It is time to show you the artwork that I created for Illustraciencia, International Award on Scientific Illustration.

I personally adore the idea of this contest; nature is an infinite source of inspiration (there is so much to draw, indeed)! That’s why I decided to participate once again.

An Afterglow

Last year my artwork “South American redtail catfish” became one of the 40 finalists. I was so excited that just couldn’t believe my eyes! So many skilled and experienced artists sent their illustrations to this contest, and being one of the selected is a great honor. 

But let’s have a look at this year’s artwork 🙂

The Concept

It all starts with an idea; I was choosing among different options and making a final decision wasn’t easy. “Should I draw a toad?” I asked myself. “Or should it be a squirrel or a hedgehog?”

It is like a whirlpool: one you conceived to create something, you have so many luring paths waiting for you.

Finally, I settled on the lizard concept because these animals are amazingly textured. It is a pure joy to draw all these small and big scales with a whimsical pattern!

So let me introduce you Furcifer verrucosus, also known as the warty chameleon 😀

The result

The Process Of Creating

Below is a story of transforming an idea into a real tangible drawing and then – a digital illustration.

You may already have seen this artwork in my portfolio – there it was in the original black and white version. Recently I decided that it would look more lively with a slight touch of the color. I have chosen a subdued color palette for two reasons: 1) it was a great experiment for varying my usual bright coloring style and also 2) muted composite colors appeared to fit this artwork very well.

Let me show you the process. 🙂

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Description of steps:

I began with a blurry background, keeping everything by and large. Seeing the artwork in general helps to get a united result – I use layers of color with low transparency, so the background color really sets the pitch to all tints in the artwork.

Then it was time to add nuances and accent bigger details, without going into particulars. At this step, I paid main attention to the toad’s texture and varying spots of color.

After that, I reduced the opacity of the black ink layer once more, so the artwork became lighter, as it more transparent and aerial. I also worked on the surroundings, adding as many colorful hatches as needed.

And the final step is refining the contour of the artwork, removing the unnecessary parts.

I also have a short video that illustrates the process:

To complete this process post, here are some fragments in close up:

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And the artwork full size: I really like how it looks in the finished version 🙂 Hopefully, you enjoyed the process and the result, too.

I truly believe in the power of mixing media. Digitally colored ink artworks look so nice!

This artwork became a print design, so if you are interested in something with it (apparel, home decor goods, stickers, mugs, skins etc.) please check out my shops at DesignByHumans and RedBubble. 🙂

Thank you for watching and have a great day! 🙂