13 replies to this topic

[ctantkeeper]

For those who don't know, I tend to do a great deal of sketching in my spare time (specifically abstracts, sci-fi concept art, speculative biology concept art and anatomically accurate drawings of insects and other invertebrates). Anyways, I was asked to do my first ever commission a little while ago by the president of the Connecticut Entomological Society for some new merchandise (specifically mugs and t-shirts) that they plan to sell on their website. I decided to do a series of drawings showcasing the unique head morphology of a few of the ant species that live here in CT (I chose Pheidole pilifera, Stigmatomma pallipes and Temnothorax americanus). My plan was to have them arranged in a triangle on the front of a t-shirt with labels below each of them containing both their corresponding scientific names as well as their common names. The CTENTSOC logo would be on the back of the shirt and the upper portion of front of the t-shirt would read :

 

 

                                                                                                              Connecticut Entomological Society

                                                                                                                                      2018 

 

                                                                                                                          Ants of Connecticut

 
                                                                                                            

I showed them the drawings and they absolutely loved them! They told me that they were going to go ahead with making my t-shirt design as well as a series of coffee mugs, each with one of the three drawings printed on them! I'm still waiting on receiving digital copies for all of the three drawings, but I just received this one yesterday. Hope you guys like it!

 

 

 

[ctantkeeper]

I will try to post the other two drawings when I get them back. 

[YsTheAnt]

Amazing! How did you do it??

[ctantkeeper]

Amazing! How did you do it??

Thanks man! I really appreciate it. To answer your question though, I mainly use Pigma Micron art pens and do most of my sketching in 005 (the line width is approximately 0.20 mm.). I find that this particular size gives me the most control when trying to create fine details such as textures and various forms of shading (for shading, I use a combination of stippling and cross hatching and tend to favor either one over the other from piece to piece.) . I actually don't draw in pencil and trace over it the way most people often do. Instead, I ink directly onto the paper and simply integrate any mistakes I make into the drawing. I feel that this teaches me new ways of creatively working around problems as opposed to getting rid of the drawing altogether. It saves a lot of paper and a lot of ink in the long-run. As a reference, I used various close ups of pinned specimens from various angles I had found online as well as a field guide of mine ("Guide to The Ants of New England") which has some spectacular drawings of ants. 

[ctantkeeper]

Edited by ctantkeeper, April 8 2018 - 3:18 PM.

[ctantkeeper]

Here are some miscellaneous sketches I have worked on in the past, each done with the same materials and in a similar style. I'm actually kind of curious to see which ones you guys will like the most, considering how I drew these sketches weeks / months apart from one another and how I completed many of these while I was still perfecting my drawing skills (not that you ever really stop improving) and developing my style.

Edited by ctantkeeper, April 8 2018 - 8:47 PM.

[YsTheAnt]

Third one, has the best depth and detail. Don't know what it is, but looks great!

[ctantkeeper]

Third one, has the best depth and detail. Don't know what it is, but looks great!

Thanks man! I drew that one about two months ago and It's a personal favorite of mine too. Honestly though, all of these were a ton of fun to work on, so it's a bit hard to pick a favorite. If I can narrow it down, I would have to say my personal favorites are 3, 7,8,10 and 15 in no particular order. I especially like #8. It may not be large, extremely detailed or complicated, but I like the use of geometric and organic shapes in that one. 

[YsTheAnt]

Yeah, I can see why. If I had those skills, I would draw a profile of every ant in my area lol

[ctantkeeper]

Yeah, I can see why. If I had those skills, I would draw a profile of every ant in my area lol

It might sound a bit cliché, but anyone can draw. It's just a matter of building upon your natural ability with some practice. About a year ago, I was unable to draw much of anything. Drawing once everyday for a year was what made all the difference. I took no formal lessons, watched no tutorials and never attempted to copy or replicate other people's work (not to say I don't have artists that influence and inspire me and my art style). for every drawing I drew that was decent, there were about 50 that I considered to be awful. The trick is to not compare your work to that of others and to keep pressing on, no matter how you feel about your current art style. If your anything like me, you will probably find an artist you like, try to replicate their style or use some design elements from their work and eventually end up with a unique art style of your own that gradually changes and evolves over time without the need to be forced or pushed along. If you keep at it I'm sure you will become a great artist. 

 

#8 was also my first ever speed sketch. I finished it in 15 minutes (which is now how long it takes for me to do most of my drawings, even the more complicated ones.) and instead of worrying about mistakes or not adding enough detail, I just pushed through and created something simple but what I felt was stylistically pleasing. If I had to give you a tip it would be to carry a stack of sticky notes with you when you draw. Drawing for the sake of drawing can be kind of daunting, especially when your trying to fill an entire page of a sketchbook. Reducing the size of the paper allows you to make hundreds of smaller drawings and play around with new concepts / stylistic without getting overwhelmed. Not everything you draw needs to be a work of art, let alone good for that matter. Progress is progress.

Edited by ctantkeeper, April 9 2018 - 9:24 PM.

[Canadian anter]

I actually did the side view for some of the species in my area a few weeks ago. I've always thought that a better T-shirt design would be a founding colony of a certain species.

[ctantkeeper]

I actually did the side view for some of the species in my area a few weeks ago. I've always thought that a better T-shirt design would be a founding colony of a certain species.

That's awesome! Can I check them out? 

 

As for what you said about showing a founding colony instead of various ant profiles, I was kind of limited on time and could only do so much. The sketches I did draw took a lot of time to finish. The one I posted is accurate enough that you can flip through E.O. Wilson's Pheidole in the new world and pick it out from the 600 or so species of pheidole described in that book.

[ctantkeeper]

Here they are! This is the complete set of "ant heads" that I did for the commission. Hope you guys like them.

 

[ctantkeeper]

Here they are! This is the complete set of "ant heads" that I did for the commission. Hope you guys like them.

 

If the jaws of the Stigmatomma pallipes worker look a bit uneven, there's a reason for that. One is built for slicing and tearing while the other is built for exerting a crushing force instead.