Nephron forests...in colour!

For pathology illustration class, we were asked to come up with a couple of different colour palettes for our midterm sketches in preparation for our final illustrations. I actually really enjoy colour studies, but this was during a period of tight deadlines and stress. Feeling pressed for time and rather uninspired, I turned to some of my favourite artists for inspiration (aka raided DeviantArt, a site I no longer frequent, but remains chock full of eye-candy!)

My first attempt was based on OeffeO's beautiful piece Dream State


My second study resulted from a sad attempt to colourize my grayscale midterm sketch...


My last study was based on loish's whimsical illustration, glow

Pathology colour studies
Graphite + Adobe Photoshop CS4

I'm not sure which colour palette I'm going to go with for my final. I'm leaning towards either the first or third option!

Return to the (now cystic) nephron forest

For pathology class, I didn't enjoy the tissue cube study very much, so I decided to return to the nephron forest idea for my final illustration depicting autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD)! Because the target audience is the educated layperson (who would read Scientific American), I wanted to create a lush, immersive forest for the viewer to step into. I think cinematic design class is influencing me - I plan on using some pretty dramatic lighting and atmospheric perspective for this piece!

Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD)
graphite + Adobe Photoshop CS4 + Adobe Illustrator CS4 for layout, 11x17" double-page spread

The clean lineart is going to be a real pain... Oh vasa recta, how I dislike drawing you...

EDIT: Just received some feedback today, I will be adding a timeline at the bottom and making the right side more "jungle-y"!

Storyboard!

If I had to pick the most intense course of the year so far, it would have to be my cinematic design class. With deadlines every week, I was forced to sit down and really think about my Master's Research Project (In a nutshell: Over the next eight months or so, I will create a short 3D animated film to explain how pain sensitivity increases in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. The film will target pharmacology/pharmacy students to both educate and inspire). After weeks of racking my brain and sleep deprivation, I finally have something (somewhat decent) to show

Perpetuating Pain storyboard

Adobe Photoshop CS4 + compiled in MS Powerpoint 2003

I was pretty proud of my accomplishments in the past two months. It felt really good to see my story come together. That good feeling didn't last very long, however... I met with my committee members this past week and there are many changes to be made - both in terms of visualization and scientific content. Well, the storyboard is meant to be a very fluid thing, so changes are to be expected! So back to the drawing board...literally!

Hopefully the next thing I post from this class will be my 2D animatic with narration (Adobe AfterEffects, here I come)! :)

neuro illustration

Here is the final coloured sketch for the textbook illustration component of my neuroanatomy course - now to vector this in Illustrator and do a final render in Photoshop...!


sympathetic control of blood flow in capillary beds
graphite + Photoshop CS4

T cell migration

i noticed i only have one blog post for November, so i am here to throw in some school work before the month ends!

We've been working with immunology researchers and developing illustrations based on their research. After many iterations, i've completed the Photoshop sketch. i am currently working on an Illustrator version (which will be the final product). i've never used Adobe Illustrator before so it's been a real uphill battle. It's been especially difficult because i tend to shy away from clean, crisp, and smooth rendering/lines when i work. Deadline is on Dec. 11, so we'll see how it goes! D:


T cell migration
pencil + photoshop CS2