Workshops

Immersive training for visual science communicators, led by experts in the field.

Image credit :Rhonda Nass, (member since 1992)

GNSI Educational Series Workshops are intensive opportunities to learn new skills, refine your practice, and connect with peers in the field of scientific illustration.


Taught by leading professionals, workshops are offered throughout the year - both in-person at locations across the U.S. and online for global access.

“I owe 90% of my science illustration education to GNSI.”
- Kalliopi Monoyios, member since 2002

Upcoming Workshops

All Categories

Image credit: Kaysia Grow

Past Workshops

Explore the skills and experiences we’ve shared in previous years

Advanced Sketching

04/05/2025 🎟️$100 | $130 Instructor: Rick Simonson This workshop will focus on advanced sketching techniques for the scientific illustrator. In this session, we will delve into brainstorming strategies and rapid sketching exercises to help you quickly capture and develop important ideas and information. We will use a method of assessing and refining our work to create high-quality, accurate sketches. 

The Business of Science Art

11/02/2024 🎟️$220 | $250 Instructor: Mesa Schumacher Are you a student, new professional, or seasoned pro looking to attract more or different types of work? This workshop will help you identify your strengths, weaknesses, and create a strategy to get you moving toward your personal art and business goals. Participants will discuss business basics, marketing and advertising, client relationships and project management.

Paper Botanical Replicas

09/28/2024 🎟️$100 | $130 Instructor: Linda Hamilton This workshop will teach the basics of Linda Hamilton's process for creating botanically accurate replicas of plants and flowers. She will discuss the steps involved from research to design to creation, and will demonstrate some basic skills such as creating templates from fresh plants and making realistic leaves. 

Sketching Techniques for the Scientific Illustrator

08/31/2024 🎟️$100 | $130 Instructor: Rick Simonson This workshop will focus on effective sketching techniques for the scientific illustrator. We will use a step-by-step approach to take our ideas and get them on paper quickly and accurately. This process will teach participants how to go from a blank page to a refined sketch that contains all the important details needed to ultimately create a finished illustration. 

The Anxious Inker

07/29/2024 🎟️$100 | $130 Instructor: Deb Shaw Join me for a quick tour through the different types of ink drawings I’ve done through the years, the tools I’ve used, the marks I’ve made, and then a demonstration of botanical drawing with ballpoint pen (a new love).

Astronomical Illustration in Blender

04/26/2024 🎟️$220 | $250 Instructor: María Lamprecht Grandío In this course on astronomical illustration, you will learn how to download a scientifically correct space robot model, explore the basics of creating your own model and a planet with an atmosphere, and discover how to recreate the surface of a planet. Prior knowledge of 3D modeling is not required. 

All Member Meeting

11/20/2024 🎟️FREE Join us for an All-Member Meeting where the Board will lay out a plan for leadership succession along with a blueprint for 2024 and the offerings we plan to roll out.

Visual Storytelling with Data with Valentina D'Efilippo

12/01/2023 🎟️$250 Instructor: Valentina D’Efilippo An Introduction on How to Use Data-Driven Images to Empower and Inspire. Learn the basics of information visualization and visual storytelling in a condensed and practical workshop. Use cognitive maps to quickly prototype visual displays of personal data, and gain the vocabulary to describe and reason about design appropriateness. Explore the power of big and small data, and maximize visual displays for impact and memorability.

Comics are the New Omics

10/20/2023 🎟️$185 Instructors: Miriam Rivera Iglesias & Jesús Sánchez Ruiz In this course, we have condensed our experience in making medical and scientific comics with the idea of providing you with a step by step method to guide you in making your own scientific comic. It is mainly a practical course, in which there are numerous intermediate exercises that will allow you to advance in the process. 

Advanced Sketching

04/05/2025 🎟️$100 | $130 Instructor: Rick Simonson This workshop will focus on advanced sketching techniques for the scientific illustrator. In this session, we will delve into brainstorming strategies and rapid sketching exercises to help you quickly capture and develop important ideas and information. We will use a method of assessing and refining our work to create high-quality, accurate sketches. 

Get Involved

Image credit: Scott Rawlins (member since 1980)

Suggest a Workshop

We strive to offer workshops covering a wide range of skills, from traditional to digital, and for all experience levels. Have a topic, technique, or instructor you’d love to see? Let us know!

Propose a Workshop

Are you an illustrator, educator, or scientist with something to teach? Share your expertise with professionals and aspiring visual communicators.

Image credit: Vicky Earle (member since 2025)

Volunteer with Us

Help us bring workshops to life! From planning to implementation, volunteers make our programming possible.

Image credit: Sven Bellanger (member since 2014)