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University of Wisconsin Oshkosh

Oshkosh Scholar Submission – Volume VII – 2012

Congratulations to author Katherine Habanek and her faculty adviser, Dr. Jennifer Zaspel. The
author went through a rigorous review and revision process and is to be commended for her
excellent work.

Scientific Illustration: One Undergraduate’s Experience

Katherine Habanek, author


Dr. Jennifer Zaspel, Biology and Microbiology, faculty adviser

Katherine Habanek graduated from UW Oshkosh with a degree in biology with an


emphasis in healthcare.

Dr. Jennifer Zaspel is an assistant professor of entomology at Purdue University. Her


current research focuses on the evolution of adult feeding behaviors in vampire and tiger moths.

Abstract

Scientific illustration is a process that is used to enhance the understanding of scientific

information. Several different drawing techniques are used, including both traditional techniques

and digital techniques. Scientific illustration follows the principles and elements of art. The

purpose of this study was to learn different scientific illustration techniques and convey them in a

way that would benefit other natural science students. Some of the techniques were found to be

more useful than others.

Introduction

The process of using illustrations to explain people, places, things, events, and ideas dates

back thousands of years. The oldest illustrated book that still survives today dates back to 1890

B.C. (Bland 1958). Scientific illustrations, however, only date as far back as the fifteenth

century, when the printing press was invented. It was only then that information could be spread
to a large audience (Mishra 1999). Images accompanied the text to enhance understanding of

technical and scientific information. In the 1700s, Carolus Linnaeus created a system to classify

organisms. He used keen observation to place organisms into taxonomic categories. Linnaeus

used illustrations to convey his ideas about how organisms were related, thus improving our

understanding of the natural world (Allen 1907). Today, scientific illustrations are used not only

to convey scientific understanding, but also to emphasize important information and limit

unimportant details (Briscoe 1996). Scientific illustrations are usually drawn with great accuracy,

but there are occasions where a more stylized drawing is preferred (Hodges 2003).

Photographs, when available, are useful for some instances in science, but they do not

allow for much manipulation without distorting the image. Illustrations become extremely

important when written language fails to communicate the appropriate meaning (Briscoe 1996).

For example, the written meaning of colors and patterns is subjective, but with an illustration, the

reader has a visual reference. A photograph may not be appropriate in such instances because the

flash often washes out complex details. There are some cases, including the three-dimensional

structure of a protein or DNA, where a photograph is not an option to display visual information

(Hodges 2003). In these cases, an illustration is the only option in presenting that information.

Illustrations also have more significance than a photograph when the original specimen is either

broken or distorted (Hodges 2003). An illustrator can recreate the specimen on paper, as is often

done in archeological drawings.

Scientific illustrations are thought to be a combination of both science and art. For

example, there are instances where an illustration is used in place of holotype or, in other words,

in place of the specimen that is used to describe a species, usually the first of that species

discovered. In these cases, the illustration becomes a part of natural history and is referred back
to by scientists whenever its identification is in question (Daston 2004). Scientific illustrations

are created with the elements and principles of art in mind to convey a scientific meaning. To

create a sense of space on a two-dimensional surface, perspective is needed. Perspective is the

appearance of reality. It changes with the observer’s adjustment in position. The artist is required

to learn about techniques such as foreshortening to preserve perspective (Wood 1994). Elements

in art such as line, shape, value, and color are used to create a cohesive illustration (Stewart

2008). Different illustration techniques are used to express the elements and principles of art.

To render an illustration appropriate for the type of presentation or publication, certain

illustration methods are utilized. For example, in an ichthyology paper about the morphology of

fish fins, several different types of illustrations are used (Lauder and Drucker 2004). In figure 2,

the authors use what look like hand drawings to display the exterior surface of the different fish

and compare them to digital line drawings of the fish to emphasize the different fin shapes and

angles. In a botany publication describing a new species, the new species is hand drawn using a

combination of hatching and crosshatching (use of lines and lines that intersect respectively) and

stippling (use of small dots) (Lammers 1999). Many examples of illustrated insects can be found

on the Smithsonian Natural History Museum Entomology Illustration Archive website

(Smithsonian Institution 2012) including examples that are illustrated in the technique of carbon

dusting. This technique involves shaving the graphite of a pencil into a fine powder, which is

then applied to a surface using a paintbrush (Cornell 2003). One specific example of illustrations

in the field of anthropology comes from a paper about the archeology of Ushki Lake, Russia.

Here, the authors use simple line drawings to show the types of artifacts found at the excavation

site (Goebel 2003).


