Group Info Group Founded 6 Years ago 346 Members
23,697 Pageviews498 Watchers

Announcement

This group will be migrated to the new design soon. Please contact the group admins to start the migration and save content the group may lose access to.

Gallery Folders

Featured
Convergent evolution by BrokenMachine86
Phymaturus maulense by uialwen
Thesis - Red-tailed Hawk by windfalcon
The Desert Porpoise by namu-the-orca
Archeology, Human Prehistory, Human Evolution
Lithic Illustration by ShortRounde
Australopithecus africanus by MartinSpurny
When proboscids were hunted in Brazil by Vitor-Silva
Logarithmic Timeline by Concavenator
Botany and Mycology
Arum-Leaf Arrowhead Botanical Plate by SpoonwoodVisuals
Capparis spinosa L. by GiuliaMecca
Northern Lala Palms by WillemSvdMerwe
Welwitschia Views by WillemSvdMerwe
Ecology, Biomes, Food Webs, Species Interaction
Ecological Pyramid by Eurwentala
Red-Bellied Black Snake by Abiogenisis
Peregrine and puffins. Oil on canvas. by painterman33
Antarctica - Future scenarios by oxpecker
Entomology and Invertebrate Zoology
Bug Portrait_Cicindelidia cyanipleura by E-Smaniotto
Tick biting by RemesarIllustration
Cyclophyllidea Pseudophyllidea by RemesarIllustration
Polycelis tenuis by sumie--dh
Geology, Physics, Chemistry and Astronomy
Habitats for Life in the Solar System by Concavenator
Crew Dragon by BenFlex
Spacecraft of the 21st Century by YNot1989
Africa Geographic Map by seridio-red
Herpetology
Copperhead Educational Poster by SpoonwoodVisuals
Digging deep - Burrowing frogs + toads by artbyjrc
Colossus the reticulated python size comparison by Paleonerd01
American alligator size comparison by Paleonerd01
Mammalogy
Capybara sketches by Reptangle
Bongo by agree-to-dissagree
MOUNTAIN LION by WXKO
Domestic Cat Skull (Anterior View) by Greensequin
Marine Biology and Ichthyology
Light my way - Bioluminescent fish by artbyjrc
Risso's dolphin (Grampus griseus) SEALIFE by namu-the-orca
Short-finned pilot whale (G. macrorhynchus)SEALIFE by namu-the-orca
Killer whale (Orcinus orca) SEALIFE by namu-the-orca
Medicine and Human Anatomy
Muscles and Bones #001 by gregor-kari
Human Skull Anatomy by TheDragonofDoom
Alas poor Yorick... by DemonML

Mature Content

pregnancyVector by Thehiveh
Cells, Microbiology, Molecular Biology and DNA
Phytoplankton by Eurwentala
Ornithology
Peregrine Falcon painting by EsthervanHulsen
Paleontology
The Canyon by NKourk
Phylogeny and Comparative Anatomy
Animal brain size by Concavenator
Speculative Evolution
Trappistian [2.0] by AsafCastigliano

Group Info

Art in the service of natural science, e.g. paleontology, zoology, entomology, botany, medicine, archeology, anatomy, astronomy, ecology, geology, evolutionary biology and natural history. Animal, wildlife and nature art with an educational or scientific purpose.
Group
Founded 6 Years ago
May 14, 2018

Location
Global

Group Focus
Common Interest

346 Members
498 Watchers
23,697 Pageviews

Deviants

Welcome to Science Illustration

Submission Guidelines


Tick Join requests are automatically approved
Tick Please submit to correct folders


What is a scientific/natural history illustrator? Definition from the GNSI: "A natural science illustrator is an artist who works in the service of science, creating images of animals, objects and complex processes that teach, inform, and create understanding of our world" - In short, this group accepts semi-realistic to realistic artworks which convey subjects of natural science.

Not permitted in this group:
x High fantasy, surreal or abstract art
x Cartoons (unless illustrated to a high degree of quality with an educational purpose)
x Original characters
x Fan-art (e.g. Jurassic Park)
x Photography (photos of sculptures/artworks permitted)
x Literature
x Domestic animals (unless for a scientific resource)
x Images that are not your own, e.g. re-post of someone else's art, or heavy plagiarism
x Poor image capture, e.g. too dark, inconsistent lighting, low resolution, lined paper, sketchbook spine visible (tip: scan your artworks, do not take photos with a smartphone)
x Low quality beginner drawings. This is not an elitist group, but many of our members are published illustrators and we wish to maintain a similarly high standard for all submissions

Tick Submissions must look like they would be appropriate and of sufficient quality for an educational publication
Tick We are more likely to accept artworks that have a clear scientific purpose, e.g. we prioritise diagrams over creative portraits

If your submission was declined it was for one of these reasons. Please do not take offence, send me (oxpecker) a note if you want a more detailed breakdown of how submissions are evaluated. At the end of the day this is just one of many thousands of groups on DA. If our criteria are not to your liking then I invite you to consider submitting your work to some of the other great groups listed in our Affiliate widget.

