How CDC Illustrators Made that “Spiky Blob”
As the world is dealing with the crisis brought on by the spread of COVID-19, there is one illustration that has been used more than any other to represent the coronavirus that causes the disease. As a group of science communicators and designers, we often find stories about the artistic process interesting. It's extremely rare, however, for an outlet like The New York Times to do a behind-the-scenes look into how the scientific illustration sausage is made. But these are unusual times.
In the piece, Cara Giaimo interviewed Alissa Eckert, a medical illustrator at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention who led the project. Alissa built and rendered the virus model using Autodesk 3ds Max, a 3D visualization software often used for hollywood film and video game production.
SARS main protease (top) and papain-like protease (bottom), with inhibitor in turquoise.
Another important resource Alissa used to create the illustration is the Protein Databank, an online repository where researchers and illustrators can download atom-accurate macromolecular structural data for 3D visualization. In an effort to make Coronavirus-related structures readily available to the public, the Protein Databank has built a dedicated COVID-19 resource page.
As the story says, "Ms. Eckert uses art to make difficult medical concepts more approachable." We think that's a good way to describe the objective of medical and scientific illustration — to help different audiences understand complex processes and concepts, to bring "the unseeable into view."