There are some things that are impossible or prohibitively expensive to film, this is especially true when you are operating on the micro or nano scale. Scientific and Medical Animation is a growing field that sits directly at the intersection of art and science. These playlists and links should help you get started with your own science animation projects.
Inspiration
While you won’t be able to follow these videos step-by-step, watching top-artists at work can prove truly inspiring.
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Scientific and Medical Animation - NAB 2015 Rewind
In these NAB 2015 presentations, three Scientific and medical animation artists give us a peek into how they build stunning recreations of worlds invisible to the naked eye.
AMI 2014 Rewind
Watch presentations recorded live at the 69th Annual Meeting of the Association of Medical Illustrators, at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.
NAB 2016 Rewind - Thomas Brown: Cellular Cinema 4D
Learn how Cinema 4D’s MoGraph and Simulation tools are used in medical illustration in this presentation by Thomas Brown of Vessel Studios.
NAB 2016 Rewind - Graham Johnson: Advanced Scientific Visualization with C4D
Graham Johnson of Vessel Studios demonstrates the many ways molecular data can be visualized in Cinema 4D with the help of the Embedded Python Molecular Viewer (ePMV).
Tools & Resources
One of the great things about scientific animation is working with the scientific community who believe that an open an honest sharing of techniques will lead to the betterment of all. This is especially visible in the open source tools and content libraries for those looking to create accurate representationss of molecules.
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ePMV: Embedded Python Molecular Viewer
This suite of plugins makes it possible to easily download and use models of atomic structures for a number of proteins and molecules.
RCSB PDB: Protein Data Bank
This website has a wealth of information on the structure and function of proteins found in humans and other animals. You can find helpful illustrations, 3D-viewable molecules, and PDB files that you can download and use with the help of the ePMV plugin.