WHY MEDICAL ILLUSTRATION?
If you have ever seen a poster of painted human anatomy in the doctor’s office, you have encountered a medical illustration. Medical illustration fits under the umbrella of scientific illustration, as professionals in the field can find work in the full spectrum of the science and art industries. Highly specialized artists, we collaborate with physicians and educators, developing visuals for educational use in medical colleges, promoting biomedical companies, presenting legal cases, and teaching patients in doctors’ offices. We are versatile, combining our skills in draftsmanship and creative problem-solving with our understanding and training in biological concepts to create new solutions to communicating science through a variety of media. From paintings to diagrams to animation, medical illustrators make complex subjects accessible and understandable to people all around the world.
ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR
Danielle VanBrabant spent most of her early life hunting grasshoppers and collecting interesting stones when not drawing obsessively detailed pictures of everything. Experiences with nature and exploring outside instilled a deep love of the natural sciences and art that would shape the course of her academic career. She completed her BS at the University of Wisconsin – La Crosse in 2016, where she studied biology and 2-D art, researched in an entomology lab, and performed saxophone with the concert band. She was first introduced to medical illustration during this time, where she found she could combine her two passions to aid professionals in communicating ideas in medicine and the natural sciences.
Danielle received her MS degree in Medical Illustration at Augusta University in 2018. During her time at MCG, she served as class president and received an 2017 Award of Merit and a 2018 Stenstrom Award of Excellence at the Augusta University/University of Georgia Athens Student Scientific and Medical Illustration Juried Exhibition. Currently an active student member of the Association of Medical Illustrators, she is working towards becoming a Certified Medical Illustrator.
When not working in her studio, she can be found running, reading, and playing music. She also enjoys doing pet and family portraits, a hobby she has maintained since high school. Though capable of tackling the unique challenges presented by each of medical illustration’s specialties, her fascination lies in animation and instructive media of biological processes and concepts for students and the general public.