What classes do you need to take in college to work towards a career in Medical Illustration?

Question

I need to know because I hadn't heard of this job until a year ago and I'm interested into going to this profession, any help would be greatly appreciated

Answer 1

Graphic design, Anatomy, and anatomy for artists... but today with the highly advance graphic enhanced 3D scans and ultrasounds it is hard to see any artistic work being needed as much as in the past. It is a niche that is probably filled by proximity and luck when you are already in a graphic design/communication field rather than getting educated towards it... Since from now on you are most probably going to work on CAD (comp. aided drawing) systems that existing data is input and you just tweak it or add on the CAD models...

Answer 2

Hello. I'm a professional medical illustrator and can tell you that much of what's been said in the other answers is true. You can find out more about the profession in the U.S. by going to a site produced by the Association of Medical Illustrators (AMI) at http://www.ami.org/ECOMAMI/timssnet/web/AboutAMI/career.cfm. There you will find the coursework that is generally required by the five masters programs before you enter their program. Basically, you must already have a sophisticated portfolio in life drawing, painting, etc. and then have completed coursework in biology on both the macro and micro level (the industry as a whole is moving more toward visualization of cellular and molecular processes, following this shift in medicine.)

The individual graduate school websites will list specific college coursework that you should follow (links to these websites are provided on the AMI site link already provided.) Additionally, you might want to pursue some sub-sector of the industry, such as molecular animation, which would mean that you would benefit from additional 3d animation classes in your college years. Or, if you think you might like to have your own freelance business some day, you should consider taking basic business classes such as marketing.

Best of luck to you.

Answer 3

It's a major offered at some colleges. Here's what the U.S. Dept. of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook says about the job and the education:

Medical and scientific illustrators combine drawing skills with knowledge of biology or other sciences. Medical illustrators draw illustrations of human anatomy and surgical procedures. Scientific illustrators draw illustrations of animal and plant life, atomic and molecular structures, and geologic and planetary formations. The illustrations are used in medical and scientific publications and in audiovisual presentations for teaching purposes. Medical illustrators also work for lawyers, producing exhibits for court cases.

Medical illustrators must have both a demonstrated artistic ability and a detailed knowledge of living organisms, surgical and medical procedures, and human and animal anatomy. A bachelor’s degree combining art and premedical courses usually is required. However, most medical illustrators also choose to pursue a master’s degree in medical illustration. This degree is offered in five accredited schools in the United States.

Answer 4

Erm, I majored in Scientific Illustration as an undergrad at the University of Georgia, one of the few places left in the country to offer it as an undergrad major. If you want to make the step from scientific to medical, it will involve attending a grad school program in Medical Illustration, which happens at med schools - John Hopkins, Medical College of Georgia, etc.

However, you don't HAVE to major in scientific illustration as an undergrad to get into a medical illustration grad school program. Instead, spend half your time in the biology building, concentrating on anatomy classes, and the other half of your time in the art building, concentrating on graphic design, figure drawing, & computer graphics. The three absolute musts to get into a medical illustration grad program are ANATOMY, FIGURE DRAWING, and experience/classes working in PHOTOSHOP & ILLUSTRATOR. For an idea of what UGA requires of you, check out http://art.uga.edu/index.php?cat=48

However, it is a niche job, so after all that work, be prepared to instead embark in a career as a staff artist for a company that makes t-shirts. Like me. Sigh.

Answer 5

Some basics, to get you started should include:

Drawing and painting. This should get you introduced to the various types of media, like ink, watercolor, oils, acrylics, etc.

Figure Drawing. To introduce you to the way the human body is formed and how all the pieces are connected and interact, and how to translate the physical, three dimensional object onto a two dimensional media.

Anatomy. This class will show you, in more detail, the inner workings of the body, including skeletal and musculature systems, circulation and digestive systems, and, how all of these work together to make a living, functioning human being.

Answer 6

your answer is "commerical illustration"or "commercial art" once you get past the whole stigma that illustration in commercial art is any different than just the job title?......you'll fugure out that what you've really gotten into is a bunch of politics that you want no part of hahahahaha but thats the art business for you, hope you do well, make'em pay you the big bucks!

Answer 7

Every artist who wants to draw humans needs to take an anatomy lesson to see the muscle structure and attachments so they can replicate them.

You need to go even further to literally see the inside, so anatomy is going to be just as important as drawing classes. You won't be working with perspective as much as still life and your profession approaches technical drawing; drafting more than artistic drawing.

I would use drafting to measure the muscles, veins and organs and place them, then use your artistic ability to do the shading, the coloring, and to make the drawing come alive. So I think drafting might help; especially if you end up working on a computer.

