Saturday, January 28, 2012

Nautilus



From the Steinhart Aquarium at the California Academy of Sciences.

Our friend, the chambered nautilus. I sketched him and took notes for colouring.

You aren't supposed to take flash photos of them because of light sensitivity. I DID take a non-flash photo with my iPhone before I saw the sign, but fortunately, not with a flash. Anyway, he was holding still and I thought it was a good sketching opportunity. Waaaay easier than the Seattle Aquarium where I constantly had people walking in front of me, even though I'd taken care to pick a tank with multiple vantage points.

This one had some really interesting cracks in his shell, and the banding pattern doesn't go all the way round, like it does on some of the other nautiluses. (Nautilii?)

Painted in Photoshop. The colour isn't strictly accurate--I have a couple layers where I painted the shell creamier, but in the end, I liked the dramatic colouring. (If you'd like to see what more accurate colouring looks like, here's a shot from the California Academy of Sciences: www.flickr.com/photos/calacademy/4463407840/in/set-721576... )