How I make science animations

To try everything Brilliant has to offer-free-for a full 30 days, visit brilliant.org/ArtemKirsanov/
The first 200 of you will get 20% off Brilliant’s annual premium subscription.
My name is Artem, I'm a neuroscience PhD student at NYU. In this long-requested video I share the creative process behind my videos - what software I use and break down some of my previous animations.
Patreon: / artemkirsanov
Twitter: / artemkrsv
Github: github.com/ArtemKirsanov
OUTLINE:
00:00 Introduction
01:09 Software: After Effects
02:03 Software: Python modules
05:16 Software: Blender
05:55 Some helper software
7:30 Mathematical animations
22:54 3D neuron activity
23:58 Surface slicing
30:32 3D brains
32:50 Branching model
40:57 Brilliant
42:55 Outro
Some links:
Manim: docs.manim.community/en/stable/
Matplotlib: matplotlib.org/
BlenderNeuron: blenderneuron.org/
BlenderSpike: github.com/ArtemKirsanov/Blen...
BlenderBrain: github.com/ArtemKirsanov/Blen...
Colormaps addon: github.com/TheJeran/Blender-C...
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This video was sponsored by Brilliant

[@ArtemKirsanov]

To try everything Brilliant has to offer-free-for a full 30 days, visit brilliant.org/ArtemKirsanov/ The first 200 of you will get 20% off Brilliant’s annual premium subscription.

[@seventrancegamer4576]

Hey u teach me

[@IITians_analysis]

This guy: - knows python with libs like matplotlib - is awesome with AE, Pr, Blender - Publishes open source plugins - Knows Biology and Physics - Knows Illustrator, Photoshop, Audition - Can speak on camera articulately. Amazed and inspired. Update: Even knowing all this is not enough. There is 'Art' on top of that, Art.

[@RaptorT1V]

he has at least 3 guitars. => he can also play a guitar

[@Velereonics]

Be careful. My friend got into this exact thing, making cool little visuals for telescope array data, and he somehow got sucked into that being his entire career.

[@solaris413]

underrated

[@spuds5379]

can we meet your friend please

[@DrELDful]

May I ask what his job position is called? For research :)

[@Velereonics]

@@DrELDful the first one he did was for SpaceX and they just hired him as an animator, I think he freelanced for about 2 years, as different made-up things like "technical animator" and "data visualization strategist." He's settled now at a big company which I'll have to ask him if I can say, but he's labeled as a visualization engineer. I think it's a legit position now, but when he got into it, it was pretty much like someone's at the conference for the SpaceX thing, asks who did the visualizations, etc. So it didn't really matter what he called himself back then because people just knew that there was a guy doing it and they needed to figure out who it was.

[@Velereonics]

He in particular gets paid well, not a crazy amount of money or anything, but he lives in La so he must make at least a pretty decent amount

[@jyothishkumar3098]

So for open source people: - Natron or Blender (Movie Compositor) - Manim (Framework) - Matplotlib (Lower level module) - Blender (3D) - Inkscape (Vector editor) - GIMP (Raster Editor and Compositor) - Kdenlive or Blender (Video Editor)

[@josephjoseph2673]

❤

[@albertemc2stein290]

I've been doing visualisations with Pythons for years now. But that notebook with plots at 3:00 is just beyond anything i've seen. The gradients are beautiful, the code clean. Really a top tier design all the way through. Major props.

[@ArtemKirsanov]

Wow, thanks!

[@_.-.-_.-.--.-_.-]

@albert What's this notebook's name please?

[@imaman1184]

@@_.-.-_.-.--.-_.- jupyter notebook?

[@Zzz-xt6ki]

@@_.-.-_.-.--.-_.- Jupyter Notebook

[@albertemc2stein290]

@@_.-.-_.-.--.-_.- Looks like plain jupyter notebooks to me. It's like an interactive python session thats great for interactive code

[@Gonkee]

Wow, this is absolutely mindblowing. So much to learn. You are doing the youtube community a great service by sharing all this knowledge, my friend.

[@ArtemKirsanov]

Thank you!!

[@johnly_]

Agreed, I can't believe how much I just learned from this vid. So excited to try some of it out!

[@abhishek.shenoy]

This has to be the best Python animation tutorial I have ever seen and some of the most aesthetically pleasing animations!!! Really amazing work!

