A medical illustrator is a professional artist who interprets and creates visual material to help record and disseminate medical, biological and related knowledge. Medical illustrators not only produce such material but can also function as consultants and administrators within the field of biocommunication. A certified medical illustrator attains extensive training in medicine and science.
Medical illustators create medical illustrations using traditional and digital techniques which can appear in medical textbooks, medical advertisements, professional journals, instructional videotapes and films, animations, computer-assisted learning programs, exhibits, lecture presentations, general magazines and television. Although most medical illustration is designed for print or presentation media, medical illustrators also work in three dimensions, creating anatomical teaching models, patient simulators and facial prosthetics.
Most medical illustrators in the profession have a Master's degree from an accredited graduate program in medical illustration, although a Master's degree is not required to be a competent and successful medical illustrator.
