Medical Illustrator

Duties and responsibilities:

A medical illustrator is a professional artist with specialized training and advanced education in medicine, science, art, design, visual technology, media techniques, and in theories related to communication, learning and management. Collaborating with scientists, physicians, and other content specialists, medical illustrators serve as visual translators of complex technical information to support education, medical and bio-scientific research, patient care, patient education, public relations, and marketing objectives. They transform complex information into striking images that stimulate imagination, facilitate learning, and record scientific discovery. In addition to producing such material medical illustrators often function as content developers, creative directors, consultants and administrators within the general field of biocommunication and as business owners and entrepreneurs in the marketplace.

Average Salary:  $35,000 - $50,000 

Education: In College, students should concentrate on art and biology. Art courses should include drawing, life drawing, painting, color theory, graphic design,illustration, and computer graphics. In the sciences, students should include general biology or zoology, vertebrate anatomy, developmental biology, physiology, chemistry, and cell biology. The science courses must be of the caliber required for science majors.

Some graduate schools limit the percentage of studio art courses eligible for entrance into graduate programs. Please consult the schools to which you are applying for specific requirements.

Reflection: I would not like to be a medical illustrator because I’m not interested on trying this ever because it’s not the topic I want to do when I grow.