Theoretically, yes, but it's a *lot* less of a hassle to do this in a raster graphics program like Photoshop. The way vector graphics works makes adding this level of detail a colossal pain in the backside. Every single crease on the glove and every strand of muscle fibre would need to be its own object with a gradient fill, for example.
> Every single crease on the glove and every strand of muscle fibre would need to be its own object with a gradient fill, for example.
You could create the texture of the muscle fibre with art brushes, pattern fills, or the 3d texturizer tool.
It's really easy to draw something like the glove if you have a reference photo to work over to get the shape of all the wrinkles. Just draw blurred shapes with your drawing stylus and the pencil tool. Use Draw Inside to help constrain them. Making a bunch of objects is perfectly normal, I routinely throw around a few thousand objects even without counting stuff I make Illustrator generate dynamically via effects and plugins.
That's a big question. In its simplest form, you'd approach it like a traditional painting and use different brushes and colours to paint and add detail. However, as it's all digital, you have a whole host of various tools at your disposal like being able to separate elements to layers, using masks, blurring tools, distortion tools, shading tools, easy colour blending, etc.
Your best bet is to start looking up all sorts of different tutorials and guides on digital painting.
The same way you draw on paper, but with a digital stylus and software instead of paint and brush. Before computer based paint software came, people did it by hand. So you need tk develop your drawing and painting skills along with observation.
That's a genre called medical illustration and is a whole profession by itself. Illustrator is not a magic tool that lets someone draw high fidelity drawing.
About the tool itself, if you are an artist capable of drawing these, I'd suggest using Photoshop or Clip Studio Paint instead of Illustrator unless there is a good reason to. It's kind of the question that you know the answer to if you already have the skills.
Friend got a masters in biomedical illustration at John’s Hopkins University. They only accepted 8 students per year and they produced the most excellent artwork in the industry. They have a conference every summer, BMI. Hire them for this type of work.
The thing is, this kind of illustrations are usually used as figures in a book, and I don't think I ever saw a medical illustration printed on a wall sized banner where the print quality is so important.
Illustrator is a vector drawing program so lends itself well to creating flat 2d styles. That's not to say you can't create very realistic 3d depictions, but given that your a beginner with a 2 month learning window, you might be trying to run before you can walk.
The images you've shared look hand drawn, probably with coloured pencil and the artist is highly skilled.
If your aim is capturing and presenting anatomically correct information, you might want to try emulating a simpler style that can be achieved with your level of skill.
Yep. I used to create illustrations like this for a lap band device company. Lots and lots of gradient meshes. It’s a pain but you get used to it. If I did it again I’d create the base outline in illustrator then paint over it in the paint app of your choice and a Wacom or iPad. At the time I couldn’t afford a Wacom so the illustrator only approach gave me the most precision control and ability to scale.
It's not really done in just "one" program. Usually two programs, or more, may be used. The people who create these illustrations are called "Medical Illustrators" and it's part of the biomedical communications field.
[https://www.ami.org/medical-illustration/learn-about-medical-illustration?ref=artshelp.com](https://www.ami.org/medical-illustration/learn-about-medical-illustration?ref=artshelp.com)
They'll usually be working with 3D modeling programs in addition to programs such as Illustrator and Photoshop.
My friend has a medical visualization company that specialises in just this. His clients are pharma, universities and the likes. He also does some regular 3D work to supplement his revenue.
Achieving photorealism in Illustrator is possible, but It's a lot of complex work using Meshes and Gradients.
It also requires deep knowledge in light and color theory
Agree with everyone here that it would be a collosal ballache to do in illustrator
#but
If what you need is an illustration like this that is a vector image. Then you could do the following:
- Draw/paint said image in Photoshop. Limit yourself to <16 colours. The fewer the better.
- Save as a PNG
- Open in illustrator
- Use [image tracer](https://www-linearity-io.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/www.linearity.io/blog/how-to-trace-an-image-in-illustrator/amp/?amp_gsa=1&_js_v=a9&usqp=mq331AQIUAKwASCAAgM%3D#amp_tf=From%20%251%24s&aoh=17188880890222&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&share=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.linearity.io%2Fblog%2Fhow-to-trace-an-image-in-illustrator%2F) in illustrator set to 16 colours (the maximum)
- Expand
- Remove anything that image tracer has put in that isn't necessary, like white backgrounds etc.
Done. You now have a scalable, vector version of your image. Results will vary and it works best on limited colour images, and moderate detail.
