Illustration
Exploring creative and expressive ways to translate ideas and narrations into visual content
Turin
ITA
First Level Academic Diploma in Illustration
Language
Italian
Start date
October 2026
Frequency
Full time
Fruition
On campus
Duration
3 Years
Credits
180 CFA / ECTS
Course Coordination
Sara Maragotto
Make of your passion for drawing a source of new styles and imagery! This is what the three-year Undergraduate Programme in Illustration at IED Torino is all about
We view the illustrator of today as a multi-faceted yet well-rounded professional who can bring together different cultural and commercial backgrounds to interact with personal interpretation skills.
Our three-year degree programme in Illustration at IED Torino provides unique and multidisciplinary education opportunities as compared to other schools in Italy. Come and find with us the best way to express your creativity. You will soon realize that your potential can be much more than just what you could ever imagine, covering everything from publishing illustration to toy and character design, space decoration and packaging, just to name a few.
Over three years, you will learn how to communicate your ideas and shape your style. We will give you the tools to build the foundations of your career and find your place in the world of creative visual production both domestically and internationally.
Issued Degree:
Diploma Accademico di Primo Livello, corresponding to a Bachelor of Arts Degree (BA) – EQF6 Level (European Qualification Framework).
Credits:
The course awards 180 CFA (Academic Formative Credits), corresponding to 180 ECTS (European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System).
Information to decide
Developing your expressive style with still and moving images
The methods and the learning process of the three-year degree programme in Illustration at IED Torino are mainly based on developing cultural, analytical, technical, and technological skills. The whole body of knowledge is then applied to specific projects, where partners from agencies, companies, and institutions are usually involved. This will get you up to speed with the world of production and culture right away.
You will explore a whole variety of disciplines, as we believe that developing storytelling and illustration skills should be based on a solid cultural background. Thus the study plan will include, among other subjects, art history, sociology, and semiotics as well as practical labs for computer graphics, experimental illustrative techniques, pattern design, character design and multimedia design.
The three years are organized in a way that allows you to develop your design and expressive skills step by step, until you learn to work completely on your own throughout the whole project. As part of your training, you will also develop strong presentation and communication skills, all of which are no less important. In particular, you will have the opportunity to create a personal portfolio of all the projects carried out while you were studying.
We are proud to say that our three-year programme in Illustration at IED Torino is the best option for anyone who wants to turn a passion for drawing into a professional career. This type of training is not restricted to a specific area, as we believe it is useful to also have a broad vision of what illustration means. Thus you will acquire a wide variety of tools and knowledge useful for many different types of jobs.
This programme is definitely your best option if you look to gain a broad knowledge of Illustration and want to work in such areas as publishing, commercial and cultural communication, scientific publications, illustration applied to fashion, interior and product design.
You will develop a multidisciplinary approach useful for a career where you can explore all the creative and expressive potential of still and moving images. You will also learn how visual language and animation can work together.
The three-year programme in Illustration at IED Torino is based on highly innovative cross-cutting thinking, which is not very common among Italian schools. This kind of approach views each discipline as both structured and evolving. Illustration is regarded as an applied art that can also interact with physical and digital spaces, with objects and other media, working across many different commercial and cultural environments. And above all, it provides a dynamic interaction with the world of communication and graphics.
This programme has a special focus on project design, with visual education, analogue and digital techniques, cultural and theoretical insights as key parts of the whole training. You will develop your own creative language by studying anatomy, perspective and drawing techniques, and also using traditional manual representation tools combined with major digital software applications. That all will be possible using a special lab equipped with Wacom Cintiq stations.
Our approach combines theory and practice: you will have the opportunity to experience the different application areas of Illustration, covering everything from expressive to communicative, from informational to decorative, and working on such projects as book and magazine covers, illustrated books, graphic novels, school, scientific and popular illustration, decoration and patterns, character and toy design, visual identity, web elements, apps and animations.
The main software you will need during your course is provided by IED!
On this page you will find all the features you need for your computer.
Scholarship Competition
Join the contest to win a Scholarship for Undergraduate programs starting in the 2026/2027 academic year
Syllabus
first year
On your first year, you will acquire preliminary skills, cultural tools and methods of visual education. You will embrace a design mindset to embrace and develop your creativity from a fresh perspective.
HISTORY OF CONTEMPORARY ART
HISTORY OF DRAWING AND GRAPHIC ARTS
ICONOGRAPHY AND ANATOMICAL DRAWING
THEORY OF PERCEPTION AND PSYCHOLOGY OF FORM
DESIGN FOR PAINTING 1
DIGITAL ANIMATION TECHNIQUES
ILLUSTRATION 1
COMPUTER GRAPHICS 1
SEMIOTICS OF ART
second year
On year two, you will be able to undertake projects of increasing complexity, variety and sophistication. This is the time when you build on your theory knowledge and develop more awareness and expertise in specific professional areas.
ELEMENTS OF MORPHOLOGY AND FORM DYNAMICS
DESIGN FOR PAINTING 2
DIGITAL ANIMATION TECHNIQUES 2
ILLUSTRATION 2
COMPUTER GRAPHICS 2
PHENOMENOLOGY OF CONTEMPORARY ARTS
SOCIOLOGY OF COMMUNICATION
FILM AND VIDEO HISTORY
DESIGN MANAGEMENT
PROJECT DESIGN METHODOLOGY FOR VISUAL COMMUNICATION
third year
The aim of the third year is for the student to become fully independent as a designer. This means not only that students will learn how to develop and discuss a project, but also that they will acquire personal skills as they prepare to move into their future careers. The highlight and synthesis of the whole degree programme will be your dissertation project. Here you will have the opportunity to shape and express your own creative identity.
DESIGN FOR PAINTING 3
ILLUSTRATION 3
THEORY AND METHOD OF MASS MEDIA
TECHNIQUES OF NEW INTEGRATED MEDIA
MULTIMEDIA PROJECT DEVELOPMENT
GRAPHIC DESIGN
ILLUSTRATION 4
Faculty
Course Coordinator
Sara Maragotto
Art director and visual operator - Co-founder of STUDIO FLUDD
Darija Bazdan
Pattern Designer, Creative Director of Darlingmind Studio
Cecilia Campironi
Illustratore freelance
Anna Castagnoli
Illustrator, communicator, and author
Daniele Catalli
Visual artist, illustrator, author
Marco Cimberle
Anamorph Designer & Graffiti Artist
Alice Lotti
Illustrator & designer
Francesca Tabasso
Illustrator, Character Designer
Elisa Talentino
Visual artist & Illustrator
Fabio Tonetto
Illustrator & Animator
Inside the labs
LAB ARTI VISIVE
+3
PHOTO STUDIO
+2
VIDEO PHOTO STUDIO
Projects
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