While it is clear to an art student that certain techniques are needed to produce an

accurate, yet aesthetically pleasing illustration, for a natural science student it is not. However, to

an art student, certain characteristics of a specimen may seem arbitrary, but to a science student

those characteristics may be essential to the understanding of that specimen. As a biology student

with an art minor, I have started to understand both the limitations and strengths of each field

with respect to scientific illustration. The purpose of this study was to learn and incorporate basic

art techniques into a scientific setting to learn the process of scientific illustration and to be able

to pass this information on to the next cohort of undergraduate natural science students. The

knowledge of scientific illustration that I have obtained will help further my education in the

natural sciences. In the future I hope to get further training in the field of scientific illustration or

even medical illustration, a specialized field in the scientific illustration community.

Methods

Different drawing techniques used included stippling, hatching and crosshatching, and

carbon dusting. For hand-drawn images, a camera lucida attached to a Leica KL 200 LED

dissecting microscope (Leica Microsystems Wetzlar, Germany) and a light box were used to

increase the accuracy of the illustration. The camera lucida uses a reflective prism, to preserve

the proportions of an object, so that it can be traced accurately. I used Adobe Illustrator and

Photoshop Creative Suite 5 (CS5) (Adobe Systems, San Jose, California) to enhance drawings or

used them as drawing tools. Illustrator CS5 uses vector graphing, which allows the final image to

be viewed at any magnification without being distorted. Photoshop CS5 uses pixels and will be

distorted if magnified too largely. Several objects from the fields of botany, ichthyology,

entomology, and archeology were used as study specimens to learn the different illustration

techniques. The techniques I used followed procedure from the text by Wood (1994) substituting
for advancements in technology, such as the use of Photoshop CS5 to erase mistakes instead of

using whiteout.

Moth wing (Figure 1): I used a slide of the wing from a moth to create an illustration of

wing venation. The camera lucida, attached to a dissecting microscope, was used to trace the

wing. A pencil drawing was created using a Kimberly 9H graphite pencil (General Pencil

Company, Redwood City, California) on Strathmore transparent parchment tracing paper (Pacon

Corporation, Appleton, Wisconsin). The pencil drawing was then scanned onto the computer

where it was enlarged. The vector program, Adobe Illustrator CS5, was used to create the final

illustration by tracing over the scanned pencil drawing. The pencil tool in Illustrator was used to

create the outline of the wing veins. In the final image, the background pencil drawing was

removed to produce a more polished image.

Whole weevil illustration (Figure 2): The camera lucida was used to create a pencil

drawing of a weevil. A Kimberly 9H graphite pencil was used on Strathmore transparent tracing

paper to create the pencil drawing. The pencil drawing was scanned onto a computer where it

was manipulated with Adobe Photoshop. In Photoshop, multiple layers were created using the

scanned pencil drawing as the first layer. The second layer was used to apply a base color to the

insect. Lasso and magic wand tools were used to tell the computer which areas needed color,

while the paint bucket tool and brush tool were used to fill in the area with a chosen color. The

color was then blended using the mixer brush tool to create softer edges. Successive layers were

used to create the stripes on the insect and the shadows and highlights using the tools previously

described. The background was painted over using the paint bucket tool to eliminate the rest of

the pencil drawing.


Whole Fish (Figure 3): A pencil drawing of a fish specimen was created using a light box

to trace over a photograph of the fish. The pencil drawing was then traced onto a new piece of

parchment using stippling with Sakura Pigma Micron pens (Sakura Color Products of America,

Hayward, California) of various sizes in the color of black. The photograph was used as a

reference for coloration and markings on the fish. The final image was scanned onto the

computer and edited using Adobe Photoshop to correct for size as well as value.

Whole Flower (Figure 4): A photograph of an unidentified flower was traced onto

parchment paper using a 9H pencil and a light box. The pencil drawing was copied onto a new

piece of parchment using Micron pens of various sizes using hatching and crosshatching

techniques. The photograph was referred to for value information. The final image was scanned

onto the computer and edited using Adobe Photoshop CS5.

Decorative musket side plate (Figure 5): The decorative side plate from a musket was

drawn freehand using a HB pencil on parchment. The pencil image was traced onto a new piece

of parchment where a layer of carbon dusting was applied to create value. Another layer of

pencil was applied to the illustration. The final illustration was scanned onto the computer where

it was edited using Adobe Photoshop CS5.

Results

Scientific illustrations
Figure 1. Moth wing illustration using Adobe Illustrator CS5. Illustration created by Katherine

Habanek.

