Scientific illustration: the paths between art and science

Authors

  • Nathaskia Silva Pereira
  • Mieko Nagata Ito
  • Jelly Makoto Nakagaki
  • Emerson Machado de Carvalho

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.30612/re-ufgd.v4i7.7255

Keywords:

História Natural. Ilustração Zoológica. Insetos Aquáticos. Taxonomia Zoológica.

Abstract

A scientific illustrator of the natural world must master both the technical skills of illustration and aspects related to biological sciences. This is the moment when art and science go hand in hand. This work was carried out by an illustrator with a degree in Tourism and a biologist, who together will create a pictorial key for a family of aquatic insects. The illustrations were created using a stereomicroscope with a camera lucida and fiber optic light. The technique used was sketching on tracing paper with graphite and then applying it in India ink with a pen, based on pointillism and lines. Among the morphological characteristics most used to identify the Hydropsychidae family are the shape of the abdominal gills and the length of the anal claw. The details observed in the drawings highlight the dependence and importance of the information in the illustrations for a good zoological identification key. However, the scientific illustration technique is not always a common practice among researchers, requiring the help of an illustrator from other areas.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Published

2017-07-18

How to Cite

Pereira, N. S., Ito, M. N., Nakagaki, J. M., & Carvalho, E. M. de. (2017). Scientific illustration: the paths between art and science. RealizAção, 4(7), 111–119. https://doi.org/10.30612/re-ufgd.v4i7.7255

Issue

Section

Articles