Medical Illustrations - from the archives

Hi All,

I hope all of you are doing well.  Things have been going well here in Arizona.  It's warming up - pretty soon it'll be summer.  Also - I want to say Hello to my new friends in Russia, who have been reading the blog.  The blog has been getting several views there and I hope you're enjoying it.

I'm very grateful to have two careers going right now.  I'm an holistic therapy practitioner and an artist/illustrator.  I've been focusing on the holistic therapy biz the last couple of years, but recently it's been nice to find illustration work coming my way again.  I'm really enjoying it.  I've just finished eight illustrations for a book and am in the process of producing three medical illustrations for an e-book.  More to come on those as they progress in the publication process.

Today I'd like to share some of my medical illustration work from the past.   For 10 years of my Air Force career, I worked in teaching hospitals as a medical illustrator.  Part of that involved having the ability to render anatomical illustrations to support teaching programs.

Computer painted illustration - part of a jaw transplant series (remove part of the illiac crest/hip bone to use in the jaw).

A lot of the work I did was to illustrate slides and later, electronic presentations that were used to teach.  Originally I used traditional media - colored pencil, pen and ink, pencil, and I learned to use an airbrush to produce artwork.  These pieces of art were then photographed with 35mm slide film for use in teaching presentations.

18x24 inch mixed media artwork - for display in Neurology Clinic and used as a reference.

Not long after starting work as medical illustrator, I started integrating a computer system into the workflow process.  I had a Macintosh computer with the proper software, digitizing tablet, and 35mm film recorder.

Computer painted illustration for electronic presentation - supporting the Dental Residency program

I produced a number of different types of products for the two hospitals I worked at.  I painted some murals, designed fliers for use in clinics, and made posters to display public information....I did whatever they needed, as the mission dictated - and it was a lot of fun.

Computer painted illustration - cross section of the forehead

Today, as I'm working on these illustrations depicting procedures to stimulate healing in a fractured talus (bone in the foot/ankle), I did some reminiscing about the old job, the work, and some of the amazing people I worked with.  It was really an enjoyable job and an incredible learning experience.

Have a great day - spread a little kindness around (even to people who you don't know).

Peace,

Tom

On Line Portfolio:  www.Behance.net/tk-art
On Facebook:  www.facebook.com/pages/Tom-Kreienbrink-Art-and-Design