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Before I switched careers, I was a Scientific Illustrator. I specialized in Herpetology and my drawings were used to describe new species.
In my spare time, I did these ballpoint drawings. They're really cross-hatching gone wild, lots of little penstrokes to build up a gradient.
In my spare time, I did these ballpoint drawings. They're really cross-hatching gone wild, lots of little penstrokes to build up a gradient.
This is one of my old drawings for a publication- this type of drawing is more pointalist. You build up the dots with a micron pen, I would draw for 8 hours a day, each took a week.
We used this thing called a camera lucida so you can see in a microscope and your hand at once
We used this thing called a camera lucida so you can see in a microscope and your hand at once
One time I had to draw a tadpole, and it was so small and squirmy, it took me trying to hold it, and I eventually took off my glove. I didn't realize that ethanol could be absorbed through your skin. By the end of the day, I was tipsy.
Someone asked a good question: why did they use drawings instead of photographs?
For smaller specimens, the aperture of a camera had a narrow depth of field, so something was always blurry. Someone like me can draw it so that everything is crisp at once, necessary for analysis.
For smaller specimens, the aperture of a camera had a narrow depth of field, so something was always blurry. Someone like me can draw it so that everything is crisp at once, necessary for analysis.
However, they invented a camera called SEM: Scanning Electron Microscope. It could take photos at every level and composite them. The end of my career was neigh.
The Museum wanted to keep me around, asked if I could make websites. I said yes (I couldn't) and taught myself.
The Museum wanted to keep me around, asked if I could make websites. I said yes (I couldn't) and taught myself.
Two more questions from folks: when did I switch? I have been a dev for... 13 years? They share more similarities than one might think! Both are very process-oriented, I think that's why I like both.
Another: do I still draw? Sometimes, on the weekends! https://twitter.com/sarah_edo/status/1239202620947881984?s=20
Another: do I still draw? Sometimes, on the weekends! https://twitter.com/sarah_edo/status/1239202620947881984?s=20
