Trilobit-ey doodles

[Isotelus2883]

These are some of my trilobite drawings, Some of these are from when I was eight.

 

And yes I know, the Cryptolithus feeding method is outdated and the Hypodicranotus species name is actually striatulus.

Edited April 29, 2023 by Isotelus2883
Removed some photos

[Top Trilo]

You did a really good job! I really like the Sphaerocoryphe and dual Cyphaspis and of course the Triarthrus. You're making me want to draw a trilobite again, its been nearly a year since my last trilo drawing.

[Isotelus2883]

Some more trilos but black paper and chalk pastel

[Kane]

You have some serious talent here. Thanks for sharing with us.  

[Isotelus2883]

Thank. Your trilobite drawings were what made me want to start.

[Kane]

The artistry of our members never ceases to amaze and surprise me.  We are quite fortunate to have so many skilled artists here.

[Fossildude19]

Nice work on these. 

[FossilNerd]

Good job! You have real talent, especially if you did some of these at eight years old!  

 

I really like the Isotelus on black paper with chalk pastel. 
 

 

[Isotelus2883]

Thanks all.

[Isotelus2883]

Nileus with chalk pastel highlights

[Isotelus2883]

Rielaspis cf. elegantula plate.

I think this one was from the forum.

[Kane]

Indeed it is!

Found by me, prepped by the talented Malcolm.  

[Isotelus2883]

That’s a incredible plate! I’ve also got a Temiskaming Rielaspis, but definitely not as good.

[Danielb]

Hi I saw this and tried it. I went off of a Paralejurus trilobite. I have never been to good at drawing, if you guys have any tips it would help.

[Danielb]

Practiced more and this is what I got

 

morocops trilobite

[Isotelus2883]

I like the well-defined and confident lines. I can’t seem to do that myself, so my ventures in digital art and animation are rather unsuccessful.

[Isotelus2883]

Loop.

Edited May 6, 2023 by Isotelus2883

[Mahnmut]

very cool pics isotelus!

and @Danielb, there is definitely improvement between tries 1 and 2.

If you are aiming for more of a 3d impression, I see two ways to proceed: either keep the originaltrilobite in the same position to a fixed lightsource and to yourself and look very closely at where the highlights and shadows are. 

Or take your line drawing, imagine a lightsource and put highlight onto each convex surface (like glabella, pleurites, eyes... ) toward that direction, shadows into the recesses and away from the imagined lightsource. 

On the other hand, if you go on making line drawings with more practice those have their own beauty.

Good thing after scanning a drawing is that you can do both, keep the original and experiment with copies.

Best Regards,

J

[Kane]

Just to add to Mahnmut's excellent advice: if drawing from life it is important to spend more time looking at the object than at the paper to avoid making assumptions of what one thinks should be there as opposed to what is actually there.  In the Paralejurus sketch, note the number of thoracic segments in the specimen compared to how many are in the sketch.

 

The art of drawing begins on the solid foundation of the art of really looking.  I'd spend time on details, getting shapes and textures just right by going back and forth with observation and corrections to the illustration. Even if it takes an hour to draw a single eye or a few pleurae, that painstaking attention to detail can really make a big difference in the final result. It can be a tricky skill, as you are trying to render a 3D object into a 2D medium, so one has to translate what one sees as though on a flattened plane. 

 

Another tip for still life drawing is getting proportions right. With a trilobite (or anything that isn't going to crawl away!), if the specimen is 5 cm, and you want to draw it in such a way so it more fills the page, measure the length and width of various parts and put in plot points on the paper to act as a guide so proportions are kept accurate. So, in this example, you could draw the 5 cm specimen at 15 cm, just multiply by three, and plot those anchor points using a ruler. 

 

Of course, like anything, just keep doing it and practicing; you'll likely see your talents soar.