Marea Oslo — Ecosystem Restoration

Marine restoration

Marea Oslo is a non-profit working to restore the marine ecosystem in the Oslofjord.

The fjord has been widely documented as polluted and under pressure:

One of the ways they are responding to this is through kelp cultivation, which can help bring life back by creating habitat and supporting marine ecosystems over time. As it grows, kelp also absorbs CO₂ from the water. Ref.

1# From Cell To Ecosystem

Diagrammatic scientific illustrations [ 5th April, '26]

This is a diagrammatic sequence showing how Seaweed Solutions and Marea Oslo work together through kelp cultivation to support the development of marine ecosystems. It is presented in a carousel format for social media publication.

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The visual language is intentionally minimal, using fine white line-work, simplified forms, and a dual palette to keep the focus on process and progression. The sequence moves from early cellular stages in the lab to rope seeding, transport, deployment in the fjord, kelp growth, colonization, and finally ecosystem formation.

The cover uses a blue-to-green gradient to bring both collaborators together and make the transition from controlled cultivation to ecological development visible.

I kept the typography consistent throughout using Adobe Clean, switching between regular and bold to create hierarchy without over-complicating things. The text was sized at 47 pt for small-screen readability, with the goal of keeping the information concise, so the visuals could do most of the storytelling.

For the cellular stages on the cover, I used this scientific paper as reference.

Vegetation Zones of Taiwan — Information Design

Landscape architecture

This infographic was requested by Lu Hsin, a landscape architect, during her final master’s thesis on an ethnobotanical garden in Taiwan at AHO – The Oslo School of Architecture and Design.

It shows the vegetation zones of Taiwan’s natural forests along gradients of altitude, temperature, and humidity. It explains how Taiwan’s forests change from lowland tropical and subtropical forests near sea level, through montane evergreen and conifer forests, and up to the subalpine and alpine vegetation found near the island’s highest peaks, such as Xueshan, 3,886 m.

Some captions from the location on-site:

The original reference I was given was an older scientific vegetation chart of Taiwan. It showed that, as one moves higher into Taiwan’s mountains, the plant communities shift from warm, wet forests to cold, high-mountain vegetation. It also showed that wet and dry slopes can support different types of forest even at the same altitude.

I then thought of using a bioclimatic classification chart as a second reference. It connects temperature and moisture to the kinds of ecosystems that can occur in a place, from desert and scrub to forest, rainforest, and tundra. The chart helped me understand vegetation through climate gradients: dry to wet, warm to cold, and the balance between rainfall and evaporation.

This kind of diagram is a useful global reference for understanding how climate shapes the living world, though it is not an absolute model. Real ecosystems are always more complex.

The old Taiwan vegetation chart gave me the local scientific information: the real forest zones of Taiwan, their altitude ranges, humidity differences, and characteristic species. The bioclimatic triangle gave me the visual and conceptual structure: a way to show vegetation as the result of climate gradients — warmer to colder, wetter to drier, and lowland to alpine.

I used this idea to make the final graph feel more like an ecological landscape.

Final result:

This graph was reviewed by Taiwanese naturalist and plant biologist Chih-Chieh Yu (游旨价) in 2023.

Formosan Arboreal Landscape — Information Design

Infographic

This was a collaboration between Lu Hsin, a landscape architect, and me during her final master’s thesis on an ethnobotanical garden in Taiwan at AHO, the Oslo School of Architecture and Design.

Known as Formosa, or “beautiful island,” Taiwan is home to diverse and historic plant life, including Taiwania cryptomerioides, one of Asia’s tallest trees. The illustration presents 13 endemic and native species found in Snow Mountain, a serene area in eastern Taichung, Taiwan, symbolizing the island’s rich natural heritage.

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Thirteen trees were hand-drawn in pencil by the two of us, while I designed the rest of the composition in Adobe Illustrator. The illustration uses a scale bar and a colour palette to depict the height and seasonal changes of these trees.

The background image shows the silhouette of Xueshan Mountain, also known as Snow Mountain, which is 3,886 metres high.

The roots were sourced from Wageningen University & Research Image Collections.

Black-capped Squirrel Monkey — Species Reconstruction

Freelance

I illustrated a series of four Black-capped squirrel monkey portraits for Carla Pascual, a primatologist and master’s degree student at the University of Girona. The purpose of these illustrations was to support a study exploring the relationship between the distinct personalities of squirrel monkeys, specifically Saimiri, and their unique vocalizations within a specific group.

The primary challenge of this task was the low quality of the reference images provided, as these monkeys are wild. Only one female, who was used to humans, was captured in a relatively clear photo.

