Course Overview and Format
Course Overview
Many students want to advance their skills in botanical illustration, yet find it challenging to take the time to learn. Despite our greatest intentions, the demands of the day often get in the way.
Our approach will be to keep it straight forward and simple to ensure that you progress.
This 6-week course provides ample opportunity for you to advance your understanding of botanical illustration. Your commitment to this period of time will help you to gain proficiency and comfort with different types of art media, although it may take many months or years to become "fluent" in this new language.
We will focus on primarily simple subjects, such as a single stem of a flower, a fruit, or a vegetable.
Our two step process will introduce you to exercises, while you simultaneously write and reflect on the process. The instructor will take an active role in this creative endeavor by providing feedback on your illustrations and journal entries. You will also have the opportunity to learn from one another through an open forum in which you can share your ideas with others.
Course Format
There will be an introductory period of days, followed by 6 weeks of lessons and corresponding assignments which will be submitted to the course instructor before the stated deadline. You will find deadlines at the top right corner of each assignment.
Originally, I told students they will need to dedicate a minimum of 10 - 18 hours per week to the lessons and assignments in this course, as a commitment to the course, and to achieve proficiency. As a general rule, more time spent practicing will yield more satisfying results. Looking at this as a 6-week part-time job will yield the most fruitful benefits. Some students have surpassed my skill level, and I'm so pleased with what I've seen overall.
Each exercise (assignment) comes with a minimum suggested time that you should dedicate to it, and we encourage you to explore beyond the assignments and practice your drawing skills whenever possible. If you finish any of these exercises in a shorter period of time than suggested, please continue to practice, repeat and refine. You will also find supplementary assignments and additional resources to view for some of the lessons at the bottom of the topics menu.
In addition to illustrating, you will also engage in reflective writing with entries that provide an opportunity to critically reflect on the lessons as well as the impact of the plants and art in your life. There will be suggested topics each week, but you are free to explore your own topics as long as they relate to art and nature. Journal reflections will be submitted weekly to the course instructor using this Moodle interface. You can use these to build a relationship with the instructor, and to better understand yourself, too.
You will also complete a final piece which will reflect your evolving experience and skills you've learned throughout the course. The subject matter and mode of executing the final piece will be a matter of your choice and preference. There is more information about this in the 'Final Project' document of this topic.
Finally, this course gives you the opportunity to create or refine your botanical illustration portfolio.
Please take time to look through the topics in the entire course.
Again, welcome!