Photorealistic skeleton paintings wow netizens

Dr Chommanad Uppachitkul, a professor of medical illustration at the university in the northeast of Thailand, last week posted pictures of sketches made by her students on her Facebook page.

The post went viral with netizens complementing the realism of the illustrations.

“These sketches were made [using] water colour by second year medical illustration students, who, despite studying under the Faculty of Medicine, are not med students,” she said in an interview on Thursday.

“Medical illustration students learn to create media in the form of printed materials, models, videos, photos and applications to illustrate medical information to doctors, medical students, and patients to increase their understanding,” she explained.

Chommanad said the four-year medical illustration programme is classified as Bachelor’s of Science degree. Students are required to study medical subjects such as clinical symptoms, parasitology, pathology and anatomy, as well as art techniques and media technology.

“One could say that a medical illustrator is a scientist with a heart of an artist,” she said.

She added that those who wish to become medical illustrators do not need to excel at drawing, or have scientific and artistic academic acumen.

“However, one must be a fast learner via hands-on practice,” she said. “In the first two years, medical illustration students will learn basic drawing, graphic design, sculpting, and other basics of art.”

Chommanad said the programme is seeing increasing applicants every year, and the university is constantly upgrading it with the adoption of modern technology to improve students’ learning.

“Over 30% of our students have found a career immediately after graduating in both Thailand and the Asean region, as medical illustration can be applied to many different fields,” she added.