About me
About Sam
I’m a Certified Medical Illustrator, casual game developer, and obsessive reality-TV artist based out of Chicago, Illinois.
After earing a BFA in Scientific Illustration at the University of Georgia and a MS in Biomedical Visualization at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), I pursued my official certification in medical illustration in 2016 - but as someone spread across a few different fields, I’ve had some winding journeys.
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I have developed award-winning game projects spanning both tabletop and digital media. After being named a Women in Games Ambassador by the International Game Developers Association (IGDA) in 2017, I got further involved with the IGDA, serving on the board and teaching Unity development. I'll have sub-pages for game projects individually.
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I have demonstratable expertise in anatomical science and capturing accurate, meaningful content to communicate successfully to all audiences. I've contributed illustrations to textbooks, research articles, web and social media campaigns, and more with visuals specifically designed to make medical content more accessible to patients, students, and clinicians alike. I became a Fellow of the Association of Medical Illustrators (FAMI) in 2021.
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I love capturing the unique beauty of each human face in portraiture! Much of my work is based in sketchbook format, while some is in full-color oil-painting style. Regardless, I try to capture big expressions, likenesses, and energy. Most of my content revolves around Reality TV, and my work can also be found on my Instagram at Reality.Paintz.
Teaching and public speaking
As a faculty member helping to train future medical illustrators full-time, I’ve been in the classroom every week for nearly a decade! My academic experience has earned me multiple Educator of the Year awards - some judged by faculty and others voted by my students.
I've also taught in non-academic structured formats, including a 5-day Unity game development intensive for the NIH; a single-day drawing workshop for young adults; and evening art classes (among others).
I've served as a speaker on panels, as well as giving 20-60 minute talks for audiences of up to 300, and am open to speaking opportunities.
“ I sincerely think [Sam is] the very best instructor...that I’ve ever seen. I feel like I’m also getting a course on how to effectively teach this kind of content”
I've served as a speaker on panels, as well as giving 20-60 minute talks for audiences of up to 300, and am open to speaking opportunities.