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What is Medical Illustration?
" Medical Illustrators draw what can't be seen
watch what's never been done,
and tell thousands about it without saying a word "
- Bill Gramley, Neal Pointer, Bill Winn, 1978
Medical and scientific illustration is the perfect combination of artistic
skill with scientific accuracy. Medical illustration is the term applied to
a specific form of artwork that focuses on medical subjects and is performed
by highly trained and skilled professional artists. The focus of this
art form is to convey ideas and concepts in medicine that would simply be
impossible to represent in any other medium. Medical illustrations can be
exact and rigorous, or be conceptual and interpretive. Illustration styles
can range from highly technical and detailed to artistic and stylized.
Medical illustrations are used in a wide variety of fields that depend on
imagery to convey meaning and information. This includes advertising,
editorial, institutional, legal, home health, academic, and instructional.
Sitting at the forefront in medical advancement and emerging markets,
medical illustration is frequently used to convey in a visual form what
would be difficult, if not impossible, to convey in written or photographic
media. The requirement for an artistic eye combined with technical skill and
has continued to make medical illustration a field held in high regard.
Medical illustration can trace its roots back to Leonardo da Vinci
and beyond. Its rich history is peppered with artistic and scientific
luminaries and geniuses that developed the field into an art form of its own.
In the early 20th century, the field became more formally established when a
young German illustrator named Max Brodel was brought to the US at the
request of a prominent surgeon at Johns Hopkins University. Brodel
subsequently started a school at the University, the strength and quality of
which helped to start a number of other medical illustration curricula at
other institutes of higher learning. To date, six major, accredited schools
of medical illustration exist in the US and Canada. Brodel's legacy remains
strong at Johns Hopkins, whose medical illustration program is
considered to be foremost in the world.
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While medical illustration can trace it roots beyond Leonardo da Vinci, its rich history is peppered with artistic and scientific
luminaries and geniuses that developed the field into an art form of its own well into the 20th century.
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How is Medical Illustration different from other fields of illustration?
Medical illustration's unique combination of artistic
skill with scientific
accuracy and training has helped it to become a field in its own right.
Professional medical illustrators are highly trained in both medicine and visual
communications, allowing them to represent visually medical and scientific information
in way that neither the scientist nor the artist can do on their own. This
combination has created a central role for medical illustration in teaching
and education. Medical illustration plays a critical role in the day-to-day dialogue in
medical, legal, and scientific communities.
More specifically, medical illustrators differ from traditional artists in
that they spend several years in a specialized degree program at an
accredited university taking medical school courses side-by-side with
medical students. Medical illustrators take the same lectures, labs
and exams, and are
graded on the same curve as students aspiring to be surgeons,
anesthesiologists, and pediatricians. While medical students dissect cadavers
to develop an understanding of the inner workings of the body,
medical illustrators-in-training must go one step further. They must combine
their developing medical knowledge and growing
artistic abilities to visually represent what they are
seeing. In addition to hands-on dissections, students of medical illustration
examine radiographs, study
pathologies under a microscope, and spend time in operating rooms.
This combination of rigorous medical training plus course work in commercial illustration
is unique to medical illustrators.
While every illustrator is able to put ink to paper to
represent medical subjects,
those not trained in medical illustration may lack
the experience necessary to realize when they are making a
critical mistake in representing anatomical structures.
While such errors might not be noticed by an untrained eye,
an audience of doctors and others in the medical field will surely find the flaws.
A picture is worth a thousand words, whether it speaks the truth or not.
In the medical field, where lives are often at stake,
every image must be absolutely accurate. Such accuracy
is the hallmark of the medical illustrator.
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How does one become a Medical Illustrator? Does it require special training?
The majority of medical illustrators in the United States and Canada have a master's degree from an
accredited graduate program in medical illustration. Currently five accredited programs exist in the
United States, each accepting between 3 and 12 students per year.
While U.S. agencies do not accredit
outside the United States,
the American Accreditation Review Committee
recognized in 1993 that the medical illustration
program at the University of Toronto
demonstrated compliance with
accreditation standards.
Click here to see a listing of
accredited graduate school programs.
Accreditation is a status granted to educational programs that meet or exceed a specific set of
criteria for educational quality.
