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:

Thank you, Julia, for the great teachings. ♥︎