Scientific and Medical Illustration - The 12 most asked questions FAQ

Since I started doing scientific and medical illustration, which at this point about 7 years ago, I have gotten many emails asking me similar questions.
And for this reason, I thought it'd be helpful to answer the most frequently asked questions in this video.
If there are any other questions please let me know in the comments and I'll be happy to answer them and maybe even create a part two 😊

🌿 T I M E S T A M P S 🌿

0:34 1. Where can scientific and/or medical illustrators work and are there enough jobs?

1:32 2. Where do you work?

2:09 3. What kinds of degrees, certifications are there to become a scientific or medical illustrator?

2:50 4. Are these certifications and degrees required to work?

3:53 5.How did you know this career was right for you?

5:22 6. How long did it take till you got where you are now?

5:45 7. Is medical illustration in demand?

6:17 8. Do you perform dissections, look at pictures and x-rays, or watch a surgery?

6:46 9. What's the worst part about your job?

7:16 10. Are projects usually a collaboration with more than one person/artist or not?

7:36 11. Is the student debt that might follow a degree worth it?

8:12 12. Are most illustrations digital, 3D, or hand-drawn? Is that required by your job/personal preference?

🌿 L I N KS 🌿

Association of Medical Illustrators:

The Medical Artists’ Association of Great Britain:

Schools & Programs:
Scientific Visualization / Knowledge , Zurich in Switzerland (where I attended 😊 ):

Illustration Nonfiction, Lucerne in Switzerland:

MA Art in Science, Liverpool in the UK:

Master Scientific illustration, Academy of Visual Arts Maastricht and the Maastricht University:

Forensic Art & Facial Imaging MSc:

Medical Artists' Education Trust

[alexduerre]

Thank you! Excellent answers, and being from the U.S., I can totally resonate with your comment about the cost of university. Learning experiences have made it all worthwhile though.

[WTLeroux]

Fascinating! I wondered how you ended up in this career. Thanks!

[Hephzibah]

Thank you! It helped alot and your video was very useful.

[sanadahbel]

Hi, thanks for clearings things up so nicely. I was wondering whether one can get into medical illustration with a pharmacy degree and no formal art training (maybe taking an illustrations course)? And do you mainly work from home or are you required to discuss things 1 on 1 with your clients? In other words, do you think it's possible to work for a company in a different country, say finding a job in the US but staying in Europe working from home?

[CrazyGirlMelody]

I recently learned about this career and am interested in pursuing it. However, I am 27 years old and worry about the possibility that this may be a job that people have to get into when they are very young. What is your opinion on this? Have a great day!

[herbertslops]

Excellent! Very informative and interesting.

[namp]

This was great and informative, thanks