Natural History Illustration: Crustaceans

Overview

This 5-credit, self-paced, online module is suitable for beginners in watercolour, but the teaching will also focus on drawing techniques and identification skills within this genre of Natural History Illustration. The module will cover drawing with pencil and watercolour to depict a range of Crustaceans with accurate colours and appropriate techniques. There will also be colour mixing and three-dimensional form drawing techniques embedded, with guidance, on compositional formats for final pieces. There will be a presentation on illustrators and artists who have depicted Crustaceans, both contemporary and historical. This information can be used by the student to contextualise their own work, for inspiration and will demonstrate the variety of techniques and compositions available. These skills could be useful for illustrating cooking blogs or cookbooks. This course can be studied from home and at your own pace. This online module will also contain various step by step demonstrations of techniques with useful hints and information

Programme

Unit 1 – Drawing:

• Introduction
• Setting up your workspace.
• Materials.
• How to identify Crustaceans, tips on ensuring your specimen is a Crustacean and biological terminology.
• How to draw your specimen from life, techniques for accurate drawing and linear shading.
• Tonal drawing techniques to show shape and depth and your point of light.

Unit 2 – Ink Line Drawing:

• Materials
• Linear shading – using line to show depth and shape.
• Using fine liner to show texture and identifying features.

Unit 3 – Watercolour painting:

• Setting up your painting, materials.
• How to mix colour, colour theory.
• Basic watercolour techniques- how to build colour to show shape and texture.
• How to build on your initial layers to add shadow and depth.
• Colour blending – wet and dry techniques.
• Fine detail.

Unit 4 – Further techniques:

• Ideas for composition.
• Tidying an image.
• Presentation on Natural History Illustrators- Historical and contemporary examples of paintings and studies of Crustaceans.

Learning Outcomes

1. Complete unit tasks
2. Present a portfolio of two final drawings.

Assessments

1. Unit Tasks - 50%
2. Portfolio - 50%

Reading Suggestions

Additional reading list available on request.

Entry Requirements

This course is for everyone. No previous experience is needed and there are no formal entry requirements.

What Do I Need?

A list of materials, not included in the course fees, will be available prior to the course start date.