Medical and Scientific Illustration

Two to six weeks, depending on the content and complexity of the visuals. Another factor is the client-side review process. We recommend contacting us 2–3 months before you need your medical illustration completed.

Patient education is an essential part of a physician’s job. Medical illustrations play an important role, helping physicians explain medical conditions and therapeutic options to patients and caregivers. 

Medical science liaisons use medical illustrations in their detail aids and presentations to educate physicians and nurses about new disease research and therapeutic mechanisms.

Disease information websites feature medical illustrations to help patients and caregivers understand medical conditions and treatment options so they can make informed choices about care.

Medical affairs personnel at pharmaceutical companies use medical illustration to explain disease pathways to healthcare providers at symposia and congresses.

Pharmaceutical product and marketing managers use medical illustration to explain the therapeutic mechanism of action of drugs to healthcare providers in publications, on websites and in medical congress exhibits.

Specialists use medical illustrations in presentations to describe everything from molecular disease pathways to new surgical procedures.

Patient advocates use medical illustration to explain disease information and treatments to the public. Medical illustrations can communicate clearly to people of all literacy levels.

Scientific journals like Nature and popular science magazines like Scientific American often publish medical and scientific illustrations to explain content within articles.

Clients say we’re unlike other studios in that we “get the science”. There isn’t the need to teach it to us first or go through multiple rounds of changes like they’ve experienced with random companies that don’t employ certified medical illustrators.

Many businesses claiming to be scientific illustration or animation companies employ generalist illustrators or animators trained for film and TV. Their lack of medical and scientific training results in inaccuracies that misinform viewers and embarrass clients. At AXS Studio, we employ Certified Medical Illustrators who are specially trained in communicating medical content accurately and clearly. For our clients, this results in credible and effective images that speak to both lay audiences and medical professionals.

While it is not a requirement to practice, certification ensures a professional standard has been met and maintained. A Certified Medical Illustrator (CMI)  has passed examinations in ethics, biomedical science and illustration skills, and has passed a rigorous portfolio review. Competencies are maintained by meeting continuing education requirements (CEUs) and must be renewed every five years. CMI certification is administered by the Board of Certification of Medical Illustrators and is based on standards established by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA).

You do not because we have in-house medical science expertise. Our artists have specialized postgraduate training in medical illustration, which includes courses in physiology, pathology, anatomy, cell and molecular biology. We have six Board Certified Medical Illustrators (CMIs) on staff and have been illustrating complex medical processes for a discerning healthcare professional audience since 2004. While we’re always happy to work with subject matter experts, it’s not a requirement.

Some of our competitors in the US and UK offshore or outsource medical illustration to cut costs. We do not. All of our illustrations are created in-house by our certified medical illustrators. This gives us excellent control of quality and timelines, which is essential for meeting your deadline. Quality medical illustration demands a high degree of specialized knowledge and training that can’t be replicated in an offshoring/outsourcing model.

We have some work that can be licensed for use. However, most of our medical illustrations were created custom for specific clients and are not for resale.

The same amount or work goes into a medical illustration whether or not it’s chosen by a publisher, therefore we do not discount the price for work that goes unpublished. It is recommended to first pitch your concept to the publisher, with a sketch, before hiring a medical illustrator.

Illustrations and animations frequently use many of the same elements, including 3D models and rendering processes. Nonetheless, animation is more involved than illustration and takes longer to develop. When making an animation following an illustration, we factor the repurposed work into the animation cost.

While you can print a larger size than originally intended or increase the dimensions of the digital file, the resolution of the image will not scale respectively. The scaled picture may appear blurry and will display artifacts. It is important to create the illustration at the largest size you’re likely to need and then scale down when smaller versions suffice.

If your service agreement specifies a buy-out or transfer of copyright, you can reproduce the medical illustration as you wish. Otherwise, your agreement will include a license that specifies the terms of use, including duration. In both cases, the illustration must not be modified without permission of the creator, nor resold to a third party. The working files, or “source files”, remain property of the creator of the illustration.