[@safatkhan676]

I can't believe you actually took the time to share this with us. Thank you so much. Please keep producing the amazing content. :D

[@mikip3242]

Absolutely awesome. Thanks for taking notes about each and every thing I asked for this video :D

[@tonsetz]

Holy cow Artem, this is gold! What a nice work, you deserve much more!

[@mostafaahmadi4998]

Thank you, Artem, for generously sharing your knowledge. As a high school physics teacher, I believe that visualization is central to explaining intricate physics concepts. I hold great appreciation for individuals like you who have accumulated valuable wisdom from their own experiences over the years. By making this hard-earned wisdom accessible to others, you're easing their path and sparing them from going through the same trial-and-error process, which can lead to unnecessary frustrations and struggles. Your contributions highlight the finest elements of human collaboration and learning.

[@TomerGewirtzman]

Science meets art meets pedagogy. You are the epitome of this intersection. Thank you so much for this and everything else you do!

[@JumpingCow]

Just a fantastic video! So much information. And wow - what a deep appreciation I have for the work and attention to detail you put into your creations. World class!

[@berkay_istil]

All of the information you shared in this video is just priceless. Thank you so much! Your work is just phenomenal.

[@PaigeTArt]

I had no idea you did your own graphics for these. I really enjoy the channel's aesthetic

[@timothynwanwene4378]

Your mind is truly brilliant. You just demystify science animations. That's a whole lot of work you put in to generate your videos. Thank you.

[@nitinchalla3273]

Man this is really beautiful, your talent and work really show in your videos. Thank you so much for sharing this.

[@andgate6204]

Now this is the video I've been waiting for. Blowing my mind here.

[@sankalpkumar4490]

This is so slick. Got to learn a lot. Thanks for all the hard work that has gone into it.

[@appidydafoo]

Thank you for sharing in depth technical details on your workflow, very much appreciated. I'm working on a book that needs some static scientific images at various points and this will be very helpful.

[@marcfruchtman9473]

Very amazing list. Quite a variety of different software packages! Really liked the way you used did the Y axis slice... well done.

[@Gshdhsbjfb]

how how how how HOW DO YOU HAVE THE TIME OMGGGGGG thank you so much for this and especially the neural manifolds and toroidal coordinate system because i'm trying to get a grasp on neural dynamics---- those two videos were so good at visualising the concepts 😤😭

[@krishnizzle]

You are an inspiration. I am a fellow computational neuroscientist, and although I have studied and published about many of the things you talk about, I have never seen such clear animations of the concepts. Your videos give me new ideas about avenues of research, and I don't think I am alone. Keep going!

[@FunFindsYT]

This is such a great source of info for future science channels! I hope to see more of them pop up

[@KalebPeters99]

I see new sci-comm channels with great potential popping up all the time! I think 3b1b's SoME competitions are having their intended effect 👏👏 And contributions like Artem's are pure gold for us hopefuls 😅

[@pp2924]

Really nice video. Thank you for your help, I have been looking for this for a while, in order to do some animations. Keep uploading really good content.

[@pikomone3110]

Really awesome. I was long wondering how these wonderful scientific animations were made and long the puzzle partially solved.

[@TestPythonDS93]

I was looking for a tutorial like that for so long, thank you very much

[@Scaryder92]

I have been waiting for this video since the first time I saw one of your videos! Amazing, thank you!! :)

[@petevenuti7355]

So much work! Work with so much value too! You deserve much rewards!

[@darrenlefcoe]

i have been doing low level python coding videos for a while. I must say that your visualisations and the way that you put them together are excellent !!

[@msodev]

yo... This is an insane video, you rock man, keep pushing it!!

[@forifdeflais2051]

Descubrí este canal accidentalmente y me sorprendió tu capacidad para resolver problemas y tu talento para comunicar tus ideas. Enhorabuena

[@sorry4all]

Your visualizations are one of the most refined ones I've seen.

[@dhruvatreya]

OMG I thought this would be some kind workflow show-off thing like others. But you really explained it well. I always loved your videos. And this one is also very good.

[@georgekokkinakis7288]

The best tutorial on scientific animation I have seen so far. 1000 bravos

[@NicholasRenotte]

Fascinating seeing the process, props to you for sharing 🙏! I started playing with manim ce a while ago and very quickly grasped just how much work goes into Grant’s videos, insane!

