Maya: Fundamentals of Medical Animations

1h 31mIntermediate2018-06-08

Authors

Emily Holden (McDougall)

Medical and Scientific Illustrator, Animator, and Elearning Developer

Course details

Medical animations indulge our curiosity about the human body by allowing us to peer within at key biological processes and anatomy. They are valuable communication tools for teaching healthcare professionals, trainees, and the general public about the wonders of the human body. In this course, learn about the basic principles and techniques of 3D medical animation using Autodesk Maya 2018. Discover where to find good resources and references, how to use the Protein Data Bank to download 3D models for molecular animation, and how to approach storyboarding. Learn how to create some basic medical animations, including cell division and blood cell flow. Plus, explore common visual aesthetics in medical animations and see how to use lighting and material shading to make your animations stand out.

Learning objectives
Why study medical animation?
Storyboarding
Creating basic medical animations
How different aesthetics can impact your final animation
Cinematic and three-point lighting
Working with layered shaders

Skills covered

2D AnimationMaya3D AnimationRenderingMotion Graphics and VFXAutodesk3D ModelingVisualization and Real-TimeAECProduct and ManufacturingAnimation and IllustrationDeep Dive (X:Y)

Concepts

0. Introduction

01 - 3D animating the hidden world of human anatomy
02 - What you should know

1. What Is Medical Animation

03 - Why study medical animation
04 - Finding the best references
05 - Protein Data Bank and Chimera
06 - Storyboarding your medical animation

2. Basic Medical Animations

07 - Introduction to animation projects
08 - Commonly used tools - MASH
09 - Commonly used tools - nCloth and nParticles
10 - Commonly used tools - Paint effects
11 - Commonly used tools - Blend shapes
12 - Animating cell division, part 1
13 - Animating cell division, part 2
14 - Animating cell death, part 1
15 - Animating cell death, part 2
16 - Animating tumor growth, part 1
17 - Animating tumor growth, part 2
18 - Animating blood cell flow, part 1
19 - Animating blood cell flow, part 2

3. Visual Impact

20 - Aesthetics in medical animation
21 - Three-point lighting
22 - Cinematic lighting
23 - Working with layered shaders
24 - Working with shader subsurface scattering
25 - Working with shader transparency

Conclusion

26 - Next steps