From pencil drawings to watercolor portraits and oil paintings and from human anatomy to botanical drawings, I love working with traditional media to create special and unique medical illustrations that look great in (home) offices, waiting rooms and living rooms. The examples below are partly self-initiated work, and partly commissions, for example as a gift to a doctor or biology enthusiast. An original idea for a very personal gift!
How I work
My first step in creating a medical illustration that shows (part of) human or animal anatomy is to study the anatomy and put initial sketches on paper. Once the first sketches have been approved, the development of the illustration begins. Below, take a look behind the scenes of the making of this medical mixed media illustration of an unborn baby with flowers.
1. Sketching the illustration of the botanical baby
Like most of my projects, this project started with a sketch. I used my favorite pencil, the Prismacolor Col-erase and sketched on printer paper. In 2020 I worked on some illustrations of placenta previa for an e-learning module and enjoyed (digitally) drawing fetuses so much that it was one of the first topics that came to mind. When I had a better idea of what I wanted to paint, I transferred the sketch to watercolor paper and refined it further.
2. Watercolour layers
When the sketch was sufficiently developed on the watercolor paper, I started to apply the first layers of watercolor paint and block in the shapes.
An impression of the process can be seen in this little gif. For the full timelapse of the watercolor portion of the illustration, click here for the Instagram reel of the full process.
3. Colored pencil rendering of the botanical baby drawing
After sketching most of the shapes with watercolor, I refined them and added more detail with colored pencils. This is where I spend the most time, it's also the most satisfying part of the process; everything comes together. Click here for a video of the process.
4. Making art prints
The final medical illustration was scanned for digitization. The illustration has been made into high-quality A4 art prints, which are for sale in my webshop. The print is made on A4 Canon Pro Premium Matte paper, which has a smooth texture with a warm white tone for those extra special prints without the reflective sheen.
These prints of medical botanical illustrations are a nice addition to the (home) office, study, bedroom or living room of a (prospective) doctor, medical student, nurse or biologist. A great gift to give to the doctor in your life or to yourself. And it is also a wonderfully personal and unique gift for a baby shower! Interested in purchasing a print? Click on the button below and you will enter the webshop.
Interested in having an anatomical work of art made for a loved one or for yourself? I'd love to take on more projects like this, let's get in touch!