The Guild Handbook of Scientific Illustration [Hardcover]

Elaine R. S. Hodges (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1988 | ISBN-10: 0471288969 | ISBN-13: 978-0471288961 | Edition: 1

This encyclopedia of scientific illustrations is an indispensable text for the novice as well as professional illustrators and scientists. Covering tools, materials, and rendering techniques, with over six hundred outstanding examples shown, this book enables scientific illustrators to understand the complex nature of their subjects and depict them appropriately.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

The Guild Handbook of Scientific Illustration Edited by Elaine R. S. Hodges The skills of the scientific illustrator must range far beyond the ability to render an attractive drawing. In addition to mastering the standard repertoire of artists’ techniques, successful scientific illustrators must understand the complex nature of their subjects and accurately depict them in a way that is useful to scientists, researchers, and others in the field. They must know the conventions of the science for which they are drawing, must be able to distinguish between important details and unnecessary anomolies in their subjects, and must use the most appropriate techniques both to render the subject faithfully and to ensure optimal reproduction quality. And they must be able to wend their way through a maze of copyright, contract, and business considerations. The Guild Handbook of Scientific Illustration provides all the guidance necessary to master the many skills of the scientific illustrator. The book opens with the basics, discussing the roles and responsibilities of both the scientist or client and the illustrator, as well as fundamental procedures applicable to any kind of illustration. The hundreds of tools and materials that the illustrator may use are then examined, with specific recommendations on surfaces, media, drawing tools, mounting materials, measuring devices, and more, the best uses of each, and tips on innovative applications especially appropriate to scientific illustration. Because many scientific illustrations are important records that must last for many years, archival considerations are important, and so the durability and permanence of surfaces and media, as well as storage conditions, are also examined. The lighting of a subject can significantly affect the depiction of important features, and so this first section also discusses different types of lighting, as well as how to depict shadows, transparency, iridescence, highlights, and more. Next, the text moves to a discussion of rendering techniques. Not just a rehash of basic raw g skills, this section explores new materials as well as innovative techniques using traditional standbys, with an emphasis on their applicability to scientific illustration. Each chapter in this section includes a complete list of necessary surfaces, media, tools, and other implements, as well as step-by-step instructions for each technique. Rendering with line and ink; graphite, plastic, or colored pencil; pencil and pastel on coquille board; carbon dust; watercolor and wash; scratchboard; gouache; acrylics; airbrush; and mixed media are all examined in detail. The complexity and fragility of the subjects of scientific illustration distinguish it from other types of illustration. Care and handling of often-rare specimens is an important consideration, as is an understanding of the taxonomic characters of each species. These concerns are addressed in the section on subject matter, which examines the illustration of plants, fossils, invertebrates, fishes, amphibians and reptiles, birds, and mammals. Also covered are wildlife illustration, anthropological and archaeological artifacts, and medical subjects. Each chapter includes a list of materials needed to illustrate and handle specimens, a discussion of the various species and their important traits, and any conventions followed when rendering a particular subject. Also examined here are ways to reconstruct incomplete specimens, as well as extinct vertebrates. Scientific illustration is more than just rendering specimens, however. This practical volume also provides information on using microscopes; creating charts, diagrams, and maps; and reproducing artwork, both as slides or prints and for publication. Also included are important copyright and contractual concerns, as well as practical suggestions on establishing a freelance business. The book closes with an appendix that lists sources for most of the tools and equipment mentioned in the text, degree programs, professional organizations, and sources of business information. An exhaustive bibliography, arranged by chapter, rounds out this comprehensive volume. Sponsored by the Guild of Natural Science Illustrators and written by top illustrators, scientists, and experts, this veritable encyclopedia of scientific illustration is an indispensable text for the novice as well as an invaluable reference for the professional illustrator and scientist. With over 600 outstanding examples of scientific illustration in black-and-white and color, it will also serve as a source of inspiration, regardless of your area of interest. This gorgeous, comprehensive handbook belongs on the shelf of anyone who produces, assigns, or simply appreciates scientific illustration.

From the Back Cover

The Guild Handbook of Scientific Illustration, Second Edition

Sponsored by the Guild of Natural Science Illustrators and written by top illustrators, scientists, and industry experts, The Guild Handbook of Scientific Illustration, Second Edition is an indispensable reference guide for anyone who produces, assigns, or simply appreciates scientific illustration.

Offering broad coverage and more than 620 outstanding illustrations, this new edition offers up-to-date coverage on all aspects of this specialized field, from illustrating molecules and 3D modeling to important material and advice on copyright and contractual concerns, as well as establishing a freelance business.

With step-by-step instructions, in-depth coverage of illustrative techniques and related tools, and helpful advice on the day-to-day business of scientific illustrating, it is easy to see why scientific illustrators refer to this book as their "bible." --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 575 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (November 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471288969
• ISBN-13: 978-0471288961
• Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 8.8 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,191,223 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The definitive reference for scientific illustration, June 4, 2003

By 

Patrick Lynch (Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Guild Handbook of Scientific Illustration (Hardcover)

Since its first edition this book has been by far the best single resource available for anyone with a serious interest in scientific, medical, biological, nature, botanical, or wildlife illustration.

Don't be daunted by the price - this book is worth far more than the next 10 competing books combined. I've been a professional medical and scientific illustrator for 35 years, and I own hundreds of books on the subject, but I think this single volume should be the foundation of any reference library on visual communication in the biomedical sciences.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars There is no greater guide to Scientific Illustration . . ., June 18, 2001

By 

David P. Denton (SF, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Guild Handbook of Scientific Illustration (Hardcover)

ELaine Hodges' "The Guild Handbook to Scientific Illustration" is truly a landmark as a reference and the finest on my shelf -- and I cannot count the times I've sought it since 1989 out either to clarify a client's request or as a refresher for some obscure technique (carbon dust, for example) . . .

Even though the book is quite expensive even by reference standards (twice its price of 1989), I would purchase it again without hesitation. Truly, there is no question of hand technique that is left unanswered . . .

If that were not enough, the volume weighs over two kilos and could also prove a formidable weapon . . .

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The book is the final word in scientific illustration, June 28, 1999

By 

Larry B. Hodges (Germantown, Maryland) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Guild Handbook of Scientific Illustration (Hardcover)

Over and over in my work I found myself referring back to this encyclopedic manual. A must for all those in the field of scientific illustration, and a huge help for graphic artists and illustrators in general.