I'm Marcos Heredero — a scientific illustrator with a PhD in Applied Chemistry. Before I started illustrating full-time, I spent years at the lab bench working in different science fields. That background isn't decorative — it's how I read your papers, understand your systems, and spot the visual story hiding inside your data.
About me
Who I am
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PhD in Applied Chemistry, UPV/EHU – POLYMAT (2021–2026). Thesis: "Advanced protein-polymer hybrid materials based on plastic-eating enzymes." Cum Laude.
Creator of "Laboratorio en serio" — an ongoing science outreach series combining scientific illustration with science communication.
Research associate at Isomerase Therapeutics (Cambridge, UK) — enzyme engineering through molecular and computational techniques for novel natural product development. Journal Club coordinator.
Research assistant at Diagnostics for the Real World (Cambridge, UK) — quality control and assembly of SAMBA II HIV diagnostic devices.
MSc in R&D Management, Universitat de València (2016–2017)
BSc in Biotechnology, Universitat de València (2012–2016)
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My background in research shapes how I work. Before starting a piece, I read the paper, identify the core mechanisms, and look for the visual logic already embedded in the science — the spatial relationships, the processes, the scales. From there, I build a visual environment where those concepts live.
These aren't arbitrary choices. Every visual element maps to a concept from the research. The goal is illustration that communicates accurately to a scientist who reads the paper and is visually engaging for someone who doesn't.
Having worked at the bench for years before illustrating, I understand the frustration of having strong results and weak figures. That experience informs every project.
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There's a story my parents still tell. I was four, unable to sleep, and completely hypnotised by a copy of the Weldon Owen Encyclopedia of Animals. The colours of reptiles and the shapes of insects fascinated me enough to try explaining photosynthesis to my kindergarten teacher. I was the kid who said "when I grow up, I'll be a scientist."
I chose the science path because I needed to understand how things work. Drawing never left — it just ran quietly alongside, something I kept doing without fully understanding what for. Through every lab, every paper, every experiment, both things grew together. I just didn't see it yet.
When I finally did, everything clicked. The scientific training and the visual instinct weren't two separate lives. They were the same impulse — making complex things visible — waiting for a discipline that needed both at once.
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Award for the best poster at the conference at XVIII Congreso de la Sociedad Española de Biotecnología
Scientific illustration contest “Lo pequeño” by Universidad de Cádiz
