Sometimes we just have to put up an image because it calms everything down. This beautiful Protoceratops digital speed painting by scientific illustrator and concept artist Ville Sinkkonen evokes quiet contemplation outdoors. A hazy day, and the promise of summer to come. [h/t to David Orr] – - See more of Sinkkonen’s evocative work: There [...]

One of the most popular fields of science with children and adults alike is paleontology. And there’s a very good reason for this. Since the first fossil was recognized and found, it inspired imaginations to envision what the animal was like when it was alive. From the myths of giant cyclops to sinewy dragons, fossils [...]

Last month, we posted a wide variety of science-art here at Symbiartic. We thought it’d be nice to post an overview in case you missed or wanted to revisit any. Enjoy!

  In a world most of see through an Instagram filter and Photoshopped tweaks, a dynamic illustration of an animal can entice the eye in a way no filter can. Illustrator Derek Mah‘s cover art for The Dragon Turn caught my eye and wouldn’t let go. The  wonderfully foreshortened view of the Komodo dragon marches [...]

The concept of biomimicry is increasingly popular and useful. Recent advances in robotics are giving us the soft, colour-changing robotic octopus. Concept artist and science fiction illustrator Brian Lindahl took the idea in another direction, with his lonely picture of a heavily armored Swamp Frog Mech standing guard in a marsh. Could it hop out [...]

Like millions of other superhero comic fans, I loved Joss Whedon’s & Marvel’s The Avengers when I saw it (in 2D) opening weekend. Motion-captured Mark Ruffalo turned in the most incredible version of the Hulk we’ve seen yet on the screen.  Squeeing and cheering, it reminded me of a drawing I had made back  in [...]

Should an illustration of a dinosaur skeleton be considered as functional as a pair of jeans? Watching this TED Talk with Johanna Blakley recently discussing copyright and fashion, she points out that some creative industries have little or not copyright. The world of fashion. Automobile design. The tattoo design industry.  The reason, Blakley points out, [...]

In  the wake of the recent discussions about copyright sparked by Pinterest’s Terms of Service, I thought it would be informative to answer the question, “How do artists protect their work online?” Here are the answers from a spectrum of science-artists. – – – “Most of what I sell online is original watercolor paintings and [...]

This week’s featured image: Prehistoric Ninja Turtles by Peter Bond. Fanart © under CCL-BY-ND-NC 2011 Prehistoric Mutant Ninja Turtles, Original Ninja Turtle licence © Nickelodeon Medium: Pencil and Digital colouring. About the image, Peter notes: Raphael = Proganochelys quenstedti – Late Triassic (210 myo) – Germany and Thailand – first full shell – 1m long [...]

For most of humanity’s span, painting has been dominated by the use of small pigment particles bound in a sticky transparent medium of some kind. In the last century, we’ve developed new ways of making images. But sometimes, though the tools change, the images are the same.  Human experience is human experience after all.   [...]