User:Ben Mills/MakingMolecules
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I've had a few messages on my talk page asking how to make 3D images of molecules like the ones I upload.
Here's how:
- Download Accelrys DS Visualizer Pro 1.6 for Windows or Linux
- Install the program
- You can create structures in three ways.
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- Either download and open an existing 3D file in a format such as .mol or .pdb.
- Or draw a structure in ChemDraw (or equivalent), then copy and paste it to DS Visualizer, which will make it 3D for you.
- Or, finally, in DS Visualizer, go View > Toolbars > Sketching and some pencil-like icons will appear. Use these to make add atoms, chains and rings of carbon atoms. Use the periodic table button, or right-click, to get a list of elements to which you can change any of these carbons.
- Orient the molecule in the way you'd like it to appear in your final image
- Choose a style in which to render your molecule: CPK (van der Waals radii), ball and stick, stick, polyhedra or wire
- Check what you see in front of you is how you want the completed image to look
- Select File > Save As and choose a filename
- Set the file type as Image Files (*.png, *.jpg, *.jpeg, *.bmp)
- Select an appropriately large image size - I use 1100px height
- Save the image
- Edit the image in, for example, Photoshop
- Resize the image to something sensible for Wikipedia, like 1000px width
- this is better than saving the image to 1000px width from DS Visualizer because it makes for a smoother, antialiased image
- Add a border of 50px to top, bottom, left and right (i.e. 100px extra height and 100px extra width)
- Save as a high-quality PNG-24 and upload to the Commons
If this is insufficient information to get you going, just let me know and I'll do my best to help.
Have fun making molecules!
Ben
