Liver Illustration
Project Description
This project aimed to make an illustration with a unique view of an anatomical specimen. Some of the constraints were depicting the specimen in an oblique view, and cutting away a piece of the anatomy to reveal structures underneath. For this project, I excluded lobes 7 and 8 of a liver revealing the underlying venous structures. Below you can find the process for how this illustration was created!
Date 2022-2023
Client Michael Corrin
Audience University Anatomy Students
Tools Paper, Graphite, Clay, Cinema 4D, Procreate Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop
Format Illustration
Process
I started by creating a 3D maquette of a liver in Cinema 4D. This quickly showed me that if I wanted an interesting view of the venous system of the liver I would have to remove both lobes 7 and 8. Since I was not confident in the accuracy of the shape of the liver I moved on to my next step.
Maquette Building
Through consulting an anatomist I obtained textbook references and a wax cast of the venous system of the liver. This helped in creating a more accurate sketch of the liver along with the maquette.
Anatomical References
From there I created initial sketches using graphite and paper, which I later brought into Adobe Illustrator. Some additional challenges that I faced were showing how the inferior vena cave and intermediate hepatic vein exited the liver cross-sections. I used clay to sculpt these specific components of the liver to help overcome these challenges.
Initial Sketches
I then brought the liver into Adobe Illustrator to create the previously made sketch in greyscale, making up the basic shapes of the liver. The Illustrator file was then brought into procreate where I rendered the liver. To help with accurate lighting I used a flat book that I put at the same angle as the blood vessel to help determine the cut ends of the blood vessels
Greyscale & Rendering
For the final stage of the project, I brought the greyscale liver into Adobe Photoshop and colourized it. I then added a specular highlight taking inspiration from a raw chicken breast that I cut to have the same shape as the liver illustration.
