November 02, 2005 | Stryker 
This image was my contribution to cg Talk's Machineflesh challenge that ran from 16 March to 18 June, 2004. The task was to "create an image depicting a mechanically altered or enhanced organic lifeform". I had a feeling that there would be a lot of cyborgs and warriors submitted, so I opted for a different approach - a surgeon. Modeling the Instruments I started with a for me unusual approach, namely sketching with pen and paper. I'm not much of a drawing artist but the challenge required a concept sketch and I also realized that I would need to have a rather clear and focused idea of what I was about to do, so pen and paper it was. I tried several concepts before I settled on a surgeon with a mechanical lens instead of an eye and surgical instruments instead of fingers. I had a pretty clear vision of what I wanted and I knew that I had to get the instruments right in order for the image to work properly. The instruments would be attached directly to the flesh and wired to the surgeon's neurological system , thus responding instantly to his movements. The instruments should also be removeable so he could replace say a scalpel with a drill if needed. My first priority was then to model five various surgical instruments and also figure out a way to attach these to the hand. Most of the mechanical modeling was done with Cinema's primitives and lathed and swept splines . I tried to keep to two guidelines when making the instruments: they should look real and they should look functional . The scene does take place in some distant future but I didn't want to create too futuristic instruments as I wanted the viewer to recognize each item. They should also look like they had a purpose and that they could actually perform that purpose. I needed five different instruments , all with some sort of connection to the medical world so I started browsing online catalogues from various medical suppliers, focusing on those dealing with eye surgery and dentistry . Finally I came up with a syringe whose hose or tube would be connected to a fluid socket on his arm; a saw ; a scalpel ; a pair of pliers/retractors and a miniature torch , also with a hose connected to a socket. 
Each instrument was constructed around an identical base designed to fit the finger just in front of the first knuckle or bend. I relied heavily on Cinemas Symmetry object in the construction, as I generally only had to model one half and then the Symmetry object made sure the other half was identical. 
The tubes running from the syringe and the mini-torch was made with splines and SweepNURBS . To fix the spline's endpoints to the instrument on one side and the socket on the other I used a simple XPresso setup. This allowed me to rotate and move the instrument without the tube losing its position. 
Rounded bevel (left) and flat bevel (right)
|  Name : Anders Kjellberg
Nickname : Cartesius
Profession : Graduate student /hobbyist
Nationality : Sweden
Birth : 04/1969
I've been dabbling in 3D since 1999 when I got a copy of Bryce. One or two years later I discovered Cinema 4D via a demo on a magazine cover CD and in 2001 I got Cinema 4D XL 6 on an educational license. I'm now using Cinema 4D R8.5and BodyPaint 3D R2, with Adobe Photoshopfor postprocessing. 
Concept sketch
The instruments and a close-up of the attachment device
Most of the mechanical parts were modeled using splines and ExtrudeNURBS
I also tried as far as possible to give each edge a slight bevel or fillet as I wanted the edges to catch highlights . No angle in nature is 90° and not many manmade angles are exactly 90° either, and by giving the edges just a slight bevel the items immediately gains a more realistic look and will react more naturally to light. This can shoot the polygon count through the roof if one is not careful but I've found that flat bevels usually works just as good as rounded bevels, at least if the camera isn't getting too close in the final render. | 