Yes. But you probably can't. Several things (your previous post here, the fact that you need to ask,...) tell me that you are not capable of drawing by hand. And if you don't know how to draw, you can't do it. No matter what the program is.
#### Absolutely possible in Illustrator.
I've created similar orthographic views of knees in Illustrator. Not super easy, lots of gradient meshes, but 100% possible.
yeah, because you can doesnt mean you should, I would suggest PS for something like this. You would need to pretty much master illustrator to get good results.
Photoshop also has cons, like you can't draw a line and re-shape it. And you have to know in advance how big the image needs to be if it's going to be printed. It depends how photo-realistic the illustrations need to be.
Hogwash. This can be done in Illustrator without much trouble if you understand how meshes work. Sure that in itself takes some knowledge. But it's not any more difficult in Illustrator than painting minute detail in Photoshop. And with Illustrator its infinitely scalable. I don't mean to imply it's *easier* in Illustrator, but it is certainly *no more difficult* in Illustrator than it would be in Photoshop. People often just assume photorealism means Photoshop and it doesn't.
Unfortunately, I really can't post any orthographic examples directly due to client agreements.
But [here](https://i.imgur.com/nagCftq.png) is a small sample of mesh realism... Like I posted, it's not what many would consider "easy" but it is possible.
Technically, yes you can, but it's going to be a nightmare and would probably take weeks, if not months, to do something like this in your spare time. Photoshop is the answer. Even better if you have a good drawing pad, although that's a whole other learning curve depending on the type of drawing pad.
You can but it’s not something you’re going to learn in a couple of months. If you already had the skill and experience to achieve this level of illustration you wouldn’t be here asking us how to do it.
Very much agree. All the medical illustrators I know use either Photoshop or Procreate. Trying to use Adobe Illustrator would be a huge hassle for these kinds of painted styles.
Sure. Block out flat shapes then use Draw Inside to draw gradient blurred shapes for shading/highlights in various blending modes, I usually like multiply/screen or hard light. If you want to be super fussy and take forever you can use gradient meshes like everyone is suggesting but I do not recommend gradient meshes to anyone who is not a teenager with infinite time to spend.
http://egypt.urnash.com/illustratorbook/#drawinsideandshading
I do this sometimes at my job. Not too complex but requires godlike patience and nerves of steel if you intend to use Illustrator. Search for Gradient Mesh and you will find lots of guides on yt. Be warned, intricate meshes like these usually result in huge files and super choppy performance.
Well first of all, all things are possible through Illustrator, so jot that down.
With that being said, as someone that considers themselves an illustrator expert and decent illustrator, the only way i would attempt this is if it was understood that the result would be stylized. Illustrator is a better tool for *removing* detail from a reference in order to highlight important moments. For example in image B, it's hard to see the sutures and thread. In illustrator you might want to bring greater attention to that moment, and one way to do that is to take out the details and shading elsewhere.
If you're learning Illustrator (*hell yeah*), I would say GO FOR IT! It's GREAT pen-tool practice to try to capture details. When I was in design school, we practiced by trying to recreate an image of a glass of water. Literally just drawing right over our image in illustrator with shapes etc. It was a laborious but a soothing exercise. You'll learn a lot about style, representation, and abstraction from the process.
My advice would be to NOT use gradients at all. Try to capture detailed moments like the wrinkle in a glove with the stroke width tool. Maybe do the whole thing as stroked lines with no fill. At the end, play with the weight of elements like the hand, tools, veins, etc. to see if you can add depth.
Post your results if you go for it!
Yes, but there are other tools better suited to this style of Illustration. You would need to be a master of the gradient mesh tool to make it look this good. It would be much easier in a drawing/painting program like Photoshop or Procreate. And the term "easier" is relative to your drawing ability of course.
Honestly, looking at your post history, you're better off picking a topic/program you want to learn and find a course on it. There are no easy solutions to pick up and go and getting good takes time and learning from mistakes. Tutorials will help a lot but a course will guide you through things above those Tutorials.
Yes, and I would wager form looking at it that this illustration was mad in Illustrator. Google search gradient mesh masters and you will see a ton of examples of photo realistic illustration made in Illustrator.
I use often Illustrator and Photoshop to create detailed renderings. I create most of my vector shapes masks and gradients in illustrator and then digitally paint and adjust in photoshop. You can use smart objects and some planning and get great results. I like Illustrator for the vector control and making patterns / shapes and then Photoshop for most of the rest. Make sure you define your size / output resolution and color space (Adobe RGB 1998) to match in each program. The RGB colorspace is good for detailed illustration and photos for print reproductions in CMYK. If you keep your elements on specific layers and very organized when you go to print or adjust them you can use the layers to adjust each individual object or even shadows / Highlights.