I had to meticulously reconstruct each monkey’s image in Photoshop, paying close attention to individual traits to accurately depict each one. Despite the limited references, I tried to create the most realistic representations possible.

Client Review:

Scientific Illustration — Vector Design

Formal training

These exercises were created as part of a vector illustration course taught by Mikel Rodríguez through Illustraciencia Academy.

The first exercise is a labelled anatomical study of a shrimp, exploring its external structure through vector illustration.

This second exercise is an infographic on marine plastic pollution, using vector illustration to visualize ocean waste distribution and the most common objects found in marine debris.

Credits: Design by me. Data by Mikel Rodríguez.

Great Cormorant — Scientific Illustration

Personal project

This is a personal illustration of a Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo). I had been fascinated by the Great Cormorant and was experimenting with ideas as I went along.

The first time I saw a Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo) was in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 2013. A swan was swimming across the Amager Nature Reserve in eastern Copenhagen when a cormorant flew by and landed on a wooden post right next to it.

I remember staring at the cormorant’s plumage and hooked beak. Its feathers had an iridescent bluish gradient. At the time, I thought it was the closest modern bird I had seen to something prehistoric. I found them beautiful.

Illustration process

Here are some GIFs showing the process:

Feather direction marked with arrows before drawing:

Beak texture:

Fine feather details:

Highlights on and off:

Iconography

The female iconography was particularly relevant to me. I had been researching and comparing how many scientific graphics use the male silhouette as the default reference model, and I was not surprised to find that most of them relied on male figures.

Although average height differences between men and women exist, they do not justify using the male body as the default human reference in every scientific or educational context.

Around the same time, I had been reading Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado Perez, which inspired me to keep pushing for greater female visibility in scientific graphics.

I hope these figures will help counteract the overuse of male bodies as default reference models in scientific graphics.

And here is the final result:

Note: I used the light source effect in Photoshop 2022, before it was updated. I think it is no longer possible to recreate the sun effect in the same way.

Vaquita Marina — Conservation Communication

Conservation

IUCN Red List status: Critically Endangered (CR).

I began this project in 2022 as an ongoing collaboration with Julia Rouaux, PhD in Natural Sciences and scientific illustrator, who has supervised me throughout the process to help ensure the accuracy of the data and information used in this project.

The vaquita marina (Phocoena sinus) is the world’s smallest porpoise and one of the most endangered marine mammals on Earth. Its range is limited to the Upper Gulf of California, Mexico. Only a handful of individuals remain, with 2025 monitoring efforts estimating approximately 7–10 vaquitas observed.

The main threat to the species is bycatch in illegal gillnets set for totoaba, an endangered fish whose swim bladder is highly prized on international black markets. Despite the severity of the decline, conservation efforts continue to protect the remaining animals and support the possibility of population recovery.

Illustration Process

The project is currently in progress. So far, I have focused on reconstructing the skull and developing preliminary infographics to communicate the species’ anatomy and conservation status. There is still a lot of work ahead and the development of additional educational material.

The research process has been challenging because the remaining population is minimal, and skeletal material is scarce. Only a limited number of specimens are available through museums, archives, or private collections.

Because some cranial elements were missing from the available references, including the teeth and zygomatic arch, we sent a formal request to the vertebrate collection in Mexico for additional specimen photographs.

Dr. Sandra Martínez gathered the necessary photographic material, which allowed me to complete the skull reconstruction.

And here is the final-rendered skull:

Special thanks to The Vertebrate Collection of the Natural History Museum of Mexico and to Dr. Sandra Martínez for their generous support and for providing the photographic reference material that made this part of the reconstruction possible.

Scientific Illustration — Palaeontology

09 Sep, 2021 · Formal training

This is a course I took in paleo-artistic illustration with Hugo Salais, a biologist and paleo-artist, through Illustraciencia. The course focused on creating paleoart by collecting relevant and reliable data, interpreting fossil remains, progressively reconstructing anatomy, and representing an extinct organism’s behaviour and way of life during the span of 2 months.

I focused on the pterosaur Anhanguera piscator, a pterosaur that existed during the Late Cretaceous in what is known as Brazil today.

Skeleton reconstruction: first attempt
I began by trying to reconstruct the skeleton from a published fossil specimen, but I realised the source material was incomplete and not ideal for direct measurement, so I decided to start again with better references.

Skeleton reconstruction: second attempt
I switch to a more useful reference specimen, measure the preserved bones, and begin establishing the main proportions of the skull, axial skeleton, wings, limbs, and feet.

Phylogenetic inference
I compare related pterosaurs, especially Tropeognathus mesembrinus, to infer missing anatomical information and fill the gaps in the incomplete Anhanguera skeleton. Original source image omitted due to copyright.

