Commercial Art and Illustration

Get creative in a program where art means business

In the advertising: commercial art associate degree program at Monroe Community College, you’ll give your artistic talents a marketable edge.

A surprising number of fields require trained visual artists. Here is just a sample of job titles in which a commercial artist can thrive:

  • Fashion illustrator
  • Editorial illustrator
  • Textbook illustrator
  • Medical/technical illustrator
  • Web designer
  • Multi-media designer
  • Package designer
  • Police sketch artist

Your advertising and commercial art education is not limited to the classroom. You’ll be connected to a vibrant art community at MCC and beyond – in student clubs and exhibitions, on New York City gallery trips, and in rewarding service learning experiences.

We’ll Prepare You to Transfer to a Great School of Art and Design

Through classroom, studio, and outside activities, the instructors of MCC’s advertising: commercial art A.S. program will give you the foundation you need to get halfway to a bachelor’s degree.

Our graduates have gone onto success in commercial art, commercial illustration and media arts programs at:

  • Fashion Institute of Technology
  • Pratt Institute
  • Parson School of Design
  • Rochester Institute of Technology
  • Savannah College of Art &Design
  • SUNY
    • Brockport
    • Fredonia
    • New Paltz

  • Syracuse University

With your bachelor’s degree, you could start your career with employers like these:

  • Martino Flynn Advertising
  • Partners + Napier
  • University of Rochester
  • Solu Digital Collaborative
  • New York Times
  • Gannett, Inc.

To find out more about the advertising: commercial art associate degree from Monroe Community College, contact the admissions office at admissions@monroecc.edu or (585) 292-2200.

COMMERCIAL ART AND ILLUSTRATION

A.S. Degree - Transfer Program

Department:Visual and Performing Arts

School(s): Arts & Humanities

MCC Program Code: AD01

Description
This degree program will prepare students to work in the illustration and or graphic design fields. Students will learn how to design and create images for magazines, publishers, film studios, newspapers, advertising agencies, design firms, and museums. Illustrators usually specialize in one or two areas such as book illustration, storyboard illustration for movies/TV, fashion illustration, medical illustration, greeting card illustration, or magazine illustration. This program is designed to prepare students to transfer to a four-year college or university offering majors in commercial art, commercial illustration, and media arts. 
(Housed in the Visual and Performing Arts Department)

Program Learning Outcomes
1) Illustrate a story and/or create visually engaging and conceptually meaningful imagery
2) Illustrate using various forms of media (such as paint, ink, watercolor wash etc.)
3) Construct a complete portfolio showing the progression of personal work to support applications for employment or transfer
4) Create illustrations that exhibit proper artistic technique using the elements of art and principles of design
5) Analyze and critique illustrated works produced by self, peers, or professionals
6) Discuss or describe the role of illustration in society or culture in both historic and contemporary contexts
7) Meet the needs of clients by responding to artistic direction
8) Communicate effectively using visual oral or written techniques

Employment Potential
For related jobs: Career Coach
Occupational Resource: https://www.onetonline.org

Requirements for Program Entrance
Algebra (1 year high school math or placement into Level 4 Math at MCC). Art courses and a portfolio recommended.

Distribution Requirements
Credit Hours
FIRST SEMESTER
ENG 101 College Composition OR
ENG 200 Advanced Composition
3
MTH 150 - Survey of Mathematics OR
HIGHER SUNY-MATH ELECTIVE OR
PHL 102 Introduction to Logic
3-4
ART 104 Drawing I: Foundation
3
ART 109 Two Dimensional Design: Foundation
3
ART 118 Perspectives of Art History I: Ancient
3
First Semester Total:
15
SECOND SEMESTER
AAD 104 Introduction to Graphic Design, 2D
3
ART 115 Introduction to Illustration
3
ART 119 Perspectives of Art History II: Modern
3
ART 204 Drawing II
3
SUNY GENERAL EDUCATION - SOCIAL SCIENCES (SUNY-SOCS) ELECTIVE
3
Second Semester Total:
15
THIRD SEMESTER
ART 154 Drawing the Human Figure
3
ART 205 Commercial Illustration I
3
SPC 141 Interpersonal Speech Communication OR
SPC 142 Public Speaking OR
COM 120 Media Literacy
3
SUNY GENERAL EDUCATION - WORLD HISTORY AND GLOBAL AWARENESS (SUNY-WHGA) ELECTIVE

3
AAD 105 - Typography OR
AAD 160 - Graphic Illustration: Vector Drawing OR
AAD 260 - Applied Imaging, Raster Graphics OR
ART 108 - Sketchbook: Processes and Materials
3
Third Semester Total:
15
FOURTH SEMESTER
ART 206 Commercial Illustration II
3
ART 231 Art Seminar/Portfolio Development
3
SUNY GENERAL EDUCATION NATURAL SCIENCES (and Scientific Reasoning (SUNY-NSCI) ELECTIVE
3
SUNY GENERAL EDUCATION HUMANITIES (SUNY-HUMN) ELECTIVE
3
SUNY GENERAL EDUCATION DIVERSITY, EQUITY, INCLUSION, AND SOCIAL JUSTICE (SUNY-DVRS) ELECTIVE
3
Fourth Semester Total:
15
TOTAL CREDITS:
60
Revised:5/3/2023


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School of Arts & HumanitiesThe School of Arts & Humanities is a collection of disciplines, from languages and communication to visual and performing arts, that prepare you for creative and expressive professions.