Can you hold your flatulence? The Importance of the Pelvic Floor

Comparative female and male pelvic floor illustrations in English and Swahili

What I learned from a pelvic floor therapist about the importance of taking good care of our pelvic floor.

I recently had the opportunity to meet Brittney Davis, a pelvic floor specialist at Rock Valley Physical Therapy here in North Liberty, Iowa. Our initial meeting stemmed from a maternity project I recently completed. I quickly learned that care of the pelvic floor goes way beyond those who are currently pregnant or have ever carried a child.

Pelvic care has become a more significant part of the natal and post-partum care conversation, but as it turns out, a weak pelvic floor can affect men as well as all women!

Any chronic pressure on the pelvic floor can affect how strong our pelvic floor will be as we age. I was surprised to learn many of our “normal” habits and things we consume could be causing issues with our bladder and colon, affecting the pelvic floor. We ignore many of the indicators of problems because no one told us these are symptoms that could result in problems in our later years. A few of those signs are the inability to hold a fart, feeling frequent urgency to pee, being constipated, or having chronic loose bowels. These indicators could lead to problems such as rectal prolapse, incontinence, and erectile dysfunction in men.

Of course, I brought my pelvis illustrations with me when I met with Brittney to get the input of a specialist, and I am delighted to report that she found them very well done and well-researched. This was important to me because while I was researching the pelvis and trying to create something understandable of the web of muscles, ligaments, and tendons, I quickly learned that most women, myself included, only knew an area hurt. There was no name for the location – just an indicator of pain. I used this information to learn what pains women often experience, what the pain felt like, and interpreted the best-associated muscle. While my illustrations do not show every single muscle in the pelvic floor, I have illustrated and annotated the most significant regarding pain and strengthening.

The pelvic floor for the post-partum woman:

Let’s start where we know the pelvic floor has suffered trauma and why I created these illustrations – pregnancy.
Whether it was a vaginal birth or a c-section, the pelvic floor has had to support a significant accumulating weight for over 9 months! Like any other part of the body, that means there is wear and literal tear. Brittney supports a 2-week post-partum check-in to start new mothers on recovery – the sooner you start, the better. This is the time to check how the vulva and vagina are healing and check for diastasis recti abdominous (DRA) – the separation of the abdominal muscles.

The 6-week check-in is to check scars: test mobility and begin vaginal stretching. Brittney emphasized the importance of having a therapist help with vaginal stretching rather than a significant other because of the psychological response that could significantly affect future intimacy, highlighting the importance of proper care of a mother’s body to make sure an individual continues having the best quality of life including protecting their mental health.

Check-ups include advising cognitive load, tips on nutrition, and additional information on hormonal effects like breastfeeding. If a new mother is breastfeeding, the relaxin can increase joint mobility, causing pelvic pain and increasing the potential of an injury. These hormone changes can also cause anxiety and reduce an individual’s spatial awareness, making them more accident-prone. Loose joints and accidents are a fast and avoidable trip to the hospital!

Anatomical cross-section of a pregnant female torso.

Not every woman gives birth – but what about menopause?

As we get older, we lose muscle tone and skin elasticity. Our skin loses its plumpness; with that, we can lose our ability to hold our pee. The number of women who are dependent on their tissues to help their sphincters hold steady is staggering, and things like office jobs and sitting with poor posture can slowly damage our pelvic floor.

A physical therapist like Brittney can teach better posture and help develop good stretching habits to save your urethra’s sphincter in the future.

Anatomical cross-section of the female torso.

Men too?

Men can also have a damaged or weakened pelvic floor due to poor bowel habits, obesity, prostate surgery, or even repeated poor form when lifting heaving things. They can also develop bladder and bowel incontinence and erectile dysfunction.

Anatomical cross-section of the male torso.

Like exercising our hearts with cardio or lifting weights to build strong muscle and bone, we must also develop healthy habits to keep a solid pelvic floor.

Practice healthy eating habits to support regular bowel movements, learn proper bathroom form, and practice better posture. These little habits can help prevent problems, but when you feel pain – go to a physical therapist.

I urge all of us to start talking.

Talk about your pelvic discomfort, painful sex, and bowel habits. Part of the reason people are just living with their pain is because we have normalized it. We tell women to “try to relax” or “have a glass of wine.” Many things like this are chalked up to aging when they could have been helped or prevented.

Talking with Brittney opened my eyes to how much we neglect one of the most essential parts of our body – the part that helps bring life into the world, keeps us mobile, and keeps us comfortable and confident as we go through life.

