Nature Journal Cover.
Date: June 16, 2021
Medium: Autodesk Maya and Adobe Illustrator
Audience: General Public
Purpose: The purpose of this cover was to choose a journal article and create a visual metaphor of the topic while developing 3D modelling skills.
DEVELOPMENT 1: IDEATION AND SKETCHING
I chose to visualize the ethics of human experimentation by modelling a typical animal experimental setting (a mouse cage) with a person and human furniture replacing the standard rodent related objects.
DEVELOPMENT 2: SKETCHING
This was a quick sketch of my initial idea of a person in a mouse cage with a vial and needle beside the cage ( a typical rodent experimental setting). I created a refined draft of the topic and changed the angle with which the viewer sees the cage to make the scene more dramatic.
DEVELOPMENT 3: 3D MODELLING
All the components were modelled in Maya in separate files and brought together in a master file for lighting and rendering. MASH was used to create the bedding for the cage as well as for the numerous cages in the background. nCloth simulation was used to create the folds in the blanket on top of the bed, and detail was put into the ‘identification’ card to evoke the idea of an experimental animal cage.
