# Carbon Atlas: editorial artwork

Created 9 September 2026 with the built-in OpenAI ImageGen tool. These are conceptual illustrations. Scientific claims are in the page's HTML, with citations; the art is not evidence, molecular coordinates, clinical imaging or an anatomical model.

## Delivered files

- fiber-editorial-1200.webp (1200 × 800) and fiber-editorial-720.webp (720 × 480): fiber chapter. Amber fiber strands and separate sage/charcoal microbes. Some strands continue past the microbial group. This is not a depiction of fiber becoming bacteria or a measurement of fermentation.
- breath-editorial-1200.webp (1200 × 800) and breath-editorial-720.webp (720 × 480): breath chapter. An abstract outward-flow motif. The ribbon is not visible CO₂, a blood vessel or lung anatomy.

Original generated PNGs are retained in the author's local generation archive. WebP derivatives were resized without cropping or retouching. Source renders: exec-4f8caa73-2f05-4f45-b44a-7cf404293fce.png and exec-beae1d10-f344-4cea-a052-bf4afbf1d3e6.png. No stock artwork was downloaded for these additions. The fiber reference image was supplied by the author; its palette and material language guided the refinement. Design inspiration is credited in the article.

## Motion and labels

An optional 20-second alternating camera-like drift scales each image by up to 3.5%; it describes no biological rate or quantity. Pause is local; global Motion off and the operating system's reduced-motion preference stop it. Off-screen illustrations pause. Labels remain HTML and never drift. The molecular viewers continue to use verified RCSB data, not generated artwork.

## Scientific context

- [Fiber definitions and overlapping properties — Institute of Medicine](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK223591/)
- [Fiber property categories — AHRQ, 2025](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK619141/table/ch2.tab2/?report=objectonly)
- [Processing changes oat beta-glucan properties — Tosh et al.](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20527967/)
- [Distinct in-vitro fermentation patterns — Timm et al.](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20482283/)
- [Human SCFA availability study — Boets et al.](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27510655/)
- [Carbon dioxide transport — OpenStax](https://openstax.org/books/anatomy-and-physiology-2e/pages/22-5-transport-of-gases)

## Fiber prompt — reference-image refinement

Refine this supplied conceptual fiber artwork for a sophisticated science editorial, Carbon Atlas. Preserve its premium photorealistic 3D material language: warm ivory background #f8f6ef, translucent honey amber strands, muted sage and charcoal rod-shaped microbial forms, delicate shadows, no text. Create a landscape composition 1536x1024 with generous clean margins and all important forms inside central 80%. Flow from upper left fibrous strands toward a SMALL cluster of separated sage/charcoal microbes near lower right. Crucial conceptual correction: the fibers do not transform into bacteria. Several amber strands pass past the cluster and continue unbroken toward the lower right; only some finer strands terminate near the microbes with small amber fragments nearby. Microbes remain visibly separate intact rounded rods, no strands emerging from bacterial bodies. Do not add molecules, atomic bonds, anatomical labels, arrows, text, gut cross-sections or medical claims. This is an explicitly conceptual editorial illustration, not a scientific molecular model. Restrained amber, sage, charcoal palette and ivory negative space, tactile translucent material, beautiful soft studio lighting, elegant quiet visual depth. No borders, no watermark.

## Breath prompt — new image generation

Create a beautiful premium editorial 3D illustration for Carbon Atlas, a restrained science story about carbon leaving the body in exhaled air. Landscape 1536x1024. Warm ivory seamless background #f8f6ef, soft studio shadows, delicate translucent honey amber material with touches of muted sage and charcoal. An abstract translucent amber ribbon plume starts compact on the lower left and unfurls gently toward the upper right into broad airy delicate silk-like folds, almost invisible at its distant tips. The shape suggests release and diffusion, with generous clean space in the upper left and lower right for HTML captions later. No lungs, anatomy, cells, microscopic objects, balls, atoms, molecular models, oxygen symbols, text, numbers, arrows or labels. Do not depict any solid turning into gas or a literal chemical reaction; this is an atmospheric conceptual illustration of outward flow, to accompany a separate scientific explanation. Beautiful sculptural silhouette and quiet material realism, cream amber sage charcoal palette, softly lit translucent edges, elegant empty space, no frame, watermark or overly glowing light effects.

