UW’s Certificate in Natural Science Illustration

Nov 28

In the summer of 2019 I was accepted into the University of Washington’s Natural Science Illustration Certificate program and in the fall of that year I started the program. My love for the natural world led me to find the program and my desire to fine tune my illustration abilities was the reason I applied. In this year long program, I learned to render detailed zoological and botanical illustrations using a variety of media. I grew a lot as an artist. I also loved to watch the individuals in my cohort progress their skills. Skills learned came just as much from them as they did from the instructors.

Usually upon completion of the program each cohort has an exhibition. Due to the pandemic we couldn’t have one, therefore, we decided to have a digital showcase. Please check it out and see the talented artists that I got to work besides.

View Exhibition

A little bit more about the year

Process

This program focused on accurately drawing specimens. In my other work I had taken liberates on showing the essence of what I was drawing but not always showing it true to form. This program helped me focus on creating lifelike pieces. A lot of time was spent creating an accurate measured drawing and really looking at all the details of the subject. This first step would take just as much time as creating the final piece.

Process of Coloring in Green Schaffer Beetle

The Burke Museum

For the vertebrate class, the main assignment throughout the quarter was to render the skeleton, muscle, and outside appearance of a vertebrate. I decided upon a marmot. I poured over images of the skeleton system but soon realized I needed to get my hands on specimen. Luckily the Burke Museum is located on UW’s campus and it has many marmot skeletons on hand. I loved exploring the museum as it has working labs you can see into, one-of-a-kind objects all around you, and galleries filled with curiosity and conversation.

Field Trips and Specimens

My cohort got the chance in many of the classes to go on field trips; we went to the Woodland Park Zoo, Seattle Aquarium and Skagit River Wildlife Refuge. Our instructor, Bart Rulon, took us to the wildlife refuge to view birds and this was my favorite field trip. Bart has such a zest for taking photos of birds and his enthusiasm was infectious. We saw bald eagles, owls, ducks, geese, and so many other birds. Not just on the field trips did I have my eye out for subject matter. I also spent a lot of time taking reference photos and picking up specimens on walks. The camera roll on my phone was 80% filled with reference photos!

Classes

The first two quarters were taught in person. Critiques and tutorials on how to use a new mediums were my favorite part of class. Due to the pandemic the last two quarters moved to an online format. While this wasn’t ideal, there was still value in this format.