What goes into making a good scientific illustration? How should scholars approach graphical abstracts and figure making - the philosophy as well as the practicalities behind making a good one.
July 2024 | Megha Ramachandra
Do we really need art? Why do we need art in science? Why not have just text and numbers and equations?
From the time that humans have been around, we have used drawings as a way to record the world around us and inform others.
Drawings of animals in the Chauvet-Pont-d’Arc caves in France that date back 30,000 years and are accurate enough for researchers to identify at least 13 of the species depicted (1)
Mammoth painted in El Pindal Cave (Spain), with what appears to be a heart, painted on the left shoulder. Photo: Berenguer (1994). (2)
Botanical and zoological illustrations were a significant way to record the characteristics of a species. (3)
Early scientific discoveries were solidified and propelled by illustration. Cameras were not in use until the early 1800s, so to share visual data prior to that point, scientific illustration was necessary (4). Some of these illustrations are the only record we have of species that went extinct long before the invention of cameras.
With the invention of cameras and the range of high end technologies that can visualise (things?) does art become obsolete?
No, today, the need for art is different.
Like many, we too can question whether art and science are polar opposites or in fact more similar than what appears on the surface.
The philosophy behind art and science is quite similar. Its core tenants - observe, record and conclude are quite similar in art and science. The conclusions might vary - data driven or a final art piece, but the process is quite similar. Some parts of science research and some art are quite similar - both are ways that humans try to understand and experience the world better.
(5)
And so - exercising our art muscles might help the science muscles too - in slightly different ways.
(6)
Art enables us to direct our attention. The mere act of doing art - be it painting, sketching, anything puts you in a deep focus with your subject. There is a very non-cognitive relationship built with your subject and that is something worth exploring, even for a few moments.
This focus might change the nature of your relationship with the subject - how you see something and perhaps offer new insights and perspectives in your research. A lot of early naturalists spend hours just watching and paying attention to the organisms they were studying and this gave rise to a lot of discoveries.
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Explaining concepts visually can aid in making it easier to understand complex ideas by cutting across language barriers and scientific jargon. It is the only way to present large amounts of data in a snapshot.
Using visuals to teach children science concepts is highly effective.