Could a pelvic floor specialist be for you?

Brittney’s expertise on women’s health and pelvic floor care urged me to tell every woman I know (pregnant or not) to consider googling pelvic floor specialists in their area (and there are many!) and consider going to a pelvic floor therapist to enjoy the freedom of a strong pelvic floor.

While Brittney does her job helping people, my illustrations help professionals like Brittney better serve their clients by aiding pelvic floor education, increasing care, and self-advocacy.

October 11, 2023October 11, 2023

Going to a Museum? Bring a Sketchbook!

My favorite museum activities as an illustrator and why I can easily spend an entire day exploring even the smallest natural history museum.

Recently, my husband and I went on a museum tour. We hopped on a bus with other members of the Cedar Valley Rocks and Minerals Society and went to the University of Wisconsin Madison Geology Museum and the Burpee Museum of Natural History. It was an exquisite day with many things to look at, a few new things to see, and a long bus ride, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. So, what does an illustrator do at the museum?

I have always enjoyed museums, particularly science and natural history museums.

When I was growing up, there was a natural history museum at the local university, and I could spend my whole day there. My favorite activity was sitting in front of the exhibit, taking everything in. I could stand at the same display for an hour, looking at every little thing, from the background painting to the littlest grain of sand or blade of grass. Everything was strategically placed to create a natural-looking environment. When I got older, I started bringing a sketchbook with me and would draw the exhibits. I would also copy the exhibit plaques. This practice was a great lesson in design and user experience early on. I have continued this activity into my adulthood, and I was fortunate enough to marry an individual who also enjoys going to museums and, most importantly, tolerates waiting for me while I would sit at the same exhibit for over an hour, sketching various things. That’s what I call love!

At the geology museum, I enjoyed the skeletal structures the most. Many of the skeletons were models with a few actual fossils—like legs, maybe a jaw. My absolute favorite thing to look at is the art!

Line drawing, plaques, paintings, and annotated anatomy illustrations. Some images give greater detail on the anatomy of the fossilized structure, and others provide an understanding of habitat and habits that have been long lost to time.

Dienotherium Skull with painted background

My museum system
I like to take a lap first!

This allows me and my husband to enjoy the museum together. We take photos, ask each other questions, and enjoy the museum experience together. After the first lap, that’s when we tend to split up. I will have found something I want to sketch while my husband wanders around the museum.

At universities, students will occasionally work on things in back rooms and allow visitors to stop by and take a look!

I enjoy museum sketching because it reminds me of being in a studio. I always enjoyed the beginning of a project because we would have a sketching day or thumbnail day, allowing us time to move around and look at our subjects from different perspectives. The goal is to find an interesting view that gives a lot of information and allows us to create a communicative piece of artwork. This freedom to push the boundaries of perspective feels like stretching my brain by giving me a little exercise in composition, ingenuity, and creativity.

At the Burpee Museum of Natural History, we follow the same protocol of going around all the exhibits on all three floors!

We take pictures as we go, discuss, and enjoy. On this trip, we traveled with a group, so we got to engage with more people who all have their own special interests. That, in itself, was a wonderful experience. On the top floor of the Burpee Museum, there is an experience room primarily for children, with reptiles and amphibians!

This area is where I chose to sit for my sketch at the end of our excursion, sketching a gecko named Chip.

One of the most fun parts of drawing living, breathing things is observing them interacting with their environment and, if you’re lucky, with you! My favorite part of sketching Chip was that he seemed to know that I was there just observing him, so after he had checked me out, making sure that I wasn’t a predator trying to harm him, he took up a pose toward the back of his terrarium. I could see his entire body nicely splayed out, displaying all his beautiful colors, limbs, and toes. He would periodically tilt his head around to look at me as if saying, “Does this pose work for you? Is it good? Do you like this? I can move if you’d like.“

I know many people go to museums for different reasons, but for me, going to museums and bringing a sketchbook and a collection of pens allows me to play and have fun! The freedom to create as I want brings back the nostalgia of drawing to draw. Plus, I get to practice my technical skills.

March 11, 2020May 1, 2020

Did You Wash Your Hands?

Everyone has written an article about how to wash your hands and why it's crucial.

We don't have anything to add.
At LEGACY BioStudios, LLC, we hope you and yours stay healthy, and we have a gift for you:

Here is a free poster for you to download (regular letter-sized) and hang up at your place of work, home, or leave on a bulletin board.

