43 replies to this topic

[ANTS_KL]

 

I did a bad drawing of a Haidomyrmecine ant.

I copied it from some other image, but you sorta need to before you can draw something properly.

At least I didn't trace it. : P

 

that's quite good! Last year I drew one from memory and forgot to add antennae ;-;

[ExponentMars]

I thought it would be nice to have an art thread! 

 

I got into ants almost by accident. I was a longtime AntsCanada fan and kept other inverts, but didn't really think about keeping ants myself. I stumbled on a queen ant, and on a whim, caught her. I thought I could find out what species she was. I hated to think I'd accidentally found some ant that was desirable and hard to find in my area or something and some ant fan who'd been looking for ages didn't have one. I figured I'd find out about her and then either pass her on, or put her back outside. But then she was fascinating and pretty and whoops. 

 

So I did what anyone would do and made a comic about it:

 

antastic.png

 

 

It would have been very special to have my very first queen's colony, but sadly, Leizu and her two babies died (thank you to the people here who helped me in my thread about that). I decided that I would have my first colony forever, and preserve them in a little momento mori piece. I used resin, some little dried flowers, and a tiny splash of glitter- it looks as though Leizu and her brood are falling through a shining cloud into the world beyond. Some wire and a small length of leather cord and now I have a lovely pendant.

 

Leizucrop.png

 

 

Share your ant art, I'd love to see it!

Great art! 

[Antkeeper01]

 

I thought it would be nice to have an art thread! 

 

I got into ants almost by accident. I was a longtime AntsCanada fan and kept other inverts, but didn't really think about keeping ants myself. I stumbled on a queen ant, and on a whim, caught her. I thought I could find out what species she was. I hated to think I'd accidentally found some ant that was desirable and hard to find in my area or something and some ant fan who'd been looking for ages didn't have one. I figured I'd find out about her and then either pass her on, or put her back outside. But then she was fascinating and pretty and whoops. 

 

So I did what anyone would do and made a comic about it:

 

antastic.png

 

 

It would have been very special to have my very first queen's colony, but sadly, Leizu and her two babies died (thank you to the people here who helped me in my thread about that). I decided that I would have my first colony forever, and preserve them in a little momento mori piece. I used resin, some little dried flowers, and a tiny splash of glitter- it looks as though Leizu and her brood are falling through a shining cloud into the world beyond. Some wire and a small length of leather cord and now I have a lovely pendant.

 

Leizucrop.png

 

 

Share your ant art, I'd love to see it!

Great art! 

 

They haven't been online since may  but its still good art

[PaigeX]

 

This is morbidly fascinating! I love it!

How did you keep the queen from floating up in the resin? That happened to me one time I tried to to encase a Hercules beetle.

 

I definitely had to get creative. I wrapped the opening tightly in plastic wrap and kept flipping the piece upside down to be sure she was in a good position. Had to keep an eye and do it several times so she didn't just sink entirely to the bottom on her back, or immediately float back up to the top. I also used a toothpick to arrange things a bit and push some of the glitter down so it looked like they had fallen through. 

 

This isn't the first time I've put an invert into resin so I've learned a bit from trial and error! 

 

I know its been a while since you made it but I've got some tips you can use next time to make one. I found with resin and stuff that floats to do it in layers. first layer is half the mould filled and wait until the resin gets soft, then add the decoration that floats to the top so that it becomes half embedded into the resin. When it dries it should be stuck to it. After that make another layer on top and your done! Make sure you put something over it so that dust does not get on top before you do the 2nd layer or you might get a line through your finished piece.