Careers in Science illustration FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions about Science Illustration as a career. Created by Vivid Biology for university careers services.

We can't fit a full transcript here but these are some of the questions covered (and also some additional notes)

1. What is a Science Illustrator?

2. What's an average day like?

3. Who are your clients?

4. Are there any qualifications you need?

5. Is there any software I should learn?

6. Do I need any equipment?

7. Should I take drawing classes

8. Is there anything else I should read up about?

9. What can I do to build a portfolio now?

10. What's it like starting out as a freelancer?

11. Any tips?

12. Do you take interns?

Extra notes

- For an even more cost-effective computer option, refurbished 2013 Mac mini computers can be bought for around £200 and manually upgraded to 16GB for around £60.

- Wacom or XP-PEN tablets are recommended if you want to draw direct to screen.

- You can get startup loans from the government if you don't have easy access to savings. There may also be specific grants that are available to new businesses.

- Examples of side projects we've done are printing dresses with out designs on, selling posters of our Artwork on Amazon, and numerous coffee mug Kickstarters.

- The audio for this video was created using Play.ht, using text-to-speech software.