Illustration Major
At A Glance
Program Type
Bachelor of Arts (BA)
Accreditation
Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU)
Experience
100% of art and design students complete an internship in their field before they graduate
Experience
Showcase your art in on-campus studios
You’ve admired the creativity of illustration in books. You’ve played the video games and been blown away by the graphics. Perhaps as a kid you once thought how much fun it would be to be an illustrator but also wondered how realistic it was to make this dream a reality.
Well, take heart: As an illustration major at George Fox, you could very well pave a career path toward illustrating books, creating surface designs for products, delivering imagery for web or game development, or producing character and concept art. And that’s just the beginning.
Illustrators find work as designers, creative directors, art directors and in a multitude of other roles related to image making. Many illustrators pursue freelance positions, which provide them with autonomy and flexibility in their work and life.
Entrepreneurial Artists
Contemporary illustrators are often known as artistic entrepreneurs, since their practices range from editorial work, self-directed projects and exhibitions to merchandise design and much more.
Our faculty of working professionals will guide you through a curriculum in traditional media, digital tools and portfolio building that prepares you to pursue work and contracts as a practicing freelance professional.
Whether sitting at an easel or working with a Wacom tablet, you will develop creative problem-solving abilities and an authorial voice, and learn to translate ideas into visual forms.
Bachelor of Fine Arts
Interested in another art degree option? Our Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) degree offers a more in-depth alternative to the bachelor of arts degrees in graphic design, illustration, and studio arts and arts administration. This 77-credit degree supports cross-disciplinary exploration and prepares students for advanced roles in the art world and graduate studies.
Designed for flexibility, the BFA allows students to deepen their expertise by blending foundational coursework with electives that suit their unique interests.
Program Distinctives Why Study Illustration at George Fox?
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Our faculty have active practices, working as comic book artists, editorial illustrators, and client-based creators.
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Beyond the “practical” reasons, illustration gives you an outlet to apply your creative mind to create images that communicate thoughts and ideas that encourage, challenge or even change people’s views of the world. You will craft images that tell stories and communicate ideas.
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Participate in solo or group showcases and competitions, including YLW, which connects art industry professionals to students at a showcase at Wieden+Kennedy.
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Get the chance to take part in multiple community-based events, including an art retreat where majors travel to the Oregon Coast to spend a weekend of artmaking, worship and getting to know one another.
Courses / Curriculum What Will I Study?
Our spaces/Where Will I Learn?
Art & Cinematic Arts Building
Create and collaborate in open studio spaces designed for studio arts, illustration and cinematic arts students. Art students work in a large ceramics and pottery studio, dedicated glass and sculpture spaces, and a partially covered courtyard with a kiln for hands-on making.
Cinematic arts students can edit video, record audio, film in a studio space, and share their work in a dedicated screening theater.
Located between the Maker Hub and Pennington Residence Hall, this 12,000-square-foot facility gives you the space to create and gain industry experience.
Career Outlook What’s After George Fox
The Portland metro region is well-known for its thriving arts community, bringing in millions of dollars annually and supporting a significant population of artists. Our students have had work featured in national magazines, have written original children’s books, and completed client work for regional businesses.
- Pivot Group
- Pigeon Toe Ceramics
- Copper River Design
- Harvest House Publishing
- Portland, Beaverton, Salem, Tigard and Sherwood Public Schools
- Livengood & Nowack
- Lawrence Galleries
- Asterix Creative
- La Salle College Preparatory
- 17c黑料 Marketing Department
100% of art and design students at George Fox complete an internship in their field before they graduate. Here's where some of our student interned during the 2023-24 school year:
- Mackenzie Inc.
- A&E Design
- Amy Troute Inspired Interior Design
- Hill Devine Design
- Lindye Galloway Interiors
- RJ Smith Construction
- Portland Pickles Baseball
- SE Calvary Chapel
- Sign On
- Philadelphia Dream Center
- Blue Trout Gallery
- City Hall Project: Our interior design majors were recently honored by the city of Carlton for their work in redesigning the city hall – a project that was completed in class.
- Mural Project: A community mural project that included community engagement, city council presentation and production
- Glass Project: A public works project producing glass installation for new buildings on campus
- Tiny Home Village: Working in coordination with North Valley Friends Church to create plans and a vision for a tiny home village that offers low-income housing
- Community Art & Design Workshop: Teaching high school students art and design
- Woody Arts Incubator Project: Our Collaborative Design class recently worked with this community arts center for artistic practice in Cleveland, Ohio
Illustrating a Life of Joy
What if your art degree could take you somewhere you never expected? For Christine Joy Swanson (BFA, '14), it led to a yellow cottage studio, galleries across the country, and a children's book — all built on a foundation she started building at George Fox.
Swanson came to college not knowing exactly where her art would take her. What she found was a community that helped her grow as both an artist and a person. Today, her paintings hang in spaces like the Allison Inn & Spa and Providence Medical Center, where one of her landscapes brings comfort to patients undergoing cancer treatment. She teaches. She paints. She writes. And through it all, she carries a simple belief — one she learned long before college — that joy is something you choose, even when life is hard.
Corrie Patton
My artistic confidence and skill has grown exponentially through the art department. With the care and welcoming nature of my professors, I can comfortably come to them with works in progress and receive generous feedback and encouragement. This department is my home as well as my take off point towards an incredible future in design and storytelling.
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