There are quite a few people out there illustrating endangered animals, all trying in different ways to raise awareness of these animals in the hope that awareness aids conservation. Science, research and campaigning are all well-known elements of conservation today, but often to inspire people to fall in love and take action, you need a different approach. Illustration and visual communication are very powerful tools – so here is a little list of my top favourite illustrators doing just that. They are all absolute inspirational creative geniuses, hope you like all the amazing artwork!

1. Jonathan Woodward

I’ve been a huge fan of Jonathan’s work for many years – I love both his paper collage style and his obvious passion for the natural world. Not only does he sell prints of his work, but you can download amazing FREE Children’s Wildlife Activity Kits (see images below) and monthly desktop calendars.

I asked Jonathan what inspires him, and whether he thinks illustration has a role to play in conservation:

“I’ve always loved wildlife (I used to collect bird ceramic figures while the other kids were collecting Star Wars figures!) and although it took me a while to combine my passion for wildlife and Illustration, spending 10+ years as a Graphic Designer, I now feel very privileged to work on the projects I illustrate.

I think illustration has an important role to play in communicating conservation issues to children and offers a unique opportunity to engage with them in a way that photographs can’t, breaking down complex subjects like trophic cascades and making shocking practices like shark finning less gruesome, but still impactful enough to fire up future conservationists.

The thought that through my work personally and professionally, I could help in some small way to inspire kids to engage with and want to protect the natural world, makes me very proud.”

I couldn’t agree more! Though I also think its never too late to get grown-ups inspired too 😀

2. Brendan Wenzel

From Brooklyn, New York, Brendan is a passionate conservationist, and has collaborated with many organizations working to ensure the future of wild places and threatened species, especially within Southeast Asia. You can see a whole gallery of Brendan’s illustrated animals, all endangered in the wild, on his website, plus he has a book coming out this year called They All Saw a Cat.

Louis Masai

Louis Masai is a London-based street artist who uses large, visible public platforms to depict endangered animals. His work is absolutely beautiful, and the contrast of seeing these ‘wild’ animals on the streets of East London makes you think about the space we are giving these animals in our modern world. He was part of the recent Endangered13 Project in London too, a mural project raising awareness of endangered species – visit the website, there’s tonnes of amazing photos on there!

Bryan James’ Species in Pieces project

Bryan’s project is an incredible mix of endangered animals and modern, digital artwork.Here are a few images of his project but you really must go look at it on his website – the animals move, the pieces spin into place to create each new animal and there are loads of links to information about each species. Its mesmerising.

Patrick George

I’m in love with Patrick’s Animal Rescue book… I’m always on the look out for kids books that deal with conservation or endangered animals, and I think this one does it so well. So simple yet so clever, plus some of the profits go to the Born Free Foundation. Watch the video to see how the acetate pages work:

Patrick has also been involved in other conservation projects, recently a poster for World Wildlife Day (the theme was In Our Hands):

And a poster for Wildaid’s Year of the Elephant (2016):

He has an exhibition in London at the Coningsby Gallery called Wildlife Matters from 27 June – 9 July. See his website for more artwork.

Frann Preston-Gannon: The Journey Home

Sticking with amazing children’s books, this is The Journey Home. I LOVE THIS BOOK TOO! I hadn’t heard of the illustrator when I stumbled across this book a few years ago in London. I read it in the bookshop and had to choke back the tears at the end – a beautiful book about endangered animals, with a hard-hitting final page. Get yourself a copy, and then I challenge you not to cry. It’s been turned into a stage show for kids too, see more on Frann’s website.

Bria Neff: Faces of the Endangered

My final artist I know very little about but came across her recently on the Jane Goodall Roots and Shoots website. Bria is an American-based artist and conservationist who is “painting these pictures of endangered animals because I want people to know that they are loosing their habits and food. It makes me feel super sad so I want to help by selling these paintings and donating the money to make sure none these wonderful animals ever go extinct. She plans to paint 3000 paintings in the next 9 years and so far has already raised $1,600 for the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW). Oh yeh, and SHE’S ONLY NINE YEARS OLD. Beyond inspiring. Check out her website.

