GET TO KNOW A MEDICAL DOCTOR TURNED ILLUSTRATOR WHO STEPPED TO THE OTHER SIDE OF LIFE WITHOUT DISCARDING PAST EXPERIENCE. FIND OUT THE SIMILARITIES OF BOTH OCCUPATIONS AND HOW SHE ADJUSTS HER LIFE
TEXT & IMAGE: EMMA CHENG
(For Thai, press here)
WHO
Emma Cheng
WHAT
A medical doctor turned, award-winning illustrator drawing and designing things by combining medicine, anatomy, and aesthetics.
WHEN
I have always liked to draw since I was 4. I began learning it seriously (mainly by self-teaching) after quitting my medical residency in 2013. After quitting residency, I worked as a doctor in aesthetic medicine clinics and gradually shifted to be an illustrator. I became a full-time illustrator in 2021.
WHERE
I was born in Taiwan and now based in San Francisco.
WHY
I am passionate about expressing healthcare in intriguing ways.
How would you define creativity?
It’s an ability to combine what you’ve known to make something new and meaningful. For me, creativity is an experiment with medical knowledge and life experiences as my ingredients. I am eager to know what I can generate from each test with different recipes.
Describe your practice in three words.
intriguing, elegant, warm
What is your inspiration and guiding principle for each creation?
I would go through the folders where I’ve collected possible inspirations in the past, which includes photos, other artists’ illustrations, scientific diagrams, or videos. I may also watch a movie or go out for a walk. The solution comes out sometimes when I let my brain relax.
What is the project you are most proud of?
The newest project is always the one I am most proud of. I’m proud that there is always something new in my latest project, which may be a new color combination, composition, lighting, or perspective, so the newest one is the one presenting the most of my life and experience.
The latest 3 projects happening at the same time are a series of anal surgery illustrations done for a textbook, an illustration for World Mental Health Day, and an illustration for World Sight Day. These three projects were finished in a week since the client needed it urgently for the textbook while the two observance days are also close to my client’s deadline. I am glad I communicated with my client smoothly, delivered illustrations which my client was very satisfied with, and finished the pieces for observance days that my followers like a lot, only in one week.
That was kind of intense. I prefer having more time for projects but this experience taught me how to do things well and efficiently in a short time frame. I also tried a new workflow during these projects. I’m proud of the improvement I got from this experience.
What are the similarities and differences between being a doctor and an illustrator?
In my experiences, both roles need to be familiar with anatomy and precise hand stability control.
One large difference between the two jobs is the uncertainty of the career path. As a doctor, your future is pretty much planned at the moment you are admitted to a med school. There is a ladder in front of you. All you need to do is keep climbing. As an illustrator, however, you have to build the ladder by yourself. It’s daunting for sure, but interesting at the same time. I think I prefer a life that is not that predictable.
I thought perfectionism was the similarities before but I try to let go of perfectionism as an illustrator recently. As a doctor, I care about every detail because I was facing life related situations. As an illustrator, I have learned that contrast is important in an artwork. You don’t need details everywhere, but a good strategy to present the key points of your work. The same philosophy can be applied to other aspects of my art business as well.
If you could invite any creative out for coffee, who would you choose and why?
I would choose my future self 30 years from now. I want to know if I have achieved everything I want during my life, and the do’s and don’ts to improve it. I would also love to ask myself what healthcare will be like in the future. Is there any breathtaking innovation in treating incurable diseases? Are artificial human organs usable? How well can robotic arms or organs replace human’s body parts? How are older people’s lives when living longer? And of course, how aesthetic medicine can help people keep young in the future? I would have many more questions than I could fit into a single coffee session.There are so many interesting questions in medicine waiting for people to explore!
