Botanical illustration is the art of depicting the form, color, and details of plant species, frequently in watercolor paintings. It can be traced back to sometime between 50 and 70 CE, when an illustrated book titled "De Materia Medica" was created by Pedanius Dioscorides, physician, pharmacologist, botanist, to help readers identify plant species for medicinal purposes.
There are many artists and illustrators from around the world who made significant contributions to scientific publications on plant life, including:.
Maria Sibylla Merian (German, 1647 – 1717) is regarded as one of the greatest ever botanical artists, creating stunning natural history paintings in her own distinct style. She’s best known for illustrating the life cycle of an insect against the background of its host plant.
Pierre-Joseph Redoute (France, 1766 – 1854) was employed as a royal flower painter by both Marie Antoinette (the last Queen of France) and the Empress Josephine Bonaparte, He is renowned for his paintings of roses, lilies, and other flowers.
Anne Pratt (England, 1806 – 1893) is one of the best known English botanical illustrators of the Victorian age. She contributed to the popularization of botany by writing and illustrating more than 20 books.
Marianne North (England, 1830 – 1890) was a self-taught artist and traveled the world painting plants and flowers. She produced 833 paintings from 17 countries in 14 years, depicting more than 900 species of plants.
Ernest Haeckel (German, 1834-1919) spent his life researching flora and fauna “from the highest mountaintops to the deepest ocean.” A biologist, naturalist, philosopher, and artist, his incredible drawings helped to educate the world about microscopic organisms that were previously unseen.
You don’t have to be an artist to create a successful scientific sketch. You simply have to take time, observe closely, and record what you see. It’s useful for anyone who may be keeping a plant journal and wants to draw the various stages of growth of garden plants or record different plants encountered on a hike.
Here is what you will need:
Sketchbook
Drawing pencils
Colored pencils
Water color paints
Specimen
When you set out to sketch it’s important to focus on the individual specimen in front of you, rather than the generalized image you carry in your head. It is also important to acquire some basic knowledge about plant anatomy.
If you are a beginner, here are some basic, simple Instruction:
Start by placing your specimen on the paper. Rather than tracing the shape of the specimen, place little dots around the exterior perimeter of the specimen to create to get a general outline of the specimen’s shape.
Remove the specimen from the page.
Draw a center-line and connect it to the dots you drew to get a sense of the shape.
When you’re ready to add more details, choose an area where something unusual is happening on your specimen. Focus on the overall shapes that you observe and sketch them as circles and ovals. It’s okay if the shapes overlap one another. At this point, you’re simply laying the base for where your refined drawing will go.
Remember to include words in your sketch. Labels can indicate size, color, texture, etc. Use words and drawing to make your sketch as detailed as possible.
When you are ready, start to refine the petals - begin in the middle and notice where one part of the petal might curve or dip and sketch it on paper. When done, you’ll have a solid outline that’s ready for shading.
Next, you can add color - going petal by petal observations whether the petal is lighter or darker than the one next to it. The darker parts of the flower will be towards the center. Once you get to the outer layer of the petals, you’ll have more variety in your tones. Be sure to reserve the white of the paper for the bright highlights—such as where the petals droop or fold.
Take an extra step to add texture to your petals adding thin, tiny lines onto the petals of your flower to convey the creases visible from up close.
Interested in learning more about botanical illustration? Check out a couple of our favorite books:
Botanical Illustrator's Handbook by Sally Pinhey
Botanical Sketchbook: Drawing, painting and illustration for botanical artists by Mary Ann Scott and Margaret Stevens
Artwork: (Elizabeth Smith) and the blog title (A Nature Art Journal.)
Download her nature journal template below.
Related Product: Botanical Illustrations Workbook from The Herbal Academy
The Botanical Illustrations Workbook includes 25 botanically accurate illustrations of fun-to-forage plants that commonly occur in the United States, summary monographs to expand your learning experience of these plants, and blank pages for additional sketches and note-taking! Coloring each plant as you learn about its identifying features and edible and herbal uses is a great way to cement your knowledge of these special wild plants.
The 25 plants featured in this workbook are also spotlighted in the Botany & Wildcrafting Course, where you’ll find larger monographs for each, along with lessons on proper identification, patterns within common plant families, and harvesting ethics and techniques.
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