Recommended resources

Articles Videos Books Courses Events Groups Research

I learn from science communication, data visualisation, art theory, comics, concept art, graphic design, video games development, animation, film, psychology, and more. Here are some links to things I have found helpful or interesting.

Articles

  • A Guide to Biological Illustration by Claire Dalby (link)
    A beautiful guide to traditional pen & ink biological illustration.

  • Embracing curiosity by Lisa Charlotte Rost (link) - great article on SciComm / SciVis

  • The problem with Facts by Tim Harford (link) - great article on SciComm

  • The big triangle by Scott McCloud (link) - interesting framework of thinking about the spectrum of art style, which can be helpful for making decisions about the value of realism vs stylisation, image vs word, etc.

  • Mapping the Use of Comics in Health Education: A Scoping Review of the Graphic Medicine Literature by Matthew Noe and Leonard Levin (link)

Videos

  • Sharing medical research with comics (link)
    Keynote presentation for the BMCAA’s UNCON 2021 on using comics to support clinical research, from recruitment through consent to adherence and dissemination of results.

  • Illustrating Medical Research (link)
    Medical discoveries are meaningless if they cannot be shared. In this keynote, I explore the use of medical illustration to engage and bridge gaps between researchers and their audiences. This is an adapted version of my presentation at the New Zealand Association of Clinical Research 2019 Conference in Auckland.

  • TED Talk: Understanding Comics (link)
    Comics theorist Scott McCloud presents a delightful overview of this powerful medium for communication.

Books

  • Medicine’s Michelangelo by Francine Netter (link)
    A book by Dr Frank H Netter’s daughter Francine, which gives a fascinating insight into his approach to medical illustration, and visual communication in general.

  • Color and Light: A Guide for the Realist Painter by James Gurney (link)
    James Gurney is a modern master. In this book he breaks down the science of rendering materials into 1-2 page tutorials. He teaches how vision works, and how color and light interact. This gives a powerful foundation for illustration in any media, particularly when there are imagined elements, or you need to extrapolate from limited resources. This is one of my most treasured books. Great to pick up anytime and absorb over time.

  • Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud (link)
    A book in the form of a comic exploring comic history, theory, and potential for the medium. Lots of well-illustrated nuggets of wisdom I try to apply in my work.

  • Drawn to Life by Walt Stanchfield.
    He taught the folks at Disney how to draw with the lessons collected in these two volumes.

  • Framed Ink by Marcos Mateu-Mestre
    A visual masterclass on composition and visual narrative.

Courses

  • Schoolism (link)
    Online art school taught by professional artists working in the entertainment industry.

  • Medical Artists’ Education Trust (MAET) (link)
    Postgraduate medical art programme in the UK, which leads to professional membership of the Medical Artists Association of Great Britain (MAA). They also host workshops and training events in the UK from time to time.

  • MSc Medical Art at the University of Dundee, Scotland, UK (link)
    A Master of Science postgraduate degree that provides training in anatomy, a broad range of medical art techniques, and is packed with project opportunities allowing exploration of the field, collaboration with the medical profession, and tailoring your experiences to fit your interests.

Events / conferences

  • MAA Conference, UK

  • Institute of Medical Illustrators (IMI) Conference, UK

  • Graphic Medicine - Conference exploring the use of comics and other graphic narratives in medicine.

  • BIOMAB - Antwerp dissection drawing event - Study animal and human anatomy in a 1-2 day drawing event where artists and anatomists gather to learn from live dissection.

Social Media Groups

  • Graphic Medicine - Comics x medicine

  • Cartoon Science - a collection of people involved in cartoons x science curated by Dr Matteo Farinella, creator of Neurocomic

Research

Academic journals of interest to those wanting to keep up-to-date and contribute to evidence-based practice in Medical Illustration, Graphic Medicine, and Science Communication.

If you want to see what I’ve been contributing to the literature: click here