The Association of Medical Illustrators developed the first set of educational standards for accreditation and began
accrediting programs in 1967. Today, accreditation is awarded by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health
Educational Programs (CAAHEP), and the accreditation standards are revised every few years to reflect changes in the profession.
High school students contemplating medical illustration as a
career should take a college preparatory program with as much emphasis
on art and science as possible. In college, the best program would be a
bachelor's degree with a double major in art and biology, or a
major in one and a minor in the other is preferred.
Art courses should include drawing, advanced life drawing, painting,
color theory, advertising design, illustration, computer graphics,
and photography. In the sciences, students should include general
biology or zoology, vertebrate anatomy, embryology, physiology,
chemistry, and histology. Science courses must be of the caliber
required for medical school.
[source: www.ami.org]
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What is Board Certification for Medical Illustration? What does "CMI" mean?
Following the guidelines of the National Organizations for Competency Assurance,
the Medical Illustrators Board of Certification was formed.
The Board of Certification administers a two-part test to verify the competency of
medical illustrators. The test includes a written examination that takes
approximately a half day to complete, plus a stringent portfolio review.
Eligibility for certification includes graduation from an AMI-accredited
graduate program in medical and biological illustration or five years experience as a
medical illustrator and proof of successful completion of a dissection course in human gross anatomy or its equivalent.
Certified medical illustrators (designated by the letters, CMI) must participate in continuing education programs
to maintain certification status.
[source: www.ami.org]
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What is the AMI?
The Association of Medical Illustrators is an international organization founded in 1945,
and incorporated in Illinois. Its members are primarily artists who create material designed to
facilitate the recording and dissemination of medical and bioscientific knowledge through visual
communication media. Members are involved not only in the creation of such material, but also serve
in consultant, advisory, educational and administrative capacities in all aspects of bioscientific
communications and related areas of visual education."
"The professional objectives of the AMI are to promote the study and advancement of medical
illustration and allied fields of visual communication, and to promote understanding and
cooperation with the medical profession and related health science professions.
[source: www.ami.org]
For more information,
please visit the Association of Medical Illustrators' Website.
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What is the Vesalius Trust?
The Vesalius Trust for Visual Communication in the Health Sciences was incorporated as a non-profit public foundation in 1988.
Established under the direction of the Board of Governors of the Association of Medical Illustrators, a professional
organization of medically trained visual communicators, the Trust strives to develop and support education and research
programs in the field of health science communications.
The Association of Medical Illustrators sought to establish a public educational foundation for the purpose of
raising and maintaining funds to be used for developing and supporting education and research within the field
of medical illustration and related visual communication professions, and for advancing education and communication
in medicine and the health sciences.
Since its founding in 1988, the Trust has endeavored to identify and secure funding for educational and
research activities in visual communications in the health sciences, and to act as a conduit for these resources.
Currently, the Trust supports: Scholarships, research grants, continuing professional education, and an international
recognition program for exceptional contributions to medical education. The Trust intends to expand its scope of
supported activities to include: publication of instructional and informational materials; underwriting programs
facilitating interactions between biocommunication students, faculty, practitioners and the lay public; and sponsoring
activities which increase the awareness of the significance of visual communications in the health sciences and health
care delivery system.
[source: www.vesaliustrust.org]
For more information, please visit the Vesalius Trust Website.
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Where can I find more information on Medical and Scientific illustration?
Those who are interested in additional information on
becoming a medical illustrator can utilize many resources.
The following are recommended venues for more information:
(1) Write the Association of Medical Illustrators:
AMI Headquarters
P.O. Box 1897
Lawrence, KS 66044
U.S.A.
Tel: 1-866-393-4AMI (or 1-866-393-4264)
Fax: 1-785-843-1274
E-mail: hq@ami.org
or visit: AMI Website
(2) Contact the Guild of Natural Science Illustrators:
Post Office Box 652
Ben Franklin Station
Washington DC 20044-0652
Phone/fax: (301) 309-1514
E-mail: gnsihome@his.com
or visit: GNSI Website
(3) Contact Graduate Programs offering Degree Programs in Medical and/or Scientific Illustration:
Click here to see a listing of
accredited graduate school programs and other schools with curricula in medical and scientific communications.
