BA Illustration
Meet your Librarian – Kirsten Pairpoint
About Kirsten
Kirsten Pairpoint is the Subject Librarian responsible for Design for Publishing, Graphic Communication, Graphic Design, User Experience Design and Illustration, as well as Research Degrees. She studied Graphic Information Design at the University of Westminster and worked at the National Art Library at the Victoria and Albert Museum where she curated the Annual Illustration Awards.
How can I help you?
You can book one to one tutorials with me to help you with your research or referencing, please contact me via email or you can drop into the library office (DS103) to have a chat!
I work Wednesday mornings and all day Thursday and Friday.
As a team, we also provide research and referencing drop-in sessions to assist you in the run-up to written work hand-ins, keep an eye on Instagram (@norwichuni_library) for times and dates.
Reading Lists
The below lists have been supplied by your lecturers, and include sources you may find useful when studying for your units. ‘Required’ resources are essential to the unit and we strongly advise you use them. ‘Recommended’ and ‘Further’ sources are all available via the Library and are suggested to help you with your research for this unit. Don’t forget, you can find a lot more than is listed here by searching the Library online.
e-book Collections
Try these virtual shelves which link you to ready-made collections of e-books on specific subjects.
Useful online collections for BA Illustration
Books about Zines (ProQuest)
Comics and Graphic Novels
Illustration (ProQuest)
Posters (ProQuest)
Typography (ProQuest)
Print Books
Books on Illustration
With the exception of short loan books, main collection books can be borrowed for three weeks.
Illustration books in the Library’s main collection are held at Dewey Decimal number 755, and include titles on the History of Illustration, Illustration Techniques, Children’s Book Illustration, Individual Illustrators’ Lives and Work etc.
If you are interested in Comics and Graphic Novels, you’ll find them under Dewey Decimal number 754.65.
Find out how to search for library catalogue books on Discovery.
Online Resources
As well as printed materials, the Library also has a wide selection of online resources to help you with your research.
Useful online resources for BA Illustration
Resource Type
TV, Video and SoundLocation:
Off-campus On-campusBox of Broadcasts
BoB is an up to date television streaming service available to all students and staff. BoB allows you to view recently aired programmes from over 65 channels and there is a searchable archive of 3.3 million broadcasts. You can also record programmes aired in the last 30 days which will be stored on the service permanently, meaning you can watch them again and again. Best of all, you do not need a TV license to use this service.
This service is not available outside the UK. You will need to register with BoB when you first try and access it.
Video resources to support accessing and using BoB are available on the VLE.
Further resources on how to use BoB Â (opens in a new window)
Resource Type
Maps and ImagesLocation:
Off-campus On-campusBritish Cartoon Archive
Access more than 200,000 cartoons dating back to 1904, including the entire Giles Collection.
Resource Type
E-BooksLocation:
Off-campus On-campusO’Reilly
Access to over 21,000 technical e-books and videos to assist with IT and programming needs. Other areas include art and design with publishers like Laurence King included and books about well being too. Aimed specifically at Higher Education users with an interface that allows for personalising and comes with an app which is free to download.
Short videos on how to access and use O’Reilly are available on the VLE.
Further guides on using O’Reilly are available on their webpages (opens in a new window).
You can download an O’Reilly app to enable you to save material. Information on how to download the app is available (opens in a new window).
Resource Type
Trends and Market DataLocation:
Off-campus On-campusStatista
Statista offers over 1.5 million statistics from over 18,000 sources, available immediately in easy to use graphs you can use in your own reports and presentations. Statista includes market data, industry reports, forecasts, opinion polls and infographics.
A video guide to using Statista is available on the VLE.
Further usage guides are available on Statista’s site (opens in a new window).
Resource Type
Maps and Images TV, Video and SoundLocation:
Off-campus On-campusSubculture Archives
An educational & cultural research resource of primary sources exploring 100 years of youth culture through the scenes, styles, and sounds that forged them. From Rave, Punk, Rockabilly to Grime. From the world’s leading collection of youth culture history.
Publications
Publications, also known as magazines, journals or periodicals, are regularly published with up to date articles, images, and editorials. These can be available in print and online.
Useful online publications for BA Illustration
Resource Type
MagazineLocation:
Off-campus On-campusWhere to access:
OnlineStatus:
CurrentBroken Pencil
Published four times a year, each issue of Broken Pencil features reviews of hundreds of zines and small press books, plus comics, excerpts from the best of the underground press, interviews, original fiction and commentary on all aspects of the indie arts. The Library subscribes to an online version.
Resource Type
MagazineLocation:
On-campusWhere to access:
PrintStatus:
CurrentIllustration
A general magazine about illustration – the artists, the collectors, the collections, the exhibitions, the history, the philosophy and the key events relating to this subject. Covers the work of great artists from the past as well as new graduates currently coming out of college.
Resource Type
JournalLocation:
Off-campus On-campusWhere to access:
OnlineStatus:
CurrentJournal of Illustration
The journal encourages new critical writing on illustration, associated visual communication, and the role of the illustrator as visualizer, thinker, and facilitator.
Resource Type
MagazineLocation:
Off-campus On-campusWhere to access:
Print OnlineStatus:
CurrentJuxtapoz
Juxtapoz is a quarterly magazine that documents and makes accessible the creative life. Includes illustration, graphics, street art, sculpture, film, textiles, fashion.
Resource Type
JournalLocation:
Off-campus On-campusWhere to access:
OnlineStatus:
CurrentStudies in Comics
Aims to describe the nature of comics, to identify the medium as a distinct art form and to address the medium's formal properties.
Research Reports
For the BA3a unit you are required to produce a Research Report.
The Research Report gives you the chance to explore an area of interest to you and your practice. It should build on the ideas you laid out in the Research Report Proposal you handed in as part of the BA2b unit.
The guidelines for all courses are available on the intranet: Research Report Guidelines (opens in a new window).
You can see examples of high quality research reports from previous years’ Norwich University of the Arts students via the link below:
All reports linked to this course
Useful Illustration-Friendly Websites
Here are a few ideas for blogs and websites that you might like to browse for information, inspiration and ideas.