The Different Mediums used to Create Medical Illustrations – Part 1

In this first part of the different mediums used to create medical art, we take a look at pencil and digital. Today, there is a wealth of different techniques and mediums that medical artists use to create their images. At The Medical Stock Images Company, it is our goal to supply art not only created by qualified medical artists, but in a range of styles and choices that are varied and unique. This is because today’s savvy customers want a choice, especially when a customer is deciding on the most appropriate and effective medium or style for their communications; it’s a decision that needs to be carefully considered.

In some cases, clients already have a clear idea about the type of illustration they want. They are looking for a specific illustration look and ‘feel’ that will appeal to their audience and fit the purpose of their brief. A key part of this decision process is choosing the right medium for the project amongst the galleries of stock art. These mediums will include watercolour, pencil, mixed media, digital, 3D realism, highly detailed anatomy and less detailed anatomy, depending on the target audience.

The Pencil Medium

Pencil sketches are always produced as the start off point for all medical illustration projects. At The Medical Stock Images Company, our trained artists will have always created unique illustrations from a ‘drawn from scratch’ perspective. Some of the pencil illustrations therefore can be drawn from scratch right through to highly detailed pencil drawings.

Pencil is one of the simplest and most efficient means of communicating visual ideas, as drawing is a form of expression and this can be captured in the finished artwork. Form can be achieved through shading, blending, adding tones of dark and light. For medical art especially, measuring the dimensions of a subject while blocking in the drawing is an important step in producing a realistic rendition of the subject. If rendered correctly, a pencil illustration alone can highlight a particular meaning, a tone or character to a client’s individual project.

This is especially useful in patient education when aimed at younger children or teenagers.

The Medical Stock Images Company pencil stock art offering has consistently already been used in medical marketing, online marketing and in patient education brochures, as this traditional method has a universal appeal across all continents.

The Digital Medium

As the mainstay of modern medical art, digital airbrushing offers tremendous scope and versatility for commercial medical artists. Illustrations can be enhanced, updated, and produced at relative speed. They can also be rotated, cut and dissected to show increased anatomical views and positions. The images are fresh and impactful with a clear and clean finish. Many clients seek digital images because of their commercial appeal, for example, being easily reproduced across websites, books, textbooks and leaflets. A medical illustration business without digital expertise is increasingly rare these days.

There is an advantage for customers being able to choose different mediums, as the style and look of the illustration can be chosen specifically to suit the needs of a project. That is why The Medical Stock Images Company will be supplying a wide range of quality artwork in a spectrum of various mediums.