Illustration & Animation

Become an expressive and agile creative, exploring the world of ideas and stories through varied and experimental forms of illustration and animation.

BA (Hons) Illustration & Animation combines powerful visual communication methods into an exciting degree where you’ll explore and develop your distinctive voice and work, in a dynamic creative studio.

As part of this course, you’ll also:


• Work on inspiring projects to gain a range of conceptual, technical, and research skills



• Learn fun and experimental techniques for developing still and moving images into distinctive storytelling



• Use the power of image and motion to respond to a range of human and environmental needs



• Grow your confidence to initiate your own projects and collaborate with others



• Create and facilitate projects for diverse situations, audiences, users, and participants



• Build a portfolio of work tailored to your interests and creative identity, positioning you in your preferred professional context



Find out more

Specialist facilities
Our professional illustration and animation facilities at Leeds School of Arts enable you to explore the tools and processes to refine your project work and expand your knowledge and skills. By engaging with these, you’ll see your portfolio grow and gain a head start in deciding what you want to do after you graduate. Our workshop and process areas will help to prepare you for a variety of work and the demands of today’s creative industries.

Guest lectures
We run guest lectures, specialist workshops, and live projects throughout the year, both on campus and in conjunction with external organisations. The INSIDE/OUT lecture series brings together some of the most exciting names from the fields of art, architecture, design, fashion, film, music, performing arts, and beyond. You can catch up on previous lectures by visiting the Leeds Arts Research Centre site.

Why study the BA (Hons) Illustration & Animation course at Leeds Beckett University?


- Take a placement year - an opportunity to take a year of paid employment to apply your skills to an area of illustration and animation you're passionate about


- Close links to industry and creative businesses in Leeds, the UK, and beyond


• You'll learn from tutors with extensive professional experience and networks



• Study within one of the largest university arts communities in the north



- Develop your specialist skill set with access to a vast range of ideas, training, and facilities

Curiosity needs thinkers, makers, and dreamers. It needs you!

Leeds Beckett believes that when unlike minds come together, incredible things happen. That’s why they don’t just teach; they collaborate, challenge and inspire.

Their courses are meticulously designed, combining practical experience through work placements with a vibrant location at the heart of one of the UK’s largest student communities. Boasting a top 10 UK ranking for both course quality and student life (Uni Compare 2026) and a prestigious five-star QS rating, LBU sets the standard for excellence.

The university prioritises student wellbeing and stands among just seven universities nationwide to earn the University Mental Health Charter Award - proof of their unwavering commitment to advancing mental health and wellbeing.

All of this is why 98% of Leeds Beckett students and graduates would recommend studying at the university to a friend (Uni Compare, 2026 reviews).