Lucrative Medical Illustration Careers

Medical illustration is an attractive field today combining both arts and science, thus creating masterpieces of human physique. Medical illustrators draw pictures or create statues to depict various intricacies in human body which cannot be seen in a photograph or an actual body. There is a vast scope for medical illustration careers because there is more and more demand for medical illustrators for medical textbooks, journals, schools and even for criminal investigation.

Carotid Artery Illustration

Physicians and medical and other students need illustrations of the various intricacies of the body to understand it in detail. Medical illustrators can depict the steps in a surgery or images of both healthy and ill body parts to manifest effects of diseases. They also create models of body or body parts which are to be used in lectures and conferences. Even some medical illustrators can shape up artificial body parts like eyes or ears for patients deprived of these parts. The images and models created by medical illustrators are required in television programs and films too and even as exhibits in lawsuits.

Heart Structure Illustration

Medical illustrators are judicious in their drawings and so the drawings are effective in explaining the relationship of that body part to another. When a student studies these illustrations he or she can better understand about the body before their actual practical in laboratory or work to treat patients start.

Medical illustrators have to select their media and methods very carefully as, each of their drawings has a particular purpose. For example drawings and paintings make the information simpler and show relation of body parts to each other. Sculptures and models on the other hand show 3-dimesnisonal arrangement of the body parts which make students understand the structures well. For pictures, the illustrators may use paint, ink, pencil, charcoal or a chalk.  And for making a model, mediums like wax, clay, plastic, wood or metal are used.

The course of medical illustrator includes both art and science and contains comprehensive information about human body and various medical techniques. Several illustrators prefer specializing in a particular field of medicine like neurology, embryology or gastroenterology.

Eye Structure Illustration

As a medical illustrator you can get a job at commercial art studios which create illustrations for publications and textbooks. You can also get jobs in hospitals, research institutes and universities where you can teach too. You can also work as a freelancer.

Medical illustrators usually have to work in calm, well-aired and lighted labs, studios or offices. Sometimes they also have to work in operation theaters.

If you want to work as a medical illustrator, you must also learn to cooperate and work closely with medical professionals, scientists as well as publishers.

Salaried illustrators have to work in scheduled timings while freelancers can work on their own timings. Deadline pressure too may exist sometimes.

All in all the career of medical illustrator is quite lucrative. If you have a passion for art as well as medicines this field is just for you.