I recently attended the Guild of Natural Science Illustrator’s annual conference, and heard a lot of people describe getting into the filed this way:

“I was a science student, but I didn’t want to do research. I also took art classes, but my teachers did not like my work because it was so representative.”

When I heard that story the first time, I said “Exactly! That’s exactly how it was for me!” Neither of the fields really fit, but mixed together they fit like a glove.

Trying to figure out how these things fit together was a huge challenge for me, and the process took me three years after I had a pretty clear idea of where I was going – because that is how long it took me to figure out what this field is, and how it fits in with the related fields.

Over the course of these years I have learned a good deal of information that really would have made life easier if I had known these things from the beginning.

I have received an increasing number of inquiries from scientist/artists who are trying to figure out whether scientific or medical illustration is the field for them, and I realized that this information that came so hard for me comes pretty hard for everyone.

This report will ease this process for you. I have given you all of the pertinent information about this field that I have garnered, and have done research to fill in any blanks.

You will be able to make much more informed decisions, and plan your career better because of this information. This report contains information that will let you decipher between the different areas of the science and medical illustration fields, figure out whether you need more education or not, and know what web sites and phone numbers to call for that information.

This report will give you information about setting up your business if you are ready for that step, and set you in the right direction for getting your first client and putting your first contract together.

I hope that you find this information helpful in your decision about what career path to follow. If you have any comments, information you would like to add, or additional questions feel free to email me.

Disclaimer

The intention of this project is to help you decide on your career, and if you decide on a field of scientific or medical illustration, to help you launch that career.

Everything in this review is my opinion only. There are different paths you can take and different methods of getting down those paths. I am exposing you to all of the paths and opportunities that I could find in my research and through my career, but there are more options out there and you can blaze your own trail.

Getting started

1. Figure out what area you are interested in (see the section on different areas of the field). Below is a list of all of the relevant societies and guilds that I could find. Looking through their web sites will help you to figure out what seems like an interesting career direction and what does not.

3. Do you have a client base? See the getting started with a business section.

Once you have answered the above questions, and you are ready to get into business, you will want to develop a style. Developing a style of your own is very important. It makes you look experienced, and it calms customers. (Customers don’t want to guess at what you will give them; they want to know that the illustration you make for them will look exactly like everything else you do.)

There are different ways to develop a signature style – you can work with similar colors, similar mediums, etc. Some science illustrators work in traditional styles such as scratchboard or watercolor. You can read about these techniques, from the experts in each technique, in The Guild Handbook of Scientific Illustration. Other illustrators push pixels with Photoshop or work primarily with the vector based program Illustrator or Painter, or a 3d program such as 3d Studio Max or Maya. A much less expensive book that discusses illustration styles is The Encyclopedia of Illustration Techniques. Of course, this is not specific to scientific illustration, but it is a great sampling and investigation of styles and techniques.

Societies and other organizations

There are a few associations in the field, and visiting their web sites may help you to find your area of greatest interest.

Natural science illustration associations

Illustration and graphic arts

Botanical associations

Medical illustration and biocommunication associations

Institute of Medical Illustrators (same group as above) - http://www.imi.org.uk/

Association of Biomedical Communications Directors - http://www.abcdirectors.org/

Medical photography and microscopy associations

Biomedical Photographic Communications at Rochester Institute of Technology - http://www.rit.edu/~biomed/

Graphic design organizations

Other related associations

Vesalius Trust for Visual Communications in the Health Sciences - http://www.vesaliustrust.org/

Different areas of the field

Scientific illustration and medical illustration are two separate fields. Within those fields are several sub-fields. There are a variety of employer types in the field, such as working for museums, universities, hospitals, parks, etc. But most illustrators in the field freelance either on the side or full time. I discuss setting up your business later on.

