{"id":82483,"date":"2019-11-06T15:40:59","date_gmt":"2019-11-06T21:40:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/?p=82483"},"modified":"2019-11-11T13:44:26","modified_gmt":"2019-11-11T19:44:26","slug":"when-science-needs-a-little-art","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/when-science-needs-a-little-art\/","title":{"rendered":"When science needs a little art"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Elena Bruess<\/strong>
\nMedill Reports<\/em><\/p>\n

Imagine you broke a bone in your left toe while paragliding.<\/p>\n

It was intense. And now you can\u2019t walk, so you hobble to the doctor\u2019s office and await an x-ray. When you finally learn what exactly is broken, the doctor pulls out a brightly illustrated and tightly labeled drawing of a left foot. She points. \u201cIt\u2019s right here.\u201d<\/p>\n

The drawing is practically made for you. It\u2019s not very complicated and it makes so much sense. You are really starting to understand your left toe.<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s because the drawing is made for you.Medical illustrators bridge the gap between science and communication with a stylish flick of the pen. The medical posters in an office, the video animations shown in classes and illustrations found in textbooks all come from a field that combines art and science as one. In an often overlooked vocation, medical illustrators balance the fine line between analytical observations and creative pursuits to better communicate complicated topics.<\/p>\n

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A pencil sketch of a shoulder joint anatomy. Adobe Illustrator was used for the linework and labeling. (Courtesy of Nicole Ethen)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s distilling [the science] to its essence and what the main takeaway is. Scientists are really particular about the details. Every single detail that makes up the whole thing. It\u2019s all important,\u201d said Nicole Ethen. Ethen is a medical illustrator and animator at the Simpson Querrey Center for Epigenetics at Northwestern University. She is the only illustrator on staff.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re trying to explain a new concept to someone who is not familiar at all with all the details and all the details probably don\u2019t actually matter. That\u2019s when finding the essence of something is really important.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ethen had always loved art, but felt a career in science would be more practical. It wasn\u2019t until after she graduated from University of Michigan with a degree in neuroscience that she realized she could pursue a mix of both.<\/p>\n

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A digital illustration of Stony Coral Reproduction. ZBrush was used to model each of the elements then Adobe Photoshop for extra effects and Adobe Illustrator to label. (Courtesy of Nicole Ethen)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Taking that next step meant enrolling in one of only three accredited medical illustration master\u2019s programs in the United States or one of a few that are international.<\/p>\n

Acceptance is extremely competitive. Ethen\u2019s program at the University of Illinois at Chicago has both art and science prerequisites. Once she entered the program in 2017, she met students who came from art backgrounds and those who came from science fields. The mix really adds value to each base, she said.<\/p>\n