(4) Look at other Recommended Links
(5) Look at the Recommended list of books
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Any other questions?
If you can't find the information you need while exploring this site, please feel free to contact:
Fairman Studios
108 Woodlawn Road
Baltimore, MD 21210
voice:: 781.647.7510
fax:: 240.597.0366
info@fairmanstudios.com
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What services do you offer?
Fairman Studios offers biocommunications services including medical,
biological and scientific illustration and animation.
We produce illustrations of anatomical, patient
education, surgical, conceptual, editorial, medical device,
molecular, and genetic
subject matters. Our illustrations and animations are used
for print and web publications
as well as for more specialized needs such as
presentations and trade show displays.
Fairman Studios also offers web design and publication services.
To read more about Fairman Studios and the services
it offers to its clients go to the
"What we do" section of our site.
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What are your qualifications?
Fairman Studios offers a comprehensive portfolio gallery on this site that we believe speaks
for itself about the quality of our work with various different subject
matter and presentation media. We are also a Board Certified Medical Illustration Studio practice. Following the guidelines of the National Organizations for Competency Assurance,
the Medical Illustrators Board of Certification administers a two-part test to verify the competency of medical illustrators. The test includes a written examination, plus a stringent portfolio review.
Eligibility for certification includes graduation from an AMI-accredited graduate program in medical and biological illustration or five years experience as a medical illustrator
and proof of successful completion of a dissection course in human gross anatomy or its equivalent.
Certified medical illustrators (designated by the letters, CMI) must participate in continuing education programs to maintain certification status. If you are interested in learning more about
the experience of the artist, we encourage you to visit the Biography and
Curriculum Vita sections for details.
You can also download a PDF version of the artist's CV by
clicking below.
Please visit our news room for continuing announcements of new projects,
awards, updates to this website, and other newsworthy information about Fairman Studios.
 download a hard copy of CV
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What techniques do you use to produce illustrations and animations?
Fairman Studios has a wide range of tools, techniques, and experience at
hand to provide you virtually endless possibilities for illustration and animation. Our
style ranges from a crisp, clean look to more artistic and imaginative
pieces. We produce a variety of color, tone, and black & white images using
either traditional or digital tools. Our traditional techniques include pen and ink, colored pencil, watercolor
and airbrush. We also are skilled in using a variety of Mac and PC-based software tools
including Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Painter, Freehand, Quark Xpress, Dreamweaver, Flash,
BBEdit, Macromedia Director and Adobe AfterEffects, HTML and Javascript.
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How does Fairman Studios work with its clients?
Every project starts with a consultation at no cost by phone, fax, email
or in person
in order to assess the prospective project requirements and the client's
interests and preferences. Consultation components range from
subject-matter, budget, and deadline, to the usage, quantity, style
and technique of the art or design work itself. Based upon these factors,
an estimate is written and a price quote is negotiated
and agreed upon. That's when Fairman Studios hits the drawing board. Sketches
are drawn and discussed via phone, fax, email or personal contact, depending on the project.
Usually, several revisions are produced before final artwork is submitted for a project.
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ILLUSTRATION:
1 Thumbnail - brainstorming the concept to be illustrated;
2 First-round sketch - drawn by hand with pencil and paper;
3 Second-round sketch - Modifications have been made;
4, 5 & 6 Rendering - the sketch is either transferred to high-quality art paper, or
is scanned into the computer to be rendered, minor design modifications can still be made throughout this stage;
7 Finished Art - Artwork is painted either by hand using a
variety of traditional media such as colored pencil or watercolor, or digitally
rendered using a painting program like Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator or Painter;
8 Publication - the artwork is typeset with the mast-head and goes to print.
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ANIMATION:
1 Outline - brainstorming the concept to be animated, all content is written out;
2 Storyboard - the time line and content, including audio and video, are outlined scene-by-scene
in storyboard format and reviewed
before any artwork is produced;
3 Sketch - all scenes are drawn by hand with pencil and paper, color may be added for clarity;
4 Sound Editing - If required, professional voice-over talent is recruited to
narrate the script, which is recorded, edited and time-mapped before animation rendering begins;
5 Paint - Artwork scenes is painted either by hand using a
variety of traditional media such as colored pencil or watercolor, or digitally
rendered using a painting program like Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator or Painter;
6 Animate - the artwork is imported to an animation program like Adobe AfterEffects, Flash or Director. Narration
is also incorporated if necessary. Next the animation is rendered and
exported as a QuickTime, RealPlayer or Windows Media document;
7 Publication - the animation is published to PowerPoint Presentation, Web or CD-ROM.
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How much do your services cost?
