From the Smackdown!

Paniluris japonica (c) Diane T Sands

I posted the above image earlier today on the From the Stacks blog. I used carbon dust on Canson Illustration Board. My carbon dust kit once belonged to Elaine R.S. Hodges, co-founder of the Guild of Natural Science Illustrators. While I am not certain my piece quite lives up to her legacy, I felt better knowing she was looking over my shoulder on this one. Thanks, Elaine. 

Sketching as a way of seeing

I suppose it is not surprising to any of my long-term art followers that when I start to feel comfortable with a subject I begin drawing cartoons of it. Today's case in point being the above spiny lobster. Quick sketches like this are my way of seeing what I have learned, and what I still need to know. For example, I know that spiny lobsters have four pairs of walking legs and roughly how long they are in relation to the body. How many segments are there on each leg? What shape are the final segments? More research is needed!