Scientific illustration

Scientific illustrators / natural science illustrators specialize in just about any species of plant, animal or environment that you can think of. There are botanical illustrators, fish illustrators, interpretive illustrators, general science illustrators, underwater environment illustrators, outer space illustrators, etc. Some good resources to check out if you are interested specifically in scientific (rather than medical) illustration are the Guild of Natural Science Illustrators (GNSI), which is one of the nicest groups of people I have met, besides being incredibly talented and diverse. Another good resource is the National Association for Interpretation. They put out a magazine called Legacy, which will give you a good sense of what interpretation is and where the jobs in the field lie.

Scientific illustrators come at the field with different backgrounds. Most of the scientific illustrators that I have met either have a background in biology (such as a bachelors degree in biology or biochemistry) or a combination of biology and art background (such as a bachelor of fine art or a masters of fine art). You can get into the field without the science background, but you are at a disadvantage when finding and dealing with clients. And of course the important thing, when you are freelancing, is your portfolio and knowledge. A degree is not necessarily helpful for freelancers, but the self-assurance that comes with a degree is very important.

There are a few schools that offer degrees in scientific illustration (discussed in the education section). If you have the time and money to go through one of these programs, it will make your life easier.

Medical illustration

Medical illustrators work for pharmaceutical companies, universities, magazines, publishers, hospitals, etc. Specialties include surgical illustration, veterinary illustration, anatomical illustration, etc.

“Medical Illustrator” is a more specific title than scientific illustrator. It implies an education or substantial professional experience in medical illustration.

Medical illustrators generally have a master’s degree in medical illustration. Some medical illustrators such as the most renowned illustrator in the field, Nelson, have a medical doctor’s degree. There are six universities in North America that offer a masters degree in medical illustration (although the degrees have different names). These are MFA degrees, but some of the classes are taken along with medical students, and those classes generally include human anatomy, human dissection, etc. The schools have different focuses such as surgical illustration, veterinary illustration, traditional illustration or 3d animation, etc. The schools are listed in the Education section.

Medical illustrators tend to command a higher rate than natural science illustrators, perhaps because of the more specific educational / knowledge requirements, or because the overhead can be more expensive. Medical illustrators also tend to work for clients that have more money. You can compare the common rates for projects in these two fields by looking in the GAG handbook.

Education

And you may be interested in doing it on your own, in which case you will want to take science and art classes, if you haven’t already. If you are interested in an educational program, read on.

The important thing is that you are able to understand what the scientists say to you, to a reasonable degree, that you are able to research the things that you don’t understand, that you are confident enough to ask all the questions you need to in your initial interview and to ask for reference material, that you are able to observe the important things about an object, situation, etc., that your renditions are accurate, and that your final illustrations are attractive and use principles of fine art, graphic design and typography.

Scientific illustration certificate programs

There are several schools that offer certificates in scientific illustration. They’re not all the same, so do some investigation. Find out what you’ll learn, and what kinds of jobs their graduates have, and how long it took them to get those jobs. Some of the schools have better track records than others.

1. The best program seems to be the graduate certificate program in Science Illustration at Santa Cruz, CA. http://scicom.ucsc.edu/illus/grad.html

2. Seattle, WA. University of Washington Evening Degree Program - http://www.outreach.washington.edu/extinfo/certprog/sci/sci_gen.asp

After UC Santa Cruz and University of Washington, there are a few certificate programs in natural science illustration at universities and colleges, and there are a few certificate programs in botanical illustration at arboretums. If I have not listed a program in your area, call your local botanical garden and university. (And let me know.)

3. Lisle, IL. The Morton Arboretum’s Certificate Programs in Botanical Art and Illustration Certificate - http://www.mortonarb.org/education/cert_botart.htm

4. Bronx, NY. Botanical Art and Illustration, Botany (I’m not sure whether they offer a degree) - http://www.nybg.org/edu/conted/

5. Saint Paul, Minnesota. Como Zoo and Conservatory Botanical Arts and Illustration Program - http://www.ci.stpaul.mn.us/depts/parks/comopark/education/baic/baicofferings.htm

6. Denver, CO. Denver Botanic Gardens’ Certificate in Botanical Art and Illustration - http://www.botanicgardens.org/pageinpage/botanicalillustration.cfm

