At Worcester, we believe in learning through making. You’ll be encouraged to explore and experiment with creative styles, mediums, and techniques to push your creative boundaries and become a versatile creative in both artistic and commercial work.
Our Art & Design courses are top 15 in the UK for graduate prospects
of Design students said that teaching staff make the subject engaging
University of the Year finalist
Recognised for our graduate success, we’re shortlisted for University of the Year in the Times Higher Education Awards 2025.
Overview
This course combines the worlds of animation and illustration, helping you develop the skills to create characters, scenes, and stories for films, games, books, and more. With a focus on developing you into a work-ready professional creative, you’ll have the freedom to shape your own path and the support to turn your ideas into powerful visual stories.
In your first year, you’ll learn the basics of drawing, character design, and animation using traditional and digital tools. As you progress through the course, you’ll build confidence through exploring styles and experimenting with techniques to find your unique creative voice.
For your final year, the focus shifts to preparing you for the world of work. You’ll work on professional projects that reflect your interests, build a portfolio of work, enter competitions, and exhibit your work publicly.
Workshops, studio critiques, and individual tutorials are key to your development as a working creative, helping you build confidence in your ideas and artistic processes. You’ll also benefit from regular guest lectures from publishers, agents, and working illustrators and animators throughout the year, giving you the chance to learn from their experience and build valuable connections.
Examples of student artwork
Course content
Each year, you will study a mix of mandatory and optional modules. This flexibility lets you explore different illustration and animation styles and try new mediums to establish your own creative identity.
We regularly review our courses to reflect the latest research and developments in the subject area, as well as feedback from students, employers and the wider sector. As a result, modules may change to ensure the course remains current and relevant.
Optional modules will run if enough students choose to study them. It is not guaranteed that all modules will be offered every year.
Optional modules
Careers
The creative industries are growing fast as the cultural importance of visual media has grown significantly, with more jobs than ever in areas like animation, illustration, games, film, and digital media. There is a growing need for talented, imaginative visual storytellers. This course will help you build the creative and technical skills that employers are looking for.
By studying Animation and Illustration, you will grow into a skilled and confident creative, capable of presenting your work and communicating within the industry. You’ll gain experience in working on live briefs set by clients, learn how to communicate your ideas, concepts, and present your work to employers.
After you graduate, you could work in areas like:
- Animation for film, TV, or online content
- Illustration for books, magazines, and advertising
- Character and concept design for games and animation
- Motion graphics and special effects
- Graphic design and visual storytelling
- Storyboarding and script development
- Freelance illustration or self-publishing
- Studio management or creative project coordination
Opportunities to progress
Opportunities to progress onto postgraduate study at Worcester include our Creative Media MA and Art and Design MPhil/PhD. If you’re looking to pursue teaching as a career, you may be interested in our PGCE Primary or PGCE Secondary (Art and Design) courses.
Arts Alumni - Jess Mason
Course highlights
Teaching and Assessment
Teaching and assessment contents
You are taught through a combination of interactive workshops, lectures, studio practice, and on-site practical activities. These sessions are designed to foster both creative exploration and technical skill development across Animation and Illustration disciplines.
Studio-based learning is central to the course, enabling you to develop subject-specific skills such as image-making, visual storytelling, animation techniques, and personal visual language. You’ll work on individual and group projects that encourage collaboration, problem-solving, and experimentation.
Interactive workshops take a variety of formats, including small group activities and research-led teaching, which directly inform practical work. These sessions support the development of critical thinking and reflective practice, helping you to build resilience and confidence in presenting and discussing your work.
You’ll also engage with industry-standard software and hardware throughout the course, including access to animation studios, computer suites, Wacom tablets, lightboxes, cameras, and other specialist equipment. Digital platforms such as the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) are used extensively to support teaching and communication.
Structured individual tutorial support is available to help you plan and organise your projects, and meetings with personal academic tutors are scheduled at least four times in the first year and three times in each subsequent year.
Entry requirements
UCAS tariff points required: 104
| Qualification | Grade |
|---|---|
| A-level | BCC |
| BTEC National Extended Diploma | DMM |
| T-level | Merit |
The normal minimum entry requirement for undergraduate degree courses is the possession of 4 GCSEs (Grade C/4 or above) and a minimum of 2 A Levels (or equivalent Level 3 qualifications).
Further information about the UCAS Tariff can be obtained from the UCAS website.
Any questions?
If you have any questions about entry requirements, please call our Admissions Office on 01905 855111 or email admissions@worc.ac.uk.
Fees
Fees contents
UK and EU students
In 2026/27 the standard fee for full-time home and EU undergraduate students on BA/BSc/LLB degrees and FdA/FdSc degrees is £9,535 per year (subject to changes in the government tuition fee cap).
Tuition fees are reviewed annually and may increase each year for both new and continuing students.
For more details on course fees, please visit our course fees page.
International students
In 2026/27 the standard tuition fee for full-time international students enrolling on BA/BSc/LLB degrees and FdA/FdSc degrees is £17,200 per year.
Tuition fees are reviewed annually and may increase each year for both new and continuing students.
For more details on course fees, please visit our course fees page.
How to apply
How to apply contents
Applying through UCAS
UCAS is the central organisation through which applications are processed for full-time undergraduate courses in the UK.
Read our how to apply pages for more information on the application process, or if you’d like to apply for part-time study.
Animation and Illustration BA (Hons) - WW6F
Contact
If you have any questions, please get in touch. We're here to help you every step of the way.
Admissions Office
admissions@worc.ac.uk01905 855111More to explore
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