## Food chapter illustrations — 10 September 2026

Three still lifes were explored in the same cream, amber, sage and charcoal palette. After the author's 10 September UX review, they were removed from the builder introductions in favor of the original molecular previews. The files and prompts remain archived here. All foods contain mixtures of nutrients; these generated illustrations are not nutrient-purity charts, portion recommendations or chemical models.

The original hero and molecular models were retained. Each image was generated with the built-in OpenAI tool, visually reviewed, then resized from 1536 × 1024 to 720 × 480 WebP without cropping or retouching. The three archived files total 68258 bytes and are no longer requested by the article. No stock assets or new rendering libraries were needed.

### carbohydrate-foods-v2

File: carbohydrate-foods-v2.webp

Exact prompt:

Use case: stylized-concept. Asset type: modest standalone chapter illustration beside interactive controls in a sophisticated science editorial article. Create exactly one polished landscape 3:2 image, not a collage. Style: tactile, sophisticated 3D editorial studio still life with realistic food textures and subtly sculptural forms, artisanal matte ceramic, soft natural daylight from upper left, gentle contact shadows. Scene: seamless warm cream #faf8f2 surface and background, restrained amber, sage and charcoal accents expressed naturally in the food. Composition: a small, balanced central grouping viewed at a gentle three-quarter angle, all objects fully visible, generous clean negative space around the grouping and above it. No text, letters, labels, numbers, diagram, molecule, anatomy, icons, watermark, decorative borders or additional props. Foods are ordinary examples that provide the nutrient among other nutrients; no visual suggestion of nutrient purity or exclusivity. Subject: one small shallow cream ceramic bowl of dry rolled oats, one whole ripe green-gold pear with a natural short stem, and one small slice of rustic wholegrain bread with a richly textured amber crust. Only these three foods. Keep portions modest and appetizing, calmly arranged as a cohesive still life.

### lipid-foods-v2

File: lipid-foods-v2.webp

Exact prompt:

Use case: stylized-concept. Asset type: modest standalone chapter illustration beside interactive controls in a sophisticated science editorial article. Create exactly one polished landscape 3:2 image, not a collage. Style: tactile, sophisticated 3D editorial studio still life with realistic food textures and subtly sculptural forms, artisanal matte ceramic, soft natural daylight from upper left, gentle contact shadows. Scene: seamless warm cream #faf8f2 surface and background, restrained amber, sage and charcoal accents expressed naturally in the food. Composition: a small, balanced central grouping viewed at a gentle three-quarter angle, all objects fully visible, generous clean negative space around the grouping and above it. No text, letters, labels, numbers, diagram, molecule, anatomy, icons, watermark, decorative borders or additional props. Foods are ordinary examples that provide the nutrient among other nutrients; no visual suggestion of nutrient purity or exclusivity. Subject: one avocado half with its brown stone intact, a small grouping of natural walnut halves, and one tiny cream ceramic cup containing golden olive oil. Only these three foods. Keep portions modest and appetizing, calmly arranged as a cohesive still life.

### protein-foods-v2

File: protein-foods-v2.webp

Exact prompt:

Use case: stylized-concept. Asset type: modest standalone chapter illustration beside interactive controls in a sophisticated science editorial article. Create exactly one polished landscape 3:2 image, not a collage. Style: tactile, sophisticated 3D editorial studio still life with realistic food textures and subtly sculptural forms, artisanal matte ceramic, soft natural daylight from upper left, gentle contact shadows. Scene: seamless warm cream #faf8f2 surface and background, restrained amber, sage and charcoal accents expressed naturally in the food. Composition: a small, balanced central grouping viewed at a gentle three-quarter angle, all objects fully visible, generous clean negative space around the grouping and above it. No text, letters, labels, numbers, diagram, molecule, anatomy, icons, watermark, decorative borders or additional props. Foods are ordinary examples that provide the nutrient among other nutrients; no visual suggestion of nutrient purity or exclusivity. Subject: one small shallow cream ceramic bowl of cooked brown lentils, a few plain ivory tofu cubes, and one peeled cooked egg cut into two halves showing firm golden yolks. Only these three foods. Keep portions modest and appetizing, calmly arranged as a cohesive still life.