June 4, 2019June 4, 2019

How Illustration Found Me: How I Founded LEGACY BioStudios, LLC

When I introduce myself, people often ask, “How did you end up in this line of work?”

My story is long, but I think it brings to light why I love the work I do so much and how LEGACY BioStudios, LLC came to be.

I grew up in my family’s dental clinic, and it was indeed a family business.

My mom was the dentist, and my dad was the clerk/janitor/Assata wrangler, and when I got older, I helped out however I could.
I was a rambunctious child that tore everything apart and drew on paper and everything else. I took apart toys, furniture, and at one point, part of a wall. My reasonings were, “I wanted to see what was inside!” My mom decided that I wasn’t destructive to misbehave, but because I was a naturally curious individual. Rather than punishing me, she gave me her old medical books to look at and color to feed my curiosity. I call this the beginning of my interest. I loved those books and all the stuff I learned, but I never really thought about who made the pictures. They were just there.

Selfie with Dental Anatomy Poster, Dr. Caldwell, and Me — First selfie with the 1st print of the the Dental Anatomy Poster in it’s first home, Dr. Caldwell’s Dental Office.

I grew up thinking I was going to become a dentist, like my mom. I loved biology and medicine, and I had a great appreciation for preventative healthcare, but I also enjoyed the interactions my mom had with her patients. She had a way of being not only a dentist but also a friend and an advisor. She was always trying to stay involved in our community to the point that she had a wall that people covered in flyers and handouts about events, rallies, and support systems. I called it her “wall of civil disobedience.” I wanted that. That thing that made kids grow up and come back saying my mom was the reason they were inspired to go to college or families telling me she was their hero because she helped them figure out what resources were available to them when they were out of work.

I later decided that I loved health, but I didn’t want to be a dentist.

I also had a love for conservation and natural resources. I wanted to have a positive impact on people on a larger scale.

I went to college, and for a while, I wanted to be an engineer. I liked the problem-solving aspects, but it wasn’t a good fit. I decided to go back to my roots and take some drawing classes. We drew mostly on paper, not so much on walls, but I liked how natural it felt. I didn’t feel like I was forcing myself to fit in or conform; I felt comfortable just sitting down and drawing. What happened next, I like to call the emerging of the BPMI (Biological PreMedical Illustration) Wizard.

I think all BPMI students have a similar story of recruitment.

A man walks into the class and walks around. He doesn’t talk to everyone, but when he does, it’s either to tell you your work has potential or should be burned (real statement). This man came to my spot and after taking my seat and looking at my drawing of boxes, told me to look into BPMI. After that, he just walked out of the room like a wise wizard. A girl sitting next to me told me to listen to the man because he knew what he was talking about, so I did, and by 3 pm that afternoon, I had officially transferred programs.

Biological PreMedical Illustration is a program offered by Iowa State, and it is remarkably small. The first semester of work, I was worried I wouldn’t be able to keep up because the courses covered everything from plants to animals to microbes and genetics, but I loved it. The classes were phenomenal, and I knew that was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I was going to be a scientific and medical illustrator.

I found my career, but I needed my own “wall of civil disobedience.”

After graduating and experiencing starting a business, I finally found my wall. While my mother worked one on one, I found, with the help of Rotary, there were individuals, startups, small businesses, companies, and nonprofits that were trying to make a difference on a larger, scale and that quality communication was necessary to work with a wide reach. I wanted to assist that communication and use my expertise to make it as easy and effective as I could for everyone. I created LEGACY BioStudios, LLC, to do just that.

So, what does that mean for you?

My work stems from a need to know and understand everything fully. I am not only an artist, but I am also a researcher and scientist. This diligentness means I will do the research and take the time to understand your story thoroughly, to best advocate for you. The work you are doing is essential and valuable, shouldn’t your illustrations and animations reflect that time and hard work? That is why I call it LEGACY; that is what you are creating.

Everyone has an origin story, and I hope you enjoyed mine. If you want to learn more or tell me your own story, connect with me on LinkedIn, or email me directly.

May 3, 2019September 5, 2019

#Inclusion

Why Diversity and Inclusivity Matters in Medical Illustration

I was in the 2nd grade, and a friend told me my gums were dirty.

