Part One: Eric’s Adventures
Earlier this summer, a few of our esteemed Microbes flew out to Las Vegas to attend and present at the annual Association of Medical Illustrators Conference. Senior Medical Animator/Technical Director Eric Small, Medical Animators Susie Yun, and Adam Zunder will each share their experiences in this series of three articles.
PART 1: ERIC SMALL
The 2023 AMI Conference was held on the banks of Lake Las Vegas in a hotel strongly resembling the Stanley Hotel in The Shining. While objectively being one of the hottest AMI Conferences ever, with desert temperatures reaching 116 degrees, in my opinion, this was one of the best AMI’s in terms of content. In the past, there were always a variety of speakers and sessions whose content was adjacent to the medical visualization field, but this year, most presenters had direct relevance to the profession.
The keynote was led by Temple Grandin, a renowned animal behaviorist and professor at Colorado State University. Her key points were obvious, but their correlation was not. The first point is that there are different kinds of thinkers: object visual, where the thinker forms images in their mind, and spatial visual, where the thinker recognizes patterns and abstractions. The second point was that many of the best mechanically inclined professionals are getting older and starting to retire, with no one to take their place. The correlation is that visual thinkers tend to be mechanically inclined, but schools have tailored the curriculum towards spatial thinkers. So those exiting school are well prepared for analytical jobs, but not as well prepared for jobs that rely on creativity and visualization.
Perhaps the most interesting visuals presented was the session about modern figure drawing by Anatomy Tools’ founder, Andrew Cawrse. Cawrse brought a Cirque de Soleil performer on stage with him to demonstrate surface anatomy and that, while Cirque performers do have normal skeletal structure, they can use it on a completely different level.
One of the most anticipated sessions was on one of the hottest current topics in the visual production world: AI. However, instead of a technical or ethical discussion, the information presented was centered around the current legal capabilities to govern the use of AI. Currently, the law says that only a human can create a work protected by copyright. However, while that seems cut and dry, what was laid out in the session demonstrates that there is a very large grey area that surrounds that statement.
In addition to consuming content, I was able to do a demo for Maxon on behalf of MadMicrobe Studio. On the topic of constraints: basic functionality and best use practices. The demo was well attended, and a healthy discussion evolved after the demo concluded.
We did get to enjoy some of the beauty of the Mojave Desert by going for a 5-mile hike on a trail just across from the hotel. However, the only way to do this was to start at 5:30am. We also went for a midnight hike in search of desert wildlife; on this hike, we did confirm that scorpions do indeed glow under black light.
As always, the annual AMI meeting is a great networking opportunity and a chance to meet new colleagues and see others from all over the country that only get to visit once a year. Additionally, as I have grown in my career, I’ve chosen to be a mentor and share some of the knowledge I’ve gained over the years. This year, I have three mentees and had the opportunity to meet them all in person.
The 2023 Annual AMI Conference was another worthwhile, engaging, and encouraging experience. It offered many professional insights while providing opportunities to connect with our peers, surrounded by the beautiful Mojave Desert.
I was asked to do a Cinema 4d demo for the Maxon booth on behalf of MadMicrobe Studio at the 2023 AMI Conference. This year, I opted to showcase the power of constraints in molecular and macro animation.
Prior to the meeting, I had a discussion with some fellow animators on the topic of constraints. These animators are very skilled in the art and technique of animation, but they expressed disdain for constraints, lamenting that they are unpredictable and unreliable.
Because of this discussion, I opted to show my workflow for constraints within Cinema 4d. I started with general use by using primitive objects and best practices to eliminate any perceived unreliability, then moved on to showing how constraints can be used in molecular animation.
When one molecule needs to bind to another, constraints really shine because the molecules will remain stuck together no matter how they are moving in the scene. Another benefit of constraining one molecule to another is when it comes time to finesse an animation’s f-curves. By using constraints, only the strength value needs to be adjusted.
After demoing the powers of constraints for molecular animation, I moved to the macro level and showed how to use constraints to pick up and move objects with animated hands. In the demo file, I prepared a hand animation to pick up and move a vial. I showed how to use constraints to make an object look like it is being picked up, held, and set back down by the animated hand.
I then moved on to show a different constraint that allowed unrelated objects within the object manager to be parented to one another. I demoed this type of constraint in a scene where a hand was withdrawing medication into a syringe, and the tips of the fingers on the syringe needed to remain perfectly stuck to the plunger as it moved.
After these files were demoed, the floor was opened for discussion. There were several questions, and a few more types of constraints were demoed and explored. Overall, the talk was well attended with most seats being filled and several individuals standing in attendance.
Be sure to check back later as we plan to update this blog post once Maxon posts the full presentation.
PART 2: SUSIE YUN’s AMI Meeting overview coming soon!