9. Pittsburgh, PA. Botanical Garden Conservation International - http://www.phipps.conservatory.org/learn/education/ccourse/botanical.html

Scientific illustration bachelors degree programs

1. University of Georgia at Athens, Lamar Dodd School of Art, Scientific Illustration Program - http://www.visart.uga.edu/pos/sci_ill/index/sci_ill.html

2. Iowa State University, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, Biological/Pre-medical Illustration Program - http://www.bpmi.iastate.edu/BPMIHomepage.html

3. State University of West Georgia, Department of Art, Pre-medical Illustration Program - http://www.westga.edu/~artdept/

4. North Georgia College & State University, Fine Arts Department, Visual Arts, Pre-medical Illustration Program, Dr. Catherine Chastain -

Medical illustration masters degree programs

This is the complete list of programs that are accredited by the AMA for medical illustration. All six of them are graduate level programs. They each admit about 10 students per year, but the entrance requirements and focuses of the schools are very different.

1. University of Toronto, Biomedical Communications Program
1 King’s College Circle, Medical Science Bldg. Room 2356, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 1A8 Canada, 416-978-5357 - http://www.bmc.med.utoronto.ca/bmc/

2. The Medical College of Georgia, Graduate Program in Medical Illustration
CJ-1102, Augusta, GA 30912-0300, 706-721-3266 - http://www.mcg.edu/medart/

3. University of Illinois at Chicago, Department of Biomedical Visualization
1919 W. Taylor St., Room 211, MC 527, Chicago, IL 60612-7249, 312-996-8344 - http://www.uic.edu/ahs/sbhis/bvis/

4. The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Art As Applied To Medicine
1830 E. Monument St., #7000, Baltimore, MD 21205-2100, 410-955-3213 - http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/medart/

5. The University of Michigan, M.F.A. Program in Medical & Biological Illustration
2000 Bonisteel Blvd., Rm. 1075, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2069, 734-647-3504, 313-998-6270 - http://www.umich.edu/~medill/

6. The University of Texas, Biomedical Communications Graduate Program
5323 Harry Hines Blvd., Dallas, TX 75235-8881, 214-648-4699 - http://www.swmed.edu/medillus/

In addition to that, there is a medical illustration certificate that you can test for through the Guild of Medical Illustrators, to add CMI to the end of your name. If you don’t have a master’s degree in medical illustration from one of the six above schools, you need to have 5 years of experience with professional biological illustration, pass a portfolio review, and have taken a human anatomy dissection class.

Getting started with a business

1. Copyright laws. The principles are simple but largely misunderstood. Not understanding the principles of copyright laws will end up losing you money and respect.

2. Contracts. Get the GAG book and read those contracts. Figure out what the different parts mean and use them for your contracts. If you can afford it, get a lawyer to review your contracts to make sure you will get what you want. And remember, if people don’t pay, you’re basically out of luck (I’ve had problems getting paid for work that the client said he loved, and just about all freelancers I know have had problems collecting.). The point is, try to get payments at different points during a project, such as at every delivery or review date. And put that in your contract so that they know what to expect and you know if they’re flaking out.

3. Pricing. Get the GAG book for this too, and ask your peers (see the societies listing) when you have questions. And remember, if you under price, you’ll still get something in your portfolio (as long as you understood the copyright laws going into it). But when you do under price, you are undercutting all of us. Do us all a favor and price your time, education, overhead and creative juices for what they are worth (more than an hourly wage).

4. Promotion. Do you already have potential clients at your fingertips? Sever natural science illustrators I’ve met did their first printed work for their science teachers. Think about all the scientists that you know will be presenting their findings, teaching courses, or writing text books.

Opening your business

A lot of illustrators work up to going into their own business, as I have myself. Deciding when to break away from your day job and go into business for yourself full time is very difficult. The book Starting Your Career as a Freelance Illustrator or Graphic Designer is a great book to have along the way (and it’s not very expensive – I got it on sale from Amazon for $14). It discusses how to make that decision, and all the steps you need to follow afterwards to make sure your business is a success. This is the best book purchase (or business purchase) I have made.