My mom is a dentist and was asked to come to my 2nd-grade class to do a lesson on oral hygiene and the importance of preventative health care. Mostly a “don’t be afraid of dentists” experience for kids.
While we were going over brushing, my mom handed out these pink dye tablets for us to chew and swish around after brushing to see how effective our techniques were. Of course, after chewing our tablets, we were all grinning at each other and showing our clean teeth, when one student said to me “I think you need to brush better on your gums, they are still dirty!”

I tried to brush the “dirt” off.

I went to the bathroom, brushed my gums for, what felt like an eternity, but was probably 15-20 minutes, and started to cry. I couldn’t make the darkness go away! None of my friends had this coloring on their gums, so clearly, something was wrong with me. I kept brushing and brushing, and I began to think maybe I had cancer or some other terrible ailment signified by skin discoloration.

I was embarrassed, I was scared, and I was hurt!

After an awful day, a lot of tears, and some roughed up gums, I talked to my mom. She told me that my gums were not “dirty,” but were in fact, more pigmented than my friends. I learned I have more melanin in my cells. Yes, my skin is darker because of it, but so is my mucosa! I also learned I was not alone. There were people all over the world that had darker pigmentation on their gums like me! African, Indian, Latinx, any ethnicity that commonly had more melanin in their skin had gums like mine.
I went back to school the next day and shared my new found knowledge with my friends.
I was not dirty, I was different!

I was not the “standard” of human health.

It was at this point I grew aware of the fact that all the books, posters, and brochures I saw used white-cis-men as their models. This model was the standard of health to everyone, including me, and this brought many questions to my mind during my development. It affected my health literacy, but most importantly, I felt “othered.” I became used to this feeling.
A part of my health literacy was having to “translate” my health from the health pictured on the walls of my medical providers.

I went to college, and everyone that looked like me had their own stories and experiences.

Going to college, like many 18-year-olds, exposed me to more diversity, but while meeting people from other countries was terrific, my true delight was meeting other people that looked like me. I was surrounded by people who had stories about feeling left out whether discussing beauty or health. I was not alone in my experience.

I went back home to find more diversity.

The first couple of times I went to my mom’s clinic, I noticed there were a lot of new families, and many of them were immigrants or refugees. Going to a new place is challenging, but when I spoke with the families, getting settled was even more of a challenge because they were in a whole new environment with a different majority of people, a new language, and many new customs. They were not always feeling welcomed or accepted.

My heart broke when I would overhear the children say they wanted to go home and that they didn’t belong here.

My mom started calling me to come down when new families were coming in because they saw my dark skin. She had an easier time getting the families to open up to her, and they were more open to accepting treatments with me around. I realized that I was a connecting piece to help these families find themselves in their surroundings and feel a little less secluded. While I was sitting in the office talking to the families, particularly the kids, I realized something.

I didn’t want these kids to get used to feeling excluded and have to translate their health.

I went to a conference and found the increase of immigrants and refugees were not localized. It was happening all over the state of Iowa!

Meaning all across the state were families trying to settle in an environment that wasn’t prepared to cater to their emotional need for inclusion. Dentists were not ready for the level of communication barrier. Children were not feeling adjusted and accepted.

I needed a way to have an Assata in as many clinics that were serving people of color.

I will make a poster!

Posters have a dominant position to provide decoration while also providing information, and I knew they could give empowerment and feelings of importance. I decided what media I wanted to use as my weapon of choice, but I needed to know how to use it. I needed to research the needs of those families coming in for dental work. There was a problem with diversity, but what about health literacy and dental practices in other countries?

Preventive medicine is very western.

That was the underlying theme in all the information I collected. Many kids, age nine to fifteen that were immigrants and refugees had never been to a dentist before. For many of them, the only reason they were coming to the dentist now, was their school required a dental visit before allowing enrollment. That in itself was odd to them.
These kids didn’t practice six-month check-ups, they did not know that a hurting tooth can be fixed, and they didn’t know a lot about brushing and flossing. Without a base understanding of dental care or anatomy, they didn’t know what was healthy or what needed to get checked.
Mothers that did not know about tooth development in their babies did not know what was normal or abnormal and what could be an indicator of an underlying health problem.
Overall, there was not enough information readily available for these families to feel confident to ask questions or be able to have concerns when the dentist asked.

This miscommunication leads to a lack of health care.

Simply because dentists can’t fully ask their patients questions, and patients don’t know enough to ask the questions they do have, a whole level of care is not being addressed.

I had listened and collected as much information I could, and I started creating.

