ABOVE PHOTO: In the new B.F.A. in illustration at UW-Stout, students will learn drawing, painting, printmaking, comics and other aspects of art and design.
Illustration has been a common thread uniting students in University of Wisconsin-Stout’s School of Art and Design for many years. Now, they can pursue a Bachelor of Fine Arts in illustration, the first degree of its kind in the Universities of Wisconsin.
The program, approved last spring by the UW Board of Regents, gets underway with the fall semester. Classes begin Wednesday, Sept. 4. Enrollment is open.
“This had been on our wish list for a while,” said Professor Dave Beck, who was director of the School of Art and Design through the spring. “We wanted to develop it in a way that reflects our own sensibilities in SOAD and the university’s polytechnic mission.”
Erik Evensen, professor in the department of design, is the program director. “Being able to express ideas visually is a standard expectation in the art and design professions. We welcome students with an interest in visual storytelling,” Evensen said.
“I want this program to be something I would have wanted to enroll in as a student. Most of the coursework was already there. We just needed to imagine how it would come together as a new program,” he added.
Emulating industry practice and emerging trends, the program will include coursework from the departments of visual and performing arts, and design, which make up the School of Art and Design.
Illustration builds skills in drawing, painting, printmaking, comics and other areas of art and design. Graduates can expect to find work in industries such as advertising, publishing, entertainment and as self-employed artists and consultants.
Before entering academia, Evensen was a graphic designer and illustrator in New England. He has also worked in the comics industry, on the “Ghostbusters” and “Back to the Future” properties from IDW Publishing, as well as his own independent graphic novels.