Another book along the same lines is The Business Side of Creativity: The Complete Guide for Running a Graphic Design or Communications Business. This book also leads you through the beginnings of negotiating, writing contracts, etc. It also has a section called “fatal errors” which is very useful.

The GAG Handbook of Pricing and Ethical Guidelines is the book to get for pricing information and as a starter for your legal forms. It’s easy to think you can go without paperwork at first, but you will regret it.

As a supplement to this (or a less expensive alternative), get the Graphic Designer’s Guide to Pricing, Estimating and Budgeting.

· *Recently, I made a bid to a customer who had never worked with an illustrator before. He called me a week later and told me that he had bought the GAG Handbook of Pricing & Ethical Guidelines to get a better sense of what to expect from me, and I got the project. I did not mention to him that I had designed my contract after one of the sample contracts in the GAG book, but that coincidence made me pretty happy.

The hard part of bidding is that customers are usually just as confused as you are about what to expect in terms of payment and usage rights. The customers that have not worked with illustrators before are surprised that they can’t use the illustration for whatever they want, whenever they want – since they did commission the work. And the customers who have worked with illustrators before do not always have your best interests in mind when you negotiate.

The easiest thing to do, to make sure you are paid reasonably and your customer is happy and returns to you, is to use a table like the one listed in Starting Your Career as a Freelance Illustrator or Graphic Designer, to figure out your expenses. Then go to the GAG handbook to figure out what is generally charged for that type of work (not they are not giving price recommendations, since that is price fixing – the key phrase that keeps all of us from discussing our rates openly with each other, to a large extent).

Once you have figured out what is standard for the type of work you are doing and the usage it will receive, and the amount of money you need to make to keep your business going, you will have a pretty good idea of a range that you need to quote your client. And you can back up your quote with the figures from the GAG book and the phrase “business overhead.”

Marketing yourself

After you have a good grip on business, and especially on copyright laws and rights – I cannot stress enough how important those are – it’s time to look for clients! Again, the book Starting Your Career as a Freelance Illustrator or Graphic Designer is a great book to read to get a good feeling for where to look for clients and what to do with them. For some more concrete self promotion ideas, read the Graphic Designer’s Guide to Creative Marketing: Finding & Keeping Your Best Clients.

A an even more concrete “call this phone number” type of book is 2003 Artist’s & Graphic Designer’s Market and their Children’s Market. These books come out every year, and have thousands of contacts. They separate the buyers into category, and reference the type of illustrations they buy in the back so that you can look up buyers of “wildlife art” who also buy “children’s book illustrations” and find your self a great niche. Then the book gives you the number of artists that send their portfolio to that company, the amount the company pays for each illustration, who they prefer to work with, and their phone number and email address!

Business plan

It is a good idea to have a business plan. This will help you to focus yourself and stay on track.

There are groups like ‘lawyers for artists’ who donate their time to help artists get their business plans, contracts and other documents right. Check with your local small business alliance to find out where the volunteer lawyers in your community are. In my city they offer classes on writing your business plan, for an extremely low fee.

Don’t waste their time or yours with simple questions. Do your research before you get help, so that you know what you want. This research and self-reflection takes a lot of time and effort, but setting up a business takes time and effort.

A good start would be to go to the library and read the legal forms in the GAG handbook.

Business finances

It’s a good idea to figure out what you are in for financially. Start off by making a chart of monthly expenses (overhead) and one-time expenses (set-up costs) that you will have, consider that you will have to spend about ¼ of your time or more doing self promotion when you start out, and add in a salary you can live with. Also consider that it can take clients several months to pay, especially if you get projects with universities. Also figure in that you may have several months without projects. By moving your numbers around, you should get a feeling for how much money you need to save up to start out and how much you need to charge your clients. Different illustrators have different comfort levels, but it’s a good rule of thumb to always have at least a 3-month cushion in the month (and 1-2 years is an ideal cushion). The more the better, especially at first.

Contracts

I recently attended a seminar led by a copyright lawyer, and it was eye opening. A few things he said that were good food for thought:

1. Don’t ever do work for hire unless you’re desperate. You lose all rights to your work (including the right to put it in your portfolio). This is a common theme reiterated in the GAG handbook.