I knew the human model would have to be the dominating feature, so I found a model who is of black with a Nigerian ancestry to be the face of this poster. I also knew I needed to cover basic tooth anatomy, general tooth information, and baby teeth development.

I created all my drawings digitally, painting them on Adobe Photoshop, and I began assembling the template on Adobe Illustrator.

I made sure the layout left enough room for ample annotations. Labels of dental terminology were critical to creating a base of a lexicon that would be used by the dentist during visits such as incisor, canine, root, and crown.

What was the outcome?

Currently, we are beta testing the final print.

I want to see how many patients look at it, how many use it as a reference, and do the dentists find themselves using the poster as a reference for their patients.
I hope this will lead to more questions, more in-depth conversation into health care options, and overall better quality of life emotionally, and physically.

I know that a poster is such a small thing in hopes of making a significant impact, but eight-year-old me would have felt that impact. Hopefully, another eight-year-old child will feel the effects now.

Want to learn more about this project? Check out our Patreon Page!

The poster is one thing, but I wanted to share the process and the background of the poster to everyone.

While the poster may be helpful, the powerful part is sharing the stories that spurred the creation process. I can’t share individual stories beyond my own. I wish I could share every families story and experience, but I can’t for the sake of their privacy. However, I can talk about my research as a whole and give you a little window into the stories I heard over the last six months with my Patreon page.

Please take a second to check it out and subscribe. Each tier of sponsorship provides different levels of information. I hope you will feel a bit of the impact I felt creating this poster, and share what you learned with your world of friends and family.

Perhaps this one drop will create enough ripples to start some change.

March 30, 2019March 30, 2019

Women’s History Month – Remembering Mary Anning

We are at the end of March which is Women’s History Month, but also the month that has International Women’s Day and National Puppy Day. Both of these days and Women’s History Month were my theme of work and reading.

At the end of February on a very long drive up to Minnesota, I listened to a BBC podcast that talked about a woman named Mary Anning. I am embarrassed to say I had never heard of this woman, but I quickly found out why.

Mary and the beginning of the fossil craze

Mary Anning was a fossil hunter during the 1800s when it seemed the world was at this weird peak of fossil fever. Her family resided in Lyme Regis of Great Britain and lived close to the cliff that she wandered looking for fossils during her life.

**Copyright:**(c) Donsimon | Dreamstime.com

Everyone was curious about these fossils that were being found all over the world (often referred to as “curiosities” or “curies”), but we were also at a time where science and the idea of evolution were still very new and quickly rejected by many people who were more comfortable with the idea of divine creation. It was an idea that was viewed as blasphemous by the church because it put into question the Bible and the existence of God. It also suggested that if God did exist, he was imperfect.
Mary and her brother Joseph started fossil hunting at a very young age with their father, Richard, who was also a cabinet maker. He passed when Mary was young leaving the family in significant debt. During this time, many citizens of Lyme Regis went fossil hunting to supplement their incomes by selling “curies” (fossils) to tourists. The Annings were one of these families, but Mary was particularly good at finding and identifying fossils.
Around the age of 10, Mary and her brother Joseph found a new specimen, an ichthyosaur! It was a year-long endeavor, first with Joseph finding the skull and Mary later finding the rest of the body. This finding was one of the first of many contributions to the world of science from the Anning family.

Later Mary found other ichthyosaurs and also provided the research that identified coprolite. Mary’s discovery of the plesiosaur was particularly earth-shattering because its anatomy challenged the way reptiles were defined. Reptiles were known to have eight cervical vertebrae, and this new creature had closer to 40! Big difference, right? So thought the famous zoology anatomist of the time, Georges Cuvier. He went so far as to claim the discovery was a hoax and Mary had fabricated the specimen. But thankfully, Cuvier was proven wrong, and Mary’s credibility was preserved. Later, Mary went on to discover many more species, including the first found pterosaur!
Mary did all of this without being traditionally educated. She learned everything about fossils on her own with the help of access to scientific articles given to her by fellow paleontologists and geologists.

So many discoveries, but no name.

While Mary discovered and dug out these new specimens and many had the PRIVILEGE to work with Mary, Mary’s name was forgotten through history.
Mary worked with the likes of Henry De La Beche, a geologist and the artist of Duria Antiquior where he depicted an ecosystem featuring Mary’s creatures. She worked with William Buckland and collected, dissected, and theorized that what they were digging through was actually fossilized feces, later named coprolite. She and a fellow fossil hunter, Elizabeth Philpot, even found a belemnite with ink sacs intact that many artists were able to actually, USE THE INK to create illustrations! Many people wrote papers on Mary’s ichthyosaurs and plesiosaurs such as Everard Home, William Conybear, and Richard Owen.

