Pictures come naturally to us. Our brains are tireless image generators: We even dream in images. Pictures are the original storytelling device, as old as human culture itself.

A powerful illustration by itself can convey the drama, humor and pathos of a story with astonishing eloquence, velocity and emotion. Alongside a text, it can clarify, enlighten and demonstrate the message in the words. The right picture propels us into the world of the story.

SVA teaches illustrators to have strong "chops" in both the physical craft and the textual understanding required for their work. They need to be technically assured enough to execute ideas, and also be able to read deep into a text and emerge with subtle, penetrating interpretations. Whether illustrators are working with their own narrative, or illustrating someone else's story, this is an interpretive art.

Technique is essential in this discipline - it's all about the hands; they are the tools of your imagination. Develop facility with brush and pen, and the chasm between ideas and the blank page will become less daunting. You will learn color, line and form at the beginning, as well as sculpture and the principles of visual computing. Later on, you will practice your skills with gouache, pastel, pen and ink, oils, watercolor and collage.

Your all-important point of view will develop from multiple perspectives, by way of the largest illustration faculty of any arts college. These instructors are a star system made up of many brilliant talents, among them Guggenheim Award-winners. They teach an in-depth curriculum few schools can match; one that gives equal weight to the most startling realism and the most transformative expressionism.

Upon graduation, you will have a portfolio that tells the story of your work here. It will show not one technique, but several. For all its variety, one quality will shine through: Who you are. Beyond your evident skill, what makes you a real illustrator is the ability to think, feel and interpret; from your very individual mind, through your eye, into your hand and onto the page. That's what the market is always looking for - a sensibility it has never seen before.