How to be a Medical Illustrator

Medical illustrators are artists who have a vast amount of training in science and medicine. They create illustrations that help disseminate and record medical as well as biological information. Medical illustrators also act as administrators and consultants in the biocommunication field.

The illustrations that they make are in medical journals, textbooks, advertisements, instructional films, and videos, learning programs on computer, lectures, exhibits, magazines and television programs. Medical illustrators, in addition to this make teaching models, prosthetic parts and models that are simulated for medical instructions.

For anyone who wants to be a medical illustrator, they have to be a talented artist and have a particular interest in science. They have to know many types of techniques in art such as modeling, drawing and painting and even graphic and commercial art. To be grounded in basic sciences is a must. The illustrator has to be able to understand and to form concepts, like complex neuroanatomical connections.

They also have to have strong visual skills so they can take the complex information and change it to two dimensional and three dimensional pictures that a lot of different people. Medical illustrators are the types who like to work both alone and in teams when it comes to solving problems. They have to work closely with their clients and understand what that client needs. They should also have computer, writing and research skills, which are very important.

Science classes that should be taken are chemistry, biology, anatomy and physiology. Requirements for admissions are different for each program. If you are unsure what to do, a bachelor's with a major in art and minor in biological science is one way to go. Another way is to major in science and minor in art. You will also need a portfolio and be interviewed. Graduate programs are usually just two years.

What a medical illustrator makes is varied. The skills, experience and type of work and the country depends on what they will make. According to a survey in 2002, the standard salary for a graduate is of medical illustration is $47,000 to $53,000 a year, with additional fringe benefits. Those illustrators with experience can expect a salary of $52,000 to $73,000 a year. Faculty and administrators earn more than that.

Some medical illustrators with a yearly salary bring in more income doing freelance work. They set their own prices for whatever type of art that they do. Some medical illustrators set their fees by hour. Some medical artists also have royalties coming to them, and ways that they can re-use work that provide, sometimes a significant income.

The education you would need to be a medical illustrator, would be a masters degree in medical illustration. There are four schools here, in the U.S. and only one in Canada. Both schools just accept 3 to 12 students every year. High school students that want to prepare for this career should take college prep courses, placing a huge emphasis on science and art. College students need to take courses like drawing, painting, graphic design, color theory and computer graphics.