Please do not send portfolios.
For requests about working with Quanta OR permission for Quanta art, see the QUANTA section below.
NO: N-F-Ts, "AI"
ELSEWHERE IN CYBERSPACE
Linktr.ee/NatureinTheory
Real-time 3D: Sketchfab
Pinterest: art | direction
SHOP
ABOUT
Since the 00s: illustrator & fine artist → designer → art director → physics student → science visualizer.
Currently an independent contractor collaborating with scientific publications, researchers, labs, universities, and others globally. Available for freelance / consulting and contract opportunities.
I work in a variety of styles and mediums, and most enjoy “visualizing invisible things” — a recurring joke on my team at Quanta, meaning abstract and imperceptible subjects in fundamental science. My favorite topics include physics (from the particular to the universal), science fiction, and fantasy.
My work has been published by:
AAAS Science, The American Mathematical Society, The Atlantic, The Baffler, BBC Science Focus, BMW, The DOE, NSF & U.S. Particle Physics, The Institute for Advanced Study, MIT Press, NanoGRAV, Nautilus, Pour La Science, Science News, Scientific American, The Simons Foundation, Spektrum.de, Symmetry, WIRED, and elsewhere including various books and other publications, galleries, and on one skyscraper in NYC.
Recent achievements:
The Pulitzer Prize, ASME Ellie for General Excellence, Webbys, and One Club Pencil. Solo, I've received an assortment of awards for art and writing since the early 2000s. A university physics department award remains one of my most personally-meaningful honors.
In 2014 I joined Quanta Magazine as the first official Art Director and was the sole art staff for several years following. Through 2021, my work included establishing and shepherding the visual identity, directing and creating feature art (illustration, photography, interactive, video, etc.), visual / graphic design, hiring and guiding creative staff, and more.
✎ Quanta Contact Form
Interested in working with Quanta? Send portfolios there!
I am no longer the AD, the above form is the best way to get your work seen by current staff.
Permission for Quanta art or graphics:
→ Contact Quanta (form above) if: you need a specific image I created and the article is dated 2021 or earlier.
→ Email me if: the article is dated 2022 or later, and is at least one year old.
→ If you need a similar visual, I may be available for hire.
SELECT TALKS, INTERVIEWS & FEATURES
PHOTOGRAPHIC & BOTANICAL
I love plants — tropical foliage and Araceae, particularly. Over some years I amassed a collection of indoor specimens, along with (perhaps inordinately?) expansive mental and photographic libraries on the subject.
© Olena Shmahalo