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What are the top Colorado illustration schools for 2024?
| Ranking | School | City |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design | Denver |
| 2 | University of Colorado Denver | Denver |
Our 2024 ranking of the top illustration schools in Colorado. For an explanation of the ranking criteria, click here.
1. Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design, Denver, Colorado
Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design (RMCAD) has several Illustration program options. Within the Illustration BFA program concentrations in Children’s Book and Sequential Art, and an emphasis in Concept Art. Students in this program also have the option to select the Illustration curriculum without an emphasis or concentration. In addition to the Illustration BFA, RMCAD has an Illustrative Design BFA that explores technology, design thinking, graphic design, and illustration.
The Illustration BFA consists of 123 credit hours, including 45 liberal arts credits and 24 foundations credits for each option. Children’s Book, Sequential Arts, and Illustration (no focus area) students will complete 48 credits in Illustration. Concept Art students will complete 36 Illustration credits. Illustration students (no focus area) will select six studio elective credits, while Children’s Book students will take six credits in the concentration. Sequential Arts requires six credits in the concentration, while Concept Art requires 15 credits in the emphasis and three studio elective credits.
Course examples across programs include 3D Design: Space + Materiality; Illustration I-III; Landscape Painting; Digital Illustration I-II; Sequential Art; Life Drawing I-IV; Children’s Book Illustration; Illustration Media; Character Design; Typography for Illustration; Topics in Illustration; and Illustration Marketing.
All RMCAD Illustration students benefit from small class sizes with individual instruction; access to industry standard software and facilities; and the opportunity to collaborate with professional Illustrators. Students will also have the opportunity to complete the Illustration Internship, worth three credits.
The Illustration BFA program at Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design culminates with the Illustration Graduation Portfolio, completed across two courses. Graduates are prepared to pursue titles such as Children’s Book Illustrator, Concept Artist for Games and Animation, Comic Book Illustrator, Technical Illustrator, Editorial Illustrator, Product Designer, Graphic Novelist, and Scientific or Medical Illustrator.
The Illustrative Design BFA at RMCAD is a hybrid degree that requires 123 credit hours. Students will complete 27 credits in Graphic Design, 21 credits in Illustration and nine credits in Illustrative Design. The remaining credits are in foundations, liberal arts, and art/design history. Course examples for the program include Vector Illustration; Raster Image Processing; Illustration I-III; Sequential Art; Visual Sequencing; Motion Design; Digital Illustration; Character Design; and Information Visualization.
Other program features include small class sizes with personalized instruction; year-round classes; hands-on training; a combination of online and on-campus coursework; and portfolio development. Classroom tools include Adobe Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator, and After Effects.
The culminating experiences for the Illustrative Design BFA at Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design include the Senior Illustrative Design Seminar and the Illustrative Design Graduation Portfolio.
Graduates are prepared to pursue titles such as Illustrator, Graphic Designer, Motion Designer, Print Designer, Typographer, Information Designer, Package Designer, and Art Director.
Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design began in 1963 as Rocky Mountain School of Art. Serving more than 1,000 students, RMCAD offers 16 degree and certificate programs offered in campus/hybrid and online formats. Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) and it is an accredited institutional member of the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD).
2. University of Colorado Denver, Denver, Colorado
The College of Arts & Media (CAM) at University of Colorado Denver (CU Denver) has a has an Illustration BFA program that prepares students for careers as independent artists or full-time, salaried positions within a wide range of creative fields and other fields. An Illustration minor is available for students in other majors such as Digital Design, 3D Graphics and Animation, or Architecture.
Consisting of 18 credit hours, the Illustration minor requires Drawing I; Two Dimensional Design; and Illustration I: Image Making. For the remaining credits, students may select from a variety of lower division Visual Arts courses and electives. Examples include Introduction to Digital Design; The Graphic Novel Workshop; Illustration II: Digital Media; Digital Painting; and The Business of Art. Students in this program may also use up to six credit hours to fulfill both major and minor requirements.
The Illustration BFA at University of Colorado Denver is a 120 credit hour program that provides opportunities to work on projects for Pixar, the Denver Art Museum, and local galleries and studios. BFA students also have access to state-of-the art digital labs, industrial equipment, and sculpture studios, as well as the CU Denver internship and study abroad programs.
Course examples for the program include Illustration I: Image Making; Illustration II: Digital Media; Illustration III: Investigative Methods; Drawing I-II; Three-Dimensional Design; The Graphic Novel Workshop; Media of Drawing; Digital Painting; Life Drawing; and The Business of Art. Students may select up to 12 semester hours of Visual Arts electives to enhance the degree or create a focus area.
The Illustration BFA program at CU Denver culminates with the Illustration BFA Thesis course (Illustration IV) worth three credits. Projects will be presented at an exhibition and students will also create a professional Illustration portfolio.
Graduates of the program are prepared to pursue positions in areas such as children’s books, comic books, interactive illustration, graphic novels, animation, editorial, game art and design, advertising, graphic design, medical illustration, architecture, and scientific illustration.
University of Colorado Denver opened in 1912 as an extension of the University of Colorado Boulder. The school became the University of Colorado Denver Center in 1965, and CU Denver in 1973, making it an independent campus. Organized into seven colleges and schools, University of Colorado Denver serves more than 15,000 students enrolled in approximately 115 degree programs. University of Colorado Denver is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC).