The illustrators of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) who developed the iconic image of the coronavirus shared the secrets of their craft.
On closer inspection, the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus agent looks like a sphere with a set of smaller elements that look like clusters of matter. It looks a lot like a Christmas orange covered with carnations. We warn you: if you suffer from trypophobia, then it is better to scroll further.
Designers Alyssa Eckert and Dan Higgins were first tasked with imaging the coronavirus in mid-January, just after the CDC opened its operations center in Georgia. Their mission was to "create something to get the public's attention," Eckert tells the New York Times.
When creating a medical illustration, the rule is that even if it is intended for the general public, it must meet scientific criteria. Before scientists could photograph tiny bacteria and viruses, drawings were the only way to document the appearance and behavior of many microbes.
So what is an illustrator's job? It all starts, as you might guess, with a selection of material. It is important to understand what parts the virus consists of and what each of them is responsible for. In the case of COVID-19, there are three types of proteins that perform different tasks. A resource called Protein Data Bank allows scientists and illustrators to view and visualize various structures.
Then the designer switches to 3D modeling programs, where you can tweak qualities such as size, appearance, and even material, until the final work is most effective to convey the reality. For example, choosing a texture that looks like orange "skin" in half with pebbles makes the model more tactile and palpable.
Once the pieces are put together, illustrators must choose the colors and direction of the lighting that hits the 3D model. Color can influence our mood in different ways, but subtleties are important here. The final image should be proportional, visually consistent even for a layperson, and visually not rejectionable.
Eckert told The Times that she carefully selected the colors for this model. “Red on gray, with orange and yellow accents, was the most exciting decision. It was really striking."
Promotional video:
Vasily Makarov