2. Don’t ever sell ‘ownership’ of your work. Instead, sell permission to print your illustration here, or permission to display your illustration there. That’s how you can earn income continually from each piece, and support your other art habits or support yourself during lean times.

When you get your first project, do not let your client pressure you into giving a number while you are sitting with them. But it’s a good idea to figure out what you will charge in advance and have some numbers sitting in front of you. Ask your client what they will use the illustration for. If they don’t know (I know it’s surprising, but sometimes they don’t know), then say something like “for an illustration of this complexity, my estimate is X dollars.

Negotiating

If they say, “My god, I can only pay Y,” you’re still OK. Really think about whether it’s worth it – do they really undervalue your time or are they just on a limited budget – and think about what you are willing to do. Remember, you can tell them you’ll work up a new estimate and fax it to them. Come back with something like “Oh, that is my price for publishing it 6 times. If you only want one time printing rights, and only for this one journal, I can make a more simple illustration for closer to Y.”

What are you doing here? You are using copyright laws to your advantage. If they want to be able to print it all they like for six months, they’ll have to pay more. And you’re trying to look like you’re not desperate, but still get the job. It makes you look professional while giving them what they want and what they can afford.

This bit of negotiating savvy is the most important business know-how I have learned.

Read about copyright laws before you send off your first contract. The best source for your initial business documents is GAG Handbook of Pricing and Ethical Guidelines. If you don’t want to spend money on a book, try the GAG website at www.gag.org, http://freeagent.com or http://www.allbusiness.com.

The best resource is to go to the source. United States Copyright Offices: http://lcweb.loc.gov/copyright/.

Another very interesting thing to know about copyrights is that you do own copyright of anything illustrations you make (as long as you did not do it as work for hire). Why register? Because, you cannot sue for damages unless you have registered your work. That’s important. So if you think there is a likeliness of someone stealing your work for an ad, web site or anything else, get it registered. The URL above is the place to start for that.

The turnaround time for getting your work registered with the copyright office is 1-2 months, but if you are trying to recover damages, the registration can be effective on the date you send out your forms (depending on the circumstances).

Books you need

There are some books that you really should have on your shelf once you start illustrating. I held out on buying the Guild Handbook of Scientific Illustration for quite some time, because the price is daunting (and the used ones are just as expensive as the new ones), but once I broke down and bought it I was quite happy. This is an extremely comprehensive reference book. If you are serious about becoming a scientific illustrator, I suggest that you at least check this out at the library. (When you decide to buy it, support this site by buying it through this link.) The new edition just came out in 2003, and it contains a lot of new information. If you can afford it, get both.

You will also need reference guides in your area of expertise. I have several anatomy reference guides and my biology and chemistry textbooks as well as a botany book and a number of multimedia reference guides, and typography and design books.

You may also want to learn typography and design, since it is an intrinsic part of scientific illustration (this is the art of knowing what type of font to use when, and more importantly, being able to justify it!)

Here are a few inexpensive books that really help: Designing with Type: A Basic Course in Typography and A Typographic Workbook, A Primer to History, Techniques, and Artistry.

I think the best book in the field of Typography is The PC Is Not a Typewriter by Robin Williams. Although this sounds like it’s written for beginners, I would recommend this to the most accomplished Designer/Typographer. It is only $10 on sale from Amazon right now, and I learned more from this in the first five minutes of reading the book than I did in several months of reading information online.

Other book and magazine recommendations

It is also a good idea to stay up on scientific happenings, although you can get away with not doing this. I suggest reading the science section of your newspaper and also reading Scientific American, Discover Magazine or Popular Science Magazine. Of course, if you have a strong science background you’ll already have your favorite science resources. (I’d love to hear about them.)

Keeping track of popular art movements is a good idea as well, especially when you are getting your feet wet and deciding what direction to go. Try the Smithsonian Magazine or Art in America. Communication Arts just came out with their Illustration Annual, and that is definitely worth the investment.

