Medical Illustration

Hi All,

Hope you're all having a great week.  I'd recently been going thru a few of my old medical illustrations and thought I'd share with you.

Cross section of the Temple.  

From 1988 - 1998 I worked as a Medical Illustrator at two different teaching hospitals while serving in the Air Force.  The first five years I was at RL Thompson Strategic Hospital in Fort Worth, Texas.  The following 5 years I was at Ehrling Bergquist Hospital, in Omaha, Nebraska.

Depiction of receding gums caused by a missing tooth

The hospitals were Air Force teaching hospitals.  The main reason I was there was to support the Family Medicine Residency Programs, but I served the entire hospital including the Dental Residencies, and clinical phase programs for a variety of technicians (X-ray, Lab, Surgery Techs, and others).

Part of a Iliac Crest retrieval teaching presentation.
Shows the nerves that can get pinched off by swollen
muscles, post procedure.  This results in the
patient not being able to walk until it heals.

What did I do?  When I started in the hospital, the main teaching tool was the 35 mm slide presentation.  My main job was working with the instructors to develop teaching tools; presentations, posters, illustrations, and overhead slides.  Initially, I did "flat" artwork to be photographed on 35 mm slide film, but as technology advanced I created the artwork on computer and then shot the slides with a digital film recorder.  Towards the end of my tenure at EB Hospital, the teachers had digital projectors that would project the slides right from the computer.  They'd develop most of their slides in Powerpoint and request illustrations that I'd drop into their presentations.

Iliac Crest - the dotted line section to be retrieved
for a jaw implant.

Although I had no formal medical training, I did have to show the Air Force that I was capable of doing the work, and apply for the job as a "special duty assignment."  I loved the assignments too and I got to do some very interesting work.  I was able to observe surgeries and photograph them (for reference), and then illustrate the surgical technique.  The docs would work with me, essentially teaching me, so I could accurately illustrate the subject matter correctly.  The Dental Residents would put together "Table Clinics" every year, and I would produce/create them.  A table clinic is a poster presentation with photos, illustrations and text - subject matter would be a dental technique or study.  They would present them at the annual Dental Conventions in the surrounding states and even won some awards for the work.  I also supported the clinics and readiness section with graphic arts products when needed; training slides, fliers, posters, etc.

Dotted line shows cuts to make for gums to be
flapped open; making roots of teeth accessible to
work on.

The greatest thing about working in these facilities was the people.  I really felt like I was going to work with 350-400 of my best friends every day.  They were hard working and dedicated. and the work was very fulfilling too.  So that's my Air Force Medical story.
Have a great day All.
Tom

Tee Design - More Beef Than You Can Handle

Hi All,

I came across my tee shirt from the 11th Civil Engineers Squardron (CE) recently and thought I'd get out the artwork and share it here in the blog.  The last three years of my Air Force career, I moved on from multimedia and became a First Sergeant.  I was assigned to the 11th CE Squadron, Bolling Air Force Base in the District of Columbia.

The shirt was to be a fun shirt that folks may want to wear to squadron functions and also to be a fundraiser for the squadron booster club.  Because I'm an artist, we saved some bucks on the artwork.  The shirt was printed with black on a grey (ash) colored tee shirt.  The Prime Beef logo was printed on the front of the shirt, on the breast pocket area.  This is a common "logo" used by civil engineers throughout the Air Force.

Logo printed on front of shirt.  Breast pocket area, about 4" in diameter.

On the back we did a Prime Beef cartoon design.  As you've suspected, "More Beef Than You Can Handle" is an Air Force Civil Engineers slogan and the Beef steer is the representative mascot.  I'm embarrassed that I don't remember what the acronym "Prime Beef" stands for.  But, it's the part of CE that mobilizes and responds in contingency situations.

Design on the back of the tee shirt.  

We printed the back one color (black) as well.  The cartoon is pretty obviously a "Prime Beef" mascot who's a CE Airman, surrounded by various aspects of what they do.  Basically, as you've probably figured out, they're the construction element of the Air Force.  Electricity, Power Production, Vertical and Horizontal construction, Plumbing and Water Treatment, Facilities Maintenance, and Plans, Contracts, Procurement, Designing, and the Readiness folks (can't forget them or I'd be in trouble :).

Tee Design with color.  Color added with Photoshop and Wacom tablet.

Just for fun, I decided to color the design.  The original design, I created in pen and ink on bristol board. Eventually I scanned it in and I colorized it using Photoshop.

Today, I look back on my days with the 11th CE Squadron with fondness.  I still count most of the folks I served with among my friends.  CE - thanks for the memories, it was great to be able to serve with you for that time.

Have a great week everyone.

