Guest

My name's Chinami Michaels. I work at the Barrow Neurological Institute and I'm a medical video editor and a medical illustrator. We basically allow the research scientists and the doctors to do what they do best. Which is to treat the patients, do research, cuz we handle the publication process. So this is a 3D model of all the vasculature in your brains, and this was made for a conference. So my work combine science and art. I think around 14 and 15 I was like, I don't know what I want to do, I started to become good at art cuz I was living in Japan and I really wanted to draw pretty animate girls and my nail pets. And then through drawing those I realized to get good at that I'd have to draw from your real life and that may be interested in perception and physics and how do you draw that realistically. So that kinda got me interested in science and then once I found this area science illustration, medical illustration, I was like, wow, this is an area where I can combine both skill sets and also help doctors get their messages out. I thought about it as like where's the intersection of my passions, which is helping people which is I want to make the world a better place, also what are my skill sets? Are in science, and then also what can I get compensated for cuz these are skills. 

Work on your observational drawing skills because if you apply to graduate programs in science or medical illustration, that's what your art portfolio will be assessed on. I also recommend taking challenging science courses in order to meet the requirements to get into these programs. For example, when applying to grad school, I needed to have completed anatomy with dissection. I also needed to take a GRE.

I struggled with imposter syndrome in grad school. I didn't fit in with my classmates. They were more competitive than collaborative, which made me question my own work. I needed to separate my identity from my grades in order to make it through.

Some days start with a neurosurgeon doing a voiceover for a surgery video. When it's done, I package it, add patient details, and make it ready for publication. Other days, I'll meet with a research scientist to learn about a new discovery or innovation they want to convey. I start by sketching on paper. Then I'll use Photoshop and Illustrator to create or modify the image. I send it to the researcher for feedback. It may go through some revisions. Once it's approved, I send it for publication.

Medical Video Editor & Multimedia Specialist

You want to be an illustrator? Are you sure you don't want to be a fine artist instead and go show in New York City? You want to be a medical illustrator? Are you sure you wouldn't rather become a scientist?

Chinami Michaels

About Chinami

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