These are all names I recognize and learned about in my comparative anatomy and evolution classes because these men were given credit for Mary’s discoveries and the right to name Mary’s findings. Mary’s contributions were overlooked, rarely documented if ever mentioned, and eventually, she was forgotten altogether.

Digging deeper.

After starting my research on Mary Anning, my husband surprised me with a gift. He bought me a copy of Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier. Chevalier brings to light not just some of the facts about Mary Anning’s discoveries, but rather what that meant at the time, as a woman. Of course, this book is a work of fiction, but I can imagine that it is true to the era and its treatment of women, science and its general rejection of women in science.
The story follows the lives of the Annings, highlighting Mary; and the Philpot sisters, highlighting Elizabeth, and the friendship that bloomed between Mary and Elizabeth because of their mutual love of fossils and fossil hunting. As the book progresses, Chevalier elaborates on actual events such as the death of Richard Anning, Mary’s father, and how his crippling debt affected his surviving family. It also describes instances when the more affluent community members used Mary to add to their collections which would eventually end up in the hands of museums and scientists without even mentioning Mary’s name. Often them taking the credit themselves.
I will admit, at times I became so frustrated by the events that arose, that I had to stop reading for a while. The way women are talked about by the men is as though they are second class citizens, and Mary’s skills were considered something “divine” because no “normal” woman would be able to search and deduct they way Mary could.
While the book swirls with drama, it also brings to light how dangerous Mary’s job was. In truth, Mary almost died many times due to mudslides on the cliffs, and unfortunately, that was how she lost her dog, Tray. Nevertheless, she persisted.
Lastly, Chevalier’s novel brings up the underlying theme which is the battle between science religion. The new idea of evolution is, and with that, the character embodiment of the church’s beliefs is Reverand Jones who throughout the book tells his congregation Mary’s findings are a test of faith from God.
I enjoyed this book, and I highly recommend it. I felt the story did an excellent deep dive into what the real Mary Anning and Elizabeth Philpot probably had to deal with during their lives and how they felt about it. You get to see strong women deal with their problems during that time and while it got frustrating and at times, upsetting, it was also sincerely inspiring!

Remembering Mary Anning

Mary passed away at the age of 47 due to breast cancer, but before her death, Mary was named an honorary member to the Dorset County Museum, and upon her death, Mary’s eulogy was written and read by Henry de la Beche to the Geological Society, something only done for members. Three years later, the Geological Society dedicated a stained glass window to St. Micheal’s Church in her honor as a sign of respect and thank you. Most recently, in 2010 Mary was named on a list of most influential women in the history of science by the Royal Society.
Lastly, while during her life Mary never had the opportunity to write any papers, or name any species herself, she has had many species named after her in her honor.

A moment for Tray

Credited to ‘Mr. Grey’ in Crispin Tickell’s book ‘Mary Anning of Lyme Regis’ (1996)

Mary had a very loyal dog named Tray who walked the cliffs with her every day until he passed in a tragic landslide.
When I learned about Tray, I couldn’t help but feel grateful to every dog that ever walked, sat, and napped loyally by me. I am especially thankful to the BioStudios office pup, Mya. I know her job is not nearly as dangerous as Tray’s, but she is still a dependable companion that’s here with me every step of the way.

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So, Happy Belated National Puppy Day and give your pups a squeeze and a treat!

I know Mary Anning’s story isn’t unique.

I have been genuinely inspired by Mary Anning this month, and her story has pushed me to keep striving in the work I want to do and keep working hard even when things start to seem a little less possible. I have also been sharing her story with everyone I have met in hopes of inspiring others.
History has left many strong and influential women out the textbooks, and we may never know their names, but, we do know they were there and we see their impact, and that pushes the women of today. We are strong, we are contributing, we are making an impact, and yes, we are women.
So thank the strong women in your life, and make sure to remember them and credit them and if you are that woman, don’t be afraid to speak up and take your credit. We can’t be forgotten, because who is to say the work we do now won’t inspire another young woman to pursue their interests in STEAM.

Happy Women’s History Month!

References: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0b930ks https://ucmp.berkeley.edu/history/anning.html, https://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/article/history_01, https://www.strangescience.net/anning.htm, https://www.famousscientists.org/mary-anning/, http://theconversation.com/mary-anning-how-a-poor-victorian-woman-became-one-of-the-worlds-greatest-palaeontologists-105183, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Mary-Anning,

February 26, 2019February 27, 2019

New Year, New Gear!

