Medical art encompasses a wide range of applications from patient communication and information to medical teaching and training. It is also used by the pharmaceutical industry to help explain their products and in the court room to help lay jury members understand complex topics. Medical artists produce work in a wide range of media including traditional illustrations, as well as interactive 3D models, and animations.

The course starts by giving you a strong foundation in anatomy, observational drawing, and anatomical illustration skills, before moving on to more specialised modules in the second semester. You will have the opportunity to work on live briefs with a range of experts and will be introduced to more specialist software enabling you to create 3D interactive models, animations and virtual reality experiences. You have access to our art school and our medical science facilities, and will learn anatomy from Thiel embalmed cadavers and prosections. These cadavers are soft-fix, which means they retain real-to-life qualities, including realistic colour, tissue quality and flexibility. You'll be taught by highly specialised tutors from scientific backgrounds such as anatomy, as well as experienced medical art supervisors. Our staff work closely with the NHS, the Institute of Medical Illustrators, and the Medical Artists’ Association of Great Britain.

Careers:

Our alumni have gone on to work in the following fields:

• NHS medical illustration departments producing patient information and illustration services for staff
• e-learning in medical schools
• 3D model making (including clinical/surgical skills trainers) companies
• digital art and animation studios
• publishing houses
• illustration studios
• medico-legal artwork
• freelance illustration and fine art applications
• special effects and the media/film world
• academia – teaching or research
• PhD research.