Illustration techniques Archives

Spotted Flycatcher step by step

Posted on 24th January 202317th February 2023 in Illustration techniques, Zoological step by step

Spotted Flycatchers Muscicapa striata are lovely birds, often overlooked because of their seemingly dull grey and brown plumage. They are one of the species I was recently commissioned to illustrate for a wildlife information board at Cusop churchyard; so I decided to do a step-by-step blog (and accompanying film) of the process. When I illustrate […] Read more

Illustrating Yellow flowers: Five approaches

Posted on 9th September 2022 in Illustration techniques

Botanical illustrations of yellow flowers can be really challenging. As you try to add depth to the darker areas of the flower, you run the risk of making the petals look green, or orange. Here are a few techniques to try which should help mitigate this. Yellow Flowers 1: Pen and ink An easy way […] Read more

Botanical illustration of hawthorn berries y Lizzie with her paintbox

Equipment: Paintbrushes

Posted on 10th September 20218th May 2023 in Illustration Equipment, Illustration techniques, Testing Synthetic Watercolour brushes

Equipment: Paintbrushes is another in the series about what tools I use when I illustrate; so feel free to check out my earlier blogs on what watercolour paper to use, the guest blog on waterproof inks, watercolour paints, pencils and erasers, and another on what science stuff you might need. Paintbrushes As with all of […] Read more

Illustrating Bracken and Ferns

Posted on 6th August 20218th May 2023 in botanical terms, Illustration techniques, Showcase of themed natural history illustrations

Illustrating bracken and ferns may seem to be a really difficult job. However, the challenge lies in the drawing, not in adding the colour. I recently completed an illustration of Bracken Pteridium aquilinum for a forthcoming Field Studies Council Guide to the flora of Woodlands. I thought this was the perfect chance to explain the […] Read more

Equipment: Magnifiers and scalpels

Posted on 21st May 2021 in Illustration Equipment, Illustration techniques

In Equipment: Magnifiers and scalpels, I won’t only be looking at these two bits of kit. It’s a quick overview of all the bits and pieces I use to look at and dissect flowers, plants, and animals. It’s one of a series of blogs on equipment which cover watercolour paints, hotpress watercolour paper, waterproof inks, […] Read more

Equipment: Paints

Posted on 19th February 202119th March 2021 in Illustration Equipment, Illustration techniques

Equipment: Paints is another in my series about materials and equipment used for creating botanical and natural history illustrations. Check out my blogs on which watercolour paper to use, pencils and erasers, and a review of waterproof inks. Future blogs in this series will include one on my paintbrush of choice, one on science stuff […] Read more

Botanical Illustration of a Sycamore Leaf

Posted on 11th December 202011th December 2020 in Botanical Illustration step by step, Illustration techniques

This blog follows on from my earlier step by step post on drawing a Sycamore leaf, which also has an accompanying youtube film. Apologies for the grey background on some of the photos. The final piece (at the end of a blog) shows a truer version of the colours. Setting up When you’re about to […] Read more

How to Draw: Sycamore Leaf

Posted on 25th September 20202nd February 2021 in Botanical Illustration step by step, Illustration techniques

Drawing is at the heart of being a botanical illustrator. You need to be able to record what you see accurately. Recently, someone who subscribes to my Youtube Channel asked me to do a film on the subject “How to Draw”. This blog is to go alongside the film. Choose a subject I chose to […] Read more

Garden Lupin Sketchbook study

Posted on 14th August 20204th August 2020 in Botanical Illustration step by step, Botany: Telling species apart, Current projects and news, Illustration techniques

The Garden Lupin, Lupinus polyphyllus, is one of the invasive plants I was recently asked to illustrate for FOR Sweden. This blog talks you through the steps involved in creating a finished botanical illustration of this flower. There seems to be an enormous amount of confusion over the English name of this plant: Blue bonnet […] Read more

Illustrating a Deer for Packaging

Posted on 19th June 202019th June 2020 in Current projects and news, Illustration techniques

My earlier blog, Wild Shreds: Illustrating Pet Food packaging gave an overview of completing illustrations of a series of animals for Wild Shreds pet food. In this post I’ll take a look at the work involved in creating one of these illustrations; the Deer. All illustrations in this blog are copyright Spot Farms 2019. My deer […] Read more

Jersey Post: Illustrating Thrift

Posted on 3rd April 2020 in Current projects and news, Illustration techniques

In February, my series of Coastal Flower postage stamps were published by Jersey Post. The presentation pack featured a cliff-top scene in amongst clouds of thrift. This blog explains how I did my best to capture both the flowers and the landscape behind. (All illustrations in this post are copyright Jersey Stamps 2020.) For more […] Read more

Illustration and Packaging

Posted on 7th February 20207th February 2020 in Illustration techniques

Illustration and packaging have always gone hand in hand. By their very nature, paintings of animals and flowers are decorative as well as informative. This blog sets out to show some of the diversity of packaging my illustrations have appeared on. I also hope to show how clever the designers are, and the difference you […] Read more

