Summer on the Brain

My two-year-old has been asking me recently if we can go to the beach. I've got family vacation photos scattered throughout the house, many at the beach. No matter how many times I explain that it's too cold, she insists she wants to go now! All the beach talk has really made me want to pack my bathing suit and hop a plane to a warm, sunny destination.

Since that's not in the cards, I thought I'd pull out some sketchbook pages from vacations past.

Morning palm trees in Cocoa Beach

View from our Cocoa balcony

Wavelets capped by billowy clouds

If you're lucky enough to be vacationing soon, enjoy! If you're still got awhile like me, I hope these tide you over til summer!

Method of the Year Cover Illustration

Cover image used with permission from Nature Methods.

The January issue of Nature Methods research journal featured one of my favorite recent projects: illustrating the Method of the year for 2011. I created the "template" for the Method of the Year image several years ago, which included a globe made of Nature Methods cover images and a depiction of the Method of the Year. Each year I've updated the covers so that the most recent are featured front and center, and changed the method imagery to match. Some years, the background has included another component that pertains to the method.

For 2011, the editors selected Genome Editing with Engineered Endonucleases as their Method of the Year. In layman's terms, using this particular technology, scientists are able to make very precise, targeted changes in the genome. A pair of scissors/dart represented this precise editing. 

So how did I make it? 

In Photoshop of course! First I created the globe shape using a Shape Layer. Then I used the Vanishing Point tool to set up a rough perspective grid around the globe. I used layer masks to refine the shape of each cover image and make them appear rounded. I worked the globe concurrently with a sketch of the foreground, to make sure the highest area of contrast was near the target and that the scissors would appear over a darker image. 

After the globe was complete, I pasted a merged copy of it into a new document. To create the dartboard, I used shape layers to make a flat target. I slightly shifted them off-center to the right, since I knew I wanted that side to go back into space. 

I converted all the dartboard shape layers into a Smart Object and did a Perspective Transform, so it looked more like an oval going back into space. I then added a Bevel and Emboss, Drop Shadow, Texture and Gradient Overlay to it to give it depth and interest. On separate layers, I added more shading and highlights, as well as the strand of DNA.  The wooden stand was made in a similar manner, starting with shape layers, then adding texture and overlays. 

For the scissors, I again started with a few simple shapes, created a Smart Object and made the pieces come to life with Drop Shadow and Bevel and Emboss. It always amazes me how you can start so simple and build until you wind up with something complex and interesting. 

Back in the main window, I worked on creating a sense of motion for the scissors. I duplicated them a few times and added varying degrees of Motion Blur and Opacity.

In the background, I added a DNA sequence that appeared in the very first Method of the Year cover, darkening it so that the motion blur would stand out. After some final shading to the globe and a soft overall vignette, I was finished!

It was a lot of intricate, detailed work, but I'm really pleased with how it turned out. Looking forward to working on MOTY 2012!

Cover image used with permission from Nature Methods.