DELIVERABLES:

Please post these things in the Project Gallery -

A photo of the scientific resources you used as inspiration. Or post a link to your inspiration Pinterest board.
Your practice copy-sketch.
Plant photographs you took out in the field.
Your realistic, botanical line drawing.
Your unique, stylistic illustration.

THE PROMPT:

1. Make a collection of scientific resources and botanical illustrations.

Some of the best ways to get inspiration is to look at the plethora of botanical illustrations out their in the world.
Borrow books and journals from the library, or simply create a Pinterest board of botanical illustrations that you find online!
Start noticing what illustration styles you like and what catches your eye.

2. Practice sketching plants by copying an existing botanical illustration from one of the above resources.

Obviously, DO NOT plagiarize.
Don't post it online and say it's your own original work. Just use this as a way to practice!

3. Get outside and be in nature!

Visit a local garden or arboretum and start looking at plants.
Once you learn to develop an eye for botanical illustration, you’ll soon find that you look at the plants around you in a new way.

4. Take photographs of plants.

Use some of my tips and tricks, including finding a good plant subject, creating contrast in the photos, and isolating the part of the plant that you want to draw.

5. Use your photographs as a reference to create two botanical illustrations

Realistic line drawing - Create one botanical illustration using a simple line-drawing technique.
Stylistic illustration - Create one botanical illustration using materials of your choice. Bring in your own personal style to the piece - making it colorful, expressive, shaded, or whatever you choose!

IF YOU WANT TO LEARN MORE about the basics of identifying plants, labeling parts of your plants, or drawing scientific illustrations, check out these reference materials!

Vera Müller

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