March 2013 - Lizzie Harper

Natural History Illustration: A Stag Beetle in Woodland

Posted on 31st March 201327th November 2018 in Current projects and news

I had a wonderful comission recently; to do a natural history illustration of a stag beetle to accompany a poem by Chris Meredith. Starting the job I began by reading the poem carefully (I’ve transcribed it at the end of this article) to get the atmosphere right, and to list what species I’d be […] Read more

Illustrating Iridescence

Posted on 24th March 20133rd November 2018 in Biological terminology: Definitions, Illustration techniques

Mechanics of Iridescence There are many subjects in nature which are extraordinarily beautiful. Animals which glint and gleam with iridescence are definitely one of them. However, in order to take on the (not inconsiderable) challenge of illustrating iridescent creatures it’s important to have a basic grasp of the processes that cause these animals to shine […] Read more

Drawing disgust: illustrating revolting animals

Posted on 16th March 201325th October 2018 in Showcase of themed natural history illustrations

As a scientific illustrator, I sometimes get commissioned to illustrate animals that scare people, or fill them with disgust. They say the beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and this is certainly true with a variety of natural history illustrations I’ve completed. None of these animals evince a reaction of revulsion in me. […] Read more

Botanical Illustration: Tips on mixing greens

Posted on 9th March 201325th October 2018 in Illustration techniques

This week I’ve been mixing greens and painting ivy leaves, as have many members of the Botanical Art for Beginners group. Comparing the dark greens of an ivy leaf with those of a yellow butterwort leaf got me thinking. A crash course in mixing greens could be handy. Watercolour paints First, I think it needs […] Read more

Botanical Illustration: Tips on leaf shapes

Posted on 3rd March 201324th October 2018 in Biological terminology: Definitions

Although you can always draw the leaf shapes that you see, and get lovely results; sometimes a bit of background botany can prove invaluable when undertaking a scientific illustration of a plant. Leaf shape: Monocot or Dicot? One of the main aspects to consider is the leaf of the plant. The first thing to […] Read more