Prosthetics and Special Effects Design with Art & Design Foundation Year

Push the limits of your creative boundaries on this dynamic prosthetics and special effects degree. With a hands-on approach to design for a range of contexts, the course offers experience in three key industry-focused pathways, supporting you to develop the skills and experience to enter a range of careers in film, TV, games design, and theatre after graduation. From character creation to specialist technical skills, this course aims to develop your understanding alongside your technical abilities.

You'll be encouraged to take an explorative, experimental and technical approach to prosthetics application, using materials and creative development processes to produce innovative and contemporary special effects design work. This includes sculpting, moulding and casting for character and creature effects, refined application of make-up and hair effects, and designing with 2D and 3D modelling.

Using advanced academic research methodologies, developed through critical and interdisciplinary approaches to design, you'll devise intellectual, creative and innovative responses to challenging concepts, relevant to contemporary design and speculative futures.

You'll also have the opportunity to collaborate with students on other creative courses, such as television, film, and theatre, to help you contextualise your place within the prosthetics and special effects industry.

You will be taught by an academic team with excellent reputations as practicing professional designers and researchers, as well as an extensive range of visiting lecturers and international visits to gain vital industry insight.

We also provide in-house competitions, with prizes from our kit suppliers, Neil’s materials and Pigs Might Fly. And we encourage our students get regular experience through Halloween events such Terror Island and the Horror Maze, and regular experience with MAST, Mayflower theatre and The Grange festivals. In your final year there is the opportunity to work with our professional SFX team at the Prosthetics Event, across a range of national theatre productions or at IMATS in London.

Who is this course for?
Solent’s prosthetics and special effects design course is ideally suited to students who wish to expand their knowledge and develop their creative design skills in design, production and application - across theatre, film and TV. Applicants should have usually studied a creative subject and have a portfolio of related art and design work to show as part of their application to the course.

What does this course lead to?
On leaving the course you will have a core skill set needed to work in industry, as well as the ability to design and develop new characters. You could gain entry level to work as a studio artist, sculptor or prosthetics designer. Your skills could also be well-placed in medical prosthetics for trauma injury, for the film and TV industry or for trauma response training. The course could also lead to further study at MA level for more developed and focused skills.

If you’re looking to study our prosthetics and special effects degree but don’t have the relevant qualifications or experience, the art and design foundation year will help you develop the core skills and knowledge to progress. Find out more about the art and design foundation year.