Just when I think I know what a hornet looks like, I get a look through a fancy compound microscope and a whole new world opens up. I get to see the level of detail that this hornet would have seen when he woke up and stumbled to the bathroom to face his 10x mirror. He probably bemoaned his scraggly antennas and sagging mandibles, but I think he's beautiful. Anyway, this is my drawing from my Entomological Illustration Class that I'm taking at RISD. Tomorrow I get to finish him in color.
This class is so much fun that I wish I had tried to make a living doing scientific illustration. It seems a bit late now to try to make an inroad into what I'm sure is a very competitive field, but it would be fun to do a bit of freelance if I get any good.
My dad was an incredible jewelry renderer, back when catalogs were full of pen and ink and painted illustrations of tie tacs and earrings. (I'll post some of his work one of these days) If I have near his talent in rendering bugs, I'll do alright...if the chip is off the old block, and they tell me it is.
Of course I'd have to learn about all the bug parts and their latin names, but that would be the fun of it. Just think how smart I'll sound, talking in a language no one understands. Sort of like explaining computer code. Now, if I can only get my hands on one of those microscopes.
