_logo_1618978113158.jpg "School for Higher and Professional Education (SHAPE)"){kind=logo}
Course Information
Schedules
- Sep 2026
Registration period
19 Nov 2025 (Wed) - 31 Mar 2026 (Tue)
Price
HKD 97,170
(Fees
Application Fee : HK$200 (No application fee before the deadline!)
Registration Fee : HK$3,500
Tuition Fee : HK$97,170 by 2 instalments
Scholarships
A variety of attractive scholarships are available to prospective, current and graduating SHAPE students.)
(Fees
Application Fee : HK$200 (No application fee before the deadline!)
Registration Fee : HK$3,500
Tuition Fee : HK$97,170 by 2 instalments
Scholarships
A variety of attractive scholarships are available to prospective, current and graduating SHAPE students.)
Course Level
Study Mode
Duration
12 Month(s)
Language
English
Location
Hong Kong Design Institute (HKDI) & IVE (Lee Wai Lee)
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Course Overview
Introduction
Studying illustration opens the door to diverse careers in the creative industries. You will respond to ideas, explore narratives and work across a range of media, including 2D, 3D and moving image. Self-directed projects could range from editorial to narrative, 3D model-making to film, animation to artists' books, providing excellent preparation for the commercial world.
Programme Features
Build your professional skills in illustration
We encourage you to create and develop your own personal visual language. Through the research project module, you will be able to build your creative, professional and research skills, critical questioning and persuasion skills, and expand your ideas about what illustration can be and do.
Career prospects
Graduates can work across all areas of the creative industries, such as film directors, set designers, art/creative directors, illustration agents, visualisers, designers, model-makers, animators, storyboard artists, puppeteers, theatrical/ film costume and prop designers.
Entry Requirements
Holders of the following VTC Higher Diploma programmes:
HD in Illustration
HD in Visual Communication
OR
Holders of Higher Diploma or Associate Degree or equivalent qualification in relevant areas awarded by recognised institutions will also be considered.
Admission to the programme will also be subject to a review of the applicant’s portfolio of work and an admission interview.
English Proficiency Requirements
Applicants successfully completed a Higher Diploma or an Associate Degree taught and assessed in English from a recognised institution in Hong Kong or equivalent;
OR
At least an overall IELTS score of 6.5 with 5.5 in each component, or an overall IELTS score of 6.0 with 6.0 in each component, or equivalent.
Start Date
Sep 2026
Application Deadline
31 Mar 2026
What You’ll Learn
Modules
Preparation for Extended Study in Illustration
This module is designed to give you the opportunity to define a programme of study on a self-initiated basis in preparation for the major “Extended Study in Illustration” module. You will learn through experience how to identify and articulate personal aims and how to plan and manage a period of self-directed work. You will develop a personal creative methodology in relation to professional contemporary illustration practices.
Visual Culture 3
The module Visual Culture 3 is a module of contextual studies where students design and produce a research project reinforcing a specialised interest in contemporary critical debates and contexts supporting contemporary creative production. In lectures and studios, students are supported to develop ideas, design and implement research projects, and are provided with guidance on their independent study. In tutorials, students carry out on-going research, critical reading and writing. Students are expected to actively participate in peer-to-peer discussions, student-led research tasks, and group discussions to respond to the materials presented to them or developed from their individual study. Participation in these learning experiences is core to the ethos of, and is an assessment strategy for the module. The outcomes of the module are that students will demonstrate their research skills, especially the ability to design and develop their own projects through critical research, locate their practice in relevant theoretical debates, develop argument and analysis, and present in appropriate academic formats.
Extended Study in Illustration
During the module, you will progress your work through sketchbooks that contain contextual and cultural reference material that informs your work. You will submit an evaluative statement (written or alternative format submission) complementing the final body of work that demonstrates an understanding of individual creative practice in relation to contemporary critical, cultural and professional contexts. You are required to critically reflect on research sources, application of methodology and the success of the outcome in relation to your original intentions.
Professional Practice and Work Experience in Illustration 3
This module enables you to consolidate their knowledge and understanding of your area of practice in relation to the professional context, and develop strategies for graduation and progression to employment or further studies. The module is designed to contribute to the refinement of your contextual understanding of your discipline, and enable you to focus this towards identified personal career aspirations and the opportunities offered, directly and indirectly, by the industry.