Part of this month’s theme on illustration and wildlife, and in particular wildlife conservation…

Illustration, by definition, always has a ‘purpose’, to illustrate something, to make a point or get a message across. Beautiful photo-real paintings of African lions can still make us stop in our tracks, be impressed by or have an emotive reaction, but generally they are seen as ‘art’ rather than ‘illustration’. These days, illustration falls in the graphic design camp, and tends to always be working for its place in our visual world – it has a reason other than the image itself to exist, and thats why it can work so well with conservation, it can help to serve its cause.

The early days of wildlife illustration

Before the days of photography, high definition video cameras and smart phones, wildlife especially from far away places, was seen by people through the form of illustration. Some of the early explorers (including Alfred Russell Wallace and Charles Darwin) lugged books, papers, inks and paints through jungles and up rivers in search of new species to observe and illustrate.

Illustrations by Mark Catesby and Maria Sibylla Merian:

The books of these illustrators became ‘bibles’ of the natural world, some becoming huge encyclopaedias of the current state of nature. It helped develop ideas and theories on the natural world, that form the basis of our modern-day science. Sketching the beaks of the finches is what gave rise to Darwin’s theories:

These days, those illustration give us an insight into the views and contemporary understanding of the Victorian era, and shows how science has developed. So in that sense it helps with conservation today – it gives us early accounts, illustrations of species that no longer exist (like the dodo) and ideas of how the natural world has changed over the centuries.

Wildlife illustration today

Now that we have such amazing camera and film-making technology, the role of illustration has changed from what it was in Victorian times. It is no longer the primary image-making tool for recording the world around us, but has developed instead in to one of interpretation and interaction. I don’t think this in anyway makes illustration less important. In fact I think in an image-overloaded world, illustration is there to work even harder and shout even louder. It can be clever or funny or sad or thought-provoking – whatever the conservation message that is needed, illustration can step up to the job.

The power of the visual

Visual communication is one of the most powerful forms of communication we have – an image can say a thousand words, right? The role of illustration, photography and other visual arts is to translate the science into something we can relate and respond to. Most people won’t read scientific data on in-depth field studies, but they are more likely to have an emotive response to a visual representation of that data. And emotive responses are shown to be more likely to lead to action too, whether thats donating to a charity, getting involved with conservation or just becoming much more aware of the natural world around them.

Here are a couple of Greenpeace posters, both using illustration and graphics. Both use illustration to make the message easier and quicker to ‘read’ – its that ‘an image can say a thousand words’ thing again. The second one especially makes something (size of the trawler nets) that would otherwise be a meaningless number to most people, instantly make sense, and have powerful impact.

Here is a great TED talk by conservationist Dr Lucy Superman called ‘Art Can Save A Panda’ about using art to educate and inspire. Lucy also runs Creature Conserve, an organisation to bring artists and scientists together to help conserve endangered animals.

Illustration can be a great way to engage with kids as it can be easier for them to digest information and ideas, and you can make it fun too. I have a great book called Planet Zoo by Simon Barnes – large hardback kids book I got from a charity shop, 3 or 4 pages is dedicated to different endangered animals, with tonnes of beautiful illustrations and text about them why they are in trouble. Capturing the imagination and the wonder of animals is so important, especially for young kids. But I think when you’re dealing with tricky topics or ones that the general public aren’t away of, then its the same idea – you need to make the information accessible.

Artists in Residence

A lot of the major zoos today have Artists in Residence who work alongside the zoo animals and staff to engage with new audiences and increase the conservation messages they are putting out. Chester Zoo has an Artist in Residence who puts on creative workshops, all with a conservation angle. London Zoo has the Artists for Animals program, which ‘enables artists to use the resources that ZSL has, help develop their artistic practise, further their knowledge and interest in animals and conservation and better understand different species, the threats they face and how art could highlight that.’ All these types of schemes help to increase interpretation and interaction with the big wildlife issues.

Going back to wildlife sketchbooks

Even though we have cameras today, there is still a place for field sketchbooks and drawing the natural world. It can really make you ‘see’ whats around you so much better, and you pay attention to small details that you might otherwise miss. I’ve discovered recently how great a Nature Journal is, illustration can be for everyone!

