Natural Science Illustration Program

Drawing I is the foundation course for all sequential courses taken at the Yale Peabody Museum. It is here that the necessary techniques in rendering light on form, value, texture, perspective, proportion, and composition are taught. Each student will be given individual assignments and critiques, along with a final project, which is due at the culmination of the course.

Drawing

Learn the basics of observational drawing starting with simple objects so that you can sketch what you find outdoors as well as indoors. Students will be encouraged to carry their sketchbooks and journals wherever they go.  There will be a balance between presentations by the instructor and actual practice followed by group critiques. 

Drawing

Students will explore, sketch, and journal outside and then will bring some seasonal specimens they find inside to work from.  We will welcome guest naturalists who will help us identify things that we have discovered.  In September and October we will be looking for late summer flowers, seedpods, and autumn leaves.  Learn to slow down and observe more deeply as you connect and open up to the ineffable in natural objects through the making of art.

Drawing

We will read and discuss writings with the theme of nature and see how these can inspire us when we are enjoying our own observational drawing.

Drawing

Get a taste of what is involved when you paint with watercolor. The traditional approach to transparent watercolor painting will be taught, with the focus on limited palettes, mixing, layering, and glazing to create luminous, beautiful colors in this special medium.

Watercolor

Learn the fundamentals of color theory to enhance your work in any medium.  The class will work mostly in water media and colored pencil, but students may use any medium of choice. One 3-hour session.

Workshop

Exploring the shapes, colors, lumps and bumps of seasonal gourds! All drawn in colored pencil.

Colored Pencil

Capture the complex beauty of insects in colored pencil. Students will select insect specimens from the Peabody collection and use colored pencil techniques to create beautiful, realistic renderings.

Colored Pencil

Through the eyes of a naturalist and an artist, explore the fascinating lives of birds of the Northeast, documenting their nesting, breeding, and migrating habits via a sketchbook journal. We will record and draw our observations of various common species of birds, their anatomy and their interrelationships with plants. No previous drawing experience is necessary.

Drawing

The shadows and intricacies of bird nests lend themselves beautifully to the medium of pen and ink. This workshop will explore the process of drawing a nest from life using a Micron pen.  (Note: this course will not be offered online.)

Drawing

During each class session we will focus on different themes in nature by looking at drawings and watercolors from the Yale University Art Gallery’s collection. We will discuss the works we are focusing on as a group, as the instructor facilitates. A staff member from the YUAG will join us for the discussion and Q&A in the last half-hour. During each month the students will be encouraged to explore the illustrated YUAG online catalog for added information as they write and sketch in their journals.

Other

Stunning artistry with a pencil! Create silvery tonal portraits of animals and plants and free yourself from an artificial light source. Like artists since Renaissance times, students will learn to intuitively portray their subjects with light coming from the upper left. Through toning in this way, students will bring their subjects to 3-dimensional life in intricate detail.

Drawing

Learn the techniques of applying layers of delicate tones with colored pencil to create velvety finishes reminiscent of early botanical paintings and scientific drawings. We will experiment with tinted papers, solvents, drafting film, and burnishing techniques to achieve these dramatic effects.

Colored Pencil

Begin your exploration of color with this approachable medium. In our first few meetings students learn and practice key color concepts: primary and secondary color, local color, color temperature, hue, chroma and value.  With this background, students will then learn techniques needed to create beautiful, detailed drawings on a variety of drawing surfaces.

Colored Pencil

Learn the basic techniques of watercolor painting including mixing color, washes, layering, dry versus wet, and achieving fine detail. Students will learn how to plan a painting and develop it carefully in order to capture the beauty of the medium.

Watercolor

Whether you are taking classes for your own enjoyment or to complete the Certificate program, this is your opportunity to receive personal guidance from an instructor on a work in progress or a final course project that you have not submitted.  You will benefit from the instructor's personal insight and discussion of other student work.  All media will be considered. 

Other

In this class, students will observe and sketch specimens from the vertebrate anatomy collection at the Yale West Campus. Areas of focus will be research and hands-on study of the anatomy and musculature of the cat and the horse and an in-depth final study of a vertebrate of choice representing its skeletal and musculature development.

Drawing

In this virtual 8-week course, students will take their completed illustrations in a traditional medium and manipulate them for publication in Adobe Photoshop. The famously complicated and ever-changing Photoshop palettes and tools will be discussed and the tools most often used by professional scientific illustrators will be covered. After taking this workshop, the students should have a working knowledge and a basic understanding of Adobe Photoshop.

Digital

Working in colored pencil with the subject of your choice, create your own botanical illustration.  Starting with sketches and color studies and working from a live specimen, you will create an illustration of your subject. Fruit, vegetables, and all plant life welcome!

Colored Pencil

Create stunning watercolor paintings of flowers with and without insects. Learn how to complete each painting in specific stages by using painting elements to emphasize what is key. Student prepares a contour drawing from motif provided by the instructor before each class.

Watercolor

Learn the techniques to paint various animals from insects to mammals in their natural settings in watercolor.  The instructor will demonstrate how to complete each painting in specific stages by using painting elements to emphasize what is key.  The student will prepare a contour drawing from a motif provided by the instructor before each class.

Watercolor

Learn valuable techniques from professional artists and marketing experts on how to promote and sell your artwork. Set goals, develop a portfolio, a simple website, and a brand, to target clients who will buy your work. Students will benefit from learning the legal and business aspects of sales such as copyrights, contracts, invoicing, and work for hire. 

Other