Botanical Illustration of a Brassica Leaf

Posted on 8th November 2019 in Illustration techniques

An Introduction to Brassicaceae Actually, before I start this blog I need to clarify the title, “Botanical Illustration of a Brassica leaf”. The leaf I’m discussing is that of a Yellow Mustard plant, Brassica juncea, a species of Brassica. The colours of Brassica leaves are very similar across many members of the family. The […] Read more

Pen and Ink Illustrations of Trees

Posted on 11th October 201924th February 2022 in Illustration techniques, Showcase of themed natural history illustrations

The Living Wisdom of Trees: Commission In the summer, I completed more than a hundred pen and ink illustrations of trees for “The Living Wisdom of Trees” by Fred Hageneder. The commission involved illustrating 54 species of fully grown tree, along with details such as blossom, leaves, or fruit. Illustrating the botanical details was […] Read more

Pen and Ink Illustrations of Tree Details

Posted on 11th October 201911th October 2019 in Illustration techniques, Showcase of themed natural history illustrations

The Living Wisdom of Trees: Commission In the summer, I completed lots of pen and ink illustrations of trees and their details for “The Living Wisdom of Trees” by Fred Hageneder. The commission involved illustrating fully grown trees, along with details specific to each species such as blossom, leaves, or fruit. I’ve written a […] Read more

Mixing Neutral Tints and Colours

Posted on 10th August 2019 in Illustration techniques, Uncategorised

What are Neutral Tints? Neutral tints (or colours) are grey hues which don’t carry any dominant shade. They are, as the name suggests, neutral. In 1887, a neutral tint was defined by Winsor & Newton as, “‘A compound shadow colour of a cool neutral character.” So a blue-grey or a grey with a pink […] Read more

Art and children with learning difficulties

Posted on 12th December 201817th September 2019 in Illustration techniques

This Guest blog is by Lillian Brooks. Get in touch with her on lillian@learningdisabilities.info According to psychologist Dr Gail Saltz, learning difficulties are better thought of as brain differences — minds that process information in a different way. While often thought of as detrimental, there might be benefits, too. The same differences that make standard classroom learning more […] Read more

Drawing for beginners: Learning plants

Posted on 5th October 201814th January 2019 in Illustration techniques

I was recently asked to write a few words about how drawing plants helps you to learn about them for a lovely new book I’ve illustrated, and how even if you’re not confident, or have never tried drawing from life before, turning your hand to a bit of basic botanical illustration can be very worthwhile. […] Read more

Cowslip botanical illustration: Sketchbook study

Posted on 7th September 201814th January 2019 in Illustration techniques

Late this spring, I completed a private commission to illustrate the Cowslip, Primula veris, as if doing a sketchbook study. Sketckbook study sheet of the Cowslip These are almost my favourite sort of commission as I can spend time really getting to know the plant, examing it from different angles, dissecting out its structures, checking out […] Read more

Guest Blog: Seven drawing exercises by Nathan Hughes

Posted on 21st July 201813th May 2022 in Illustration techniques

This week’s blog is all about ways to hone your drawing skills, and is by guest blogger Nathan Hughes. I’ve provided the illustrations, and my annotations on Nathan’s blog are in italics. 7 Simple Drawing Exercises to Help Improve Your Illustrations Are you looking to improve your drawing skills? The typical advice is “just practice.” However, […] Read more

Botanical Illustration: Cheating doesn’t exist

Posted on 10th May 201811th January 2019 in Illustration techniques

Cheating When I chat to people who are just beginning botanical illustration, I quite often get questions about whether or not certain things are “cheating”. This annoys and upsets me. Everyone should be encouraged to draw and paint, and to use whatever tools are available to them. There seems to be a strange idea that […] Read more

Exhibitions: Step by step guide

Posted on 2nd February 201810th January 2019 in Illustration techniques

Every once in a while I get around to putting on an exhibition of my illustrations. In many ways I’m incredibly fortunate, as all I need to do is to flick through the past year or two of botanical illustrations and natural history paintings and decide which ones might look good framed up, or might […] Read more

Botanical Illustration: Comparing HP Watercolour Papers 3

Posted on 20th October 201715th December 2020 in Illustration Equipment, Illustration techniques

Introduction to the watercolour paper quest This is the third of three reviews of Watercolour Hot Press papers for botanical illustration. This time, I find the holy grail…a replacement! Please check out the first and second in this series for more tests and results. As a natural history illustrator and someone who does plenty of botanical illustration, […] Read more

Botanical Illustration: Comparing HP Watercolour Papers 2

Posted on 21st June 201715th December 2020 in Illustration Equipment, Illustration techniques

This is the second of three reviews of watercolour Hot Press papers for botanical illustration. Please check out the first and third in this series for more tests and results! As a botanical illustrator, having a good hot press watercolour paper to work on is really important. Unfortunately, recently the paper I used to use, Fabriano […] Read more