This post is a little interview I did with an illustrator called Stu Mclellan – not only does Stu draw the BEST birds (they’re so full of character, I love them!) in coloured ink, he is also very much in touch with the natural world, which has an enormous influence on his work, and his entire life. I asked him a few questions about his work and how important he thinks illustration can be in looking after wildlife…

I’m an illustrator by training, and illustrate for books, magazines, charities, festivals and more – but I love to make things beautiful in lots of ways – decorating a space, making food, playing music. I work collaboratively in schools and with other groups on creative projects – murals, illustration, mosaics etc. And with Verity I make The Barefoot Diaries, a quarterly journal exploring living life in relationship to Earth and each other.

1. What are your favourite art mediums to use? Does your art style and subject affect what materials you use?

I use pen and ink most often. I love the directness, the simplicity of using just ink, a pen and paper. I usually sketch in pencil first, but it’s when the ink hits the paper that it starts feeling more magical! I’ve found myself beginning to use natural materials more, especially for making temporary work – leaves, stones, sticks, chalk, inks from oak and berries. In terms of making work that’s more deeply connected to where I live, and that’s much more sustainable, that feels very exciting and taps into a deeper, more meditative part of me. The kind of work that comes from using those materials is quite different – though I have used oak gall ink with a dip pen and brush for doing some work that’s not dissimilar from my usual pen and ink approach. That’s quite satisfying too!

2. Where does your inspiration come from? Do you draw from life, from books, from memory..?

Inspiration is from lots of sources. I think primarily it’s from a sense of being connected to everything and exploring what that means – so I guess I would have once described my inspiration as observing nature. But I’m not just an observer, I’m part of nature, and that feels deeply inspiring. I’ve drawn inspiration from the books I’ve read, people I’ve met, conversations I’ve had or overheard, ecological issues, perceptions of a spiritual journey, lots of stuff!

3. Do you have any tips for people who want to make art inspired by the natural world but don’t think they can draw, or know where to start?

I think to sit/walk/stand and experience ‘nature’ without an end result in mind is a good place to start, and just be open listening to the relationship we have with where we are! Drawing in the conventional sense is only a very small part of artistic possibilities. I love to make mandalas on the ground, circular patterned forms, using found materials, beginning in the centre with perhaps a stone or a seed, and then working in other found natural materials around it. It’s not drawing in the normal sense, but it’s creating line and pattern, and because it uses only things found around me in a specific place, it’s a way of becoming aware of what’s around me. I generally use what’s already on the ground, so I don’t, for example, pull branches off trees to use. So it’s an opportunity to gently begin a relationship with that place. And it doesn’t need any specific art practice or training or expertise, just a willingness to be in that place and discover what’s there.

4. Do you think art and illustration have a place within conservation and helping to look after our natural world? If so, please explain why.

Yes, definitely. It’s complex, and I do sometimes feel that we’re so enmeshed in using materials that are highly processed and not really sustainable at all. But for me visual images can be incredibly powerful in communicating messages, and they can also express something poetic and emotive that words can’t. I think one of the greatest honours (and most satisfying ways to work) is being able to contribute my drawings to projects that honour the Earth.

5. How does your illustration work compliment your other work you do outdoors with kids and young people?

I think it all feeds into the whole – my drawings are sometimes influenced by the work I do, sometimes what I do in collaborations is influenced by what I’ve been drawing.

See more of Stu’s work:
Stu Mclellan’s website
Stu’s Shed (Etsy shop)
The Barefoot Diaries

Another quick behind-the-scenes post (my How I make my Honeycomb Jewellery post was super popular, yay!), this time how I make create my illustrations. Its not a particularly complicated process but I’ll share it anyway.

I start out with some doodles…

I’ll doodle pretty much any animals that catch my eye into my sketchbook – I watch tonnes of nature documentaries so it might be an animal from there, or just ones that are interesting or I’ve seen a picture of somewhere. As I want to focus on endangered animals, most of my drawings have been from books or the internet (I don’t have easy to access to lots of real-life endangered animals to draw!) – using lots of different images to combine and create my own drawings.

