ART FOR SCICOMM
Online learning portal for
visualizing data to facilitate research,
communication, and conservation
NEW
COURSE!
In this freely available Massively Open Online Course (MOOC), each student creates a scientific animation that tells a story with data to better communicate scientific results – along the way they will learn programming, science writing, and technical animation skills.
This course trains students in data-based storytelling that promotes research and science communication for the benefit of communities and policymakers on local and global scales. Students will draft a science writing script, create custom raster and vector graphics, data visualizations, and animations in Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe After Effects, Adobe Premiere Pro, and Autodesk Maya. For their final project, students will assemble these data-driven assets into an animated video abstract.
Hello students, educators, and scientists!
As I explore the world of digital art, I have come across many helpful tools and techniques to visually communicate science. This page is designed to share what I've learned along the way and to help students, educators, and scientists navigate the world of digital art for science communication. Please feel free to view and download these resources to begin your science communication journey!
~ Terms of Use ~
These resources may contain unpublished data and are intended for educational purposes, not for reproduction or redistribution. Please contact me at jkb@ucsc.edu regarding copyright and use permissions or if you would be interested in featuring a workshop at your institution.
All workshops and materials are made freely available for students.
Support as you are able: $10-40 sliding scale suggested donation per workshop to download materials.
Thank you for your support.
Upcoming Courses:
Questions? Email me! jkb@ucsc.edu
Join me on Instagram as @artforscicomm or twitter as @jmkendallbar
to learn quick, easily digestible tips for visual science communication!
Workshop attendees have included lots of UCSC slugs, some UCSB gauchos, and even @babyyodasantacruz!
Animation in PowerPoint
Intro to Animation Workshop 1:
Learn how to masterfully time and present your data with simple, built-in animations & transitions. We will unveil the powerful animation abilities of this common software so that you can impress your conference attendees with smooth transitions and beautiful data presentation.
Presented November 12, 2020 in collaboration with UCSC's CORE (Communicating Ocean Research Effectively) & the CAMINO (the Center to Advance Mentored, Inquiry-Based Opportunities).
Download workshop files here. (caution - PPTX file is large [510 MB] ) By downloading, you are agreeing to the terms of use. These resources may contain unpublished data and are intended for educational purposes, not for reproduction or redistribution. Please contact me at jkb@ucsc.edu regarding copyright and use permissions or if you would be interested in featuring a workshop at your institution.
Animation in After Effects
Intro to Animation Workshop 2:
Learn how to build custom 2D line animations of scientific time series data to pair with video footage. We will go over the basics of animation using keyframes and then learn how to animate along a path to reveal your spectacular data.
Presenting November 20, 2020 in collaboration with UCSC's CORE (Communicating Ocean Research Effectively) & the CAMINO (the Center to Advance Mentored, Inquiry-Based Opportunities).
Download workshop files here. By downloading, you are agreeing to the terms of use. These resources may contain unpublished data and are intended for educational purposes, not for reproduction or redistribution. Please contact me at jkb@ucsc.edu regarding copyright and use permissions or if you would be interested in featuring a workshop at your institution.
Animation in Maya
Intro to Animation Workshop 3:
Learn how to program a 3D object’s motion using real 3D data using a simple Python script.
Presenting November 20, 2020 in collaboration with UCSC's CORE (Communicating Ocean Research Effectively) & the CAMINO (the Center to Advance Mentored, Inquiry-Based Opportunities).
To prepare for the workshop:
1. Please download Autodesk Maya. Autodesk software is free for all students. Get your educational license at: https://www.autodesk.com/education/
2. Download the workshop materials below.
3. Locate your "maya" folder in your Documents folder. Navigate to "...Documents\maya\projects\default" and organize your files by placing:
a. Elephant Seal 3D Model into "assets"
b. Ocean Texture Images into "images"
c. Seal Sample Data Input Code.py into "scripts"
d. Store "Sample Seal Data.csv" somewhere and get its directory
(for me it is: G:\My Drive\Art\Workshops\Autodesk Maya\Sample Seal Data.csv)
Download workshop files here. By downloading, you are agreeing to the terms of use. These resources may contain unpublished data and are intended for educational purposes, not for reproduction or redistribution. Please contact me at jkb@ucsc.edu regarding copyright and use permissions or if you would be interested in featuring a workshop at your institution.
Inkscape / Illustrator
Intro to Science Illustration: Learn to create a scalable vector graphic of your study organism.
The materials below are from "Art for Science Communication" workshops I have led at UC Santa Cruz and UC Santa Barbara. The slides on the left present and demonstrate the material while the document to the right is a step-by-step guide with a bit more information about each topic. The PDF to the left has PowerPoint slides which are associated with this PowerPoint file (please download this if you want to see the animations, "Animation Pane, "Slide Master", and "Selection Pane" features in action).