conventions and killer robots

Firecracker flower (Dichelostemma ida-maia) and frenemies.

I posted the companion piece to this guy over at the Illustration Smackdown on From the Stacks. I know many botanical artists who do wonderful jaw-dropping work. Once I thought I might try to join them. However, I am not very good at following lists of conventions - and the American Society of Botanical Artists have a bunch. For the ASBA, scientific illustration is a smaller piece of botanical art. In my mind, it is the other way around

Not only do I have a predilection for drawing animals, but I kept getting hung up on botanical traditions, like the isolated specimens on a pure white background with no extras. I can’t help it. I find it kind of boring. Mentally, I draw wild beasts into these delicate works, ripping the foliage apart or inserting killer robots with blasters setting fire to the petals. This time I went beyond mentally drawing, and I must say I am glad I did. :)

smacked by a fish (again)

I posted this gem earlier today over on the From the Stacks blog. This time  (as a tool to help my own self see the changes over time) I remembered to take some photos of the process.

These follow after the break below. :)

Using my head

The latest Illustration Smackdown posted on the From the Stacks blog featured the chimpanzee, Pan troglodytes. It also set me head-to-head with Jane Goodall, probably the only time in my life I can say that. 

In the aforementioned blog, I blather on for a bit about comparative anatomy, a subject that I find fascinating. It is a good example of why biology is, in my opinion, as much about vocabulary as it is about getting your hands dirty. Hand, paw, hoof, flipper, talon, carpals - all of these words refer to the same set of bones in different animals. While comparative anatomy is usually limited to vertebrates, it is helpful when looking at invertebrates of the same order. 

I created the above image with carbon dust on Ross Board. It was my first usage of Ross Board, due largely to the fact that it ceased being produced before I hit high school. Created by the Ross brothers out of Philadelphia, the board was used for carbon dust illustrations by medical & scientific illustrators.

It is been a long time since it was produced, although many people have tried to duplicate it. The rollers used to make the white clay-coated paper have disappeared along with the Ross brothers into history. I obtained some board through a retired illustrator and have been hesitant to use it. I feared ruining it. Ross board has a heavier tooth than other boards I have used. Having started with smoother boards, I am not sure I like it. I suppose that is all right as I only have a few pieces left. No sense in falling in love with a limited supply. *grin*

Fish on Friday

Your Friday fish blog is here. I worked up this lovely Remora remora using carbon dust on illustration board for the latest Illustration Smackdown on the From the Stacks blog. Nature is full of wonderful creatures, but this one is just weird. The front dorsal fin has evolved into a giant sucker disc which the Remora uses to attach to a larger fish, turtle, ray, or shark. The larger animal swims fast enough to increase the oxygen flow over the Remora's gills, which is good since they will die in still waters. Wacky!

Cook This!

I made up a magazine and laid out the cover of the Spring Issue for the latest Illustration Smackdown. Since I have never been known for my botanical illustrations, I tried to ask why anyone would ask me to illustrate fennel in this day and age. Voila! A cooking magazine. 

I laid out the cover in Photoshop, and discovered the "bar code" font. So much easier than drawing my own. Submit your recipes in the comments by the end of the month and I'll attempt to toss together a zine (in my copious free time).  

A beetle smackdown

Published these two images over at the From the Stacks blog today. I knew if we kept doing the Illustration Smackdown long enough I would eventually get a critter I had drawn/painted before. I did both of these images in 2006 - the color image as a live demo done on the public floor of the museum. I had started off doing a butterfly from my own collection, which was crumpled by an inquisitive 3yo while I chatted with his mother. The Naturalist Center had a pair of beetles under glass, so I pulled out some new paper and got to work.

The Bear Bones

Posted this image over at the From the Stacks blog for the latest Illustration Smackdown. This fuzzy wuzzy smackdown I took on (unbeknownst to me until yesterday) the great Tracy Irwin Storer, founder of the UCDavis Zoology Department, author of California Grizzly, and the man who did the sketches of Monarch. Monarch was the last of the California Grizzlies whose image adorns the California state flag.

ballpoint bears

For all of the fancy pens I own, I still like drawing with a ballpoint pen. If I haven't used one for a while I get surprised all over by the range of grays possible. 

I just like the way these two different sketches seem to work together.

I come Bear-ing sketches...

When I got the latest scientific name for the Illustration Smackdown, I spent some time staring at the ceiling trying to remember a class I took nearly two years ago. The class was on wildlife illustration, and while I knew we had covered bears, I couldn't remember for a while if I had previously drawn Ursus arctos, the American Brown Bear. Once I got home from work, I was able to go through...

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!

Wild Boars, Feral Pigs and Me.

Earlier today I posted this, my latest illustration, on the From the Stacks blog, along with all kinds of added content. Take a look, and tell me what you think.

Smackdown sketches

I have begun my research on the wild boar, Sus scofa, for the upcoming Illustration Smackdown. Here are two of the better sketches.

Copic marker sketch of adult head

Watercolor sketch of juvenile in "stripey pajamas", rooting in the mud

What is the Illustration Smackdown?

Today, over on the CA Academy of Sciences From the Stacks blog I introduced my goofy illustration concept, the Illustration Smackdown.

The way the Illustration Smackdown works.
Each month, the archive staff, will locate an illustration in the Archive during the course of their regular work. They will not show it to me. Instead they will provide me with two pieces of information;
1. The scientific name of the plant or animal featured.
2. Whether the piece in question is a field sketch or a finished illustration
I will then have two weeks to research the species and produce my own illustration. Then we will feature the two illustrations side by side on From the Stacks for your viewing pleasure.


There is a heady sense of hubris that comes from pitting yourself against history for no readily apparent reason. I've already gotten my first critter name and begun researching. The first Smackdown illustration will feature the Wild Boar, Sus scrofa. The scientific name was not listed on the original I was told, just the common name.

Stay tuned for sketches, random factoids and a link to the Smackdown results in tow week's time!