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.
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 Annex
We have great news for our future art students! The vibrant and growing art and design program – housing the university’s graphic design, studio art and arts administration, illustration, and cinematic arts majors – will have a new home in the fall of 2025.
The new 6,000-square-foot facility will be located between the Maker Hub and Pennington Hall and will feature a large studio for pottery and ceramics, another space for glass and sculpture, and a partially covered courtyard work area with a ceramics kiln. You could be one of the first classes to use this new space and make your mark on the art program for years to come.
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
- George Fox University 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
‘Hope Dealers’
Standing like a jewel amidst the rubble of the Kensington area of Pennsylvania’s largest city, the Philadelphia Dream Center has become a beacon of hope for the hopeless – the addicts, the homeless, the hungry and the trafficked.
The formerly abandoned Catholic church – complete with vaulted ceilings and ornate stained-glass windows – has been transformed into a place of restoration, healing and soul care. Through its many-faceted outreaches, including an after-school program, a food truck ministry, a nondenominational church and a human trafficking support group, the center is, as founder David Dominguez describes it, “a place where God-given dreams are awakened in the birthplace of America.”
It was into this setting that a group of George Fox graphic designers, illustrators and studio artists from the School of Communication and Design traveled for a weeklong “SpiL Trip” – pilgrimages dedicated to immersing students in the contexts of others to learn and serve alongside ministry partners.
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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