A class photo with the instructor (on the far right)
From the 29th to the 31st of May, 12 students from all over Norway gathered at GFI Bergen for a 3-day course on illustration for science. The course aimed to help the students become more effective at communicating their research through visual means. And introduced concepts such as sketching, design theory, concept development, color theory, and digital illustration.
In the beginning of the course, small peer-review groups were formed, and sketches prepared from home was shared and discussed. The valuable feedback received in the groups helped us refine and develop our rough ideas into illustrations that could communicate parts of our research. Peer-review sessions were intermixed with sessions for working on the illustrations, as well as presentations by Pina Kingman, an expert in scientific illustration and the teacher of the course, who introduced us to gradually more advanced concepts such as design theory, color theory, and typography.
The course also included an introduction in using vector illustration software, which is essential in creating digital illustrations. Here we learned how to use programs such as Illustrator or Inkscape to create professional-looking illustrations and to refine our designs.
In the end of the course, the final illustrations were shared and presented among the students, and feedback was discussed among the group.
Overall, the course provided us with a solid foundation in scientific illustration, including the necessary skills and knowledge to create effective and visually appealing illustrations for scientific posters and presentations. And in the end, we were able to apply the principles we learned in class and make our initially elementary sketches into beautiful vector graphics.
Text: Laust Færch / UiT
Photos: Mandy Kong