Popular Science Magazine, From the Publisher: The “What’s New” magazine of science and technology. Covering the latest developments in cars, electronics, communications, tools, energy, aviation, science, space exploration and much more.

Discover Magazine, From Amazon.com: Science rules the headlines these days, with new developments each week in genetics, astrophysics, computers, and medicine, and Discover is a great way to get a broad spectrum of science news. Designed for the general reader, Discover translates and interprets many of the same stories professionals peruse in Scientific American. Accessible articles on genetically engineered food, what’s living in your pillows, real robots in action, and what makes a Stradivarius sing add up to a truly delightful family science magazine. Each issue brings to light new and newsworthy topics to stimulate dinnertime and water-cooler conversations beyond the mundane, and Discover spices the mix with puzzles, Web links, book reviews, and experiments for amateur scientists.

Smithsonian Magazine, From the Publisher: This magazine chronicles the arts, environment, sciences and popular culture of the times. It is edited for modern, well-rounded individuals with diverse, general interests. Each subscription includes a membership to the Smithsonian Institute that provides special discounts at Smithsonian gift shops, world travel opportunities through Smithsonian study tours and information on all Smithsonian events in any area.

Art in America, I’ve been getting this magazine for about 6 months now, and I really enjoy it. There are always several inspirational pieces in the magazine, and it’s nice to know what is going on in the art world!

From the Publisher: Art in America is edited for artists, art collectors, dealers, educators, students, historians and museum curators. The magazine comprehensively reports and comments on major achievements and events throughout the art world, particularly in painting, sculpture, photography and prints.

Equipment

You may want to work digitally, as a lot of scientific illustrators and most medical illustrators do. To do this, you will need to know some software programs, and if you are freelancing you will need to own some of them. You can find a list of necessities here.

Software

The basics are Adobe Photoshop 7.0 and either Adobe Illustrator 10.0, Painter, which costs about 1/5 the price of Illustrator and has some great functionality, or Macromedia Freehand, which I do not find to be as robust a program as Illustrator or Painter, but if you do a lot of multimedia and wed design you may want to get the Macromedia suite which is a package deal with several pieces of great software including Freehand. Beyond that, you are specializing. If you are interested in large-scale page layout, you will need some layout software like Quark Xpress, which costs around $800. Some designers are very pleased with the less expensive Adobe InDesign, which Amazon has on sale. If you are interested in web animation and web site building, the best software is Flash and Dreamweaver, in the Macromedia suite.

Hardware

You need a nice computer if you are going to be a digital artist. You need a lot of memory and a lot of RAM.

I recently attended a class on digital output for scientific illustrators. In this class of about 20 students, only four of us had PCs at home (and were comfortable with PCs).

I would guess that the proportion of medical illustrators with PCs is higher, but there is obviously a preference for Mac in the illustration community.

My personal feeling is that if you know how to send your files back and forth between Mac and PC computers, it really doesn’t matter which you get, as long as your computer is strong.

You’ll need a Wacom tablet. The 4x5 size is fine to start, and it’s the least expensive size you can get away with. You can find them at Amazon here: Wacom Intuos2 Graphics Tablet (USB). The ideal size is 6x8, unless you have a lot of desk space (and money) in which case you should go huge.

FAQ

Questions I’ve received from new and aspiring illustrators, and the answers I’ve given, with permission.

Answer Not enough to do it for the money. But if you’re passionate about it and you have business sense, you can get by.

Answer Network, network, network. Network with your science teachers, the people in your guilds and the guy at your coffee shop. Beyond that, finding clients is a major issue for all but a few freelancers in the field. There are some excellent books on marketing yourself, including Starting Your Career as a Freelance Illustrator or Graphic Designer and Graphic Designer’s Guide to Creative Marketing: Finding & Keeping Your Best Clients.

Answer Yes. Ask your friends for projects, join GNSI, and take some art classes. Being an artist does not pay well in most cases, so don’t get into it thinking you’ll make as much as you did as a scientist – at least not at first. But if it’s what you want to do, you’ve got a great background for it.

