What is a medical illustrator?

Medical illustrators are highly specialized interdisciplinary professionals who have earned advanced degrees from universities affiliated with medical schools. These degrees offer education combining medical science, art, communication, and technology. 

 

How are Services Provided?

Below is a general project workflow a client may experience: 

•    A project begins with a consultation by phone, email, or in person to discuss the subject matter and requirements of the project. How will the illustrations be used? What reference materials are available? What is the deadline and budget? What reproduction rights are needed?

•    A proposal is prepared for the client that includes a detailed description of the scope of work, estimate of fees, process for approval and changes, delivery dates, and a licensing contract describing reproduction rights, payment schedule, and other terms and responsibilities.

•    Once the price and licensing rights are negotiated, both parties sign the proposal contract and work begins. (Sometimes an advance payment may be required to begin work.) The illustrator will research the subject matter and review references, discuss key concepts with the client and/or a content expert, and begin preliminary sketches or storyboards.

•    Preliminary sketches or storyboards are sent to the client for careful review and correction. One to two rounds of sketch revisions are typical. Thorough communication between the client and illustrator is crucial at this point. Errors and changes discovered after client approval of sketches may be labor and cost intensive to repair.

•    After the client approves sketches or storyboards in writing, the final illustrations are created. 

Final artwork is sent for client review. Upon approval in writing, the high-resolution files are delivered on CD or via the Internet. An invoice is issued with the final product. Prompt payment is important as the grant of licensing rights is typically subject to payment in full.

 

How Do Medical Illustrators Charge?

There are no “standard” prices for medical illustration. Pricing depends on the complexity of the content, the uses and reproduction rights the client desires, and the illustrator’s experience and reputation.

 

Medical illustration is a service. The product is not “bought,” but the use of it is licensed.

In general, the more uses = higher cost. 

Usage fees are determined by:

 

•    Nature of use: advertising, magazine, textbook, journal publication, corporate brochure, web site, medical legal exhibit, TV, live presentation, or multimedia project

•    Distribution format: printed, Internet, CD / DVD

•    Duration of use: one-time, months, years

•    Geographic area of use: US, North America, Europe, Worldwide

•    Exclusive or limited use

•    Reputation of illustrator

 

Who owns the copyright to the illustrations?

In the same way that musicians control who can reproduce their music, medical illustrators control who can reproduce their artwork. Under U.S. and international copyright laws, ownership of creative works is the property of the author (illustrator) from the moment it is created in a tangible form. 

 

Copyright of an artwork can be sold in whole (called a transfer of copyright), or more commonly, rights may be sold separately with conditions (called licensing). A license is a contract whereby the illustrator who owns the rights, grants reproduction rights to the client to use the artwork for a specific purpose under specific terms in exchange for a fee. When the license expires, those licensed rights revert to the illustrator. 

 

 

What usage rights do I need?

Below are some sample licensing terms and definitions :

 

•    One-time Print Use: the limited right to reproduce an image only one time in printed form. 

•    Online Rights: the limited right to use the illustration in the Internet edition of the publication.

•    Unlimited, Nonexclusive: a grant of rights that permits the buyer use of an image or work across all media types and parameters. 

•    Unlimited, Exclusive: a grant of rights that permits the buyer use of an image or work across all media types and parameters. An exclusive grant allows the artwork to be used only by the one buyer.

•    Transfer of Copyright: an assignment of copyright ownership in a work from the owner to another party. A valid transfer must be contracted in writing and signed by the owner.

 

(Taken from the Association of Medical Illustrators Client Guide. www.ami.org)