Gray's Anatomy (the book, not the TV show; the show if Grey, the artist is Gray) is the definitive work on your subject. It has been used by anatomy classes for years because it is the best illustration of the inside of a human body. Its roots date all the way back to Leonardo DiVinci who robbed graves so he could perform dissections to see how the muscles were attached and how the body's organs fit. He was the one who started the idea of you need an anatomy class to correctly draw the human figure. He did this even though it was criminal, and against the teachings of the church.

Art history will put art works in perspective for you, give you an idea of what the past masters did, how and why. It will also give you a clue to the techniques they developed and those that you might want to adopt. Clearly, your work will be closer to Michelangelo and DiVinca than to Picasso, but look at Escher his technical proficiency is excellent and his artwork makes you think.

A basic physics class will probably be unavoidable, along with advanced algebra. Physics and math run through science like the Mississippi River runs through the US connecting all those states and forming one of the most important features in the American landscape.

Will you do your work on computers or on paper and pencil? MRIs and X-Rays produce fuzzy work, but if you can take them on a computer screen and then superimpose the layers of organs, veins, and arteries over the skeleton then you can approach what Gray did.

Look at this image: http://www.bartleby.com/107/
and I think you will get an idea of what you need to do and the standard you need to meet. Then realize the drawings date from 1918. They do need to be brought into the computer age.

“According to the publisher's website, the 40th edition is due for release in August 2008.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gray%27s_Anatomy) If the book is so old, but still used it had to be excellent work, it has been revised and updated and even totally redone, but it is still basically Gray’s idea.

Professor Susan Standring of Kings College London (http://www.kcl.ac.uk/schools/biohealth/depts/anatomy/whoswho.html) is the current author and ultimate leader of your field. She is Professor of Experimental Neurobiology at GKT Schools of Medicine, Dentistry & Biomedical Sciences, London. So if you had the chance to study in her department you would have the ultimate training. Her email address is [e-mail]. If you write her and ask her what she thinks on this question then you will have the best answer anyone could ever give.

You were pointed to a college major in medical illustration so you might want to check out this website from the Medical College of Georgia (http://www.mcg.edu/careers/medill.htm) and see what their requirements are (Contact info: http://www.mcg.edu/medart/).

Here is an article you should check out, because it describes what will be expected of you: http://jscms.jrn.columbia.edu/cns/2006-05-02/fido-medicalillustrators/
It is by Jim Perkins, Associate Professor of Medical Illustration at Rochester Institute of Technology (here is their website: http://www.rit.edu/ I would suggest you check out the course curriculum)

Wisconsin AHEC also offers a degree program: http://www.wihealthcareers.org/Career_occ_view.cfm?o_id=27

The University of Phoenix offers it on line: http://online-colleges.petersons.com/resultsbymajor.aspx/sm/Medical+Illustration+-+Degree/cc/51.2703/sponsor/7997

As does Iowa State University : http://www.design.iastate.edu/BPMI/ and at http://www.las.iastate.edu/departments/bpmi.shtml

So if the previous answer was correct and there are only five universities that offer the degree plan then you have the links to find out their requirements.

However I was able to find a Bachelor’s program at Iowa, Pennsylvania, New York and Ohio: http://www.universities.com/On-Campus/Bachelor_degree_Health_Professions_and_Related_Clinical_Sciences_Medical_Illustration__Medical_Illustrator.html

The University of Kentucky offers a degree plan as well: http://www.uky.edu/TASC/GMP/illustration.php

John Hopkins also seems to offer a degree plan: http://www.genomenewsnetwork.org/articles/10_03/illustrator_history.shtml

But this may by your best source to look at: http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/college/majors/brief/major_51-27_brief.php
Since it lists the best schools in the field.

As for the answerer who said that CAD (Computer Assisted Drafting) is the future of the course, I agree with him. You need to bring it into the computer age and if you do that then you might just make a contribution as strong as Henry Gray’s. That means learning AutoCAD, which is used by 90%+ of the market and the US Patent Office and all Government Contracts must be submitted in a an AutoCAD format. Check out if TurboCAD (http://www.cadandgraphics.com/tcdlx14.html?gclid=CMe137jV7o4CFRqsOAodADMLFQ) because it can handle AutoCAD formats as a .dwf file and the program is about 1/2 to 1/4 the cost of AutoCAD. Personally, I didn’t like it, but then I was trained on AutoCAD and I missed the more power of AutoCAD. AutoCAD is not that good for sketching though, the file information becomes too big. You want a smaller file size to make the drawings worth storing and then use your ability to draw to put the drawing on top of the computer.

If you are not comfortable with the computer remember that you can sketch it on a tablet computer and that is like drawing it on paper.