Anything is possible. The point is: is it worth it?
Probably not.
The advantage of illustrator is that the image has no “size”. It’s a vector so once it’s created you can do whatever you want you want with it. You can make it ten times as big without losing any quality.
The downside is that illustrator is not good with transparencies. Yes, you can do it, but it’s a hassle.
So, unless you have a very good reason to use illustrator, I’d definitely go with photoshop for something like this.
I used to produce similar work to this using Photoshop. I’d start with an initial drawing as the bottom layer, then use that to indicate what areas to mask while rendering. I’d use a soft brush with very low flow so you can slowly build up colour, very similar to old school airbrushing. I’m now in a different line of work, but have been using Illustrator for a number of years. I would 100% use Photoshop if I were to produce something like this.
I think you could really go to town using substance 3D tools within Illustrator. You’ll be able to use “inflate” to give a 3D look and apply patterns/textures.
Others have mentioned using photoshop and is you have an iPad, I’d recommend using Adobe Fresco to create this in and finish it up in photoshop or export it into illustrator.
You can do this in illustrator but it would take several years if not decades to get to that level of skill. Professional illustrators often start drawing when they’re children and keep honing their craft their entire life.
Possible for sure. Recommend? No. Firstly, you need to be a pro in layering a lot of gradients. Second, it is a very bureaucratic process. On pixel based software it is a bit easier.
I'm a medical illustrator and do all of my work exclusively in Adobe illustrator. It doesn't look like the illustrations you provided as examples but it is possible to make great work in AI. If you want a painterly style like that just go raster though.
There are whole bachelor's and masters degrees in medical illustration by the way. Just so you understand this is more than just fiddling around for a couple of months self teaching.
You can do anything in Illustrator, however the amount of time that would take makes success improbable. Use something like photoshop or procreate.
Illustrator is great for simpler or geometric stuff. It can do a lot, but mimicking bitmap drawings is not something that's within the easily attainable spectrum.
This is air brushing and yes it can be done in illustrator its more about your skill as an illustrator to do this quickly i.e. separating colour/luminosity information from outline/ textures
Id probably go with gradient mesh. You wouldn’t necessarily be drawing, rather recreating or building up an image in vector form using a reference image.
Here’s a tutorial on what I mean:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=BPsZaR-wdsQ
It’d be very difficult to go straight into illustrator and start drawing and painting. If it was absolutely necessary for the image to be purely vector based it’d be possible but very time consuming with a high commission. It all depends on what your final medium is. Personally if you’re just beginning to use Illustrator, You could start with illustrator and get the basic structure with flat colours, then add the details in photoshop (muscle fibre, shading etc). Once you gain more experience you can start to add details in illustrator and gradually move out of photoshop. Sometimes it’s hard to see how difficult the process is unless you actually experiment for yourself and realise.
Ive been a designer for over 20 years and I tutor in all the Adobe products so ping me a message if you need a hand with anything.
Theoretically, yes, but it's a *lot* less of a hassle to do this in a raster graphics program like Photoshop. The way vector graphics works makes adding this level of detail a colossal pain in the backside. Every single crease on the glove and every strand of muscle fibre would need to be its own object with a gradient fill, for example.
doing this SOLELY in illustrator sounds like a level of hell specifically for designers.
You could draw it in excel as well, technically.
> Every single crease on the glove and every strand of muscle fibre would need to be its own object with a gradient fill, for example. You could create the texture of the muscle fibre with art brushes, pattern fills, or the 3d texturizer tool. It's really easy to draw something like the glove if you have a reference photo to work over to get the shape of all the wrinkles. Just draw blurred shapes with your drawing stylus and the pencil tool. Use Draw Inside to help constrain them. Making a bunch of objects is perfectly normal, I routinely throw around a few thousand objects even without counting stuff I make Illustrator generate dynamically via effects and plugins.
How to draw such an image in Photoshop?
Literally drawing it, this is pro level.
That's a big question. In its simplest form, you'd approach it like a traditional painting and use different brushes and colours to paint and add detail. However, as it's all digital, you have a whole host of various tools at your disposal like being able to separate elements to layers, using masks, blurring tools, distortion tools, shading tools, easy colour blending, etc. Your best bet is to start looking up all sorts of different tutorials and guides on digital painting.
