Featured Sites: Scientific Illustration

Sometimes you need to look a little differently at the world - in this case, erasing the divide between Art and Science to forge a career in scientific illustration. The role of the scientific illustrator is to record and communicate nature and science with pencil or brush. You might think a camera would have made these arts redundant, but often a keen eye is needed to pick out detail and omit the irrelevant, making the image convey the essential attributes of the subject. Complex diagrams, cutaways and charts combine art with design, while a scientist's eye for detail and an artist's creative flair result in unique and fascinating works. Read more about Scientific Illustration in the Smithsonian article 'A brush with nature: The art of scientific illustration'. I also enjoyed viewing the bug drawings of Victoria Saxe , and the (sometimes slightly gruesome) medical illustration of Philip Wilson.