In general, the price is impacted a variety of factors:
- Number of illustrations
- Number of colors and quality of rendering
- 2-dimensional versus 3-dimensional imagery
- Single image versus animated imagery
- Economies of scale -- multiple images in a series always cost less than
individual images stand-alone.
- The amount of research necessary to accurately represent the image. This
correlates to complexity and visual intricacy of subject matter.
- Existing reference material available
- Number of changes needed
- Timing of project: standard vs. rush job
- The market the artwork will be used for
- Usage, distribution and ownership rights
As with any contracted service, the exact final cost for a project is
impossible to fix at the outset. However, a free initial consultation
will allow Fairman Studios to assess
the scope of the project and needs of the client.
Fairman Studios charges by the hour for its services,
and is happy to offer you a quote that best matches our skills and
services to your budget and desired outcome. Please call or email to
talk to us about your specific needs. Fairman Studios provides great value for the money,
and is priced very competitively against most professional illustration studios.
We believe that choosing Fairman Studios is healthy for your medical or scientific
illustration project and for your wallet.
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How long does it take to complete a typical project?
As mentioned above in the "how much do your services cost?" section, the
specific needs of the client dictate how long a project takes. The greater
the subject complexity, intricacy, and number of images, the longer it will
take for us to complete to your satisfaction. Simple illustrations can take
just days while more complex projects can take weeks or months. Fairman
Studios always provides a schedule and time estimate along with its price
estimate, and always strives to deliver its services on or ahead of time and
on budget.
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What is your policy in regarding copyright and usage?
Just as a musician sells their music, authors sell their
books, and theaters sell admission to see plays, the medical illustrator
sells their work. Without payment, much of this work would simply not exist.
It has often been said that "without money, there is no art". Copyright is
the main vehicle for assuring that this artwork retains the ownership and
rights of the illustrator or the organization that commissioned the work. It
would simply be unfair for the artist to charge one individual or
organization for a work and allow that work to be distributed freely to others.
Thus, to protect you, our client, and Fairman Studios, we copyright our work and take
additional steps to prevent unauthorized
distribution of that material. We encourage you to view our portfolio and
the samples of work shown on our website. If you like what you see, we
encourage to contact us so we can develop imagery for your use.
Clients can also choose to purchase rights or license existing
works, as available, from Fairman Studios.
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Do you sell stock illustration?
Yes. Any image you find on this site that has the  symbol next to its title
indicates that it can be resold for a usage fee. Be sure to click on the
"obtain permission for use" link within the image
window and an automatic email box should appear with the appropriate
image title in the subject
heading. If the image does not have the
symbol,
it should not have an email request link either.
This is because the artwork is proprietary. Images not owned
by Fairman Studios is owned, and copyrighted, by
one of our clients, and CANNOT be resold, nor should it be
downloaded for use.
United States and international copyright helps protect our clients from
unauthorized distribution of materials. If you like what you see, and would like an
image similar to what
you see online, we encourage you to contact with Fairman Studios to
produce something for your use.
Please visit our Legal section
for more
information on copyright and usage terms for this website.
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Any image you find on this site that has the
symbol next to its title
can be resold for a usage fee. Use the email link in the window of the image
you are interested in to inquire about usage.
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Is all of your artwork online?
No. Because our archives continue to grow on a daily basis, only a representative portion of our existing artwork is exhibited online.
You may be searching for an
image we have created, but is simply not up on our website.
Please feel free to submit an inquiry and
ask if we have created a particular image for a specific subject you have in mind.
If not, we'd be more than happy to create something original for your use.
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How can I get in touch with you about a prospective project?
For a free consultation, please feel free to contact:
Fairman Studios
108 Woodlawn Road
Baltimore, MD 21210
voice:: 781.647.7510
fax:: 240.597.0366
info@fairmanstudios.com
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