Enlight Visuals | Ni-ka Ford

Behind the scenes of how I create a medical illustration. Every piece has a slightly different work flow depending on the deliverables and type of project but generally my process always includes research, finding references, sketching and final rendering. Let me know in the comments if you’d like to see more videos like this of my process. ✍🏽 This illustration was created for the @amidotorg Diversity Fellowship to contribute to diverse and inclusive materials for medical and healthcare education. . . . #medicalillustration#sweetsyndrome#medart#careers#science#STEAM#healthequity#represenationmatters #procreate#adobeillustrator#contentcreation#artlife

May is Skin Cancer Awareness Month, a time dedicated to educating and spreading awareness on preventing, detecting, and treating the most common form of cancer in the U.S. Basal Cell Carcinoma is the most common type of skin cancer and while there are less cases in communities of color, it is often diagnosed later due to lack of resources showing how it presents differently across melanated skin. . . #medicalillustration#representationmatters#skincancer#dermatology#procreate

I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to speak at the @anatomyorg ’s annual meeting, Anatomy Connected 2026 last week!🫀Thank you to Aidan Ruth for the invitation and for putting together our symposium along with Allison Nesbitt on Visual Communication Strategies for the Anatomical Sciences. I discussed how important design principles like selective emphasis, hierarchy and color are in creating scientific and medical illustrations, how to apply these principles and how anatomists can collaborate to create their own visual materials using the principles of design.✨ . . #medicalillustration #designprinciples #sciart #anatomyconnected #anatomyeducation

Real bodies with stretch marks, blemishes and hyperpigmentation are beautiful. #blackmaternalhealthweek#blackmaternalhealth#doulacare#procreate#representationmatters

I’m excited to share that I’ll be speaking at the Anatomy Connected Conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico on April 20th! My talk, “Design Principles for Static Visual Materials” will discuss how to apply design principles when creating medical illustrations and science graphics. I’ll be joining two esteemed colleagues and experts in anatomy in our symposium: “Seeing is Understanding: Visual Communication Strategies in the Anatomical Sciences” Strong visual communication skills are essential for scientists, and especially anatomists, who rely heavily on visual representations to explain spatial relationships and complex processes. Despite this, few educators and researchers receive formal training in, or are familiar with, visual design principles. This symposium will introduce key components of visual communication for anatomists seeking to enhance their skills as educators, researchers, and professional communicators. If you will be attending the conference I would love to connect! #Anatomyconnected #medicalillustration

I collaborated with the Boston Community Perinatal Health Initiative (COPHI) which is a program that addresses disparities in birth outcomes that affect pregnant and postpartum Black and Latina women in Boston. They connect families to doula services as well as train community members on how to become doulas. I created these illustrations for their doula training program. What I really liked about working on this project was creating the images with a variety of illustration styles. My client wanted some of the images done in a simplistic style while others more rendered. I used various brushes to achieve these styles and it made me realize that softness and warmth in an illustration can be achieved is so many different ways from the color choices to the textures of a brush. I also greatly appreciated that it was important to my client to challenge heteronormativity in family health materials by showing LGBTQ+ representation as normal in a family dynamic. Diverse family structures such as queer or adoptive parents should be acknowledged in healthcare materials. Lack of representation like this can create barriers to effective health interventions for queer families. #MedicalIillustration #DoulaCare #MaternalHealth #HealthEquity

Realistic bodies over “perfect” bodies. #tb#medicalillustration#preeclampsia#blackmaternalhealth#procreate

Earlier this month I had the opportunity to give a guest lecture and workshop on SciArt and medical illustration with engineering students at @gatechengineers . This course is part of a community-based learning approach centered on collaborations with local artists. The students were very interested in learning about the anatomy of ears and eyes and their connection to the brain so I gave a short lecture on the anatomy and physiology of both, then let them experiment and come up with their own creations using water-based oil paints. The paintings were so creative and beautiful. Loved how almost every student’s piece combined elements of nature with anatomy.🌱 How did they do? . . . #guestlecture#scienceart#sciart#STEAM#scientificillustration

My first merch collection is now live ✨ These pieces feature my original medical illustrations, reimagined as wearable art and everyday accessories. With a focus on celebrating Black representation in anatomy and science, these designs reflect a deeper commitment to health equity and visibility in science. Shop link in my bio 🖤 . . . #wearableart#scienceart#blackinscience #shopindependent#blackinmedicine

I’m honored to support a nurse-led research team exploring the shared pathology behind uterine fibroids, keloids, and CCCA. These conditions are often studied separately yet emerging evidence points to shared fibrotic and inflammatory pathways, including chronic inflammation, myofibroblast activation, and excessive collagen buildup. These conditions disproportionately burden Black women, with studies showing women with CCCA have nearly 5x higher odds of uterine fibroids, and associations with keloid scarring in some cohorts. I created this illustration to visualize their interconnected pathology and the role of abnormal wound healing in progressive fibrosis. . . . #Fibroids #Keloids #CCCA #BlackWomensHealth #HealthEquity

Discovering medical illustration saved me during a time when I felt so lost during undergrad. Looking back on my career journey, I couldn’t see myself doing anything else. Cheers to another year.✨ #fyp#medicalillustration#itsimportant#2026

Illustrations I did on “comfort measures” for the COPHI doula program in Boston to be used in their educational curriculum that trains community members on how to become doulas.🤍 I tried out a different illustration style with this piece and like the simplicity and softness of the “sketchy” look I was going for. Swipe to see a peak into my process. Not all of the sketches made the final cut. I took a photo of a sunset from a high rise in downtown Atlanta and used it to inform my color palette which is a practice I’ve adopted into most of my work over the years. . . . #medicalillustration#doulatraining#doula#representationmatters#diversityinmedicine#blackmaternalhealth#breastfeeding#blackmoms#midwife#procreate