Facilities
Our creative spaces give you the room you need to design, make, test and bring your ideas to life. We'll teach you both traditional and digital skills, blending established techniques with modern design and making methods.
The David Puttnam Media Centre is home to our BA (Hons) Animation and Games Art course.
As an animation student you'll have access to facilities which include:
- Personal studio space
- HTC VIVE and Oculus headsets for VR work motion capture suite
- Shadow motion capture system
- Green screen TV Studio
- Digital design suite with Macs and Wacom Cintiqs
- Industry-standard sound recording studios and editing facilities
Software includes:
- Toon Boom Harmony Premium
- Autodesk Maya
- Adobe Creative Suite, including After Effects, Illustrator and Photoshop, Pixologic Z Brush, Blender, and Unity
You'll also work alongside our specialist technical staff, including qualified Adobe and Maya Certified instructors, who'll support you to get the best out of your work.
As a Graphic Design or Illustration student, you'll have access to generous studio spaces and well-equipped workshops. Facilities include:
- Digital suites: our digital design suites are equipped with Apple Macs, PCs, HTC VIVE VR and Wacom Cintiqs with Adobe Creative Suite Design Premium.
- Software: ZBrush, Unity 3D, Maya, Blender, Cinema 4D, Dreamweaver and Adobe Creative Suites. Our specialist technical staff, including qualified Adobe and Maya Certified Instructors, offer back-up and help in making the most of the software.
- Extensive pre-production, process, finishing equipment: from 3D design and printing, bookbinding, vinyl and large format printing, animation and VR, as well as laser-cutting and wood and metal workshops.
- Technical support: Along with our software specialist, we have a team of experienced technicians – specialists in their fields who are on hand to support you to realise your vision.
Our fashion and textiles facilities include:
- Open access Apple Macs and Wacom Cintiqs
- Virtual, true-to life 3D garment visualisation CLO software
- State-of-the-art digital 3D visualisation CAD software
- Industrial sewing machines
- Digital embroidery facilities
- Laser cutter
- Print studio
- Large scale digital fabric printer
As a Fine Art student, you’ll benefit from having a generously sized personal studio space in Priestman building.
We’ll encourage and support you to try new materials, to scale up your paintings or drawings, and test digital, sculptural, or performance work to push the boundaries of contemporary art practice.
Materials are key and we offer extra space for testing and trying out new methods of working in our Materials Lab and Drawing Lab. You’ll also be able to build your professional practice skills by holding exhibitions in the Priestman Gallery.
Other facilities include:
Printmaking Studio
The Printmaking Studio has professional, traditional printmaking facilities for letterpress, intaglio, relief, and screen printing. There's also CAD embroidery and other software.
Riso Lab
A fully equipped Riso Lab for printing and zine publishing.
3D Sculpture Workshop
Facilities for metal welding and fabrication; a wood workshop for stretcher making, mold making and casting; extensive tools for traditional hand machining; and digital tools such as ShopBot, CNC, and laser cutting.
Digital Workshop
Here you'll find a range of Adobe Software; video, sound, and image production; sound recording equipment camera; and a fully equipped photo studio.
By studying BA (Hons) Photography, Video and Digital Imaging or MA Visual Practice, you’ll have access to well-equipped photographic and studio facilities at the Northern Centre of Photography (NCP):
- Pixel Lab: A large digital studio, with a suite of 24” iMacs running Adobe Creative Cloud Pro; Epson flatbed film and print scanners; and large 4k LED display screen
- Professional Photography Studios: Two, large studios, equipped with Bowens digital flash lighting and a wide range of lighting attachments, as well as high-end tethered shooting with 100mp Phase One XF medium format digital cameras and iMac Pros
- Black and White Darkroom and Film Processing Hub: A well-resourced facility to produce analogue black and white prints, cyanotypes, and a variety of eco-printing and experimental toning options
- Colour Space: A specialist colour printing facility for colour film processing and analogue colour printing
- Social Zone/Makerspace and NCP Gallery: An open-plan space to meet, study and socialise, with magnetic gallery walls to present work in progress or final outcomes
- Creative Space: A seminar room with magnetic walls and large 4k LED screen
