My musings on raising a creative kid while human creativity is under siege. open.substack.com/pub/dodoland... #arteducation #creativekids #creativity #STEAM #illustration #sciart #medart

#ProjectAnimalia 789: Cayenne caecilian (Typhlonectes compressicauda) A legless amphibian from South America! A bit overwhelmed this week, it was nice to escape into this dark texture. #sciart #dailyart #animalart #scientificillustration #medart #illustration #animalart #caecilian

#ProjectAnimalia 788: Basketwork eel (Diastobranchus capensis) A deep water pacific eel with interesting skin! I find my mind escaping to the deep sea more and more these days... #sciart #dailyart #animalart #scientificillustration #medart #illustration #animalart #sundayfishsketch #oceanart

#ProjectAnimalia 787: Seven-spot archerfish (Toxotes chatareus) I'll never get over the amazing hunting strategy of this #fish. Shooting water up to 2m to knock insects off vegetation. #sciart #dailyart #animalart #scientificillustration #medart #illustration #animalart #sundayfishsketch #oceanart

#ProjectAnimalia 786: Atlantic stingray (Dasyatis sabina) I've spotted this bottom-feeder in the Chesapeake Bay. Swims softly but carries a poisonous barbed tail. #sciart #dailyart #animalart #scientificillustration #medart #illustration #animalart #stingray #oceanart #fish

New to my feed? I began #ProjectAnimalia in 2021, and drew an #animal every day. This year I'm going for 1000. Follow along for some #animalart escapism... And let me know if you have requests! 785: Regal moth (Citheronia regalis) #sciart #dailyart #scientificillustration #medart #illustration

#ProjectAnimalia 784: Black-necked stilt (Himantopus mexicanus) A marsh and mudflat wader with flamingo-like legs. Their tuxedo plumage has always fascinated me. 🙃 #sciart #dailyart #animalart #scientificillustration #medart #illustration #animalart #birds #birding #birdart

#ProjectAnimalia 783: Volta's electric eel (Electrophorus voltai) Named for the inventor of the battery, this #ell has the strongest bioelectricity generator known—up to 860 volts. #sciart #dailyart #animalart #scientificillustration #medart #illustration #animalart #fish #fishart #electriceel

#ProjectAnimalia 782: Clown triggerfish (Balistoides conspicillum) A day I'm in the ocean is a good day. Lucky for me, Mauritius has amazing reefs, with residents like this #triggerfish! #sciart #dailyart #animalart #scientificillustration #medart #illustration #animalart #fish #fishart #snorkling

#ProjectAnimalia 781: Great crested grebe (Podiceps cristatus) Happier in the water than the air, here in charismatic summer plumage! They perform a beautiful courtship dance. 💕 #sciart #dailyart #animalart #scientificillustration #medart #illustration #animalart #grebe #birding #birdart

#ProjectAnimalia 780: Speartooth shark (Glyphis glyphis) I'm now back in the rhythm of daily animals, and my creative muscles are feeling stronger. Here's an extremely rare river shark! #sciart #dailyart #animalart #scientificillustration #medart #illustration #animalart #shark #sharks

#ProjectAnimalia 779: Coyote (Canis latrans) I once met a #coyote while running in the mountains. We stood on the path staring each other down for about five minutes, then she vanished into the brush. #sciart #dailyart #animalart #scientificillustration #medart #illustration #animalart

#ProjectAnimalia 778: Yangtze finless porpoise (Neophocaena asiaeorientalis) Not entirely finless, but lacking a dorsal fin. Critically endangered with 1,249 left in 2023. #sciart #dailyart #animalart #scientificillustration #medart #illustration #animalart #porpoise #whale #whaleart

my student evals in SciComm last semester said I shouldn’t make science so political

#ProjectAnimalia 777: Payara/vampire fish (Monocirrhus polyacanthus) Another aggressive Amazonian fish! But three feet long and comes with fangs. 😚 #sciart #dailyart #animalart #scientificillustration #medart #illustration #animalart #fishart #vampirefish #payara

