Description

This two-page illustration explores the fascinating symbiotic relationship between the Hawaiian bobtail squid and the bioluminescent bacterium Vibrio fischeri. The first page introduces the basics of their partnership, while the second focuses on the broader significance of studying V. fischeri itself.

Their relationship is full of delightful biology. There’s so much depth in their relationship, I could make a whole series of illustrations on the topic.

I created this poster after learning that Dr. Lynch’s lab, which studies this bacteria, has had difficulty attracting new Ph.D. candidates to the project. He believes this is partly because people don’t realize how important and unique this system is. I wanted to make something eye-catching and accessible that could spark curiosity, communicate the science, and maybe even help recruit future researchers.

Modelling the Squid

The squid and the anatomy were modelling in ZBrush, and textured mainly in Cinema4D for rendering in Redshift. In ZBrush, I painted out a SSS map and a couple of masks, but most of the texturing was with a Redshift node network.

Bacteria

The bacteria were made in Cinema4D with primitives, hair, and spline flagellum.