Media:
All traditional and digital mediums allowed (including sculpture), just no photography or literature.

Where can you study scientific illustration?
A great number of illustrators are self-taught, however there are opportunities to acquire accredited training in this field. See below:
GNSI career information
GNSI list of teaching institutions
Free online course: Natural History Illustration 101 (runs twice yearly)

About the group:
This group was created after the two major scientific illustration groups on DA (BioIllustration and Bioscience) became inactive and no longer approved submissions. With collaboration between members this group could grow into a support network and resource list for scientific illustrators and host community events. If you would like to contribute to this effort please send us a note.

Affiliates

:iconxenobiology-club::iconafricanvalley::iconlivingprehistory::iconhistorylovers::iconanimals-of-color::iconmapsandflags::iconcoyotes-of-da::iconflock-together::iconcrazy-4-animals::iconanimals-in-da::iconsavingmothernature::iconsciencesquad::iconnasa-headquarters::iconfuzzy-paleofauna::iconspeculativeevolution::iconda-texies::iconanimalworld-artist::iconhistoryrocks::iconpaleoartists::iconjustanimals::icongeo-paleomineralogy::iconexotic-birds::iconclub-atomix::icondeinonychosauria::icontheinsectloversgroup::icondeer-lovers::iconda-animals::iconbiologicabotanica::iconanimalreferencephoto::iconfortheanimals:

Admins

Founder


:iconoxpecker:

Contributors


:iconasafcastigliano::iconkinow::icontutucthulhu:

Comments


Add a Comment:
 
:iconoxpecker:
oxpecker Featured By Owner Apr 18, 2020  Professional General Artist
I have sent you a note.
Reply
:iconliopurodon4x:
Liopurodon4x Featured By Owner Apr 18, 2020
Got it
Reply
:iconsuyhi:
Suyhi Featured By Owner Jan 14, 2020  Student Digital Artist
What counts as a  "Low quality beginner drawing"? Do you have examples?
Reply
:iconsalpfish1:
salpfish1 Featured By Owner Edited Nov 10, 2021  Hobbyist Digital Artist
Old examples from my own gallery (for accuracy, quality, and presentation):

Anurognathus by salpfish1
Outdated reconstruction of anurognathus, pixelated scan, poor drawing quality.
Troodon by salpfish1
Proportions are off (such a thin jaw!), weird pixelated scan. Not sure about accuracy. I used to crop out spots of debris that fell on the scanner using MS Paint and replace them with white squares, but I couldn't see how weird it looked on my old monitor.
Ordovician Seabed by salpfish1
Poor quality, bad scan.
Reply
:iconoxpecker:
oxpecker Featured By Owner Jan 15, 2020  Professional General Artist
It's a subjective decision of course, but I approve artworks that would not look amiss in a printed publication (e.g. magazine, scientific journal, educational book). This means the artist must not only have clear knowledge of the subject and technical skill, but can also capture the artwork in a professional manner (at high resolution with clean presentation). The majority of drawings that get turned away are too sketchy, stylised (e.g. cartoony), lack a clear sense of anatomical knowledge, lack detail, look like they've been copied from Jurassic Park, or are poorly photographed/scanned. I won't list examples, that would be unkind to the artists.
Reply
:iconarasteia:
Arasteia Featured By Owner Mar 15, 2019  Hobbyist Digital Artist
Thank you so much for the requests! :la:
Reply
:iconoxpecker:
oxpecker Featured By Owner Mar 15, 2019  Professional General Artist
We're very pleased to have your work in the group :)
Reply
:iconharmony1965:
Harmony1965 Featured By Owner Nov 11, 2018  Professional Traditional Artist
Thank you for requesting my Eagle Owl artwork for your gallery. I am happy to have been considered :)
Reply
:iconoxpecker:
oxpecker Featured By Owner Nov 11, 2018  Professional General Artist
It's an honour to have your work in the group :)
Reply
Add a Comment: