Hello! Welcome to the latest update in my adventure in scientific illustration! Today was a very, very special day because instead of sitting in a classroom, we went out in the field to Coral Cove Park! Very exciting! I had never been to Coral Cove before, although I have heard many great things from the locals who live near it.
When I arrived at the beach, I was confronted by the absolute majestic scenery the beach had to offer: blue-turquoise waters, windy sea breeze, shells that shimmered across the sandy and rocky turf. It was also surprising to see that this beach was a rocky shore; there were many, many rocks creating an intertidal zone with different marine organisms that reside in the tide pools. It was quite difficult to narrow down exactly what I wanted to draw; however, after much deliberation I decided to draw a small piece of Sargassum I found lying in the sand.
First, I made a map of where I found my piece of Sargassum. Then I took numerous reference photos at different angles. I sketched the direction of light hitting the brown algae, as I took note of the weather and sky conditions at the time. It was a rather hot day for the beginning of February; however, the sea breeze made it feel much cooler.
I then took measurements of the length and width of the organism, as well as the diameter of its pneumatocysts, and the length of the blades. This information could be very useful if I decide to use this specimen for a later project. Since the drawings are sketches of what we saw at the beach to be converted into a larger drawing, my illustrations were relatively rough sketches of the different organisms I would be depicting. My intention was to use these sketches to play around with various techniques, styles, colors, and mediums to illustrate my subjects.
As I was analyzing the Sargassum, I wrote down my observations of the organism, such as the rubbery feel of its pneumatocysts and the feather-like feeling of its hydroids (see below). Later, I would research characteristics of it and note these down in my notebook. I would also later ask my professor to help me identify what particular species of Sargassum I was investigating. This particular Sargassum belongs to the species Sargassum fluitans. I also found out there was another organism living on the surface of the brown algae itself! This organism, or rather, organisms, as there was a colony of them scattered throughout the frond/body of the algae (including the the stipe and blades) belonged to the genus Aglaophenia, a type of animal!
As Ann Swan (2010) advises, I used a hard graphite pencil to sketch out the shape of the Sargassum -- that way it would be easily erasable.
(note: the diameter of the air bladders in the final illustration are around 0.5 in.; the actual diameter was around 0.25 in.)
(Above: Derwent Graphic Pencils
Bottom left: Pilot Colored Pens
Bottom right: Prismacolor Premier colored pencils)
When I was just about done drawing my Sargassum, I noticed a rather large piece of driftwood coming from the ocean right where I was illustrating. Curious, I picked up the bark wearing a pair of gloves. I was grateful I brought these gloves because there were splinters all throughout it. It was a very pretty driftwood; I had hypothesized that it stemmed from a red mangrove, and after checking it with my professor, I was indeed correct. What I had found was a red mangrove prop root (genus: Rhizopora).
Indeed, I decided to sketch the prop root using different techniques and mediums as well. I sketched the root using graphite pencil, Prismacolor Colored Pencils, and Pilot colored pens.
I used cross-hatching for the pen illustration. In order to get a sense of the lighting and shading of the branch, I took a black and white picture of the root, as Ann Swan (2010) suggests in her book.
(hatching with maroon colored pen first, then cross-hatching with black)
Overall, I had a great day at Coral Cove (although I did get a sunburn), and I look forward to returning there once again!
(652 words)
Work Cited
Swan, Ann. Botanical Portraits with Colored Pencils. B.E.S. Publishing, 2010.
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