ILLUSTRATION
The art of science
By applying a centuries-old craft to modern reseerch, scientific
illustrators continue to build our knowledge of the natural world.
I T'S NoT DIFFICULT for students of the
I University of Newcastle's Bachelor
I of Natural History Illustration course
to find inspiration in the vast, natural
classroom that surrounds their faculty
in the university's bushy r3o ha Callaghan
campus. Stands of towering spotted gum,
native grasses and an artificial wetland
replete with birds, frogs and lizards
proclaim the institution's commitment
to preserving the campus's natural
character. While the outside environment
teems with life, inside reveals a petrified
menagerie of stuffed animals, mounted
skeletons, drawers lined with jewel-
coloured pinned bugs and a herbarium of
preservedbotanical treasures,
The degree course is the only one of
its kind in Australia and one of only a
handful left in the world. In zoo9, zo
students will be enrolled in the under-
graduate and postgraduate programs, a
number that is steadily increasing
"There has never been a time when recorders...
of the natural world have been more needed."
Natural history illustration's heyday
arrived with the r8th century's Age of
Enlightenment, when no voyage of dis-
covery was complete without a comple-
ment of scientists and artists. Men like
Sydney Parkinson (ec go) combined
exhaustive fieldwork with painstakingly
close observation to produce trustworthy
visual documents of newly discovered
plants and animals.
Alumnus and current staff member
Christine Rockley is certain that the
pairing of these activities continues to
hold the key to expert practice in the
modern age: "Students learn to observe
both living and preserved specimens and
to work closely with experts to create
scientifically accurate records," she says.
She explains that command of the basic
drawing skills can then evolve into other
means of creative expression: "Model
making is a new and important part of
56 AUSTRAt|AN cEocRAPH c
'
the course. It informs the zD illustration
and creates a greater understanding of
. the structure of living things."
:
Demand for skilled model makers is
l
growing as museums continue to swap
.
traditional glass cabinets for dioramas
: and interpretive displays. The time zoo8
: graduate Margaret Gooding spent caring
'
for platypuses at Healesville Sanctuary,
:
Victoria, inspired her fi.nal-year project:
"Many of the unique features of the
: platypus like the tail spur, venom gland
and milk-secreting function are more
: easily explained through sculpture," she
: says. Margaret designed her works with
:
a public audience in mind. "Education is
: the key to the future ofthese creatures
:
- it may excite a passion for protecting
species and their environments."
Head of School Anne Llewellyn
believes that growing interest in the
: course is fuelled by rising environmental
awareness and the need for effective
communication of ideas. achievements
and strategies by government and private
organisations. "There has never been
time when recorders and interpreters of
the natural world are more needed," Anne
says, pointing out that the interpretation
of complex scientific data in a visuai wa1'
allows the message to reach a wider and
more varied audience.
Luke Davies had a taste of the working
conditions endured by expeditioners of
yore during his two-month tenure at the
University of Sydney's archaeological dig
at Pella,Jordan, in zoo7. Two illustrators
are employed at all times on this historic
site that's been continuously occupied
since Neolithic times. Living under canvas
and working in a prefabricated studio,
Luke, who earned his degree in zoo8, made
pen-and-ink drawings of found artefacts
for the official record and for publication
in articles written by the likes ofProfessor
t'
Stephen Bourke,
the dig's director.
Photography might
seem like a more prac-
tical medium for this
work. Not so. as Luke
explains: "An illustration
eliminates less important information
leaving you to isolate the vital detail
about a piece, and you can show more tha
one view in the single drawing."
Course graduates are finding
plethora of ways to ply their craft afte
leaving university. Daniel Atkins is th
latest illustrator to be seconded to th
a Lizard Island Research Station in nort
Queensland, while others have foun
work in movie animation and children
textbook illustration. Six recent gradu
ates have been immersed in buttert-l
research for AG, creating beautifr-
illustrations for the butterfly poster, fre
to subscribers with this issue. Thel-tb-
lorr- in the footsteps ofthe r4 studeni
ir-ho provided the butterfly and fooi
plant illustrations for the poster th:
appeared with AG z4intgg:.
.rG has a long tradition of promoti::
natural history illustration in the journa-
pag,es and in its renowned art calenda:
and from zoog willbe donatingan annu:
-\ustralian Geographic prize of groo,
to be arrarded by Newcastle Universi:
to an outstanding graduate.
CHRISSIE GOLDRIC