How to create scientific graphics: an inside look from Nature
TLDRThe video script details the intricate process of creating explanatory graphics for scientific articles, as practiced by the Nature Portfolio's team of scientific art editors. The focus is on the phenomenon of magnetoreception, specifically in the European robin, which uses a light-sensitive molecule in its eye to detect Earth's magnetic field for navigation. The script outlines the initial concept stages, which can vary from digital suggestions to hand-drawn sketches, and emphasizes the iterative collaboration between the art editors, authors, and editors. The final graphic is a culmination of design decisions that adhere to the Nature Portfolio style guide, ensuring accessibility and consistency across journals. The graphic uses a nested diagram format, color-coding, and visual hierarchy to convey the complex process of magnetosensing in a clear and engaging manner, ultimately enhancing readers' understanding of the research.
Takeaways
- 🎨 Visual graphics are crucial for explaining scientific processes, phenomena, or events.
- 📚 Nature Portfolio has a team of over 30 scientific art editors who collaborate with authors and editors.
- 🖌️ Illustrator Nik Spencer from Nature’s art team demonstrates the creation of an explanatory graphic.
- 🧭 The topic of the graphic is magnetoreception, which is the detection of a magnetic field for navigation.
- 🕊️ The research focuses on a light-sensitive molecule in the European robin's eye that aids in magnetoreception.
- 💡 The molecule absorbs light and produces electrons whose quantum mechanical spins are influenced by Earth’s magnetic field.
- 📝 Initial graphic concepts can vary from detailed digital suggestions to rough sketches.
- ✏️ The draft graphic required adjustments to emphasize the bird's flight and interaction with the magnetic field.
- 🖥️ The graphic is drawn using computer software, with further adjustments for clarity and prominence of key elements.
- ⏱️ The drawing process can take between 1 to 8 hours, depending on the graphic's complexity.
- 🎨 Art editors make design decisions based on expertise and the Nature Portfolio style guide for consistency and accessibility.
- 🔍 The figure undergoes revisions with the editor and author before final checks by the sub-editor.
- 📐 The final graphic uses nested diagrams to clarify relationships and a logical visual hierarchy.
- 🔴 Two shades of red are used to highlight the main findings related to the protein and reaction product.
- 🔵 Secondary elements like the photoreceptor and photon are toned down for contrast and focus.
- 🎨 The bird’s natural colors are used for accuracy, deviating from the standard Nature color palette.
- 🌐 The graphic includes repeated depictions of the magnetic field to emphasize its sensitivity to changes in direction.
Q & A
What is the role of visual graphics in explaining scientific processes, phenomena, or events?
-Visual graphics are fundamental in explaining scientific processes, phenomena, or events as they help to create compelling and accurate representations that can be easily understood.
How many scientific art editors work at Nature Portfolio?
-Nature Portfolio has a dedicated team of more than 30 scientific art editors.
What is the purpose of the graphics created by the art team at Nature Portfolio?
-The graphics are created to accompany summary and review articles, providing visual explanations that summarize entire research articles into a single image.
What is the topic of the research article that illustrator Nik Spencer is summarizing in the script?
-The topic is magnetoreception, which is the ability to detect a magnetic field to perceive direction, altitude, or location.
What is unique about the sense of magnetoreception compared to vision and hearing?
-Magnetoreception is a sense that we know relatively little about compared to vision and hearing.
What molecule in the eye of the European robin is investigated in the paper published in Nature?
-The paper investigates a light-sensitive molecule that absorbs light and produces a pair of electrons, whose quantum mechanical spins are influenced by Earth's magnetic field.
In what forms do initial concepts for News & Views figures come to the art team?
-Initial concepts can come in many forms, ranging from detailed digital suggestions from authors to rough sketches on paper.
What adjustments were made to the initial graphic idea from the expert author?
-Adjustments included giving more prominence to the bird's flight and its interaction with the magnetic field, and clarifying the complicated steps with fewer arrows.
How long does the drawing process for a graphic typically take?
-The drawing process can take between 1 and 8 hours, depending on the complexity of the graphic.
What considerations do art editors have to make when creating graphics for Nature Portfolio?
-Art editors have to make important design decisions based on their expertise and the Nature Portfolio style guide, ensuring graphics meet accessibility requirements and have a consistent look across journals.
How does the final graphic differ from the editor's sketch in terms of element order and visual hierarchy?
-The final graphic rearranges the order of elements to read clearly from left to right and uses nested diagrams to show relationships. It also simplifies details and uses color to highlight important elements and create a logical visual hierarchy.
What was the reason for using the bird's natural colors in the final graphic?
-The bird's natural colors were used for accuracy since a specific robin species was the subject of the study.
How does the graphic emphasize the sensitivity of radical pairs to Earth's magnetic field?
-The graphic includes a repeated depiction of the magnetic field next to both the birds and the radical pair, emphasizing their sensitivity to Earth's magnetic field and the birds' ability to sense field differences when changing direction.
Outlines
🎨 The Art of Scientific Illustration
This paragraph introduces the crucial role of visual graphics in explaining scientific concepts and the collaborative efforts at Nature Portfolio. A team of over 30 scientific art editors works closely with authors and editors to craft compelling and accurate visuals for articles. The process is exemplified through the creation of an explanatory graphic for a research article on magnetoreception in European robins. The graphic aims to summarize the complex process of how a light-sensitive molecule in the bird's eye helps it navigate using Earth's magnetic field. The paragraph also touches on the initial stages of graphic development, which can vary from detailed digital suggestions to rough sketches, and the importance of clear communication and adjustments to the concept before the actual drawing begins.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Visual graphics
💡Nature Portfolio
💡Scientific art editors
💡Explanatory graphic
💡Magnetoreception
💡Quantum mechanical spins
💡News & Views figures
💡Nested diagrams
💡Cryptochrome protein
💡FAD molecule
💡Visual hierarchy
Highlights
Visual graphics are essential for explaining scientific processes, phenomena, or events.
Nature Portfolio employs over 30 scientific art editors to collaborate with authors and editors on graphics for articles.
Illustrator Nik Spencer from Nature’s art team demonstrates the creation of an explanatory graphic.
The research article focuses on magnetoreception, a poorly understood sense used to detect magnetic fields for navigation.
The study investigates a light-sensitive molecule in the European robin's eye that helps in detecting Earth's magnetic field.
Graphics for News & Views can come in various forms, from detailed digital suggestions to rough sketches.
The initial graphic draft of the magnetosensing mechanism needed adjustments for clarity and prominence.
The revised concept aimed to emphasize the bird's flight and interaction with the magnetic field.
The drawing process can range from 1 to 8 hours, depending on the graphic's complexity.
Art editors make design decisions following the Nature Portfolio style guide to ensure accessibility and consistency.
The figure undergoes revisions with the editor and author before final checks by the sub-editor.
The final graphic rearranges elements for a clear left-to-right reading and uses nested diagrams for clarity.
Details of the FAD molecule and its amino acid were simplified to give prominence to other elements.
Two shades of red are used to highlight the main findings of the paper, creating a logical visual hierarchy.
Consistent colors are used to visually link proteins inside the cell to those depicted elsewhere in the diagram.
Secondary elements like the photoreceptor and photon are toned down to provide contrast and focus.
The bird's natural colors were used for accuracy, deviating from the Nature color palette.
The graphic includes repeated depictions of the magnetic field to emphasize sensitivity to Earth's magnetic field variations.
The final graphic is a clear, informative, and visually appealing summary that complements the main article.
Such graphics increase comprehension and provide valuable insight at a glance.
Transcripts
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