Introduction to "Perceptual Principles in Medical Illustration"

Abstract

Medical illustrations are in essence drawings/paintings of measured accuracy, depicting subtleties without ambiguities. Though often highly representational (realistic-looking), the main purpose of such illustrations is to communicate information and not necessarily to look real. In medical subjects, there are four instances where good illustration is the best (and possibly the only) medium to use; this is the case where: (1) Areas of reference exist physiologically but not gross anatomically; (2) Superimposing one structure upon another gives related information; (3) Section views show instruments in place in body cavities, etc; (4) Eliminating much visual garbage from a photo can produce a simpler explanation. In this lecture I will describe current traditional and digital illustration techniques that medical illustrator uses almost everyday to create the feel of traditional imagery in the digital age. Follow a step by step presentation that starts as traditional line art sketch and is then brought to life with color and style on the computer screen using glazes, airbrush, wet paintbrush, and more. I will also describe how medical illustrators would benefit from using illustrative visualization systems, including research and development requirements and ongoing collaborations between the computer graphics/visualization and medical illustrators communities.