Compartment Syndrome Illustration

Hi All,

I hope you're all doing well and getting ready for the holidays.  I've been working on some illustrations lately and thought I'd share one quickly.

As you may know, I was a medical illustrator for about 10 years for the Air Force, supporting clinical teaching and residency programs, while I was on active duty.  I would do work for teaching lectures, print and publications, public information, murals, etc.  Occasionally I still get a little freelance work, doing some anatomical illustrations.

Pen and Ink and digital pen and ink illustration by Thomas Kreienbrink

Recently I did an illustration for the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons.  The illustration will be in one of their publications in the near future.  It's a simple, clean illustration depicting two openings created to release pressure from fluid build up from compartment syndrome.  This build up could be caused typically from trauma/injury that doesn't allow for healthy circulation in the affected extremity.  The incisions allow for excess fluids to be released by seeping/flowing out of the openings.

I'm currently working on more medical illustrations as well.  I'll share them with you when finished.
In the mean time, have a great December and enjoy your Christmas, or whatever holidays you celebrate. 

Tom

to see more of my art, go to...
www.behance.net/tk-art

Medical Illustrations - the Talus

Hi All,

This past winter and spring I had some illustration work come my way.  I don't actively persue illustration work, but I do welcome inquiries and I'm an artist, I love the work.  So, I'm always grateful to have some artwork projects come my way.

This past winter, Mary Meyers, from the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons, contacted me about producing a few illustrations for a book that they were putting together.   So we worked out the details and I got to work.  Dr. Brett Sachs was the author of the chapter which I illustrated, and he brought me up to speed on what he needed and I got to work.

First illustration showing various types of injuries to the superior medial area of the Talus bone.

The first illustration shows the Talus bone and highlights the superior, medial part of the bone that sometimes when injured, doesn't heal very well.  It shows the five most common types of injuries that happen in that area.

Second illustration showing the technique where the drill goes thru the Tibia.

The second illustration shows a technique where the surgeon would drill thru the Tibia in order to be able to drill into the Talus.  When that area of the Talus is injured, it doesn't always heal very well or quickly for some, because there's not a lot of circulation in that area of the bone.  By drilling into it they can then do some things that will bring blood flow into that area and stimulate healing.

Third illustration showing the Drill Guide technique.

 The third shows a similar technique using a drill guide.  Using the guide, the surgeon drills thru a tube into the bone.  The direction of drilling is from the lower lateral area diagonally to the injured area in the superior or upper area of the bone.

I started with tight pen and ink illustrations.  I scanned them in to my Mac and finished the illustrations with Photoshop and my Wacom tablet.  I drew the black and white layer and then filled color on layers beneath it.   A simple yet effective technique. 

All in all, it was fun to get into a little anatomy drawing again.  I worked in Air Force teaching hospitals for 10 years as a medical illustrator and I still enjoy this challenging and educational work.

Have a great day everyone.  Check out my web portfolio at:  www.behance.net/tk-art
If you'd like to commission a piece of artwork or hire me to illustrate your project, let me know and we can talk about it.

Peace,

Tom

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