Carpal Tunnel Anatomy
Anatomical Illustration
An illustrated poster of the carpal tunnel and inferior forearm.
Roles: Research, Maquette creation, Sketch, Final rendering, Compositing, Editing
Audience: Science students
Clients: Professor Michael Corrin
Communication Objective: Illustrate an anatomical feature or body part from a unique angle
Medium: Web, Digital
Software: Procreate, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Cinema4D
Process
After deciding on showing a cutaway of the wrist and forearm from a foreshortened view, I took reference images of my hand and looked online to get a better understanding of how the live tissues of the wrist and forearm look.
I created a 3D maquette in Cinema4D based on a japanese 3D human anatomy scan database (https://lifesciencedb.jp/bp3d/).
A rough sketch was made.
After doing more research and receiving anatomy feedback, I refined the sketch.
I started rendering the illustration in black and white. In the beginning, I focused on refining the edges of structures and rendering the bigger shapes. I then started describing the medium forms and introducing more texture. Finally, I worked on depicting the small structures, wrinkles, highlights, and details.
Upon finishing the greyscale illustration, I moved to the colourization phase. I used the multiply and overlay colour modes in procreate to introduce colour. I focused on using multiple to provide general washes of colour and deepen the shadows. Overlay was used to increase vibrancy and tone in the highlights. I added the specular highlights on top of all the other layers at the end.
References
Agur, A. M. R., & Dalley, A. F. (2021). Grant's Atlas of Anatomy. Wolters Kluwer.
Landsmeer, J. M. F. (1977). Atlas of Anatomy of the Hand. Churchill Livingstone.
Median Nerve Decompression Forearm. (2017). YouTube. Retrieved January 18, 2023, from https://youtu.be/QuJv_fIewgw.
Platzer, W., & Shiozawa-Bayer, T. (2021). Color Atlas of Human Anatomy Vol 1. Locomotor System (5th ed., Vol. 1). Thieme.
Revision Carpal Tunnel Release in a Case of Incomplete Release - Extended (Feat. Dr. Mackinnon). (2013). YouTube. Retrieved January 18, 2023, from https://youtu.be/zqTAAbhAIfc.
Spinner, M. (1984). Kaplans Functional and Surgical Anatomy of the Hand (3rd ed.). Lippincott.