Pencil Portraits

Hi All,

Sometimes it all comes down to basics.  That's what the pencil portrait is about.  However, even though you do a portrait with graphite and illustration board, this can be a treasured piece of artwork.  Especially if it's done well, framed and hung - this can be a very sentimental gift that can bring a smile to the recipient for years to come.

Sue - a portrait of my wife done with pencil
on Bristol Board; 11 x 14 inches

The pencil portrait can take differing forms and contain various levels of simplicity, to more detailed and relatively complex works.  The portrait of "Sue" is a simple picture, but the beauty of it is the simplicity.  The happy smiling face that captures her personality, balanced by the right amount of negative space, creating a simple, just right artwork.

The picture of Pat Tillman takes things to a different level.  It reflects his career as a beloved local hero on the football field in Phoenix at ASU and then professionally as an Arizona Cardinal.  It also brings in his military career and patriotism...the successful pro athlete who walked away to fight for his country after the 9-11 attacks.  A more complex story is told by this picture.

Tillman - Pencil on Bristol Board; 11 x 14 inches.
A portrait of a beloved figure depicting his
life and accomplishments

One of my favorite things to do is mix medias.  No, I'm not an art purist...I'm an artist that does what I think looks good.  I was commissioned to produce a portrait of a child and the family cat (with elf hat on).  The customer provided some pretty good reference material and I started with pencil, working light to dark - hard to soft lead.  Afterward, I got out the Iwata custom micron airbrush and added some darker values.  I also added some Sepia tone and lighter complementing colors to it; giving it that "old time photo" feel.  Then, I went in with just a little bit of colored pencil and added a little hint of color.

Child and Cat - pencil/mixed media on illustration
board; 18 x 24 inches.  

There's one other aspect to this that's appealing to some folks; the price.  A pencil based piece of artwork is a great way to add a keepsake to your collection, that will last a lifetime, at a very affordable price.  This can be a great value that will bring a smile to the face of a mother, father, spouse or whomever.

If I can help you with a portrait, or any type of artwork, let me know.  My contact info is in my profile -- I'd love to assist with your project.

Have a great week....keep on smiling :)

Tom

FEMA Publications Catalog - Design

Hi All,

After I retired from the Air Force, I was hired on at the Federal Emergency Management Agency(FEMA), as a designer in the Publications Section.  Over the next three years I worked with FEMA print publications, prepared books for printing, archived files, assisted contractors designing for FEMA.  I also designed books, leaflets, products for print and web, and whatever other projects they had for me.  It was a great job.  It was always fun and challenging -- and like any job, occasionally a little frustrating.

Today I'm going to highlight the FEMA Publications Catalog.  A little background - when I was hired, the Pubs section was in the midst of change and my boss Ken dedicated me to work with the FEMA publications and to develop and "run" some new processes (as well as work on graphic design).  FEMA has numerous publications and most are designed by contractors.  So one of the first things I developed was a QC, cataloging and master file archiving system, and then I'd annually put out a FEMA Publications Catalog.

Cover - FEMA Publications Catalog. Note - the
design is set up in accordance with DHS
House Styleguide - not necessarily the way most
would set it up.

As new products came in, I would make sure it was set up in accordance with Dept of Homeland Security House Style Guidelines, assign publication and catalog number (don't ask why two numbers -- long story), and "brand" it on the back cover.  I'd make changes/fixes as necessary, preflight the files and ensure they were ready for commercial printing.  Then I'd pass the files on to the printing specialist and work with them (if necessary), thru the printing process.

Intro page in the catalog -- some info about the
catalog and FEMA resouces on-line

The Publications Catalog that hadn't been done in quite a while when I arrived, so I started from scratch.  As new products and reprints came in, they were put into the catalog.  When ready, we'd print a small run and post on the web.  I left FEMA almost a year ago, to move out west, but the catalog is  probably still on the FEMA website.  The catalog didn't have all the publications, as I've described, but it included the most current materials.

One of the internal pages.  The books are listed
by category.  These are "Flood" books

I know FEMA has taken a beating in the media at times, but I really enjoyed working there.  I can't say enough about the people at FEMA.  They are dedicated, and some of the best!
Thanks FEMA -- I'll always treasure my time working with you.

A page of Disaster Recovery Center signs.
They're signs for the centers out in the field,
where people get disaster assistance.

Have a great week everyone....Tom

Barry Sanders - Yes Another Football Pic

An old friend of mine, Greg, has been after me for years -- "Tom, do a picture of Barry Sanders.  He was the greatest running back of all time" -- and so on, and on.  Well, Greg's been a Detroit Lions fan forever, and God knows, they don't usually have a lot to cheer about, so finally I got around to working on it.

