By Kerry Flaherty Walia
Scientific illustration is more than just art; it helps to communicate and simplify complex scientific concepts into accessible and attractive visual representations. I’ve always enjoyed doing art as well as science, and one of my favorite classes in graduate school was Scientific Illustration. I loved the creative outlet in the midst of my thesis research and learned to create with a variety of different techniques, such as line and stipple, hatchure, scratch board, coquille board, pencil drawings, and photography (we even learned how to develop our own black and white photos!).
Below are a few of my first attempts at scientific illustrations (forgive any inaccuracies!) from that class at University of West Florida circa 1999, and an illustration shared by another Women of Fisheries member. The methods used here are analog, but with the increased technology around graphical illustration, now there are even more ways to pursue scientific illustration.
With the prevalence of graphical abstracts and the use of social media to communicate results of journal articles, knowing where to find resources related to scientific illustration is relevant even if you aren’t interested in creating art yourself. I also found that sketching fish that I identified for work along with recording their meristics, appearance, and other characteristics led to more memory recall. Ask me about my index card box of fish sketches organized by taxonomic family!
The hive mind of Women of Fisheries came up with some wonderful recommendations for those interested in scientific illustration. Here are five main recommendations we received:
1. Study your species or topic of interest
Many scientific illustrators have an advanced science degree.
Take foundational classes in vertebrate and invertebrate anatomy and evolution to understand body structure and orientation.
Visit aquariums, zoos, or get outside to observe your subject. Find a place where you can study their characteristics and behavior up close.
2. Get familiar with scientific illustration
What is Scientific Illustration? Franklin Institute
Guild of Natural Science Illustrators is a global non-profit professional organization for all artists who work in the realm of visual science communication, from illustration, animation, and comics to museum exhibits, photography, printmaking, video, and many others.
Association of Medical Illustrators
James Gurney specializes in painting realistic images of scenes that can’t be photographed, from dinosaurs to ancient civilizations. His book on Imaginative Realism was recommended as a useful resource.
3. Take specialized classes or training
Majors, certificates, or individual courses:
Arcadia University – Major in Scientific Illustration
California State University, Monterey Bay, Department of Scientific Illustration
Yale Peabody Museum’s Natural Science Illustration Program
University of Washington, Certification in Natural Science Illustration
Cornell College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Botanical Illustration courses
Rhode Island School of Design, Natural Science Illustration
Online training and resources:
Transmitting Science, Scientific communication
Gretchen Halpert, Distance learning program
John Muir Laws Nature Journaling and Instructional Blogs (including YouTube videos)
4. Find a mentor
Join a nature journaling club near you to practice sketching and learn from others.
Reach out to fisheries and wildlife illustrators directly for mentorship and advice. A previous Women of Fisheries blog post highlighted several Talented Women in Art and Marine Science, and Women of Fisheries members specifically mentioned the following illustrators:
Jessica Eggers
Ram Papish
Rene Martin
Rene started a popular weekly prompt on X (formerly Twitter) with the hashtag #SundayFishSketch. The Fisheries Blog has a “round-up” of previous submissions that you can check out here. Also, check out her post on How to Draw a Fish.
5. Publicize your work
Make a social media account for your illustrations. The aquatic illustrations community on Instagram is very supportive, and many illustrators have been able to make names for themselves with large support on that platform.
Everyone loves stickers, and using social media to sell stickers or prints of aquatic illustrations/art is very common, since it’s not something that’s always in the mainstream of things.