Visualizing Complexity: Mixing Science and Art

Science Illustrator Nicolle Fuller shows how art can help visualize the future, explain the invisible, and portray cosmic findings.

Visual science communicator Nicolle R. Ruller (photo credit: SayoStudio)  

For 20-year veteran science communicator Nicolle Fuller science and art mixes way better than oil and water. There are many possible explanations for this: an obvious one is that both science and art help us understand and discover the world around us in fascinating and enlightening detail.

“You can make art about anything and everything, but the difference with science illustration is that you are really trying to explain the science,” says Fuller.
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​“It’s very useful for explaining things you can’t quite see with the eye that scientists—with years of training—may be able to [identify] through the microscope.” ​

Fuller runs the US-based science communication agency SayoStudio. With its team of science-loving artists, SayoStudio provides award-winning science animation, illustration, and design to help visualize scientific concepts in a way that captures attention and gets important details across.
 
She notes there are many uses for the work of science illustrators that many people may not immediately recognize. In fact, scientific artworks appear harmoniously in nature parks, zoos, textbooks, and science publications.
 
“It’s a great way to bridge the divide between people who are scientists and people who might not know as much but are interested, or maybe people who weren’t interested and are now going to get a little more curious,” she says.   
 
If choosing science illustrating as a career, Fuller suggests it might be helpful to focus on getting a science background first and then brushing up on art skills second. This approach, she finds, can be beneficial in the field.
 
In the latest episode of the Crick Crack Science Live Show Fuller shows examples from SayoStudio’s gallery that help visualize the future of work, the possible effects of plastic pollution, the intricate workings of a cell, the formations of earth-like planets, black holes colliding, and more. 

​View the full, pre-recorded episode today at 12:30 pm AST on Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter @upcommspr or catch the replay (and more) at the Sci-TechKnoFest 2.0 (Science, Technology, Knowledge Festival) from March 21-27, 2022 via the UpComms PR virtual booth.

Related tags:
#scienceart #science #illustration #careers #visualize #cosmic #cells #planets #magazine #journals #parks #scicomm #communication 
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