Hey there,
thanks for Scanning!

You’re officially one of my people now.

If you landed here, you’re probably one of my new students, and I’m genuinely excited to have you in class.

Whether you’re here to master medical illustration, tackle complex visual challenges, or grow as a creative professional, you’re exactly where you need to be!

Here’s what you can expect:

• Instruction that blends serious skill-building with just the right amount of sarcasm.
• A professor who loves teaching—and isn’t afraid to get a little over-caffeinated about composition.
• Clear feedback, open communication, and the occasional pep talk when things get hard.
• A space where your questions are welcome, your ideas matter, and your growth is the goal.

And just so we’re clear:
Yes, you will work hard.
No, I don’t expect you to already know everything.
Yes, we’ll have fun anyway.

Let’s make some beautiful, smart, well-researched visual magic together.

Glad you’re here.

—Mandy
Professor. Pirate. Visual Alchemist.

My door is (almost) always open—except when it’s not! Weird, I know.

You’re always welcome to swing by, but if you want to guarantee some uninterrupted time to dive into your work, ask questions, or just talk through a stuck point, I recommend scheduling a one-on-one office hours appointment.

Stuff I Probably Shouldn’t Just Give Away…But Here We Are

My ride-or-die brush set and my main anatomy color palette in one handy zip file. You’ll get crisp lines, smooth shading, tapered blood vessels, a funny uterus stamp, and all my go-to medical illustration colors for skin, muscle, and bone — ready to drop straight into your next masterpiece.

Two Things to Check Out Early

These are two resources I come back to again and again in class—and I strongly recommend you dive into both early in the semester. They’ll give you perspective, challenge your assumptions, and help ground you in what it really means to be a working artist.

Secret Knowledge

by David Hockney

This documentary makes a compelling case that the Old Masters—yes, the Rembrandts and Vermeers of the world—were using optical tools like mirrors and lenses to enhance their realism as far back as the early 1400s.

I love this video because it takes some of the mystery out of their work. The Old Masters were the working illustrators of their time. They ran studios, had clients, managed staff, and taught students. And if they were working today, they’d absolutely be using reference images, 3D models, and drawing in Photoshop on Cintiqs.

Watch it early—it’ll shift how you think about technique, reference, and what counts as “cheating.”

Part journal, part soapbox, part creative survival guide. Probably Off Topic is where I write about the stuff that doesn’t always fit neatly into a syllabus or a client deliverable. Thoughts on freelancing, teaching, creative burnout, and the behind-the-scenes chaos of making a living with pictures.

It’s honest, a little irreverent, and full of lessons I’ve learned (sometimes the hard way) from life as a medical illustrator, professor, and working artist.