree visualizations, of characters at rest and in action. Emphasis s also placed on character development through critique and discussion. Text description is also explored.

ARIL 262  Illustration and Motion  (3 credits)

Prerequisite(s): ARIL 101. Restriction(s): BFA Illustration majors only. Students learn and apply production techniques for real‐world presentation of moving two-dimensional images to create story through collage and motion manipulations. Topics include timing, hand-drawn effects, bitmap and vector brushes, and multi-plane composition.

ARIL 264  Digital Illustration  (3 credits)

Prerequisite(s): ARIL 225. Restriction(s): BFA Animation / Illustration majors only. Course dedicated to the fast-paced world of magazine and newspaper illustration, with a heavy focus on concepts and how to interpret a story, but also including some new developments such as simple animations for online and mobile editions.

ARIL 300  Intermediate Digital Painting Methods  (3 credits)

Prerequisite(s): ARIL 200. Restriction(s): BFA Illustration majors only. This course continues the exploration of application of digital painting software as a painting medium for illustrators. Students formulate digital brushes to refine the art of illustration. Projects blend digital technology with traditional theory, forming an advanced specialty technique. Particular focus on the nuances of color, expression, and environment will build the student's professional creativity.

ARIL 301  Industry Preparation  (3 credits)

Prerequisite(s): ARIL 202. Professional experience during a college career is a significant necessity and initiation to the industry. This course supervises students throughout the individual portfolio and website development. Students learn how to form a proper resume and drafting a suitable cover letter for explicit job opportunities. Lessons and projects include an online profile set-up and resume upload to networking sites, and methods of research and application to internships. Students learn professional practices, etiquette, and are required to attend networking events. Projects involve preceding classwork crafted to a professional level as well as projects specific to internship trends. Upon the conclusion of the course, students will apply to a minimum of fifteen internships. Offered as ARIL 301 through Winter 2023. To become ANIM 401 effective Spring 2023.

ARIL 302  Intermediate 3D Modeling  (3 credits)

Prerequisite(s): ARIL 202. This course resumes the exploration of advanced techniques in 3D sculpting and topology for animation, dynamics, and 3D printing. Students develop their practice building and sculpting 3D models through an in-depth analysis of character design and anatomy as well as hard-surfaced modeling. Offered as ARIL 302 through Winter 2023. To become ANIM 302 effective Spring 2023.

ARIL 311  Illustration Studio: Cartooning  (3 credits)

Prerequisite(s): ARIL 261. Restriction(s): BFA Illustration majors. Students will create cartoons from the refinement and isolation of a concept from a prompt to publication-ready content. This studio exploration of the single-panel cartoon, the editorial cartoon, and humorous illustration uses discussion, examination, analysis, and experimentation to achieve expressive cartoons. Cartoon formats, concepts, styles, and techniques are explored using historical and contemporary examples. Critiques and discussion provide an audience whose reactions are incorporated by the student presenter as learning tools toward humorist execution. Assignments are treated as part of a publication process that functions on firm deadlines for delivery, revision, and final artwork.

ARIL 312  Products and Zines  (3 credits)

Prerequisite(s): ARIL 300, ARIL 225 or ARIL 262. Restriction(s): Animation and Illustration majors only. In this course, students will create multiple projects associated with the illustration festival conventions. Throughout the class, students produce a group zine, an individual graphic book, and three packaged merchandises for selling to the public at a festival. This class challenges students in areas such as package design, visual layout, and creating commodities that will retail at conventions such as MoCCA Fest NYC.

ARIL 315  Illustration Studio: Concepts  (4 credits)

Prerequisite(s): ARIL 200. Restriction(s): Illustration majors only. Students develop visual ideas for illustration by uniting conceptual thinking (telling a story, using historical concepts), critical thinking (verbal/visual vocabulary, writing), creative thinking (problem-solving), and strong technical and communication skills. The student will originate and carry an idea through stages from ideation to elaboration and refinement. Projects use digital and traditional media. Through writing about their processes and research, students will explore their illustrative style discursively. Equivalent course ARIL 215 effective through Fall 2020.

ARIL 322  Animation for the Internet and Mobile Media  (3 credits)

Prerequisite(s): ARIL 262. Restriction(s): BFA Animation / Illustration majors only. This course focuses on the requirements for animations that are to be viewed on the Internet and mobile media, which differ from the more traditional animation platforms like television and the big screen. Current trends will be surveyed. Ways to translate static illustration into a moving Internet/Mobile media experience are investigated, both conceptually and technically. Students will create work that is appropriate for chosen media.