Cranial references
I gather and compare skull diagrams and fossil references for Anhanguera piscator, focusing on skull shape, jaw proportions, crest placement, and missing cranial elements. Original source image omitted due to copyright.

Additional reconstruction references
I compare previous skeletal and life reconstructions of Anhanguera and related pterosaurs to check posture, stance, wing shape, and overall body proportions. Original source image omitted due to copyright.

Skeleton reconstruction: draft
I assemble my own skeletal draft, placing the skull, spine, limbs, wings, and missing bones into a coherent pose while marking uncertain areas and corrections.

Skeleton reconstruction: final
I refine the skeletal drawing into a cleaner final reconstruction, translating the measured fossil information into a simplified black-and-white skeletal silhouette.

External appearance: skin and pycnofibres
I begin reconstructing the animal’s external appearance, testing skin texture, pycnofibre coverage, membrane texture, colour zones, and anatomical corrections around the head, neck, and wing.

Colour and pattern studies
I explore three different colour hypotheses, from conservative to more speculative, testing how the head, crest, body, wing membranes, and markings could appear in the final life reconstruction.

This image was created in Photoshop, and it is the first draft of my final project proposal for the course. At this stage, the anatomy had not yet been corrected by the professor, and several background details still needed further development.

Although I did not have the opportunity to complete the course, the process taught me a great deal about creating dynamic illustrations, especially how movement, composition, atmosphere, and scale can work together to bring an extinct animal to life.

Scientific Illustration — Entomology

Formal training

This scientific illustration was created as the final project for Julia Rouaux’s Illustra entomología course at Illustraciencia Academy.

I chose the beautiful Rothschildia jacobaeae as my focus model, a large Neotropical silk moth from the family Saturniidae.

Through the course, I learned how to study insect anatomy, and communicate scientific information clearly through composition, labelling, and detailed observation.

One of the exercises involved analysing an existing scientific illustration to understand how complex anatomical information can be simplified, organized, and communicated clearly. I chose an illustration by Sandra Boyle.

I focused on how the artist used colour coding, labels, selective detail, and composition to represent the internal anatomy of the specimen. I studied how aesthetic choices can support scientific accuracy and make the illustration easier to read.

Rothchildia's final project pencil rendering layer by layer:

Final result:

Scientific Illustration — Primatology

Formal training

This was a weekend intensive course in scientific illustration, taught by Blanca Martí and organised by Fundación MONA, the Centre for Primate Rehabilitation in Girona, Catalonia, Spain.

The course introduced me to basic primate anatomy, locomotion, and field sketching.

Here are some of the course materials I worked on:

1. Chimpanzee skull anatomy study
   A graphite study of a chimpanzee’s face, drawn from photographic reference, with notes on skull structure, facial proportions, and key anatomical features.

2. Primate anatomy and locomotion notes
   A sketchbook spread combining written course notes with anatomical diagrams, exploring chimpanzee skeletal structure, pelvis shape, knuckle-walking, and comparisons with human anatomy.

3. Field sketch of chimpanzee movement
   A quick observational sketch capturing the posture and weight distribution of a chimpanzee in motion, focusing on the basic body shape and locomotion.

4. Refined locomotion study
   A more developed tonal drawing of a chimpanzee walking, using soft shading and fur texture to study movement, anatomy, and form.

Roots & Shoots — Jane Goodall Institute Spain

Commission

In 2019, I began to collaborate with the Roots & Shoots youth program by the Jane Goodall Institute in Spain. This is an institute founded by the late Jane Goodall, a primatologist and activist, known for her long study of chimpanzees at Gombe National Park in Africa. Her work led to pioneering findings in primatology, such as the observation of chimpanzee tool use, a discovery that forced the scientific community to rethink the definition of what “human” meant at the time.

The program takes positive action through local and international projects aimed at wildlife conservation, the environment, and local communities.

I volunteered on multiple designs, including a diploma handed to new Roots & Shoots group participants.

Illustration Process

I combined hand-drawn dot-work with later digital colour refinement, combining a traditional illustration style with a finished digital touch.

This is the digital post-production stage, where the original hand-drawn dot-work was refined through colour-correction, texture work, typography, and final layout adjustments in Photoshop.

Here is the final result:

Some Roots & Shoots members that have received the diploma:

Chimpanzee Hand

A chimpanzee hand so that children can compare their own hands to those of one of our closest relatives and understand the functionality of the opposable thumb.

The digital illustration was drawn in Photoshop, paying close attention to anatomy, texture, hair, and the position of the thumb. By comparing their hand with the illustration, children can explore how the opposable thumb supports gripping, climbing, touching, grooming, and manipulating objects, while learning how form relates to function in evolution.

Final version:

Client Review: