COURSE CURRICULUM

The MA Children’s Book Illustration at Cambridge School of Art is built on the ethos of empowering students to develop their own unique visual language, rather than conforming to predefined styles or trends. The course begins with a strong foundation in observational drawing and experimentation with materials, methods, and techniques, encouraging students to explore and refine their artistic voice. Building on this, students progress to studying sequential visual communication, where they learn to create projects that may be narrative or thematic, fictional or non-fictional, rooted in observation or imagination. As the course develops, students examine the characteristics of books designed for children’s audiences while still being encouraged to create authentically as individual artists. A significant written component of the course is the Research and Review module, requiring a 6,000-word essay that allows students to explore a focused area of children’s book illustration, placing their own practice within both historical and contemporary contexts. Assessment throughout the program is practice-led and reflective, with modules such as Observation and Experiment and The Sequential Image assessed entirely on portfolio work. Other modules combine portfolio work, research proposals, essays, and reports, culminating in the Masters Stage Project, which integrates creative outcomes with critical reflection.