Illustration
As a creative discipline Illustration at RISD is defined by purpose, not media. While using the same tools as in painting, photography, film, graphic design and other disciplines, in Illustration you learn to make imagery with the intent of conveying specific meaning and messages.
Degree programs
In the Illustration BFA program you gain a broad-based sense of what’s possible within the field and enjoy opportunities to master traditional and advanced skills for creating effective, communicative work.
The MFA in Illustration encourages you to reflect on the illustrator‘s role as an influential social actor and readies you to turn your practice to the benefit of society and transformation of the field.
In the studio
Whether painting at the easel, drawing on a computer screen or making 3D characters, Illustration majors learn to master the skills and techniques needed for effective visual storytelling.
Student work
Alumni
In mastering how to draw and paint powerful, meaningful images, Illustration majors graduate ready to write and illustrate books, create surface designs for products, work in web or game design, become animators or character designers and communicate concepts through the many creative paths open to you.
For more than 20 years, Shepard Fairey has critiqued and shaped popular culture through guerrilla art campaigns of global proportions. A graphic designer, entrepreneur and fine artist, he’s perhaps best known for his ubiquitous 2008 Hope poster of Barack Obama, which is in the permanent collection at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery. He also works in the commercial realm through his LA-based agency Studio Number One.
Malaysian-born Singaporean Sonny Liew has built a successful career illustrating creator-owned comics as well as monthly titles for Marvel, DC and other comics publishers. With works including critically acclaimed DC series Doctor Fate and Eternity Girl, he is best known for The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye, a deconstructive graphic novel about the history of modern Singapore. “I’m trying to make history more inclusive,” Liew said of the book that won three Eisner Awards in 2017, including one for Best Writer/Artist.
Julia Rothman combines disparate interests into a career of her own making. She freelances as an illustrator and pattern designer, creating products, designs and branding for clients like Anthropologie, Crate & Barrel, The New York Times and others. In addition, Rothman runs the design studio Also with two RISD friends and has published a growing number of books, including Drawn In, The Exquisite Book, Farm Anatomy, Hello NY and Nature Anatomy.
Featured stories
The Illustration department’s new graduate program aims to transform the field by inspiring self-authorship and social engagement.
Students in a fall studio highlighting humans’ impact on the natural world get encouraging critique from returning alum and wildlife artist Walton Ford.
Seven artists and designers will advance cross-cultural dialogue across Europe and Asia during the 2022–23 academic year.