Commercial Art A Three-Year Program
Computer Graphics • Graphic Design • Illustration

Combining current digital technologies with traditional art taught by working, professional artists is the principle behind the Commercial Art Program at  Butera School of Art. Basically, Butera’s instructors teach art and technology at the same time.  Our students are trained first to become artists . . . then they are trained to be computer artists.

The multibillion dollar communications industry is composed of many types of artist, from traditional illustrators of books and magazines, to the new digital artists who create vector- and pixel-based graphics for both print and Web.

With today’s advertising agencies constantly being challenged to create new and
innovative ways to attract consumer attention, commercial artists/visualizers constantly face the challenge of new demands, formats, software programs, and media.

The world of advertising is just a segment of the total communications industry. Today’s visualizers create a vast assortment of art, including television commercials, ad campaigns, packaging, promotional material, Web pages, multimedia DVDs, video games, comic book illustrations, and graphic novels, just to mention a few. At Butera, curriculum is constantly updated to match the upgrading in the communications industry.

Whatever today’s or tomorrow’s communication form is – whether it be computer or traditional art – an artist must first be taught how to draw, because the essential element of communication is the ability to express ideas visually.

The old saying, “a picture is worth a thousand words” still holds true, whether that picture was just pencil on paper or millions of color pixels on a liquid crystal screen created with a mouse. Creative individuals who can express ideas visually using professional tools and techniques will always be in demand.

Our graduates enter the communications industry at entry-level positions in the following areas: comp artist, computer artist, graphic designer, assistant art director, book
illustrator, and digital production artist.

Commercial art students enroll at Butera as amateur artists and graduate as professionals!