Hi, I hope you don't mind me asking, but is it possible to break into medical illustration without the degree in it (like other art fields) or do you feel it is a necessity?
Hi Anon! It is possible to break into the field without a degree, and you can take the CMI (Certified Medical Illustrator) exam without a degree. One of the most popular medical illustrators, Frank Netter, was a doctor with no formal medical illustration training.Ā
Ā But know I am definitely answering with bias--graduate school, as well as the CMI, adds a level of much needed professionalism to a field that is often fighting to prove that it is needed. Part of the job is educating your client on the field and why your services will benefit them over someone who is not trained in the communication art of medical and scientific visualization, and if you do not have that medical illustration degree, youāll likely need some other form ofĀ ācertificationā to say that you are qualified for the job. Whether that is a masters/phd/higher degree in sciences and an amazing art talent, or a long list of happy clients, or the CMI--my hope is that everyone that enters this field will add value to the field rather than offer a cheaper alternative. (Which is often what clients expect when you do not have a masterās degree--degrees=you cost more.)Ā However you choose to enter the field, make sure you kick-ass at it and know your worth. The reason I chose the Masterās degree route was for several reasons: 1. I personally grow best with structured academia. The high-stress and high-expectation environment is a closed system that I find accelerates learning.Ā 2. You are worth more with a degree. This is basically (sometimes unfortunately) true in all fields--the higher education you have, the more you can potentially be paid.Ā 3. Many medical illustrator companies prioritize a masterās degree and oftentimes require it in job applications. Not a problem if you just want to freelance. Of course, the job offers I look at are offered through the AMI, where they usually expect recent graduates to be looking for jobs.Ā
4. This is a biomedical field, and you need a biomedical education. My medical illustration masterās supplies that--but you can obviously get this science education in other ways.Ā
5. Equipment. My tuition differential pays for: Tablets, dual screen monitor computers, the Adobe Suite (photoshop/illustratior/indesign/media encoder/after effects/ect), ZBrush, Autodesk Products (Maya, 3dsmax, etc), 3dCoat, Haptics devices, virtual reality devices (THE TILT BRUSH!) , interactive programs such as Unity, and literally anything else we are mildly interested in we can request. No way in hell would I purchase those things on my own just toĀ ātryā, but this way I can try all of them and find out what I like best before purchasing, all with a professor to guide my decisions.Ā
6. The AMI (Association of Medical Illustrators) prioritizes and valueās the degree Ā and CMI because it adds value to our profession, which I previously described.
Hope this helped, I hope it wasnāt too scatter brained. I just got home from a saturday night in the computer lab!Ā