Answer Bachelor of Science in Psychology, Education in Fine art, ongoing education in general science (chemistry and biology) and fine art.

Question I'm wondering what your job is, and if you still work in classic media (graphite, pen and ink, etc.)

Answer I am first and foremost a free-lance artist in Seattle. I also have a 50% position at UW as the Medical Illustrator for the Division of Medical Genetics. Additionally I have a part time position at UW as a research study assistant.

The projects I do on my own I do with traditional materials (see my figure drawing page under "macro" on the left menu), but the projects I do for others are almost all digital.

Question Hello, My name is Lynne, and I live in Yakima, WA. Currently, I am a high school science, design, art, math, and whatever else is needed teacher at Yakama Nation Tribal School in Toppenish. I have degrees in horticulture, graphic design, education and science. Long story short, I have been teaching for 9+ years and simply do not see myself staying in the classroom that much longer, especially when I would much rather be do creative, educational things either at the computer or using low-tech means or some combination of the two.
Having browsed your website, I found myself saying that's what I'd like to be doing. I'm just getting started with video, 3-D animation etc. (Premiere, Lightwave, 3D Max). It just seemed that you would be a good person who could give me some idea of what the market for science/educational graphics is like, and maybe some pointers for getting going with the programs I listed above. I work in most fine art media; waterbased, and various dry color media are favorites. I am already fairly proficient at Illustrator, Photoshop etc. My school is interested in developing a web site, so I will also be teaching myself Go Live this summer.

Anyway, if you could drop me a quick note, I would greatly appreciate it.
Thank you for your time.

It sounds like you're off to a good start - it's really hard to break into the science education illustration field from the outside (as I am finding) so my advice is to really check out who your contacts are and use them. If you think about the researchers you know, or that your friends and co-workers know, you probably have a lot of contacts that can give you projects.

There is a really good book called "starting your career as a freelance illustrator or graphic designer" by Michael Fleischman. I really recommend reading it to get a good idea of what freelancing entails (only $14 on Amazon).

As far as getting started with the software, the easiest thing for me is to jump in and start. Think of something really simple you would like to build and animate and then just jump in and start. The help button will answer your beginning questions, and if you have access to 3d Studio Max Magic or the book that comes with the software, they are great resources.

There are a few forums out there where techie artists like to show off their know-how, so as soon as you run into a problem, post it in a forum. BUT FIRST look around the forum a little. Especially with 3d Studio Max, people can be incredibly critical and downright crewel. I've seen great artist/animators torn apart because their style isn't in this month. So just take any criticism with a grain of salt and enjoy the praise and advice.

If you decide to learn Flash, there is a great site called Flashkit.com where you will find almost exclusively supportive and helpful people and a lot of tutorials for beginners on up.

As far as Premiere goes, check out the Adobe site. They have a weekly newsletter with tips. I'm sure there are video-editing forums out there, too. I found that software to be fairly intuitive, and was able to find all the answers I needed the book that came with the software.

Question I have enjoyed your Web site. The resources section is great because I am a newbie to this sort of illustration. My degree is in Commercial Art, Graphic Design and Illustration, but I have spent many years in other occupations and now I am looking to redevelop my skills. Your information is very timely!

I need to develop some projects for promotions, do you have any suggestions on how to find people or groups to market to? I have sent bucks for Scientific Illustration Guild membership.

Answer Thank you for the nice email!

Finding people to market to is quite an issue for most of us. I suggest that you look around at the different types of work that people do and narrow your scope - decide what you would really like to do. Are you interested in scientific illustration specifically? Are you interested in illustrating bugs, plants, medical procedures, natural science stuff? For each of these areas there is a different market.

Also, are you interested in free-lancing or finding a full time job?

Question I love plants, followed by any nature stuff, no spiders or disassembled people. My preference would be for freelance work, but I really don't know about what's out there in the way of full time staff positions. I didn't really think there were any.

Answer You may want to check out botanical companies (plant stores & botanical gardens) to see how they hire artists, and to get a feeling for where the money is. Also, try checking out the AMI sourcebook and looking in the natural science section to see who your competition is and what kind of projects they've worked on. That will probably give you some ideas about clients.