Interested... #sciart #medart

#ProjectAnimalia 776: Amazon leaffish (Monocirrhus polyacanthus) It looks and acts liek a dead leaf, flitting harmlessly around—until it extends its long mouth and swiftly inhales its prey! #sciart #dailyart #animalart #scientificillustration #medart #illustration #animalart #fishart #leaffish

#ProjectAnimalia 775: Haller's round ray (Urobatis halleri) A coastal ray that preys on invertebrates near shore.Named after a boy who it once stung on the foot. 😂 Watch out! #sciart #dailyart #animalart #scientificillustration #medart #illustration #animalart #fishart #rays #fishes #stingray

Oh #portfolioday! Hi. 😋 I'm a #sciart #medart and kidlit illustrator, and I draw a lot of things. But one of my favorite things to create are unique, complex, accurate, anatomy dissections. I love a puzzle. These pieces also happen to be real life #jigsaw #puzzles!

#ProjectAnimalia 774: Arapaima (Arapaima gigas) This Amazon river #fish deserves an image search, if only to see that it can be over ten feet long, and takes multiple humans to lift. #sciart #dailyart #animalart #scientificillustration #medart #illustration #animalart #fishart #arapaima #fishes

My sanity-salvaging resolve for the New Year. Do stuff the hard way. #sciart #medart #illustration #creativity

#ProjectAnimalia 773: Three-toed amphiuma (Amphiuma tridactylum) The "Congo Eel" of the Mississippi flood plain, this #salamander has the largest recorded red blood cells of any animal! #sciart #dailyart #animalart #scientificillustration #medart #illustration #animalart #amphiuma #amphibian

#ProjectAnimalia 772: Coral catshark (Atelomycterus marmoratus) An Indo-Pacific catshark. Daytime hider, nighttime hunter. #sciart #dailyart #animalart #scientificillustration #medart #illustration #animalart #coralcatshark #catshark #sharks

Just here in my room. Ssssss-snoozing. From the #kidlit sketchbook. #illustration #illustrator #kidlitart #childrensbooks #scbwi #kidlitillustration #dailyart

#ProjectAnimalia 771: Piping plover (Charadrius melodus) Tiny shorebirds, the size of sparrows. My daughter used to call them "little mice." ☺️ #sciart #dailyart #animalart #scientificillustration #medart #illustration #animalart #birdart #plover #pipingplover #birding

#ProjectAnimalia continues. 770: Swollen olive snail (Oliva bulbosa) A carnivorous marine snail which engulfs prey with its foot and digests it beneath the sand... #sciart #dailyart #animalart #scientificillustration #medart #illustration #animalart #snail

#ProjectAnimalia continues. 769: Blue spotted ribbontail ray (Taeniura lymma) A beautiful ray, with a dangerous tail. #sciart #dailyart #animalart #scientificillustration #medart #illustration #animalart #ray

Hitting the New Year running and throwing myself into making art of various kinds. Deciding to give myself a bit of room to play. :) #illustration #illustrator #kidlit #kidlitart #childrensbooks #scbwi #kidlitillustration #dailyart

#ProjectAnimalia continues. 768:Australian white ibis (Threskiornis moluccus) The legendary Sydney "bin chicken." The urban #birds are climate migrants, moving to cities as their floodplain homes dry up. #sciart #dailyart #animalart #scientificillustration #medart #illustration #animalart #birdart

2025 has been an elating and depressing year. I made some work I was proud of this year, and some work I was less proud of. Some I can show, some I can't. I learned a lot. I forgot a lot. I often felt left behind. Sometimes that terrified me. Sometimes I felt it might be a good thing... #artvsartist

#ProjectAnimalia continues with 767: Collared brown lemur (Eulemur collaris) Drew a "scratchboard" version of this some years back. Did you know there are over 100 lemur species? #sciart #dailyart #animalart #scientificillustration #medart #illustration #animalart #lemur #collaredbrownlemur

Moving pause of the day. #sketchbook #sciart

#ProjectAnimalia continues with 766: Turkey vulture (Cathartes aura) What can I say about this magnificent creature? Supra-speedway soarer, fence post posturer? I just love them. #sciart #dailyart #animalart #scientificillustration #medart #illustration #animalart #turkeyvulture #buzzard #vulture

