Course Overview
Science Fiction and Fantasy art has a long and distinguished history. Many of the religious books produced centuries ago were illuminated with creatures from the monks' imaginations. With dire warnings of the consequences of sin, creatures from the underworld populate many beautiful manuscripts. Artists such as Hieronymous Bosch and Max Ernst produced paintings that reflected death and despair relevant to the times in which they lived - and are still capable today of sending a shiver down the backs of all but the most hardened of observers.
From these somber beginnings came the illustrated fairy stories of the 19th and 20th centuries, many with dark and disturbing images, but many also with lighter and more humorous themes. Writers of early science fiction stories like Jules Verne relied heavily upon the best illustrators of their day to help their readers understand and visualise the extraordinary visions of the future their works contained.
As we move steadily into the 21st Century this new Certificate course brings out the history and origins of this very distinctive branch of today's art with a skilful mix of technique, history and imagination. Well illustrated throughout, the course is wide ranging and stimulating. Covering Illustration; Black & White comic strips; Layout and narrative; Creating fantasy worlds; and linking this to Composition; Perspective; Colour study etc. The course goes on to look at the work of individual artists, considers styles, the use of airbrushes and much more.
It concludes, like many London Art College courses, with career advice. The course is designed for students with experience (formal or informal) of basic drawing techniques and some basic knowledge of painting in different mediums. We believe It offers a good introduction to the wide ranging subject of Science Fiction & Fantasy illustration.
Course Prices
Please visit our 'Prices and Buy Now' page to view the course prices and to purchase your course. UK residents can purchase courses on this page via instalments, please scroll down to the relevant section to pay a deposit.
Critiques
If you have scanning / photography facilities, students are able to upload their artwork to the Artwork Submission Area on our website. Each student is given a unique username and password on enrolment for their own private section in this area. Students can upload their artwork to this area for the tutor to collect and critique. The tutor will then upload feedback for the student to download or read.
Critiques via Regular Mail
If you do not have any facilities to upload your artwork, you can send your work in the normal way to the tutors centre and receive your artwork back with your critique. It is essential you label all packages/artwork your student number.
Support
All our courses are written to be complete in themselves. However we realise that students may appreciate being able to get clarification about various things as they work through their programme as well wanting reassurance that they are putting techniques into practice effectively. The tutors provide the technical support to deal with relevant queries.
Most courses have their own dedicated Tutor. The tutor keeps the course up to date and relevant to today's students. They are available to the individual student for advice and encouragement. Each course has regular exercises and assignments that are constructed in such a way as to give the student the opportunity to practice the techniques learnt on the course and to test themselves as they go along. The student is encouraged to submit the assignment work to the college for the tutor to critique. The student's work will be returned together with the tutor's personal critique. On many courses the assignment work may be suitable for inclusion in a student's Portfolio of Work that could be very useful later. The college will use the assignments submitted as the basis for any award of a letter, certificate or diploma.
Duration
The expected duration is three months although the college allows students up to a year to complete their studies.
Overview
Previous experience iin drawing and painting is recommended. The following is an overview of some of the areas that are covered in the course.
Media: Equipment used |
Subject: Areas covered |
Techniques: Skills developed |
Pencil
Technical Drawing pen
Watercolour
Ink
Gouache
Acrylics |
Black & white comic strips
Anatomy
Imaginative Creatures
Creating Worlds |
Composition
Perspective
Panel layout
Narrative
Colour Theory
Different styles
Airbrushes |
Samples pages from this course - click to enlarge
Below are some sample images from the course
Testimonials from students
Hi John,
I just wanted to say a big thank you for all your guidance and help and for awarding me with a distinction! Very pleased indeed! All the best and kind regards, please feel free to stay in touch if you would like to.
Sean (Science Fiction & Fantasy Illustration - C13)
Dear John,
I just wanted to express my deepest thanks to you for your very kind and helpful critique of the work I recently sent you and also for the fantastic certificate you posted to me. It's always really encouraging to get positive feedback and your comments were very much appreciated. Best wishes
fFom Dom (Science Fiction & Fantasy Illustration - C13)
"Although I hold a Fine Art Degree, I found your course very useful as it covered my particular interest in Illustration in a way that the degree course didn't.
Steve Raymond (Science Fiction & Fantasy Illustration - C13)
