Between quarters

Before I started, I was so excited that Abe and I spent a day at the zoo taking photos. And for the next quarter we have to pick an animal to focus on. So here are some drawings of the tapir.

And here are some of the crummy photos I took. It's not easy, man. They have one of the older areas and the only view is through some old dirty glass. Plus this guy was running around like a nut.

Mink Skull

We could choose from a spotted skunk, muskrat, or mink skull. I liked the teeth on the mink and this little guys was missing some teeth. Looks like the two front teeth fell out during cleaning, but his right incisor is closed in with bone, so I think he lost that in life. Pretty cool.

Gestural drawings

Measured line drawings

Graphite value studies

Gouache and colored pencil

Seattle Aquarium

On of our class days for Zoological Illustration as at the Seattle Aquarium. This was pretty darn fun.

Grumpy fish and a dogfish (which is really a composite of many dogfish)

Cuttlefish! No way to capture their entire cuteness

He really sat there for about 15 minutes like this just looking at me and everyone else walking by

Coral that fish were swimming around.

seahorses and stuff

Here are some photos I took.

Cuttlefish! I watched for a while and they kept changing color

This harbor seal just sat the for like 15 minutes. Looked like he was posing for me.

They got a new octopus and he is much more friendly

Sea horses!

Starfish eating a clam. Nom Nom

Blue Cockchafer Beetle

Fyi, the 'ch' in 'chafer' is pronounced as 'sh.' Anyways, This was a fun if frustrating project. I wish I had drawn the bug smaller. And my original bug got cold and separated from the lucite, turning completely silver, which made drawing him in color very difficult. I got a new one that did not separate, but he wasn't blue.

Measured line drawings.

Graphite on bristol

Color tests

Color pencil on dendril

Shells

These are of the shell I got on the first day of class. Two views in two mediums. The stipple board is pretty much paper with a texture on it that then ends up making graphite look like stipple.

Gestural drawing and measured line drawing

Measured line drawing

Gestural drawing and measured line drawing

Scratchboard

Stipple paper (coquille)

Squid

Here's my watercolor of a squid. If I have time, I am going to do another one. I am not super please with this one. I really need to learn patience with watercolor. We all got a stinky raw calamari to take home. Pat said to take photos and draw sketches quick because it wouldn't last through the weekend.

Looks like he's dancing.

Close up of his mouth.

Angel squid

Measured line drawings

Sketch for teh painting

Gestural drawing, including a closeup of the mouth/beak

Final watercolor.

Ammonite

On the first day of Zoological Illustration, one of the specimens we got was an ammonite (along with a shell and a mosasaur tooth). Our assignment was to do a carbon dust drawing of it. Lame. I would like to keep experimenting with carbon dust, but not a super happy camper with it here. Some people (I'm looking at your Crystal) are great with it. Not me.

Measured Line drawing

Larger measured line drawing in preparation for carbon dust

Burke Museum Paleo Day

Susan got us a day down in the bowels of the Burke Museum to sketch their paleo collection. Here's what I did.

Oreodont jaw in graphite

Macaque skull in graphite

Albertosaurus skull in ink

And here are some photos I took. It was such a cool day to see behind the scenes at the Burke. A little terrifying too to be near all those priceless items.

fossilized flower. So pretty.

Cast of an Albertosaurus skull

Front view of the Albertosaurus skull

Macaque skull

Upper jaw of the macaque skull

Complete macaque skull. - Abe had to help me put the jaw on because I couldn't figure it out

Adorable slow loris posed skeleton. Saw it at Mammal Day later next to a similarly posed taxidermy slow loris

Teeth of something I wouldn't want to bite me 

Oreodont teeth.

Burke Museum Bird Day

The page of sketches I did from Bird Day at the Burke Museum.

Chicken skull

Chicken Skull Time! This was a fun project. Susan said they don't usually come with the hyoid bone (which is our adam's apple, but attaches to the tongue on the chicken) nor the sclerotic ring (which mammals don't have but is a protective bone over the eye. They are also usually cleaner. These had a lot of dried fleshy bits left of them, which isn't super gross, but makes them harder to draw.

Gestural drawings

Measured line drawings

Graphite value studies

Ink drawings. Upper left is stipple and the rest are contour lines. This was the actual final assignment for the chicken skulls

Gouache and colored pencil. This was my favorite technique I learned in the whole class and was not for an assignment really