Scientific Illustration Project: Red-Legged Partridge
For this project, you were to choose an animal or plant and use scientific illustration to create an image that described the main characteristics of the subject. This procedure enhances the communication of difficult ideas and concepts through clear illustrations, resulting in a stronger understanding of subjects related to botany and biology, but can work for many other fields as well.
Before and after restoration of the Red-Legged Partridge
Before I begin my scientific illustration, I would need to first choose a subject to focus on. For this project, I chose the Red-Legged Partridge, a gamebird in the pheasant family of gallinaceous birds. I was now ready for the next step. I began tracing the bird's many features, intentionally avoiding all the details to not overcomplicate the piece. As a result, I ended up with a fully vectorized outlined image.
After that, I began coloring my outlined image and adding details that matched the Red-legged Partridge's most distinguishing traits. Once finished, I was ready to stage my drawing. I removed the yellow-toned poster (seen above), layered my entire image on top of it, and began labeling it with subject details and key components. As a result, the project was completed. Overall, this project was a success in terms of conveying information in an understandable manner and utilizing illustration as an effective means of communication.
Scientific Illustration: Drafting Stages
