Do your students want to understand the difference between creating game worlds or adding movement to objects in that world? Students are introduced to our range of creative courses, get advice from those working in the industry and understand how to build their portfolio.
Do your students want to understand the difference between creating game worlds or adding movement to objects in that world? Or how concept artists design the props and environments for a story while an illustrator brings the story to life? Students are introduced to our range of creative courses, get advice from those working in the industry and understand how to build their portfolio.
The day starts off with practitioner talks, the first of which is from Carrie Le, Senior Lecturer in Concept Art on 'How Concept Artists Adapt to the AI Era' As concept artists, our job is to create characters, environments, props, and more for the entertainment industry — including games, animation, films, and television. Concept art isn’t just about making beautiful images; it’s about visualizing stories and building worlds that bring projects to life. As we all know, AI technology is developing rapidly, and our industry is evolving along with it. If images can now be generated at the click of a button, what role will concept artists play? How can we stay competitive in this new landscape? In this talk, Carrie will share insights from her own creative journey and explore how we can continue to grow as well-rounded artists in this ever-changing world.
We have an exciting array of workshop choices for you too. Design your personal day by selecting one workshop from Session 1 and another from Session 2.
Session 1
Comics Draw Your Story: Discover Comics & Graphic Novels at Teesside University
Are you passionate about storytelling, illustration, and visual creativity?
This exciting session will explore sequential storytelling and how comics are produced from idea, to story, to pencils, to a finished comic page all within the span of an hour. An introduction to the medium that gives you the skills to branch out with your own, worlds, characters and unforgettable narratives.
Graphic Design Design Your Future: Explore Graphic Design at Teesside University
In this hands-on session you will use cyanotype printing to explore texture, layering, and unpredictability, creating artwork with unique visual character. Analogue techniques such as printmaking often produce textures, imperfections, and depth that are difficult to replicate digitally. In an increasingly screen based world, the ability to blend analogue and digital processes is an essential creative mindset that encourages innovation, authenticity, and versatility.
3D Animation Save BB8
In this workshop you will take Star Wars character BB8 and help him to navigate to safety through a series of obstacles.? You will learn to move a 3D character rig in time and space using 3D animation software.
Concept Art
Concept Art is all about creating interesting and bespoke designs to be used in a wide range of visual media. This workshop will give you a taster of this industry, creating characters or new worlds through generated prompts giving you the experience of quickly & efficiently working to a brief.
Games Development
Step into the world of game creation with our hands-on Game Development Workshop. You’ll start with a ready-made game template featuring core mechanics, then unleash your creativity by adding new levels, gameplay features, scoring systems, and win/loss conditions. By the end of the session, you’ll share and playtest each other’s creations, gaining valuable insights into both the technical and creative sides of game development.
Session 2
Illustration Editorial Illustration: Developing Strong Ideas
This session focuses on generating effective and original ideas in response to editorial briefs. You will explore strategies for interpreting written content and developing a visual concept that communicates clearly and creatively. The session emphasises industry-ready techniques for idea generation, refinement, and presentation, helping students produce thoughtful and professional editorial illustrations.
Fine Art Get to grips with clay
In this workshop, we will use clay in combination with other materials to create small sculptural works that explore form and action, through the manipulation of materials with your hands and simple tools.
2D Animation Bounce into Animation!
Ready to try your hand at the fundamentals of 2D animation? Join our workshop and have a go at the classic bouncing ball exercise using Toon Boom Harmony, the industry-standard 2D software! This isn't just a simple bounce; it also explores core animation principles like timing and spacing, arcs, and squash and stretch, which are essential for bringing characters to life. It's cartoony fun, incredibly satisfying to create, and the perfect easy start to your animation journey!
Games Art
Dive into the world of Games Art in this interactive session, designed to give you a hands-on experience of the skills and creative thinking behind character, environment, and prop creation for games. During the session, you’ll explore key industry techniques, including sculpting, modelling, texturing, and working with industry-leading software such as Unreal Engine. The workshop encourages creativity, experimentation, and collaboration, offering insight into how games artists tackle challenges while giving you a chance to try out professional techniques yourself.
This is truly one for the creatives, come along to find out what creative careers are for you, experience your Creative Future at Teesside University!