ARIL 323  Text and Image  (3 credits)

Prerequisite(s): ARIL 264. Restriction(s): BFA Illustration majors only. This course examines and develops skills to effectively use digital fonts and hand drawn letter and number symbols in illustration. Projects teach the proper use of typography to aesthetically enhance expression and/or communicate specific meanings. Type is a crucial aspect of illustration craft and students will engage pragmatic concerns associated with selecting, combining, and creating lettering for illustration.

ARIL 335  Animated Illustration  (3 credits)

Prerequisite(s): ARIL 262. Technology enables illustrators to incorporates movement, animation, sound, music, and multimedia effects. Publications generate a distinct product by employing editorial illustrators to describe and represent an anecdote visually. Through various projects, this course covers the benefits of added mobility in illustration. Offered as ARIL 335 through Winter 2023. To become ANIM 335 effective Spring 2023.

ARIL 349  Concept Design for Gaming  (3 credits)

Prerequisite(s): ARIL 225. Concept illustrators consider characters in worlds, diverse environments, and articles discovered in gaming. Illustrators blend problem-solving tactics with the capacity of digital tools, anatomy, perspective, color, and visual storytelling to develop innovative theories. Students practice an array of methods to produce a body of work that exhibits technical skill and aptitude for successful visual narrative. Offered as ARIL 349 through Winter 2023. To become ANIM 349 effective Spring 2023.

ARIL 350  Professional Business Practice for Illustration  (3 credits)

Prerequisite(s): ARIL 225, ARIL 300 and ARIL 311. Restriction(s): BFA Animation / Illustration majors only. Illustrators need to be prepared for the business aspect of the freelance market. Students will gain an understanding of information in regards to executing an assignment successfully and efficiently. This class practices interpersonal skills and goes through every phase, from understanding legal contracts that are essential to a business transaction to negotiating rates.

ARIL 361  Animation: Broadcast Graphics  (3 credits)

Prerequisite(s): ANIM 321. Restriction(s): BFA Animation / Illustration majors only. An overview of the working aspects of broadcast animation. Focus is on computer graphics as it has integrated into the broadcast industry. Students create animation sequences for news, industrial, educational and informational venues.

ARIL 401  Illustration Studio: Editorial  (3 credits)

Prerequisite(s): ARIL 310 and ARIL 311. Restriction(s): BFA Illustration majors only. Editorial is a fast‐paced society of magazine and newspaper illustration related to written text and commentary cartoons. This course concentrates on the conceptual importance and practices of story and text analysis to develop unique visual ideas that communicate the text's concepts. Students will develop skills for rapid iteration of such ideas from text analysis, and viable illustration techniques for reproduction in print and online media. Projects are based upon unfolding newsworthy events and 'magazine' pieces.

ARIL 422  Final Project I  (4 credits)

Prerequisite(s): ARIL 311, ARIL 325 and ARIL 360. Restriction(s): BFA Animation / Illustration majors only. This course is part one of two for senior thesis. Students map out ideas, collaborate and may work in teams to produce a high quality representation of their capabilities. At the end of the semester, students present their ideas for project approval.

ARIL 423  Animation/Illustration Thesis II  (4 credits)

Prerequisite(s): ARIL 422. Restriction(s): BFA Animation / Illustration majors only. Part two of the senior thesis is completed during the last semester before graduation. Students work to finish their thesis with ongoing dialogue through one on one and group critiques. Successful projects are exhibited in the George Segal Gallery with opening night after the commencement ceremony. Offered as ARIL 423 through Winter 2023. To become ANIM 423 effective Spring 2023.

ARIL 430  Advanced Illustration  (3 credits)

Prerequisite(s): ARIL 225 and ARIL 230 and ARIL 315. Restriction(s): BFA Animation / Illustration majors only. Senior level illustration course to further refine students' technique, concepts, style and voice as illustrators, and to build portfolio quality work.

ARIL 440  Portfolio for Illustrators  (3 credits)

Corequisite(s): ARIL 430. Prerequisite(s): ARIL 225. Restriction(s): BFA Animation / Illustration majors only. Senior level illustration course to further refine students' technique, concepts, style and voice as illustrators, and to build portfolio quality work.

ARIL 460  Advanced Animation II: Interactive Media/Gaming  (3 credits)

Prerequisite(s): ARIL 202. Restriction(s): BFA Animation / Illustration majors only. Students create low polygon characters and scenes for use in game prototypes. Stand-alone game prototypes demonstrate basic game design principles through scripting and storyboarding.