Art from Soph

[artfromsoph]

Saw a creature challenge a while ago which was to combine an animal with a type of vegetable.

I ended up learning a lot about walking onions (very weird but fun, I would like to grow some myself in the future). I thought it'd be fun to have an amphibian that kind of budded off in a similar way. Maybe it'd work as a sacrificial distraction for predators too. That would explain the variously tragic facial expressions anyway.

[twiststreet]

"The Fencing World Championships will introduce the "Sword Tip Visualization System." This system was developed by Japanese engineers, used at the Tokyo Olympics, and can track and display the sword tip's movement trajectory without any markers." (X)

[everydaylouie]

lost?

[artfromsoph]

Finally went and bought toonsquid, because I'm really enjoying doing some 2d animation but procreate is uhhhh not really built for it in the same way. Looking forwards to exploring it B)

[dappermouth]

And then you had that dream again.

[artfromsoph]

Keep trying little buddy, you’ll remember how to fly at some point.

[onyxcyon]

this art is four years old and a little scuffed but rewatching mob psycho rn and lost my stylus so it’s all I’ve got!

hopefully will be able to get back to birds by summerr

[nissyndrome]

Hunters Moon

[haunthid]

art as a hobby is great because I can just draw whatever the hell I want Spinosaurus mirabilis

[onyxcyon]

Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus)

the broken-wing display is one of my favorite examples of innate behaviors!! many bird families have evolved this trait independently, but killdeers are so iconic for it

per usual the original guy for fun

(working through redrawing all the birds in an old book I made!)

[thewindowofthesummerhouse]

Lydia Pettit

[artfromsoph]

I had surgery week ago and it went very well but has turned my brain to soup. Digital art has been too hard to get a focus on, so turned to doing a quick birb painting this evening.

I’m off work recovering for another five weeks, I am hoping to do more art in that time. Maybe even something I spend more than a single afternoon on. Who knows!

[atrusovaartist]

acrylic, canvas 50*60 cm “Magic of the Sunset”. 2024

[barghest-land]

sketches from the latest expedition, two days spent in the old quarries searching for Carboniferous plants. +35C during day, the loudest ever thunderstorm during the night (sleeping in a tent in the middle of that storm near the water was kinda insane). physically it was a challenge, but i'm so glad i didn't stay home last weekend. best way to spend a few days after b-day<3 and FINALLY i've heard the Eurasian golden oriole!! they're so sneaky

[barghest-land]

some autumn field sketches

[namu-the-orca]

Hello! Your scientific illustration are strikingly beautiful! I would really like to learn to illustrate like that. I tried to draw some simple things (like just the shape/core details of some fishes and shells and plants from my garden and the local museum). It's fun, but I don't really know what I am doing, lol. I never took an art class or something like that. I was wondering how did you get so good at it? Like, are there some "steps" I can follow to get at least decent at scientific illustrations? Sorry if you have already answered somewhere and for my grammar (English is not my first language). Have a nice day!

Hi!! Thank you so much that's really nice of you to say ♥ I'm glad you like my illustrations!

Unfortunately I don't have very guided advice to give, or any set steps you need to take.

I think I have two main pieces of advice. First, to keep doing what you're doing - which is draw from life! That could be either photos or real life (I think it's super cool that you go out to the museum and your garden to draw!!). There's no substitute for practice. Especially if you want to focus on a certain group of species, like I do with cetaceans, drawing and looking at them a lot can really help you develop an eye for their specifics. You get to "know" them in a sense and develop a feel for what looks right and what doesn't.

Secondly, look at other scientific illustrators that you admire!! Not for reference, because I wholly believe that our references should always be the real organism (certain super rare no-photos-available species notwithstanding) . Every artist makes mistakes and you don't want to double the mistakes in your own illustration by adding those of another.

But look at their styles. Their use of colours. Do they try to make all the species pop and look very different or do they utilise colour to create a sense of unity across their illustrations? How do they use shadow and lighting? Do they shade their illustrations strongly or are their animals evenly lit from all sides? What kind of poses do they use? Dynamic or still? Find artists that you like, look at their websites/portfolio. And honestly, study/copy some of their work or at least their style! Not as a permanent solution (or as something that you publish, unless you have their permission), but as a way to get a feel for what in their illustrations you like. You'll continually evolve, and finding new artists that inspire you will mean you'll pick up new tricks, details, ways to portray certain aspects of your illustrations.

For me it started with the illustrations by Brett Jarett. I was amazed that someone would illustrate different ages, genders and populations of cetaceans. I loved that!! It's what got me so hooked on cetacean variation now. When I was a kid I endlessly tried to make field guides like his. But there have been several illustrators in the years since then that had a profound impact on my work. Their use of colours, ways of painting flukes, drawing markings or working on proportions all left a mark on my work. You'll probably have similar "aha erlebnissen" as you go along. Changing the way you look at ears, or defining the way you draw paws, or giving you the perfect technique to draw leaf veins.

So just draw, draw, and evermore absorb little bits of the world around you in your art as you go along!

[namu-the-orca]

I have this tiny little sketchbook lying around. It has 11 pages, you used to get it when you stayed at a certain hotel. I was reminded of it because I recently saw Avatar: Fire and Ash, and I remembered it contained a drawing of an Ikran which I still like. But honestly I love all of these. Especially the psychedelic killer whale, the common dolphin meeting a fin whale and the humpback staring into your soul.

I filled this booklet years ago and I miss having the energy and inspiration and time to sketch like this.