Abstract RNA Visualisation

Research & Development Project

The years 2020 through 2021 were an unprecedented time for all of us. The arrival of the COVID-19 virus caught us off guard, and soon staying indoors, social distancing, wearing masks, and working from home became the new normal.

Like many others, I found myself with a bit more free time than usual, so I decided to use this opportunity to expand my skill set. I turned my attention to refining my knowledge of 3D software, specifically focusing on Blender. With the extra time at home, I dove into mastering the ins and outs of the program, learning new techniques and developing a deeper understanding of the creative possibilities that 3D design offers.

This personal project not only helped me stay engaged and motivated during challenging times, but it also allowed me to grow in my craft, enhancing my technical expertise and adding a new dimension to my creative skill set.

I started playing around with simple forms, originally creating twisty tubes in a 3D space, not particularly exciting! It all changed up as soon as I gave the splines a glassy material. Light and shapes were refracting and giving the visual some really interesting dynamics. I added volumetrics (a bit of fog) and some red and blue lighting into the environment. Played around with the particle features and gave some of the splines bobbly elements, giving things a slightly surreal biological or organic look.

I thought it would be great to make the camera fly through the splines, animating this and seeing how the scene came to life made me think of the details being released about how some of the mRNA COVID vaccines would function. Now big disclaimer, I’ve post rationalised - so yes this is by no means an accurate depiction of what happens but it did give the animation a little more purpose and a story to tell. The result is very short, rendering these sequences is pretty time-consuming let me tell you but I liked how it all came together - felt pretty cinematic, especially after grading and adding some sound effects for the final video.