All joking aside, I've been wanting to work on this one for a while.  I figured I'd do a combination technique using a pencil illustration and Photoshop to finish it out.  After a little searching around, I found some reference material and decided on the layout.  Next - I got out a big handful of pencils, a pad of bristol board, and got to work.  I like working out a nice pencil rendering using a variety of pencils from the hard 4H pencil all the way to the very soft 4B (and all the others in between).

Pencil Portrait of Barry Sanders - base illustration

I scanned the portrait in to my iMac and worked on adding a little more detail in and darkening some of the tonal values.  I did this in Photoshop using a Wacom tablet.  Using the brush tool in photoshop and the pen stylus and digitizing tablet - it has a similar feel to painting or airbrushing (and it's much more forgiving if you make a mistake).

A great feature in Photoshop is the ability to work on various layers.  It's just like it sounds - like transparent overlays that stack up from bottom to top.  So as I go, I create layers and worked in some color on the uniform and his face.  I keep it kind of soft, allowing the pencil to show thru.  Then I added some additional texture and color on a couple of layers using the powder blue color and some really large irregularly shaped brushes.  Afterward I adjusted the layer opacity, giving it just the right amount of color and texture.  For me, there's quite a bit of adding and subtracting in these processes too - it's a process.

Finishing touches were applied with a nice border; a rugged almost rock like texture which is opposite of the soft translucent colors over the image.  I selected the border area and painted in some light and dark colors.  Next, I started experimenting with various filter effects until I was pleased with the colors and textures.  I finished it with a Layer Style, using the Bevel and Emboss effect.  I selected the Inner Bevel style and Chisel Soft technique, and adjusted the depth, size, and softness until I was happy with it.

Barry Sanders portrait...finished artwork

Finishing touch...a nice white stroke around the image and my signature.  And there you have Barry Sanders - who, in the opinion of my buddy Greg - "is the best running back  in football history."  Glad you aprove Greg.

Have a great week everyone.

White House Upgrades If......

Hi Everyone,

Yes, it's true, I was inspired last week by Donald Trump.  Ha - anyone that knows me personally would laugh at that, because I'm not really a fan of his TV shows or his politics.  But, he's been in the news a lot, talking about running for the Presidency (or maybe just trying to get attention to boost his show's ratings).

So I started thinking about what if he were elected President.  He's so extravagant and over the top about everything in his life - what would he do if he were President of the United States?  And then it occurred to me; I think he'd probably take down that ratty old White House and replace it with a grand, amazing and ultra modern Trump Presidential Tower.

So, like many of the works I do now, I start with a pencil sketch.  Sometimes I ink it, like a comic as I've done here.  Then I scan the piece, bring it into Photoshop, make the necessary adjustments to the file (brightness, contrast, canvas size, resolution, etc...), and finally I start working in the color.  I work in layers, so I can work front to back - or vice versa.

Mr. Trump - thanks for the inspiration.

"Man, this old place needs some serious upgrades"

Hope you enjoy your week everyone.  See you next time.

Tom

Caricatures - Commercial Illustration and Fun Gift

Hi All,

I recently dug out my caricature book to show a prospective client, some samples.  It brought back a lot of good memories.  One of my favorite types of artwork to create has always been the caricature.  During my 22 year career in the Air Force, I'd done probably 200-300 caricatures.  It's a fun medium to work with and because AF people are continually moving around you always are saying "so long" to someone; and a caricature makes a great "going away" gift.  It's a unique gift, with a fun and goofy likeness of the person....they're always a hit for the recipient and everyone else as well.

There's also a commercial illustration application to this as well.  Magazines and other publications feature various styles of caricatures regularly to accompany stories in their publications.

I'm going to keep the text to a minimum this week and include several of the old school caricatures from the past, and a few updated commercial style ones as well.

Remember, if I can assist with any of your artwork needs, commercial or personal - let me know, I'd love to hear from you and I'd love to help.  (my contact info is in my blogs profile).  Have a great week and enjoy the artwork.

Gift for a colleague - Pen and Ink on Bristol Board

Gift for a colleague - Mixed Media (colored pencil, ink and
airbrush acrylic)

60 Yr Old Man - I was commissioned to produce this for a client
to give as a gag birthday gift.  Mostly colored pencil
with a little dry and air brush.

Gift for a colleague - Pen and Ink on Bristol

Michelle - Portfolio piece - ink drawing, scanned and
painted digitally

Arpiao - Portfolio - Local Sheriff, digital illustration

Timberlake - Portfolio - Pen and ink, scanned and
painted digitally

Pen and Ink - gift from my class to my First Sergeant
Academy Instructor

Gift for my old buddy - Mike - or as most of us
call him "Z"