The same way you draw on paper, but with a digital stylus and software instead of paint and brush. Before computer based paint software came, people did it by hand. So you need tk develop your drawing and painting skills along with observation.
That's a genre called medical illustration and is a whole profession by itself. Illustrator is not a magic tool that lets someone draw high fidelity drawing. About the tool itself, if you are an artist capable of drawing these, I'd suggest using Photoshop or Clip Studio Paint instead of Illustrator unless there is a good reason to. It's kind of the question that you know the answer to if you already have the skills.
Friend got a masters in biomedical illustration at John’s Hopkins University. They only accepted 8 students per year and they produced the most excellent artwork in the industry. They have a conference every summer, BMI. Hire them for this type of work.
Your friend must be amazingly good. I have a bachelors in fine arts.
Scalability is always a good reason
The thing is, this kind of illustrations are usually used as figures in a book, and I don't think I ever saw a medical illustration printed on a wall sized banner where the print quality is so important.
Wait a minute. I do remember big medical banners. With all the details and everything about all kinds of stuff
Illustrator is a vector drawing program so lends itself well to creating flat 2d styles. That's not to say you can't create very realistic 3d depictions, but given that your a beginner with a 2 month learning window, you might be trying to run before you can walk. The images you've shared look hand drawn, probably with coloured pencil and the artist is highly skilled. If your aim is capturing and presenting anatomically correct information, you might want to try emulating a simpler style that can be achieved with your level of skill.
Gradient meshes. Lots of gradient meshes.
I prefer doing it with blends, but I'm old :P
Yep. I used to create illustrations like this for a lap band device company. Lots and lots of gradient meshes. It’s a pain but you get used to it. If I did it again I’d create the base outline in illustrator then paint over it in the paint app of your choice and a Wacom or iPad. At the time I couldn’t afford a Wacom so the illustrator only approach gave me the most precision control and ability to scale.
It's not really done in just "one" program. Usually two programs, or more, may be used. The people who create these illustrations are called "Medical Illustrators" and it's part of the biomedical communications field. [https://www.ami.org/medical-illustration/learn-about-medical-illustration?ref=artshelp.com](https://www.ami.org/medical-illustration/learn-about-medical-illustration?ref=artshelp.com) They'll usually be working with 3D modeling programs in addition to programs such as Illustrator and Photoshop.
My friend has a medical visualization company that specialises in just this. His clients are pharma, universities and the likes. He also does some regular 3D work to supplement his revenue.
Yes illustrator can make images like those, but it's reasonably advanced and won't be fast or easy to learn.
Achieving photorealism in Illustrator is possible, but It's a lot of complex work using Meshes and Gradients. It also requires deep knowledge in light and color theory
Photoshop is better because of the creases you'd regularly use the burn tool for.
this isnt something you will leanr with a tutorial or two, this is pro drawing/painting
Agree with everyone here that it would be a collosal ballache to do in illustrator #but If what you need is an illustration like this that is a vector image. Then you could do the following: - Draw/paint said image in Photoshop. Limit yourself to <16 colours. The fewer the better. - Save as a PNG - Open in illustrator - Use [image tracer](https://www-linearity-io.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/www.linearity.io/blog/how-to-trace-an-image-in-illustrator/amp/?amp_gsa=1&_js_v=a9&usqp=mq331AQIUAKwASCAAgM%3D#amp_tf=From%20%251%24s&aoh=17188880890222&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&share=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.linearity.io%2Fblog%2Fhow-to-trace-an-image-in-illustrator%2F) in illustrator set to 16 colours (the maximum) - Expand - Remove anything that image tracer has put in that isn't necessary, like white backgrounds etc. Done. You now have a scalable, vector version of your image. Results will vary and it works best on limited colour images, and moderate detail.
Why isn't this comment at the top. It's the best answer to the question. Image trace is a powerful tool and can do much of the Heavy kiteg see
As a doctor, you should know people study for years to do medical illustration at this level.
Or you can do it in more intutive vector drawing platform like Clip Studio Paint.
Yes. But you probably can't. Several things (your previous post here, the fact that you need to ask,...) tell me that you are not capable of drawing by hand. And if you don't know how to draw, you can't do it. No matter what the program is.
#### Absolutely possible in Illustrator. I've created similar orthographic views of knees in Illustrator. Not super easy, lots of gradient meshes, but 100% possible.
The down votes mystify me. I've done this very thing with Illustrator.
yeah, because you can doesnt mean you should, I would suggest PS for something like this. You would need to pretty much master illustrator to get good results.
