Hobbit bacteria with hairy feet

Lizah van der Aart is an animator at MinuteEarth, a YouTube channel with 3 million subscribers, packed with short scientific videos about the Earth. Before her career took this turn, she was a postdoc at a leading microbiology lab in Newcastle upon Tyne. That was her dream place, she says. ‘During my PhD I decided: if I get in there, I’ll stay a scientist. If not, it’ll be science communication.’ She was taken on, but when she found herself at home a year and a half later during lockdown, making those illustrations about COVID-19, she discovered how much satisfaction it gave her. ‘I was genuinely contributing something to society. You can do that as a scientist too, of course, but it felt different.’

Chain mail

In 2021, Van der Aart left her postdoc position and let everyone know she was a freelance science illustrator. ‘I found my first clients through social media. I made illustrations for the covers of scientific journals.’ The most enjoyable commissions were those where she could integrate her love of fantasy. On one occasion she drew a bacterium wearing a coat of chain mail, because the outer layer of that particular species is extraordinarily strong. ‘Illustrating that armour took an eternity, but the result is brilliant. The image was also published in New Scientist.’ Someone else wanted a Lord of the Rings theme for their review about interactions between bacterial species. ‘I drew two bacterial armies and a group of pacifist hobbit bacteria, complete with pipe and hairy “feet”.’

‘At first I thought it was spam — it seemed too good to be true’

A few months later, Van der Aart was offered her current position at MinuteEarth. ‘At first I thought the invitation was a spam email — it seemed too good to be true,’ she says, laughing. ‘Creating a video is quite a process. I usually put together the storyboard, which a colleague then develops further. I’ve made a few videos about microbiology entirely on my own, script included.’ She is most proud of a video about abortion medication, which she produced with MinuteEarth when the right to abortion was withdrawn in the United States in 2022. ‘We had a great many meetings about it. What do you illustrate and what do you leave out? The video informs viewers about what the medication does to the uterine lining, without taking a stance.’

Fuss and bother

A great inspiration for Van der Aart is the American YouTuber and science communicator Hank Green. ‘He often says, “My job is to have hyper fixations.” That applies to me too. Every month I dive into a new project. Everything revolves around creativity and curiosity.’ Visiting Green’s studio, she was struck by how simple things can be behind the scenes, whilst the result appears so grand. ‘There was very little fuss — just a small room with a camera. It gives you the feeling that anyone could do this. You too.’

Full screen in pop-up

• Previous
• Next

Image: Lizah van der Aart

Image: Lizah van der Aart

Image: Lizah van der Aart

1/3

View caption