[@HungryEagle2610]

This is huge! Thanks so much for this. I always wanted something like a roadmap to explain things going on in my head. Love your mix and match... cheers! Keep it up man!

[@ArtemKirsanov]

Thanks! :)

[@fallenangel8785]

Man , i was waiting for this video since last month ❤❤❤❤, thank you

[@stafan102938]

Dude you are killing it, genuinely so impressed by your animation skills, such a cool toolset to have. Imagine if people presented their research papers using these kinds of tools instead of generic matplotlib graphs, science communication would be revolutionised.

[@KalebPeters99]

*will 😉

[@nilshallmanns3725]

Not enough buget :D

[@stafan102938]

@@nilshallmanns3725 Reckon it's mostly just down to time pressure and people not making the effort to learn to do it. A lot of scientists still don't know how to code so the idea of producing something like this is well off

[@odissey2]

Scientists just write proposals and reports. We usually hired a graphic artist to finish them

[@alexanderr.5066]

Yes, I am usually sceptical about using MPL too, and got sick of it's boring estethics. The more surprising it is to see what visuals can be done with it by someone with skill. Respect

[@dl1083]

Thank you so much for this video! And congrats on reaching 100K!

[@teemu3436]

You're actually the best for open sourcing these

[@Kakben]

Thank you! I have been using python to animate graphs in my lectures on business economics but I have gotten nowhere near the pleasing aesthetics of yours. Will be stealing your methods, so a massive thank you to your excellent explanation! Good luck on the PhD, I just got mine in May and I know what kind of effort goes into it!

[@BinaryDood]

As an animator and not coder. Its ironic how much better the python animations are than anything I could do by hand. Would be really useful for certain types of graphics that are hard to draw.

[@damirtenishev6874]

Absolutely amazing! Thank you so much for sharing the practical experience of creating nice demos. I put this to "must learn" list for my talents and set the bar for presentations. The next step would be to share a video on what motivates you for all this hard work. It could help many others who are seeking for their area of interests.

[@Bitsmiths]

Very insightful. Always looking for tips and shortcuts.

[@tadaspetra]

I had to check how often you upload because this seems like such a crazy amount of work for each video

[@cariyaputta]

Thanks for the detailed breakdown.

[@Darkslide99]

I'm a toxicologist in the neuro, ocular, cardio, everything space and this is the coolest video on the interwebs! Me at my desk struggling to learn Python...this is so inspiring!

[@matthewthompson6455]

This video is such an amazing educational resource. Thank you so much !!!

[@michaelwisniewski6047]

This is amazing! I'll never be sophisticated enough to use this and probably will never have the need, but I'll always look at science animations in a different light.

[@jamesmichaelsimmons]

Fantastic video! Thanks for sharing your process. This was one of the most insightful instructional videos ive seen.

[@Kuramarts]

This video was phenomenal! Loved it

[@JeremyChone]

Wow, super impressive! Thanks for making this video.

[@GraphicsAstroVideo]

This is awesome! Thank you for a big help in blender and python

[@TheBrownBox]

This is crazy amount of work! Thank you a lot for sharing!

[@yannhuang6996]

thank you for sharing this with us!

[@fahreddinsusar4929]

This guy speaks without his voice but his facial expressions. I appreciate the valuable information you provide mate!

[@mahmoudiamir]

I really needed some video like this

[@ComputationalModelingExpert]

Wow, awesome video! 💫 I will try these tricks for my future videos. I agree with you, manim is sometimes a bit too complicated. Your solution combining different software seems ideal Looking forward to your next videos!

[@aniceto11]

Congrats, I learned a lot! Please keep doing these "how I made" videos when possible.

[@faceofdead]

crazy complex shiatzu and awesome way to communicate and synthesize data

[@mohara_nascimento]

What a interesting video, I was'nt look for it, it appers occasionally for me and was a great surprise.

[@BradleyEalden]

These visuals are excellent

[@atmloginvideos]

Um vídeo muito instrutivo que nos dá um bom mapa do caminho a seguir. Obrigado pela publicação.

[@lewisguapo]

I'm no scientist but bro you are killing on the editing... props!!!🔥🔥🔥

[@yolamontalvan9502]

Thank you professor. Just what I wanted to know.

