Gökhan Canaz: Specialist in Neurosurgery and Illustrator!
As a doctor, surgeon, and academic, Gökhan combines his professional experience with creativity to produce well-founded and engaging visual representations that make a significant contribution to medical projects. In this interview, you’ll learn more about him and his work as a medical illustrator.
Can you tell us a bit about your career and how you got into medical illustration?
I graduated from Istanbul Faculty of Medicine in 2012 and completed my residency in neurosurgery in 2018. In the same year, I attended the workshop of the world-renowned medical illustrator Dr Levent Efe and was very impressed! I have always been a painter and medical illustration is an area in which I would like to develop my passion with my professional expertise into a further career.
What made you decide to continue working so intensively with medical illustration after graduating as a specialist in neurosurgery?
I realised that I really enjoy this work and that my medical background and experience with academic publications is very useful. Neuroanatomical illustrations are some of the most complex medical illustrations - I quickly realised that I could use my knowledge and experience to work successfully in this field in particular, which motivated me even more!
What advantages does your dual expertise offer for your illustrations?
I can adopt both the illustrator's and the client's point of view, know the important medical and anatomical details and know what to look out for. When I read the article to be illustrated, I can not only understand the topic, but also recognise which aspects should be emphasised and can advise clients specifically. I am often able to offer customers more than they originally expected or can show them alternative perspectives.
Can you take us through the typical process of a medical illustration?
The first step is to discuss the topic with the client: What should be told? Does the client already have an idea in mind? In this phase, I ask them to explain the topic to me, preferably using sketches or sample illustrations. I then read the article or text into which the illustration is to be integrated - all information is of course treated confidentially. After thorough reading and further research, I create an initial sketch, which is presented to the customer for feedback: Are there any elements that should be adapted, added or removed? As soon as we have agreed on a sketch, I start finalising the illustration. At the client's request, changes can still be made in the final version. Finally, I prepare the drawing file and the document for copyright permission according to the requirements of the magazine or format.
Which of your illustration projects do you particularly remember and why?
One of my first illustrations, a motif on the subject of ‘optic nerve glioma’.I used a very unusual angle for this, which the client and other illustrators particularly liked - this encouraged me to continue taking a different perspective than usual.I also created an illustration for Prof Giuseppe Cinalli from Italy, which was my first appearance on the cover of the ‘Journal of Neurosurgery’.
What advantages do you and your clients see in using well-founded and aesthetically pleasing medical illustrations?
Frank Netter describes medical illustration as ‘saying thousands of things without saying anything’. It makes it easier to understand the subject and ensures that information is conveyed quickly. Of course, it is very important that it is done correctly and accurately. An aesthetic illustration that contains incorrect information is not relevant. Studies also show that medical illustrations are particularly useful in patient education and can even increase the acceptance of articles in medical journals.
Which medical topics do you deal with in your illustrations?
Due to my medical specialisation, I mainly deal with neuroanatomy and neurosurgery, and I receive many commissions specifically on these topics. But I enjoy doing medical illustrations in all areas.
Which medical journals or publications have you already worked for?
I work with authors, not directly with journals. The most important journals in which my scientific work has been published are the ‘Journal of Neurosurgery’ and ‘World Neurosurgery’.
How can your illustrations contribute to education and training in the healthcare sector?
In vocational training, every scientific article and textbook chapter is included, and we also create illustrations for training manuals in hospitals, for example we are currently working on a manual for regional anaesthesia. I think that any factor that facilitates the understanding of a topic contributes positively to training on that topic.
Do you have any examples of how your illustrations have been used in practice and what impact they have had?
Images for patient information are an important branch of medical illustration, I myself have only done a few works in this area. But as a doctor, I often explain the operation and the illness to my patients using drawings, which can be very useful!
Are there any special projects or topics you would like to explore in the future? What are your goals as a medical illustrator?
I would like to keep improving and also produce work in 3D and VR. I have some projects at a very early stage that I would like to develop further soon - with the aim of being one of the world's leading illustrators in the field of neuroanatomy and neurosurgery. There are very important illustrators who have made a name for themselves in this field and whose work is instantly recognisable when you see it - I would like people to be able to say: ‘This is an illustration by Gökhan Canaz!’ when they see my motifs. I am currently collaborating with Prof Dr Uğur Türe, one of the greatest neurosurgeons - and I look forward to working with the best in the world in the future!
