Last Sunday we took our Rotary Youth Exchange students to the Melbourne Aquarium to see our wonderful aquatic wildlife up close. I showed the best sixty eight animal portraits to my classes and have chosen four to share with our wider audience. The photos have already begun many discussions and inspired some great drawings so I look forward to visiting more of our Zoos and Wildlife Parks over the next few months.
These are magnificent photos! They are so clear and detailed. I almost feel that I can reach out and touch the animals! I love the penguin photo showing above and below the water.
Ann James talks about observing animals in their environment and using photos and videos to help her practise drawing animals for her Picture Book illustrations so she can get the animal’s shape right as well as all of the details. You will probably know some of these books – “Little Humpty”, “Baby”, “Lucy Goosey” and “Chester and Gil”.
Are you uploading any of the drawings that these photos have inspired?
Hello Kim,
Thank you so much for your comments. I am very pleased with the photo quality. My husband and I have a shared love of photography so we have a professional series lens on our Canon camera, hence the 21 megapixel detail. The photos were quite inspirational for our students so I will post some of the drawings as soon as they are finished.
I am convinced that we sometimes expect students to draw too much from memory and not enough from reality. Imaginative drawing has its place but, as you say, real illustrators do lots of research and sketches first.
Best Regards. Yvonne
Oh what do you call that striped fish?