National institute of health has released a library of 500+ free scientific illustrations

You can use these to create figures, presentations, and illustrations!

all freely available in the public domain. Retweet and spread the message!

https://preview.redd.it/o85frbvukmxd1.png?width=680&format=png&auto=webp&s=c146533743763c75c76aaee5b1a156c012c76dd8

https://bioart.niaid.nih.gov/

The lab instructor said she couldn’t fine a good picture showing chalk formation, so I asked if I could make one. I think it looks just okay, but she liked it.

I have completed my Master's in Life sciences from IISER Trivandrum, Kerala, India. Currently working as a science Communicator at a research and policy centre at Hyderabad. I want to know the possibilities of pursuing science illustration as a career. I don't want to continue this job as it includes more of graphic designing part. I like to do a lot of illustrations and digital drawing. I am interested in natural history illustration and want to help the non-scientific audience to know more about natural history, evolution and ecology through my illustrations. I am willing to pursue another Masters degree in science illustration. Could someone help me with a list of colleges to apply abroad ( not India specifically) and how to go about it. Would appreciate if there are any other possible advice on how to go about with this whole thing.

Just found out that the two pieces I entered into the GNSI juried members exhibition have both been invited. This is the second time I have entered and the second time I have been accepted. It is such an honor to be included with such a talented group of natural science illustrators. Has anyone else here had work invited to be included in this exhibition?

If I wanted to commission a poster, what would that usually cost? This would be more for art on the wall. What if I wanted it on Canva or PowerPoint with a template?

Is this the type of thing that costs hundreds of dollars, or is it much cheaper?

I teach middle school, and I am doing a unit on biodiversity. I want to make a few scientific illustration posters that look like they are from an old book, and I want to get my students to do it as well. What would you say is an outstanding tool to use? I looked at Canva, but I could not find any good templates. I am not looking to publish anything, just for my students to have fun. They would grab pics and info from Google and then present it.

I have a strong focus on drawing animals and working with specimens. I am currently a sophomore at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), getting a basic fine arts degree. I am currently taking a scientific illustration class this semester, which is hosted at the Field Museum. Along with this, I also volunteered with the museum last semester in the mammal department and, hopefully, this semester in the insects department.

My issue is SAIC only offers two classes focused on scientific/natural illustration; these classes are technically the only illustration classes. I fear I don't know what to do; I want to be an animal illustrator working with museums and organizations. My school is a conceptual art school, meaning a lot of abstraction and metaphors. This means you can spin a project into anything you want but for some reason my teachers get disappointed when I draw animals. Wanting a more human-focused narrative.

I am unsure if I should just continue at this school to get my Fine Arts Degree and then get a master's in zoology or something. Or transfer to another school to be able to minor in an aligned field. Or transfer to another school that just offers a degree in scientific illustration? I heard RISD offers a scientific illustration program? Right now, I am just trying to look into different internship programs.

I just don't know what to do and fear I am running out of time.

My name is Rafeeque. I am a science illustrator. Me and my friend created this AI tool. It is in beta stage. You can upload the graphical abstract and written abstract to get design feedback as a downloadable PDF. Give us your ideas how to improve. Its 100% free now. Enjoy.

labcanvas.io

i have made a post on here before about wanting to delve deeper into scientific illustration but i don’t have lots of practice with realistic drawing. i have looked through my colleges program and they start with drawing 1 for the design classes. is it going to be impossible to thrive in this major without extensive past training?

Hey there,

I'm currently interested in medical animations (and medicine in general), because I think it could be a really nice service to offer and/or to learn... However I can't afford to engage into studies that are not useful haha. Are there any people that have worked in the medical world and who think that medical animations are a must ? For example, to explain to patients what they'll be going through, like a surgery... Is it at all perceived among practicians as a nice thing to have ?

Or do you guys think it's not that awesome ?

My apologies if that's not the right place to ask, (getting first contact with reddit actually)

Cheers !

I have been trying out stippling as a shading method, but am having some trouble integrating the wings of insects with a realistic level of transparency!

Hi everyone! I am looking for an artist/illustrator to make covers for articles I publish online on my personal website. I have been trying to find someone for a while but I haven’t found anyone that fits with my style. Are any of you interested? My articles are mostly about molecular biology and society (a few examples of the topics are: Golden Rice, Biomining and greenwashing).

I am happy with students and people that don’t have any biology background, I really just want some cool illustrations to reflect my articles!

i have minimal experience in realistic art styles (with an exception of sculpture) but i have an intense 10+ year interest in science and biology, particularly entomology, paleontology and marine sciences. will it be difficult to teach myself scientific illustration?

How to create high quality Illustrations for Your research paper?

Are you a PhD student, post-doc, or faculty member looking to enhance your illustration skills for your research paper? As a researcher, it’s essential to create effective illustrations and figures for your manuscript.

We’re conducting a 4-day online workshop tailored specifically for science researchers.

This workshop will teach you how to create 3D scientific illustrations using Blender. Whether you're an absolute beginner or have some prior experience, this workshop is for you!

