http://jeb.biologists.org/

Look what I found when I was walking through the aquarium bookstore! It was really cool to see the finished product after Jim showed us his rough sketches in class a couple of years ago. Anyways, it’s really a lovely children’s book and the illustrations are beautiful and endearing. Even though I may be a bit partial to otters… Anyways check it out!

Cecelia

Hi everyone,  it’s been a while since I posted anything and wanted to check in and share what I’ve been up to.   I’m still trying to fill my time and bank account with freelance work and have been mostly successful, or maybe it WILL be mostly successful   I’ve got a contract with the Smithsonian where I’m working remotely for the scientist I interned with in DC.  It’s nice but I do wish I could be Zel’s office mate and constantly pester him with questions, alas, life doesn’t always work out that way.  I did manage to finally get my foot in the door at the Cal Academy in the entomology department and have been working for their ant specialist on a guide to the ants of Madagascar.  That project is pro-bono but once we’re done he’ll be hiring me to do the guide to ants of the world which should last at least two years!  I attached an example of the types of illustrations I’m doing for him.

I also got a contract with the NFL for their drug and alcohol education program (the other two illustrations), which was really fun but the most interesting part was they found me through our alumni website.  It reminded me to keep my stuff current for sure.

Besides that my bread and butter seems to be primarily coming from work I’m doing editing for a text book company.  No illustrations but it’s good solid work and for that I am very thankful.

Miss all of you and hope you’re well, I love seeing the work you guys are posting.  I’d love to see those of you still out in the Bay Area and for any of you who might be visiting, let me know, I’d love to catch up.    +Jess

Cecelia

http://poplinpress.com/buypcg

I did the illustrations of individual plants and animals for this game put out by my friends at Poplin Press. And now it’s available as an actual product out there in the world! Very exciting! So check it out and let me know what you think. It’s not super science-y but it sure was fun (and fast… I did all 24 illustrations in less than two weeks)!

-Cecelia

Z

I recently made a billboard (pro-bono) for an anti-natural gas organization that I’m closely affiliated with, to be hung in our neighborhood. Here’s the thing – I did it for free (lots of people chipped in to have it printed, I felt like doing the design was a nice alternative to making a monetary donation), but now I’m getting slammed by emails from other, very similar, organizations asking if they can use it too. Or if I can convert it to a bumper sticker, etc. My question: at what point (if any) should I start charging a usage fee? It’s pretty cool that it’s going to get a lot of exposure, but I’d rather not go completely broke from volunteering my skills all of the time…

Oh, and feel free to comment on the design. I know that the glasses don’t all sit on the exact same plane, but I collected those images from people across the state, simply requesting that they take a straight-on shot of their water on a light background.

We’ve been illustrating on our own for a year now! yaaaay! (wow, that was quick :p)

I’ve been illustrating a book about water for an old professor of mine.  These are a few of the images, so far (there are a lot…).  Much thanks to Cat for turning me onto Blender, it’s really been saving me time when it comes to drawing molecules.  My question pertains to the cell membrane image: what should I do with those flat areas in the front where the proteins that intersect the membrane are cut in half?  Any other suggestions?

Thank you!!!

it feel like forever since I last posted, probably because it has been   I’m back from New York and Scientific American.  It was a good and challenging experience and at the end I got 5 things published, four in the last issue in May ( I attached my illustration of the Casava plant below).  Now I’m back in California and trying to get as much freelance work as possible.  I did one piece for a scientist who is publishing an article in the next edition of Science magazine, while it wont make the cover it has been used in their press package and I’ve found it on a bunch of blogs around the world, which has been cool and thank you to those of you who gave me feedback along the way.  I also might have gotten a small internship at the Cal Academy in the entomology department and once I’m in, I plan on never leaving!

I’m off to NY on Monday to go and see the Focus on Nature show, which I’m really excited about and have just relaunched my website , so please check it out and give me any feedback you can think of.

Miss you guys and love all the cool things you are doing,  talk soon, Jess