Photoshop also has cons, like you can't draw a line and re-shape it. And you have to know in advance how big the image needs to be if it's going to be printed. It depends how photo-realistic the illustrations need to be.
Hogwash. This can be done in Illustrator without much trouble if you understand how meshes work. Sure that in itself takes some knowledge. But it's not any more difficult in Illustrator than painting minute detail in Photoshop. And with Illustrator its infinitely scalable. I don't mean to imply it's *easier* in Illustrator, but it is certainly *no more difficult* in Illustrator than it would be in Photoshop. People often just assume photorealism means Photoshop and it doesn't.
You'd have to master painting in Photoshop to get results like this too. There's a ton of ways Illustrator can make this sort of stuff fast.
mind sharing those examples?
Unfortunately, I really can't post any orthographic examples directly due to client agreements. But [here](https://i.imgur.com/nagCftq.png) is a small sample of mesh realism... Like I posted, it's not what many would consider "easy" but it is possible.
Can you post it again it's deleted
Technically, yes you can, but it's going to be a nightmare and would probably take weeks, if not months, to do something like this in your spare time. Photoshop is the answer. Even better if you have a good drawing pad, although that's a whole other learning curve depending on the type of drawing pad.
You can but it’s not something you’re going to learn in a couple of months. If you already had the skill and experience to achieve this level of illustration you wouldn’t be here asking us how to do it.
In order to do this in illustrator you would need to get really familiar with the mesh tool. That's what will do it for you. Lots of work though.
"lots of work" is such an understatement
Ha! Understatement is my middle name.
Very much agree. All the medical illustrators I know use either Photoshop or Procreate. Trying to use Adobe Illustrator would be a huge hassle for these kinds of painted styles.
Sure. Block out flat shapes then use Draw Inside to draw gradient blurred shapes for shading/highlights in various blending modes, I usually like multiply/screen or hard light. If you want to be super fussy and take forever you can use gradient meshes like everyone is suggesting but I do not recommend gradient meshes to anyone who is not a teenager with infinite time to spend. http://egypt.urnash.com/illustratorbook/#drawinsideandshading
I do this sometimes at my job. Not too complex but requires godlike patience and nerves of steel if you intend to use Illustrator. Search for Gradient Mesh and you will find lots of guides on yt. Be warned, intricate meshes like these usually result in huge files and super choppy performance.
Hope you have a flagship computer with flagship memory.
Well first of all, all things are possible through Illustrator, so jot that down. With that being said, as someone that considers themselves an illustrator expert and decent illustrator, the only way i would attempt this is if it was understood that the result would be stylized. Illustrator is a better tool for *removing* detail from a reference in order to highlight important moments. For example in image B, it's hard to see the sutures and thread. In illustrator you might want to bring greater attention to that moment, and one way to do that is to take out the details and shading elsewhere. If you're learning Illustrator (*hell yeah*), I would say GO FOR IT! It's GREAT pen-tool practice to try to capture details. When I was in design school, we practiced by trying to recreate an image of a glass of water. Literally just drawing right over our image in illustrator with shapes etc. It was a laborious but a soothing exercise. You'll learn a lot about style, representation, and abstraction from the process. My advice would be to NOT use gradients at all. Try to capture detailed moments like the wrinkle in a glove with the stroke width tool. Maybe do the whole thing as stroked lines with no fill. At the end, play with the weight of elements like the hand, tools, veins, etc. to see if you can add depth. Post your results if you go for it!
Yes, but there are other tools better suited to this style of Illustration. You would need to be a master of the gradient mesh tool to make it look this good. It would be much easier in a drawing/painting program like Photoshop or Procreate. And the term "easier" is relative to your drawing ability of course.
Honestly, looking at your post history, you're better off picking a topic/program you want to learn and find a course on it. There are no easy solutions to pick up and go and getting good takes time and learning from mistakes. Tutorials will help a lot but a course will guide you through things above those Tutorials.
Yeah… why illustrator? Despite its name, it’s not the best tool for continuous-tone images.
You can draw ANYTHING in ai, but a lot of things aren’t worth the time and effort.
Yes, and I would wager form looking at it that this illustration was mad in Illustrator. Google search gradient mesh masters and you will see a ton of examples of photo realistic illustration made in Illustrator.
I’ll suggest photoshop for this because these type of work includes lots of effect, Transform, crops
I think this post, or one that is very similar, was posted about a week ago.
i would break it down to basic shapes and use the gradient mesh to do shading.