In figure 1, modern computer techniques were used in a combination with hand drawing

techniques. Using the camera lucida proved to be an exercise in eye-hand coordination. One eye

was used to view the specimen, while the other eye was used to view the drawing being created.

The image I saw while drawing the specimen was my pencil tracing the specimen. This took

some time to get used to. Also, the proper angle at which the specimen was being viewed was

essential to get the most accurate drawing. The camera lucida allowed the proper proportions of

the specimen to be retained through the first step in the drawing. Adobe Illustrator CS5 was used

to create the final image because of its use with vectors as opposed to pixels. Vectors create one

continuous line, whereas pixels create the “feeling” of a line. Illustrator CS5 proved to be an

important tool, given that the final image was a line drawing. However, there was a high learning

curve for Illustrator CS5. When applying the vector lines, I had to become accustomed to how

the curve of the line should be adjusted and how that adjustment affected the next line.
Figure 2. Whole weevil illustration using Adobe Photoshop CS5. Pencil illustration created by

Kari Rozwadowski. Photoshop illustration created by Katherine Habanek. Collection data

unknown.

Figure 2 also used computer techniques including the use of Adobe Photoshop. This

technique also had a high learning curve, but once conquered it became a valuable illustration

tool. Photoshop CS5, unlike Illustrator, uses pixels to produce an image. The use of layers in this

computer program was confusing at first. One had to remember to highlight the appropriate layer

to manipulate.
Figure 3. Acantopsis sp. whole fish illustration using stippling. Picture courtesy of Dr. Walter

Rainboth, associate professor of biology and microbiology, UW Oshkosh, collection data

unknown. Illustration created by Katherine Habanek.

Figure 4. Unknown sp. whole flower illustration using hatching and crosshatching. Picture taken

by Kari Rozwadowski, collection data unknown. Illustration created by Katherine Habanek.


Figure 5. Decorative musket side plate (47-Wn-9) illustration using carbon dusting. Plate

courtesy of Dr. Jeffrey Behm, associate professor of anthropology, UW Oshkosh. Illustration

created by Katherine Habanek.

Figures 3−5 were created using traditional drawing techniques. One problem that was

encountered using traditional techniques was the tendency for a piece to become overworked.

For example, figure 3 had to be edited for value because once the piece was scanned it appeared

too dark for publication. With the help of Photoshop, that problem was easily corrected using the

brush tool. White was applied over small areas where the stippling was too close together. The

same was done for figure 4 where there was too high a concentration of lines in areas that should

have been lighter.

Conclusions and Future Research

The traditional techniques used were easier to grasp than the computer techniques with

stippling being the easiest of all the different techniques I used. The amount of ink was

effortlessly applied to the paper in a way that was easily manipulated. When stippling, as in

figure 3, it became important to not create patterns that were not there. Because it was so simple

to use this technique, I had to be careful of this problem. The most difficult traditional technique
was the carbon dusting. After applying the carbon coat, it was clear that value had been lost. I

applied another layer with the pencil to try and correct this problem, which worked with some

success. Different paper might be used next time to prevent this problem.

Out of the computer techniques, Photoshop was most user-friendly once I learned how to

use the basic tools. Selecting the portion that I wanted to manipulate was most difficult. Often I

had to enlarge the image in order to define the border I wanted. It might be useful in the future to

apply a basic wash to the illustration before scanning it onto the computer. This would create

more of a “hybrid” illustration and might help getting more clearly defined edges. The hybrid

illustration is something I hope to work on in the future. Adobe Illustrator, however, was

extremely difficult to master. In the future it may be helpful to hand-draw the image until the

program can be mastered.

Several additional resources are available for those wanting further information on the

tools and techniques used. The Adobe website (Adobe 2012) as well as lynda.com (Lynda.com

2012) provide tutorials ranging to how to use basic tools on both Adobe Photoshop and Adobe

Illustrator to how to use more advanced techniques to get desired effects. There are many

programs for those who are looking for professional training in scientific illustration including a

certificate program at the University of Washington located in Seattle and a graduate program at

the University of California, Monterey Bay (California State University, Monterey Bay 2012).

The four accredited master’s degree programs exist in North America for medical illustration

include one at Georgia Health Sciences University, one at the University of Illinois, Johns

Hopkins University School of Medicine, and one at the University of Toronto (Association of

Medical Illustrators 2012).


Acknowledgements

I want to thank Dr. Thomas Lammers, Dr. Jeffrey Behm, Dr. Walter Rainboth, Dr.

Jennifer Zaspel, and the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh Insect Collection for providing

specimens, references, and guidance for this project. I also want to thank the UW Oshkosh

Student Titan Employment Program for providing support.

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