There is also a very cool little book called "Artist's & Graphic Designer's Market " which is exactly that. It lists the people you want to contact and how they accept portfolios/applications. The section on illustration isn't huge, but it's a good start.

There is also the Graphic Artists Guild Handbook: Pricing and Ethical Guidelines. It's kind of helpful AFTER you find clients. I suggest finding a copy to browse before you spend any money on it, though.

Question please let me know more about your work, where you're located... any information you have would be greatly appreciated as I don't know all that much about the field!! Thanks so much. I look forward to hearing from you!

I have been making illustrations for presentations for a pharmaceutical company in town, and it is actually fairly secretive stuff (pretty common with small pharms). That means it's interesting to me, but I can't put it in my portfolio. I do all of that work in Illustrator and 3d Studio Max. I'm also having illustration projects for the educational/research institutions in town.

I got into the field a few years ago when the economy was really good. I worked for a group at UW called MTS Tutor making very cool illustrations and animations (mostly in 3d studio max) for medical/scientific training cd's. That was very fun stuff.

About the author

Jessie Good, illustrator and designer specializing in scientific and medical content.

I combine years of experience working in medical and science laboratories (including the department of Rehabilitation Medicine at the University of Washington, the Neuroscience and Cognitive Psychology departments of the University of Oregon and the OB/GYN department in the University of Arizona Medical Center) and an education in art and multimedia into a career as a scientific and medical illustrator.

I attended the Pacific Northwest College of Art in Portland, Oregon, from 1989-1991, received a bachelor in psychology from the University of Oregon in 1997, studied as an intern in multimedia Sony, studied 3d game art as an intern at Dynamix, and took some animation and multimedia classes in 1999. In January of 2000 I got a full time position as an illustrator/designer of medical training software with the University of Washington

As you can probably tell from this history, I enjoy variety quite a bit, and I love to learn new things. These are the biggest benefits, for me, of working for myself, and they make up for the lack of financial security.

I now own the one-person illustration and graphic design company Biomedical Illustration (http://biomedical-illustration.com), which specializes in educational scientific illustration, animation and multimedia. My services include creating scientific and medical images for print media such as books and brochures, as well as educational CDs and Websites.

Besides scientific and medical illustration, I also do fitness illustration and design. I got into that in a roundabout way. In an effort to bring together women who enjoy working out with others (and find a running partner), and to inspire those who want to begin working out, I created WomensExerciseNetwork.com in 2001. Since the inception of this online community, I have spent time almost daily answering questions about fitness events and techniques. In the process I have researched various areas of fitness and developed a knowledge base on the subject.

In 2003 I illustrated and edited Weight Lifting for Absolute Beginners (http://WomensExerciseNetwork.com/beginners.html), a program intended for women and men who are starting from scratch, so to speak. After that I illustrated and edited The Easy-Does-It Diet book (http://www.easydoesitdiet.com). And after that I created the cover design for Weight Loss: How to Keep Your Commitment (http://www.howtothinkthin.com/), which deals with the mental aspects of dieting.

As a scientific and medical illustrator/designer, I have designed and authored medical training software used by Merck, and created illustrations for Immunex, Rexagen, the University of Washington, and was a contract multimedia author with Microsoft.

Good luck, and let me know what I missed.

Medical & scientific illustration

Amphibian Footprint, biomedical illustration is an Illustration and Graphic Design company specializing in Scientific Illustration, Animation and Multimedia.

*All contents of this site are owned and can not be reproduced in any way. Absolutely no duplication allowed.

Scientific illustrations

Cellular illustrations

Medical illustrations

Medical illustrations showing medical concepts, created on assignment

New media

ANIMATIONS for presentations, educational CD-ROMs, or Web sites.
Animations can explain concepts that are difficult or cumbersome to explain with words or still graphics. Animations can also add immensely to the look and feel of your presentation, CD or Web site.

Becoming a Scientific

or Medical Illustrator

Introduction