I have recently made the move from 3D modeling to 3D animation, and with that, I needed a little bit more power to back my rendering.

I previously had a dual-core processor with 6 GB of RAM, which was great for rendering still images, but was horrendous for rendering animations. After doing an eye-bleeding amount of research, I finally decided I needed a new computer, a stronger processor, an overall better machine!

I had decided (my budget also had a say) on a Mac Pro with a 6-core processor and 32 GB of RAM, hoping this would be enough to render small animations without having ridiculous rendering times and my computer crashing.

When I received my new Mac Pro, I had the ultimate test…rendering an animation!

I had been previously working on a macrophage animation, and while the still images were rendering quickly enough on my old MacBook Pro, the animation with camera movement was taking 30 minutes per frame! I was ready to render on my new computer, but I had a problem.
I had forgotten to purchase a keyboard!

When I purchased my Mac Pro, I figured I could use my Wacom Cintiq tablet as the monitor for a while (at least until I had decided I needed a second monitor. Next year, perhaps?). I had now, however, thought about how I was going to type. I realized that I was in a sticky situation right after plugging in my Cintiq and realized I couldn’t set up my new computer without a keyboard!

My husband and I immediately ran out to our local Walmart (in a mild blizzard) and bought a keyboard. I couldn’t wait, and the storm didn’t seem that bad when we first headed out!

I purchased a Razer Ornata Chroma with LEDs! I love LEDs!

Complete setup showing my Wacom Cintiq and Razer Ornata Chroma

After making all my purchases and finally being able to set up my computer, I got to render for the first time on the Mac Pro, and it did not disappoint. The same animation only took 6 minutes of rendering per frame! It was definitely worth the $4000!

macrophage animation sample

While the new computer was quite expensive for my first rendering capable machine, it was worth every penny, and now I can create beautiful animations and 3D models for my clients! Even more than that, I started using my new computer for my 2D artwork as well (Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator), and it worked so smoothly, I got rid of my old MacBook Pro. I was able to create more layers and work quickly without that terrifying spinning rainbow of death that pops up right before a crash.
All in all, 2019 is going to be one productive, beautiful, 3D modeling year!

Happy 2019, everyone!

February 4, 2019February 4, 2019

I Need Illustrations, Where Do I start?

When I start on a new project, the first thing I like to ask is, “why are you making this?”

When I start talking with a client about what kind of illustrations would work best for their goals, I find that when you ask “why” you get insight into more of the project beyond, “here is this thing I want to sell.” By knowing the “why” of a project’s creation, we can best communicate it so that the audience not only understands the product, but also the company they are supporting. #branding

I also like to carry around a handy little printout for you to look at that covers different types of illustrations and animations and how we use them.

visual illustration chart — Visual Illustration Chart

In my experience, different illustration types resonate better with different audiences. Whether a product is something physical like a machine or information like health education, different types of images make sharing that information easier and more concise. This is key because while beauty is necessary, the most important thing is that the intended audience is getting and understanding the message.

On top of your “why” and what the product is, the last thing that we use to decide on a media route is how your message is getting out.

Are you going to be printing brochures or handouts? Maybe you are going to be using a fully digital approach and will only be posting your images on social media and websites. You might be doing a combination of both! All that information helps me determine what styles will work best for you.

Why… Audience… Output.

Those are my go-to priorities when starting the important discussion of illustrations. While this may seem mildly time-consuming, all the best works I have created, with the least amount of revisions started with: Why, Audience, and Output.

Are you looking for an illustrator?

Click to download a copy of my handout to help you find out what type of illustration is best for you!

January 2, 2019January 4, 2019

Holidays with the Family: What I learned from a three-year-old

Happy New Year Everyone!

So, I spent the holiday with my sister and her family and one of the best things about that, is I get to spend time with my nephew who is three.

This time is particularly fun for me because he is a curious little guy and I get to share with him about my work and my expertise. We have gone over trees and shrubs, Paleozoic species (I buy him a different animal each year and this year was Tiktaalik), and anatomy (I got this three-year-old making humerus jokes).

This year, I was working on an animation about Guillain-Barre syndrome, and I was creating a macrophage.