I'm making a point to sketch more kidlit! I know it's December, but in my heart it's always a little bit Halloween. #illustration #illustrator #kidlit #kidlitart #childrensbooks #scbwi #kidlitillustration #dailyart

#ProjectAnimalia continues with 765: Javan deer(Rusa timorensis) I once saw a kid deer play soccer on Java. On Maurititus, they're a beloved invasive species, and feature on the coat of arms. #sciart #dailyart #animalart #scientificillustration #medart #illustration #animalart #deer #javandeer

A little sketch of friendship. :) #illustration #illustrator #kidlit #kidlitart #childrensbooks #scbwi #kidlitillustration #dailyart

I love love love that they hired a painter to do these portraits and then acknowledged her by name. Artists of all kinds supporting each other is so beautiful.

#ProjectAnimalia continues with 764: Blue-spotted mudskipper (Boleophthalmus pectinirostris) Watching these guys wallow around mangrove swamps mudflats is something I miss about the Pacific. #sciart #dailyart #animalart #scientificillustration #medart #illustration #fishart #fish #mudskipper

Feeling festive, missing winter! #illustration #illustrator #kidlit #kidlitart #childrensbooks #scbwi #kidlitillustration

Blue moon... (a little color study) #artoftheday #digitalart #illustration #illustrator

#ProjectAnimalia continues with 763: Leopard whiprays (Himantura leoparda) An Indo-West Pacific ray which grows 12 ft long, and can have a tail 4 times their body length. #sciart #dailyart #animalart #scientificillustration #medart #illustration #fishart #fish #rays #ArtAdventCalendar

Art of the day, and some nostalgia for my wild childhood. #illustration #illustrator #kidlit #kidlitart #childrensbooks #scbwi #kidlitillustration

Want to know what it takes to illustrate a children's book? Art takes time. Here's my substack about sustained effort, and the humility of compromise in art markets. #illustration #illustrator #kidlit #kidlitart #childrensbooks #writing #creativity #arttakestime #scbwi #kidlitillustration

#ProjectAnimalia continues with 762: Black-crowned night heron (Nycticorax nycticorax) The #Heron with the widest range. I'd shot a photo of this guy years ago, and I finally drew it! #sciart #dailyart #animalart #scientificillustration #medart #illustration #birdart #birds #ArtAdventCalendar

#ProjectAnimalia continues with 761: Sooty grouse (Dendragapus fuliginosus) A west coast grouse. The males have two air sacs in the neck for display and to make a hooting call. #sciart #dailyart #animalart #scientificillustration #medart #illustration #birdart #birds #birding #ArtAdventCalendar

#ProjectAnimalia continues with 760: Narrownose chimera (Harriotta raleighana) More from the deep sea. Chimeras are sometimes called "ghost sharks." They're relatives of sharks and rays. #sciart #dailyart #animalart #scientificillustration #medart #illustration #fishart #chimera #ArtAdventCalendar

#ProjectAnimalia continues with 759: Marbled lungfish (Protopterus aethiopicus) Also called the leopard lungfish, this fish must breathe air to survive. #sciart #dailyart #animalart #scientificillustration #medart #illustration #fishart #lungfish #ArtAdventCalendar

#ProjectAnimalia continues with 758: Black panther (Panthera pardus) Actually a #leopard...a "melanistic leopard" where both base and spot pattern of the fur are dark! #sciart #dailyart #animalart #scientificillustration #medart #illustration #blackpanther #melanisticleopard #ArtAdventCalendar

#ProjectAnimalia continues with 757: Spotted tinselfish (Xenolepidichthys dalgleishi) Getting into the holiday spirit with the oddly shaped "tinsel" of the deep sea... #sciart #dailyart #animalart #scientificillustration #medart #illustration #fishart #tinselfish #oceanart #ArtAdventCalendar

‪I really hate being on camera. But making an exception for this happy moment! I illustrated a picture book! RUGGED RAX: THE LITTLE SATELLITE THAT COULD by @suzannelipshaw.bsky.social Available here services.publishing.umich.edu/Books/R/Rugg... #scbwi #kidlit #kidlitart #pbart #sciart #medart