1. Apply knowledge of professional contexts to produce a practical outcome relevant to storytelling in cartoon and comic arts. Knowledge & Understanding

2. Solve simulated creative or industry-informed problems using appropriate methods and processes for cartoon and comic arts working independently while engaging with relevant professional, technical, or academic feedback. Application & Problem Solving, Critical Reasoning & Collaboration

3. Communicate your work to academic, professional, or non-specialist audiences. Communication

4. Reflect on how employability and enterprise concepts inform your developing practice in cartoon and comic arts Personal Development & Entrepreneurship

Assessment 1:
Portfolio An individual portfolio presenting a series of practical projects that explore comics as visual storytelling within wider creative contexts. The portfolio should evidence experimentation, problem-solving, and communication of narrative ideas through a range of formats and processes. The portfolio may include: Visual and contextual research
Development work (e.g. sketches, thumbnails, storyboards, layouts, pre-visualisations, animatics) Experimentation with digital and physical processes, including workshop-based methods where appropriate Sequential or narrative-based outcomes using conventional or unconventional comic formats
Documentation of physical outcomes and making processes
Professionally presented resolved work suitable for academic, professional, or non-specialist audiences Evidence of engagement with feedback should be included within the work.

Purpose:
Demonstrates the application of professional context, creative problem-solving, and effective communication within cartoon and comic arts.

Assessment 2: Reflective Report or Presentation
A reflective commentary evaluating how employability and enterprise concepts have informed your developing practice during the module.

Option 1: Reflective Report (1200 words)
Option 2: Recorded or Live Presentation (5-6 mins)

The commentary should:
Reflect on experimentation, skills development, and decision-making
Consider how workshop experiences and projects relate to future study or professional contexts
Identify strengths, areas for development, and emerging creative interests
The submission may be written or include annotated visual elements where appropriate.

Purpose:
Supports personal development by encouraging reflection on professional awareness, employability, and creative growth in cartoon and comic arts.

Formative Assessment
Midway formative feedback will be embedded within practical sessions, providing structured opportunities for feedback on work-in-progress to support student development and progression.

This module introduces comics as a form of visual storytelling situated within a wider range of creative practices. You will explore how narrative meaning can be constructed through images, space, materials, and environments, and how comics relate to and intersect with areas such as pre-visualisation, illustration, design, and constructed visual artefacts.

Building on drawing and visual skills, the module explores how scenes, locations, and spatial relationships serve as storytelling elements. Through storyboarding, pre-visualisation, and layout planning, you'll study how characters, props, and environments interact and how visual choices influence mood, clarity, and narrative coherence.

You will experiment with unconventional methods of comic production, extending the idea of sequential storytelling beyond the printed page - using digital tools and physical methods like 3D printing, laser cutting, and workshop fabrication with wood or metal. You will explore how different formats, materials, and processes can reinterpret or expand comics as a narrative.

Studio-based projects foster explorative visual problem solving. You'll test ideas, reflect, and refine concepts into resolved pieces, building confidence across media while deepening understanding of narrative, spatial design, and visual communication in a contemporary context.

How can comics extend beyond the page as a form of visual storytelling? This module introduces comics within a wider creative context, exploring how narrative is constructed through images, space, and materials. You will develop storytelling skills through drawing, storyboarding, and layout, considering how characters, environments, and visual choices shape meaning. You will also experiment with digital and physical processes, including 3D making and fabrication, to expand sequential storytelling. Studio-based projects support creative problem solving and help you develop confidence in narrative, spatial design, and visual communication.

Learning is studio-based and project-led, supported by workshops introducing key principles of visual storytelling and making processes. Teaching is delivered through practical sessions, tutorials, and workshops, with an emphasis on experimentation and reflection. Independent study supports research, development, and the production of practical outcomes for assessment.

Berger, J. (2008) Ways of seeing. London: Penguin Classics.

Bordwell, D. (2008) Figures traced in light: On cinematic staging. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
Eisner, W. (2008) Graphic storytelling and visual narrative: Principles and practices from the legendary cartoonist. New York: W. W. Norton & Company.

Gravett, P. (2014) Comics art. London: Tate Publishing.

Lupton, E. (2021) Design is storytelling. New York: Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.

Where older texts are included, they are retained as foundational texts within the discipline, remaining relevant where no more recent equivalent texts are available.

- Studio workspace and specialist teaching spaces appropriate to the module.
- Access to computer labs and industry-standard creative software for image-making, layout, digital illustration, and three-dimensional modelling.
- Print Bureau and fabrication facilities, including access to digital manufacturing equipment such as 3D printers and laser cutters, where appropriate.
- Workshop technician support and health and safety inductions for specialist equipment and fabrication processes.
- Access to specialist facilities including CAD labs, digital production spaces, and simulation or pre-visualisation environments where relevant to the module.
- University Library resources, including physical collections, digital databases, subject guides, and special collections.
- Blackboard Virtual Learning Environment and licensed digital platforms to support learning, communication, and assessment submission.
- Student Life and University Careers resources to support academic development and employability.