In my last article, I reviewed some of the science books written and illustrated by Michael Carroll. Carroll is a science journalist and artist. He worked as a staff artist at the Reuben Fleet Science Center and has done commissioned work for NASA and the Jet Propulsion Lab. He has written and illustrated articles in Popular Science, Astronomy, Sky and Telescope and Artists.
Mike, what media do you prefer to work in?
Typically, what I do is traditional acrylic painting, with some sketching in pen or pencil on-site. Sometimes I'll scan paintings into my Mac and work with them on the computer. A lot of the artwork for my books has computerized elements in it, and I'll do a kind of hybrid of the painting with the computer elements, overlaying images onto the painting.
How did you get started as an artist and writer?
I started painting before I started writing. I primarily did astronomical art to start with, as space sciences are what I knew most about. I realized that space art required the same sort of research as writing an article, so it is kind of a fun marriage as an author to be able to draw what I'm writing about. Plus it helps my readers to understand what I'm trying to communicate.
What training or education do you have in science?
My degree is in art, but I grew up in a family that was very interested in science. My dad is a retired aerospace engineer who worked on the lifting bodies that led to the X-38 and the space shuttles. We would take lots of family trips that involved science, and my mom was also good at making her kids good observers.
I took as much science as my art degree would allow, but I probably could have taken more. Most of the newer stuff that I know is from talking to people in the field. Most of my science background comes from talking to people who are actively researching in the field.