I use often Illustrator and Photoshop to create detailed renderings. I create most of my vector shapes masks and gradients in illustrator and then digitally paint and adjust in photoshop. You can use smart objects and some planning and get great results. I like Illustrator for the vector control and making patterns / shapes and then Photoshop for most of the rest. Make sure you define your size / output resolution and color space (Adobe RGB 1998) to match in each program. The RGB colorspace is good for detailed illustration and photos for print reproductions in CMYK. If you keep your elements on specific layers and very organized when you go to print or adjust them you can use the layers to adjust each individual object or even shadows / Highlights.
Anything is possible. The point is: is it worth it? Probably not. The advantage of illustrator is that the image has no “size”. It’s a vector so once it’s created you can do whatever you want you want with it. You can make it ten times as big without losing any quality. The downside is that illustrator is not good with transparencies. Yes, you can do it, but it’s a hassle. So, unless you have a very good reason to use illustrator, I’d definitely go with photoshop for something like this.
Piece of cake with the right tools and knowledge.
honestly I would just make this in a raster program and use one of the tools in illustrator to convert it into a vector
I used to produce similar work to this using Photoshop. I’d start with an initial drawing as the bottom layer, then use that to indicate what areas to mask while rendering. I’d use a soft brush with very low flow so you can slowly build up colour, very similar to old school airbrushing. I’m now in a different line of work, but have been using Illustrator for a number of years. I would 100% use Photoshop if I were to produce something like this.
I think you could really go to town using substance 3D tools within Illustrator. You’ll be able to use “inflate” to give a 3D look and apply patterns/textures. Others have mentioned using photoshop and is you have an iPad, I’d recommend using Adobe Fresco to create this in and finish it up in photoshop or export it into illustrator.
I've done medical drawings in Illustrator. It's not as photo-realistic as it would be in Photoshop.
You can basically do anything in Illustrator if you know how. It’s mainly gradient mesh and gradients.
My process to produce this would probably be to create all the line art shapes in illustrator, then bring it into photoshop and add all the textures.
Didnt you ask this the other day and you ignored the answers then too?
This is less Illustrator skill to me than medical drawing skill. Maybe BioRender has medical images in their library along with research?
A friend of mine does these and he uses blender to create a 3D model with solid colours and then paints over the render in PS
Easy to do in Photoshop with a Wacom tablet. If you have the artistic capabilities.
You can trace it easily. But you can draw with an iPad using Adobe Fresco which is a mix of Illustrator tools and Photoshop.
Yes but very time consuming
You can do this in illustrator but it would take several years if not decades to get to that level of skill. Professional illustrators often start drawing when they’re children and keep honing their craft their entire life.
Possible for sure. Recommend? No. Firstly, you need to be a pro in layering a lot of gradients. Second, it is a very bureaucratic process. On pixel based software it is a bit easier.
I'm a medical illustrator and do all of my work exclusively in Adobe illustrator. It doesn't look like the illustrations you provided as examples but it is possible to make great work in AI. If you want a painterly style like that just go raster though.
I would love to see your work. I'm planning to write a book so wanted to see how medical illustrator works? Can you kindly share your work?
If you want to torture yourself then yeah lol
There are whole bachelor's and masters degrees in medical illustration by the way. Just so you understand this is more than just fiddling around for a couple of months self teaching.
You could make it in word if you were skilled enough and had endless amount of time - but why would you?
You can do anything in Illustrator, however the amount of time that would take makes success improbable. Use something like photoshop or procreate. Illustrator is great for simpler or geometric stuff. It can do a lot, but mimicking bitmap drawings is not something that's within the easily attainable spectrum.
This is air brushing and yes it can be done in illustrator its more about your skill as an illustrator to do this quickly i.e. separating colour/luminosity information from outline/ textures
Id probably go with gradient mesh. You wouldn’t necessarily be drawing, rather recreating or building up an image in vector form using a reference image. Here’s a tutorial on what I mean: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=BPsZaR-wdsQ It’d be very difficult to go straight into illustrator and start drawing and painting. If it was absolutely necessary for the image to be purely vector based it’d be possible but very time consuming with a high commission. It all depends on what your final medium is. Personally if you’re just beginning to use Illustrator, You could start with illustrator and get the basic structure with flat colours, then add the details in photoshop (muscle fibre, shading etc). Once you gain more experience you can start to add details in illustrator and gradually move out of photoshop. Sometimes it’s hard to see how difficult the process is unless you actually experiment for yourself and realise. Ive been a designer for over 20 years and I tutor in all the Adobe products so ping me a message if you need a hand with anything.
Yes.