When I showed him what I had so far, his response was “Ewwww! It looks squishy!” followed by hopping off his chair, waving his arms and chasing my dog shouting “Look, I’m a macropage! Imma eat you!”

Watching this showed me so much because it taught me how much content can be inferred just by a small 3-second animation even by someone as young as my nephew.

I was prepared to tell him everything I knew about macrophage and what they did, but he understood that they were tiny and attacked things. At his age, that was all he needed to know, and he was off pretending. What’s more, while he was playing pretend, his reenactment of macrophage behavior (and a sincere belief that I too needed to pretend to be a macrophage) gave me a deeper understanding of macrophage movement and how to recreate it.

The thing about my career, when it comes to illustrating something, I must fully understand it.

That means if I am drawing a bison, I am going to learn everything from stance, gait, and behavior to the history of bison, including evolutional morphologies. Everything must be correct, so I become a mini-expert on whatever it is. What my nephew taught me, is while reading articles and using videos and photos for reference is helpful, sometimes you need to BECOME what you are creating. I don’t think an adult would have pushed me to use play to tackle another useful point of view.

I thought I was going to teach my nephew something new this past week, but my nephew enlightened me instead.

There is something amazingly interesting about how young kids learn and then reinforce that information by playing.

I’m not saying that with every project I will be running around my house pretending to be whatever specimen I am currently working on, but I’m also not saying I am NOT going to do that either.

December 3, 2018January 2, 2019

The Value of Context

I sent three friends (one of them my sister) a Snapchat of my new kitchen faucet and the responses were eye-opening!

I captioned my snap with “by myself”. My sister responded with congratulations with replacing the faucet by myself. One of my friends responded with “you had to do the dishes by yourself?!?” and my other friend responded by asking if both my husband and dog were gone and I was “by myself”.

I found the responses interesting. While I had, in fact, changed my faucet by myself, it brought my attention to the recent conversations and the events that had occurred with each individual before my snap.

Where we are, affects what we see.

When talking to my sister, she had recently been doing updates to her home and was doing a lot of DIY projects, so she understood I was proud of the handiwork I did “by myself”. My dish focused friend had recently been telling me about her need for a dishwasher, so I could also understand her response. Lastly, my friend that thought I was home alone, we often let each other know when our significant others are either working odd shifts or on trips. So, it made sense that “by myself” was the context she took away.

This made me think back to what one of my favorite professors was constantly saying:

Think about the audience.

Ponseti Method Casting — Infant being cast – Ponseti Method

The audience is one of the first things I think about when starting a project. This event was a reminder of the importance of the intended audience. I like to think that every project is unique, even if it is for an audience I previously created for, there are always differences.

What are the age range, gender, diversity, background, and the content of the information?

These things matter and must be understood before pencil ever touches paper.

These bits of information create the premise of our project so we can identify the context and build for the best communication:

Children: Attention and literacy.

We need something to keep their attention so we often use bright colors and simple color palettes. We also need to think about literacy and education. Does the content need to be an animation or will an illustration be better?

Diversity: Self-identification and inclusivity.

Image of oral vaccination such as the polio vaccine.

One of the biggest mistakes often made is simply placing a cis-male model to be the example to the audience. Whether working on something within the United States or abroad, it is important to understand what groups are being addressed. As a minority woman, I did not grow up seeing a lot of black or brown people as models in content for me. I, like many, felt othered. This is something that has to be addressed and really thought about moving forward.

Age: Generational awareness and lexicon.

As a millennial, I have become hyper-aware of my word usage and communication compared to those from baby boomers, gen-x, and gen-z. It’s not just about what words our generations tend to use like “groovy” or “lit”, but also the experiences of each generation such as access to internet or aptitude for technology. Thinking about age helps us determine the value of a digital-based illustration used primarily for web or app use, or printed information that may be on a poster or a handout. Ultimately, the information has to be readily available for how that specific audience would prefer to access it.

Upon all this information we can build and create to have illustrations and animations that have the highest impact on the intended audience.

It’s not just about what you say, it’s how you say it.

In the case of my snap, I could have mentioned the word faucet, zoomed in on the faucet, or put some of the tools I used in the shot. Those things would have added more context to the accomplishment I was sharing. On projects, this is a reminder of the importance to think critically, research thoroughly, and try to see things from a different perspective. At the end of the day, the work isn’t for me, nor for the researcher or company, but for the people we are trying to help.

If you are having a hard time communicating with your audience in your own project, feel free to contact me at [email protected] and receive a free consult to illustrate your legacy.