The above image shows the completed drawing of the third endangered plant from my list: Acer pentaphyllum. As this was another plant which only had a herbarium specimen photo for me to reference, I did the drawing using the pen and ink method, this time using the new Rotring technical drawing pens that I got for Christmas, and the pencil and ruler that came with them.
When drawing the pencil outline, I was more selective than when I drew the Catacol Whitebeam, as there were many repeated elements, such as the seeds and additional leaves that weren’t necessary to include multiple times, when I had already drawn them once. The two images below show the reference photograph (which also has the measurement annotations that I made on it), along with an in process pencil outline, thus showing the (minimal) differences between the main structures of the two. Although in many ways, what I am doing cannot be compared with the work of other botanical illustrators such as Lucy Smith and Hazel Wilks, I was pleased with the fact that I was ‘editing’ the image before illustrating, because it is similar to the process that botanical illustrators and botanists go through when creating an illustration:
“the illustrator should come away with a good idea of everything that needs to be included in the illustration, although this may change once the illustrator’s own investigations begin.” Smith, L. (2021)
The drawing out process took a long time, for a number of reasons, but the main one being that I stopped part way through in order to work on my dissertation. However, once the dissertation was completed and handed in, I refocused my attentions on the drawing, completing it and beginning to work on adding the ink. This was almost like a completely new process, as the technical drawing pens behaved very differently to the dip pens – being much more controllable and accurate for a start. I decided to use the mid size (0.35) pen to draw the main outlines in, whilst after some trial and error, deciding to use the smallest sized pen (0.25) to draw the finest details and to create the shading and structure on the illustration. This provided some definition between the outlines and the details, which is present in ‘professional’ illustrations, as well as providing an element of clarity to the illustration, aiding its legibility.
These photos show the process of drawing:
Overall, this is probably the drawing that I am most pleased with. It is certainly the most accurate and least mistake ridden of the pieces (I don’t have any ink splats this time, due to the new pens) I have made so far, and it was also the one that I felt most confident on in terms of mark making (one. I got back into it again). I feel that I am starting to find my way with the pen and ink illustrations, and they are the ones that I actually prefer drawing most of all, for the accuracy and clarity of line and the legibility that they hold for the viewer. However, I think the pencil drawings are often more engaging for the viewer – although the level of detail in the pen and ink drawings also draws the viewers in (to examine the drawing in greater detail).
