In 1956 Benjamin Bloom introduced his theory of 'Mastery Learning' and authored the Taxonomy of Educational Objectives. His taxonomy identified three overlapping domains: the cognitive, the affective and the psychomotor. Although this theory has been embraced by many educational disciplines, studio coursework in art, design and illustration is still predicated by practices established in eighteenth century traditional psychomotor 'see and draw' instruction. Illustration calls for achievement in the mastery of hand skills and the ability to visually communicate a message to a predetermined audience. This study examines the results of beginning and advanced illustration students by using curriculum designed with Bloom's Revised Taxonomy. Literature on the relevance of cognitive learning environments was reviewed prior to a mixed qualitative-quantitative study. This study aims to provide evidence to support the application for this pedagogic method. Findings of this research may help illustration instructors when designing their curriculum and to assist students while creating their illustration work.