Can’t choose between science and art as your future career? Why settle for just one when you can do both? If you love them equally, you might want to try becoming a medical illustrator. This job may be unfamiliar but it offers a wide range of opportunities in various fields. Here are some facts about the job and a few tips on how a fine arts course from CIIT Philippines can help you become one.
What Is a Medical Illustrator (MI)?
They are artists with specialized training and advanced education in medicine, art, and theories related to communication and learning. Working with physicians, scientists, and other specialists, MIs serve as the visual translators of complex info to support education, research, and business.
They create images that improve medical science knowledge and empower health literacy for patients and the public. Their task is to grasp complex medical and scientific info, tone it down, and present it in an accurate, educational, and engaging visual narrative.
Where Can You Use the Illustrations?
The artworks and animations created by the MIs appear in all media that broadcast medical, biological, and related information. Here are some examples:
- Patient Education
- Books, Journals, E-books
- Web
- Courtroom Exhibits
- Ads
- Mobile Health Apps
- TV and Film
- Medical Simulations
Many people and institutions use these medical illustrations for print and exhibits but many apply them now in multimedia and interactive designs, particularly animation. There are MIs that work in three dimensions too, creating anatomical teaching models, museum exhibits, and prosthetic parts for patients.
Where Do They Work?
Most MIs and animators work in:
- Research Centers
- Ad Agencies
- Healthcare Institutions
- Academic Medical Centers
- Publishing Firms
- Web or Animation Firms
- Law Firms
- Pharmaceutical Companies
What Are the Required Skills?
Anatomical accuracy and content is vital in this field. MIs create images to convey a specific content so they should be detail-oriented and passionate in both arts and science. They should also be knowledgeable in a wide range of art methods and media production skills to meet industry demands. Aside from these skills, MIs should also have impressive portfolios to be successful in this career.
What Are the Qualifications?
Since this job is a cross between medicine and arts, MIs should have a background in both fields. It is still a new field but a promising one especially abroad.
If you are a medical professional who wants to hone your creativity and apply as medical illustrator, you can start your journey by enrolling in a visual arts and design school like CIIT Philippines. Our fine arts course covers all the subjects you need to embark on this field such as Design and Illustration, Advanced Image Manipulation, Advertising Design, and Video Production and Editing. For further details, you may visit our web site at www.ciit-ph.com.