Live Session Timing: 07:30 PM to 9:00 PM (IST)

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What’s Included:- Four interactive live sessions

• Recorded lectures- Hands-on projects
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• CertificationEven after the workshop, you'll have access to a vibrant WhatsApp group for further assistance, allowing you to continue your learning journey at your own pace.

Our workshop has already benefited more than 1400 researchers, helping them effectively use Blender to create graphic abstracts, journal cover art, figures, 3D animations, and more for their research communication.

Curious to learn more or ready to register?

Visit blender.scidart.comHope to see you in the workshop! Seats are limited. Register now to join.

Blender workshop for scientists: We’re conducting a 4-day online workshop tailored specifically for science researchers.This workshop will teach you how to create 3D scientific illustrations using Blender. Whether you're an absolute beginner or have some prior experience, this workshop is for you!

I'm a high-school student, with a heavy background in art and illustration (of a very animalistic variety) and ever since a biology course where I got to illustrate a frog dissection, I've been hooked! I am hesitant to dump a ton of debt/money into a college degree just yet, so are there any courses you'd recommend I kit-bash over the next couple of years to increase portfolio, skill levels, and scientific knowledge? I would love to be in this field and have already gotten the business knowledge/skills from personal design work. I've been making pamphlets and design layouts for a bit and am wanting to further my abilities! Thank you!!

Okay here’s my predicament:

I just graduated this spring with a bachelors in Biology. I have a passion for art and recently discovered science illustration. I would love to go more of a natural science art route, so I am looking at the RISD 2 year certificate for natural science illustration. However I’m so conflicted if I should get my masters in medical illustration. I would have to take a couple prereqs but nothing crazy. The closest school is about 8 hours away tho… and RISD is online.

I just am curious what you guys think is the smarter route to go career wise. I just don’t want to get a certificate and end up not being able to use it

Im by no means a dodo bird expert or scientist! I am just an artist who has recently been interested in scientific illustration. I made this info pamphlet a few months ago!

https://preview.redd.it/967tyzvb2kgd1.jpg?width=2550&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=470826add25b85f13f5513aa6b9a166e5742d93f

https://preview.redd.it/cew795dc2kgd1.jpg?width=5100&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e5d95c1a3f538f383042f4286d556906072ec6ea

https://preview.redd.it/zrjs8ruc2kgd1.jpg?width=5100&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9589226fcdd78ecd0ef969afa650f91f551a86c0

This is a compilation of insects I've done over the years. I've always found it interesting the variety of clients and why they needed the illustrations. A couple were for a science magazine and some for a kids bug book. But others were for a restaurant magazine article on food pests, and some for an agricultural promotion for resistant seeds. Your clients aren't always who you think they'll be.

To preface, I'm not an artist, but I am a zoologist and amateur photographer. I'm working on editing/writing a book on the mammals of North America and I'd like to include skull illustration for every species in the volume based on photographs of skulls from museums I work with. I'm photographing the skulls dorsally, ventrally, and from the side, plus dorsal and side views of mandibles, all probably won't be in the book. The photographs were taken with a 100 mm macro lens on a canon R5, and created by photo stacking 15-25 images taken at different focal lengths (trying to do this using Helicon Focus, but for now it's in adobe since Helicon is a little finicky).

It's a mostly volunteer based collaborative project with no current external funding, plus, it's still in the early phases where we're building the workflow. All future funding would go more towards offsetting publishing costs to make the book more accessible to the research community. But a major issue for us is that we can't afford to hire a scientific illustrator, and none of us are really artistically inclined.

So I'm trying to see if I can work with photoshop myself to make the skull images into more functionally usable skull black and white illustrations, while having to do as little manual drawing as possible. I've had some specific styles and techniques in mind, but wanted to know if anyone on here has any advice on the best way of doing this.

Thank you all!!

Hello! I am a biology student trying to teach myself illustration to accurately draw the insects and plants I research. I wanted to ask if anyone knows of any good instructional videos or practice techniques, particularly on drawing with pens as I'm hoping to use pencil less in the future for finished drawings. Any advice on improving the illustration above is welcome as well!

How much do yall make? Was easy to find a career in scientific illustration and do yall actually go out in the world to see the animals first hand? That’s like my dream but idk if it’s possible. Is it a safe career to take?

Can it be done? I want to explore my options before I can invest in a certificate program. I’m a student and want to pursue a career in scientific work and do illustrations as a side project. Any ideas are welcome.

Apologies if this is not the right place to ask this!

I'm in the biotech industry and don't have art skills like the beautiful drawings in this sub. I only have a science background. I don't know if my skill set is at all valuable, but I'm good at taking scientific concepts/research and simplying them down to "cartoony" illustrations and animations with the main points.

I don't have any formal training though and mainly just use procreate to draw and animate simple things. My opportunities to practice mainly come from making figures and animations for my own presentations.

What I would love to learn is to make illustrations and animations to teach kids/high school/college, or even explanation videos for new types of technology developed by biotech companies.. things like this. I love the style of Khan academy kids or Kurzgesagt (who doesn't!). I don't know what this type of illustration is called though or where I could be trained in it. I especially want to learn how to handle light and shadow or color schemes, and work with "flat" illustration styles. I would also love to learn how to work in 3D - especially the flat style of 3D animation.

Grateful for any advice!!!