Katrina Ruff
medical illustrator

Illustration · Animation
Visual systems

Translating complex anatomy, surgery and science into pictures people can trust: students learning it, juries weighing it, researchers publishing it.

M.S. Biomedical Visualization, UIC New York katpichik@gmail.com LinkedIn ↗

Selected work

One through-line: visual credibility. Every piece has to be accurate enough to trust and clear enough to read.

01Human-VerifiedProvenance for AI-generated scientific figures. Proof of concept, 2026.→
02Medical & surgicalProcedural sequences and traditional media.→
03Medical-legal exhibitsInjury and surgery drawn over the patient's own imaging.→
04Motion & animationCourse animation, court exhibits, launch motion.→
05Visual systemsDesign systems, data graphics and explainers.→

Featured

A proof of concept for trust in AI-generated scientific figures.

Concept, testing, illustration · 2026

Human-Verified

I tested an AI figure tool on a cervical disc herniation the library doesn't cover, documented where the drawing drifted from correct anatomy, and rebuilt it as a verified asset. The proposal: turn recurring library gaps into human-verified assets that AI builds from.

AI-generated draft of a C4–C5 disc herniation with anatomical errors — **AI-generated draft**
Four tagged errors against the request

Corrected cervical disc herniation, posterior view with pedicles cut, compressed C5 nerve root — **Human-verified correction**
BioRender assets, refined in Illustrator and Photoshop

Read the full proposal (PDF, 3 pp.) ↗

Medical & surgical illustration

Procedural sequences, anatomical keys and traditional media.

Partial tracheal replacement with aortic allograft, four-stage surgical sequence with labeled neck anatomy — **Partial tracheal replacement with aortic allograft** Surgical sequence · Digital
Four stages from incision to graft suturing, anchored by a labeled view of the anterior neck.

Patient with neck extended and a transverse incision for anterior neck surgery — **Patient positioning** Surgical study · Digital

To add Anatomy piece from graduate work One finished, fully rendered anatomical illustration from UIC.

Oil painting of a facial laceration being repaired with forceps — **Facial laceration** Oil on canvas
For display at the International Museum of Surgical Science, Chicago.

Oil painting of a laparoscopic view showing hemostasis — **Hemostasis in laparoscopy** Oil on canvas
For display at the International Museum of Surgical Science, Chicago.

To add Molecular or cellular illustration A pathway, cell or molecular mechanism. This is the subject matter most BioRender users work in.

To add Scientific figure or graphical abstract A multi-panel research figure, ideally built in BioRender.

Medical-legal exhibits

Demonstrative exhibits that pair illustration with a patient's own imaging, built to hold up under cross-examination.

Studio and freelance · 2022–present

Case sequence · 3 exhibits

Right ankle, from injury to hardware removal

One patient across six months: the fracture-dislocation drawn over their own X-rays, the fixation surgery, and the later hardware removal with nerve release. Each exhibit picks up where the last one ends, so a jury can follow the case in order.

Anterior ankle with a spiral fibula fracture and talar dislocation, illustrated over the patient's X-ray — **Illustration over imaging** Anterior view, unlabeled

Exhibit: right ankle fractures and dislocation, anterior and medial views with X-rays — 01 **Right ankle fractures and dislocation** Anterior and medial views with X-rays · MediVisuals

Exhibit: open reduction and internal fixation of the right ankle in five steps with postoperative X-ray — 02 **Open reduction and internal fixation** Five surgical steps and postoperative view · MediVisuals

Exhibit: hardware removal and neuroplasty of the right ankle in six steps — 03 **Hardware removal and neuroplasty** Six surgical steps · MediVisuals

Cervical injury exhibit with sagittal and axial illustrations beside MRI slices — **Cervical injuries** Sagittal and axial views with MRI

Lumbar injury exhibit with sagittal and axial illustrations beside MRI slices — **Lumbar injuries** Sagittal and axial views with MRI

The cervical exhibit was also animated in stages so counsel could pause on each level during testimony.

Calcaneus and Achilles tendon before and after surgery, illustrated over sequential X-rays — **Calcaneus and Achilles tendon, before and after surgery** Illustration over sequential X-rays
The client chose to use this exhibit at draft stage rather than fully rendered.

Lower leg fracture of the right tibia and fibula beside the X-ray — **Lower leg fracture** Right tibia and fibula with X-ray

Sketch of bladder surgery, ureter reimplantation in four steps — **Ureter reimplantation** Procedural sketch, four steps

Sagittal neck illustration showing herniated and bulging discs beside an MRI — **Herniated and bulging discs, C5–C7** Sagittal view with MRI

Patient names and identifying details removed.

Motion & animation

Educational animation, court exhibits and motion for launches and social.

To add Harvard Medical School excerpt, about 5 seconds Short looping clip, muted.

Harvard Medical School Medical illustrator and animator · 2024–25

More than 50 illustrations and animations for courses and publications, from storyboard to final render. Most sit behind the school's course access, so only a short excerpt appears here.

To add Cervical exhibit animation The staged court version of the cervical exhibit.

Still from a Co-Museum motion piece showing the number 424 painted on grass — **Co-Museum social motion** Motion graphics · Still
Announcement and teaser motion for collaborations and drops.

Visual systems & explainers

Design systems, data graphics and explainers for lay audiences.

Co-Museum · 2024–26

Market trend chart and two Triceratops bone map certificates — **Bone maps and market data** Infographics · Data visualization
Specimen bone maps and a market chart explaining fossil provenance and value to collectors and partners.

Co-Museum Triceratops landing page in red and black — **Triceratops launch** Campaign and web design
A full campaign across web, Shopify, social and physical product in 2.5 weeks, built on the brand system.

Wireframe and four designed pages from the Co-Museum web system — **Co-Museum design system** Brand system · Figma components
A component system that let eight or more artist collaborations launch on one site without losing the brand.

Approach

Accuracy before style

Anatomy is checked against the patient's imaging, the operative report or the literature before any rendering starts. A beautiful wrong picture is still wrong.

Built to be read

Labels, sequence and contrast are set for the person reading it, whether that's a first-year student, a juror or a reviewer.

3–5 days → 4–6 h

Systems over one-offs

Reusable templates and components, including 40+ deck templates, cut production time by 75–85%.

About

I'm a medical illustrator and animator trained in biomedical visualization at UIC. I've made course illustration and animation at Harvard Medical School, demonstrative exhibits for medical-legal cases, and brand and explainer systems for an art collective. The job is usually the same: make complex anatomy and science accurate and easy to read for the people who depend on it.

Experience

Medical illustrator, Legal Graphicworks2026Demonstrative medical exhibits for litigation.
Visual design lead, Co-Museum2024–26Brand system, campaigns, explainers; led a team of 4–6.
Medical illustrator and animator, Harvard Medical School2024–2550+ illustrations and animations for courses and publications.
Freelance medical illustrator2022–Medical-legal exhibits and graphic design for clients in law, education and the arts.

Education

M.S., Biomedical Visualization2023University of Illinois Chicago
B.A., Biological/Pre-Medical Illustration2019Iowa State University

Contact katpichik@gmail.com LinkedIn ↗

Katrina Ruffmedical illustrator