Book on drawing insects

   It has been a while since I shared a new book from my art library but I did buy two on my trip and I thought today would be a good opportunity to share one as it relates to something I am currently doing. Many of you know that I have done the online natural history illustration course offered by University of Newcastle in Australia twice. Well, they are offering it again and I couldn't resist. Obviously I haven't had as much time to invest as it began during my holiday, but I have been trying to make it fit in with my otherwise busy schedule.
  Italy is one of the hotspots of botanical and natural history illustration in central Europe and there is such a variety of books, posters, stationary, featuring highlights of the natural world. I always feel so inspired to sit down and start illustrating. It also helps that there are a lot of interesting plants and animals to draw. Warmer climates seem to be inducive to the type of flora and fauna I admire.

   In Matera we stumbled across a small bookshop full of beautifully illutrated picture books. Most were children's books but a few were simply beautiful books. I modestly purchased two assuming we would visit other bookshops in other cities. Unfortunately, the only other one we went to, in a shopping center, didn't have a lot of special or unique books. One of the two books I brought back with me is this one, a book focusing on breaking down the components of insect anatomy into simple shapes.

   Sei Zampe, 'Six Legs' is a thin paperback book showing step by step instructions for drawing insects. It is written in a way which would allow an older child or teenage to successfully draw semi-realistic insects. One of the things that drew me to it is the fact that although the drawing is not very exact it results in a quite lifelike rendition with minimum effort- imagine what could be achieved with the same technique and a great deal more attention to detail.

  Our local natural history museum has a large selection of beautiful butterflies and moths which I really admire. I included a picture of one of them that I was working on drawing some time ago but I would really like to take the time to do a small collection.

 I am looking forward to reading through this book and gathering new tips and tricks along the way.

   The book is written in Italian but I believe it is still worth the investment even if you don't speak a word of Italian since the illustrations themselves are very straightforward.

   The inside of the back cover is reserved for the reader's own drawings as a sort of entomological cabinet. A cute idea. I won't use it but again, for a teenage it would be fun.

   For those who are interested in seeing my current sketchbook I am including the following page. A friend and I went to Lustbühl on Sunday to do gesture sketches of the animals there. Here are a few details of the busy chicken yard.

If you enjoyed this post you might also enjoy:
- A tour of my natural history sketchbook
- Moth Migration drawings
- or browse my Art library


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