Artful Science

SciArt illustration contracts for your science communication project (Using Images-A Best Practices Primer, Part 5)

Posted on May 18, 2017October 4, 2017 by CommNatural

This article is the fifth in a series aimed at helping you enhance your #scicommand #sciart by avoiding #visualplagiarism. It will do so by laying out some best practices for dealing with images (which are, by their nature) visual intellectual property protected by copyrights.

NOTE: I am not a lawyer, and no part of this article or series should be construed as legal advice.

Please chime in, in the comments or by contacting me, if you have suggestions for how to enhance this article or the series.

Placing lid on vial_sig — Hiring an illustrator doesn’t have to feel like wizardry. A well-written contract can simplify and enhance the experience. (Student assessing stream water quality, ©2017)

FAIR-TO-GENEROUS ILLUSTRATION CONTRACTS

In addition to the 4Cs of commissioning SciArt, there are four major considerations you will need to take into account when you work with an illustrator.

They are: contracts, what you want, your time frame, and what you can spend. This article breaks down the first of those, contracts. Continue reading SciArt illustration contracts for your science communication project (Using Images-A Best Practices Primer, Part 5)

April 2017 CommNatural Newsletter: Migration, multimedia sketching & more

Posted on April 24, 2017October 7, 2017 by CommNatural

Happy April, dear readers!

The weather is getting warmer and warmer. In addition to obvious shifts in the garden, migratory critters are coming back to the high plains.

My favorite are the turkey vultures that roots on campus. On warm breezy afternoons, they cruise low over the cottonwoods around our neighborhood.

In recognition of the vultures, bluebirds back out at our favorite hiking spot, and all the plants leafing out, this month’s newsletter looks at some familiar things from some fresh angles.

Keep reading. This month’s newsletter focuses on a mixed media sketching/pring-making technique, the launch of an image-use best practices blog series, and lots of news and events.

Happy sketching,

April Table of Contents

Insight: How and why migrations speak to us
Sketching Tip/Artful Classrooms: Solvent transfers (a printmaking technique)
Artful Science: Ethics of using reference/source images for art making and science communication
News & Events:
- Drawn to Science plenary talk at American Fisheries Society’s western division annual conference scheduled for 5/23
- Drawing for Science Communication symposium talk at American Fisheries Society’s western division annual conference also scheduled for 5/23. See the conference program for details.
- Get your portable sketching kit, plus spring greeting cards and gifts from me! 🙂

Sketchbook Snapshot: taking a closer look at winter vocabulary

Posted on January 28, 2017April 10, 2017 by CommNatural

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Though many a northerner might beg to differ with Robert Frost’s somewhat flippant statement – “You can’t get too much winter in the winter” – there is a truth to the poet’s words that became evident when I looked into winter vocabulary.

Wintry word origins

According to etymologyonline.com, the word winter likely derives from a combination of Proto-Germanic, Norse, Dutch, and Gaul words which meant “wet” or “white.” The word snow dates from circa 1300, shares linguistic roots with winter and was alternatively spelled “snew” until the 1700s. Continue reading Sketchbook Snapshot: taking a closer look at winter vocabulary

FAIR-TO-GENEROUS ILLUSTRATION CONTRACTS

April Table of Contents

March Table of Contents

Jan/Feb Table of Contents

Though many a northerner might beg to differ with Robert Frost’s somewhat flippant statement – “You can’t get too much winter in the winter” – there is a truth to the poet’s words that became evident when I looked into winter vocabulary.

Wintry word origins