Once I’ve got something I want to work up I use my lightbox to trace over the sketch and redraw it a bit neater – I do this onto loose sheets of paper as the next stage is to scan it into the computer so its easier if its not in a book.

Once on the computer and in Photoshop…

I usually play around with the composition even more, as its so easy to chop up the scanned drawings and move things around. I also adjust the levels and contrast of the scanned drawing so that the line is nice and clear, and set the layer to ‘multiply’ – a setting in Photoshop which means the white of the paper disappears and I’m just left with the line which I can overlay with colour. I like the texture and sometimes scrappy line art, and even the odd marks and scratch on the scan, it gives the digital colour more life.

Now to colour in! I use a mixture of my mouse and my wacom tablet, depending what I’m working on. I start by blocking out the main areas of colour so I can make sure that the general feel is right. I also sometimes make myself a little colour palette on the side of the page, getting the right shades of each colour is so important to how they work together and how the picture feels.

Once the main colours are down I can work it up by adding different tones, colours to the smaller details, shading and highlighting, and keep on playing. I use tonnes of layers in Photoshop, this way its super easy to delete a colour I’ve added, change something, move it around etc. I can also layer colours and textures over each other to add depth. Most of my pictures have a square grid texture in them which is just a scan of a piece of square paper, but stops backgrounds just being flat colour.

I often add words in as I love how illustration and text work together (that’s why I design books for a living!), even if its just the name of the animal. I usually do most of this colouring up stage in one go, then leave it a few days so I can come back to it with a more critical eye and decide if I want to change anything or add in any extra details.

Once I’m happy, I save a high res PDF of the file and send it to the printers. And then keep my fingers crossed that the colours look alright when I get it back (always nerve wracking!).

Starting a nature journal…

As I said at the beginning, because I want to focus on endangered animals I have to use books, TV and the internet as my source material. This often creates a bit of block on creativity though because you’re already looking at someone else’s image and interpretation (even if its a photo) rather than seeing the animal moving and interacting, and making your own creative version on paper. This is why I started up a Nature Journal! I haven’t been doing it that long but it suddenly seemed like something I couldn’t believe I hadn’t done already. I like going out for walks on my own, and when I do I walk really slowly to try and not scare off the birds before I’ve figured out what they are, or to try and learn what our most common trees are. So now I have a small notebook and a pencil case of pencils and crayons that I take out, as well as my binoculars and bird book. I don’t record everything that I’ve seen, and I don’t take it out every time, but when I do take it, I see everything in a really different way. I count how many petals are on a flower so I can draw it or really listen to the bird song to try and write it down.

The act of trying to draw something makes you see it so much more, because in trying to recreate it, you have to understand it, or at least see how its made. Sometimes if they weather isn’t great I do a quick drawing and take a photo on my phone, and then add to it or do the colouring at home, but I try to do most of it there and then. It’s really changed how I feel about drawing, and how I look at things when I go for a walk now. I definitely recommend trying one if you like to go for walks – I set up a Pinterest board for Nature Journals if you want some inspiration.

May’s theme combines the two things that make Beetle Cherry what it is – illustration and wildlife. When I first thought about relaunching Beetle Cherry as an ‘illustrated wildlife park’ it was because I believe in the power of visual images to tell stories, communicate and get people on board with what you believe. In terms of Beetle Cherry, that’s about endangered animals and conservation. I’ve got a loooong way to go in terms of making any teeny tiny difference the conservation world, but as I wrote about last month with living eco, its about doing the small bit you can to make a difference.

So I thought I’d spend a month looking at whether illustration specifically (as opposed to photography or watercolour) can play a part in saving endangered animals, and also how it can help us reconnect with the natural world (which in turn of course, makes us want to look after it). I also started up a Nature Journal last week, and seeing as that fits perfectly with this months theme, I’ll be working on keeping it up and sharing my pages with you. So pick up your crayons and sketchbook and lets go outside and DRAW STUFF!

Here’s an overview of what’s coming up:
Behind-the-scenes – how I make my illustrations
Meet an illustrator – interview with Stu Mccellan
The role of illustration in conservation
My top favourite wildlife illustrators
Nature Journals – how to make one and why they’re awesome