Anatomy and Art

So it would seem that I’m agreeing to speak about what I do for a living to groups of 8th graders in Plano next month.  Whatever will I say??  The first question already had me stumped – “What is your career title?”  I’m going with Scientific Artist / 3D Animator.  Titles are tricky for me though.  My last business card before joining Sapling Learning was literally a collage of skills on the back.

Most 3D animators out there, lead with that.  It’s a specific skill and one that tends to be better paid than 2D animation or any kind of illustration.  And if you don’t say the 3D part, then people will generally assume that you don’t do it.  But the truth is, that I also do 2D animation, and I also do both 2D and 3D illustration.  Add to that, that it’s also worth specifying that I’m also focusing in scientific animation and illustration, oh and sometimes photographs or very occasionally video.  Which would make me a Scientific 3D/2D animator/illustrator/photographer or something like that.  Now try adding in that I studied specifically in medical illustration and animation.  Yeah, it gets complicated.  Personally, I would like to see the word artist taken more seriously.  I think that “scientific artist” most plainly expresses what it is that I do.  But no one would think that I did animation if that were my title, and they certainly wouldn’t think 3D animation.  They would definitely not think that I had a background in anatomy.  And then yes, there’s the issue that people often have a kind of mental block when it comes to paying for art.  When I was more active with the Association of Medical Illustrators, I was around for several conversations about potentially changing the group’s name to be more inclusive to our many animators.  But while the term “medical artists” would have been more inclusive, many feared it would sound less technical and could actually affect what people were willing to pay for that expertise.  And they were right to be concerned.

So I’m going with Scientific Artist / 3D Animator for the kids next month.  This isn’t a paying gig, but students interested in animation should get a chance to know that I’ll be including that in my talk.  Now, to narrow down just what exactly I am going to talk about while I’m up there.  As long as they leave knowing that math is important in art, I’ll feel like I’ve done something right.  And if I can bring their attention to the spaces between science, technology, and communication, then I’ll feel pretty good about that too.

My business card, mentioned above.  I still like this one too.