Resource for Science and Biomedical Animation Learning

This page is a list of references, tutorials, plugins, books, thoughts, and other things intended for Scientists and Science-Artists who are learning Cinema 4D for Scientific and Biomedical Animation. I’ll add more as I find new things that might be helpful.

Continued Training and Education (Professional)

Cinematic Science School – This is my own growing platform for scientific and biomedical animation training. I’ll be adding courses over time – some free, and some paid. Use this code at checkout and you’ll save 10%: SCIART10
If you haven’t already downloaded your FREE Medical and Scientific Animation Resources Bundle, you can get that at the link above too.

https://www.youtube.com/@schoolofmotion – They have some free videos on YouTube here and they offer some cool paid courses on their site.
https://www.youtube.com/@CineversityC4D – Comes with your Maxon One subscription (even the student one). Tons of tutorials and plugins.

Meetup Groups

Check your area for meetup groups about motion design, or scientific illustration and animation. I’m in Colorado and we have a great one here. If you know of others, post them in the comments below and I’ll add them to this list.

Colorado Motion Meetup – This locally run group meets every 3rd Thursday at Ration Beer Works. It is a terrific group of local artists, including some alums of our program, students, and many of the area’s motion design companies.

Plugins

https://www.youtube.com/@INSYDIUMLTD – Insydium Fused and X-Particles – Take your particle sims to the next level
https://www.youtube.com/@VideoCopilot – Plugins and Tutorials for After Effects – lots of cool free stuff – some cool paid stuff too.
https://www.youtube.com/@mtmograph – Animation Plugins for After Effects – local guy – international company

YouTube Tutorial Channels I Follow that You Might Like Too

When looking for tutorials, I recommend keeping an open mind about what you whatch. Search outside the realm of science animation and try to find tutorials that show something that could be modified or looked at from another angle to apply to a scientific or medical animation.

3D artists and Scientific/Medical Animation Studios to Look at.

https://www.youtube.com/@VladislavSolovjov – An amazing 3D Artist (he did the opener splash screen for C4D 2023)
https://www.hybridmedicalanimation.com/ – Hybrid Medical Animation has been around for a while and they make incredible work.
https://www.helixanimation.com/ – Helix does some really nice work.
https://random42.com/ – I am continually blown away by Random 42’s amazing aesthetic.
https://www.madmicrobe.com/ – Mad Microbe makes mouthwateringly magnificent medical media. How’s that for alliteration? 🙂
https://microversestudios.com/ – Microverse is another incredible animation company.
https://www.ghostproductions.com/ – Ghost excels at creating cinematic surgical animation stories.
https://axs3d.com/ – AXS 3D got started at about the same time as me and they are doing wonderful things.
https://www.intervoke.com/ – Intervoke does some amazing work in the VR/AR/XR space.

Organizations and Conferences

There are three main organizations I know of that host annual conferences, workshops, and offer membership opportunities to grow and learn.

https://ami.org/ – The Association of Medical Illustrators – The United States organization for medical and biological illustration and animation professionals.
https://www.gnsi.org/ – The Guild of Natural Science Illustrators – Also a United States-based organization, but tailored for scientific illustration and animation. I love these people.
https://www.imi.org.uk/ – The Institute of Medical Illustrators – A European organization for medical illustration and animation professionals.

Books to Read and Enjoy

These are some of my favorite books about life, finance, and ways of being, and some just for fun. They’re not necessarily related to science animation, but maybe you’ll enjoy them.
Full disclosure – I’m using affiliate links here, so I will make a small commission on the sale if you buy it, but it doesn’t cost you anything more than if you bought them otherwise. 🙂

Bird by Bird by Annd Lamott – This is a precious book about writing and how to improve your own.

The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Rubin. This little book is a gem. I recommend the hardback version. Its a good one to just flip through randomly and read a chapter for inspiration.

Wherever You Go, There You Are by Jon Kabat-Zinn. This is a great book about mindfulness and being at peace with who you are and where you are in your life.

The Four-Hour Work Week by Tim Ferris. This is an oldie, but a goodie. A good first introduction to the idea of passive income and living a life outside the typical system.