[@mr-boo]

This is extremely useful. Thanks so much for sharing this :)

[@1PercentPure]

I really appreciate this! Thank you! I've actually been writing my own python tools using gpt4 & new image models :)

[@spartacus701]

Amazing job ! Really great video! Thank you!

[@r_mclovin]

Insane... Your knowledge and skills are insane...

[@bintang_psiko]

YOU ARE A FCKG GODSEND DUDE! I was familiar and have used matplotlib before but I didn't know that you could use it for 2D animation. THANK YOU!

[@diegovalentino2083]

This is one of the best videos I've ever seen

[@fossil1208]

Thanks! This was really helpful.

[@harrycrosswell2844]

THANK YOU SO MUCH!

[@bjorgemeulemeester1398]

Absolutely quality content

[@ProgZ]

Ooh, i was wondering about that ! Manim also becomes so slow once you have many animations, so I think it's indeed better to just make small parts there Thanks !

[@douglasaraujo9763]

Amazing and very helpful video!

[@smilefaxxe2557]

Thank you for this video! And congratulations for 100k subs! 🥳🥳🥳

[@ArtemKirsanov]

Thank you!

[@HafidRecords]

Wow, this is awesome. Thanks!

[@science9181]

Regarding your comment "Drawing gradient lines in manim" - Take a look at Brian Amedee's video "The Archimedean Spiral" right around 45s, where he draws a circle and a spiral with gradient lines. Later in the video he explains the code. Thank you also for sharing your animation process. Very great work!

[@boolcode]

Such a good video! Thanks

[@six1free]

thank you for this video... it gave me that one bit I was missing - using some programing language I've already been using forever, just differently :D

[@arunprabhu8120]

Loved the video and your content presentation in general. Keep going :)

[@1x1johnny]

100000 subs! 🎉 Congratz!!!

[@frankj8351]

Missed opportunity to call your Blender addon Blendrites :) Fantastic video! I always wondered how these animations were made. Thank you for sharing.

[@ArtemKirsanov]

Thanks! Damn it you're right!! Now I will have to create another add-on specifically to use that cool name 🔥

[@capcloud]

wow this is a masterclass!

[@MrLaxr-op4be]

Information overloaded ! But learning . Thanks for the video !

[@mohali4338]

Wow! This is so cool. Thanks for sharing :)

[@SMALLEMBERS]

So incredibly inspiring ✨️ thankyou!!!!!!!

[@bluebon5228]

Appreciate it , thanks for sharing

[@anon35468]

What an amazing video!

[@user-fv2md3nb8x]

Well explained

[@SBImNotWritingMyNameHere]

Have a good day man Youre awesome

[@Bubatu7]

Fantastic. I had no idea matplotlib had animation capabilities.

[@htchamber2776]

Wow you can make a whole course out of this info great vid

[@asdf56790]

Amazing!! thank you for sharing :)

[@feelfree.1]

Congratulations for passing 100k Subscribers 👍🏼😀

[@sulavjunghamal]

I was proud of myself creating a 30 second animation video last week. Dude here is creating one of the most complex animations on youtube to explain how he created the complex animation in his another video. I just want to know how much time did you take to make this 43 minute video. This is intense and I loved it. 😮

[@defenestrated23]

As a rule of thumb, KZbin videos take about an hour of work per minute of video. Something more complex like this could easily take more.

[@formxshape]

It took him minimal 43 minutes.

[@DARKHUDS]

fr bro

[@XRAYPubgMobile]

@@formxshape hahaha

[@XRAYPubgMobile]

@@defenestrated23 You're right, though it highly depends on the experience of the editor and how much animating is involved. I think this video couldve easily taken abt a week to put together.

[@stratfanstl]

This was very helpful. This helps to explain how to best allocate work to the most appropriate tool, with modeling going to language oriented tools while sequencing and positioning are better done with things like Adobe Aftereffects. The Adobe stuff can add up in cost given the yearly licensing model but, if you are going to spend ANY time creating this type of content, the extra productivity is probably worth 10x the yearly subscription cost for only 2-3 videos. I have been learning Manim by modeling the impacts of storms on insurance claims and have already discovered things matplotlib can do more intuitively. This video makes it apparent learning more about matplotlib would be beneficial.

[@SunDevilDave]

Scientific visualization is a great field to get into. It is overlooked vs. people wanting to make games. "Serious games" is an actual thing and have good-paying employment opportunities with companies that won't work you to death. Nice to see this content.