Cause Im new people might not know. But I’m on the Autistic spectrum. I thought I’d say cause it’s important people know since I’m a member now. even though being Autistic can be challenging socially in certain areas sometimes . it does have its strong points I can draw details and things iv seen from memory without needing to copy or trace things
For me I can draw almost anything but mainly draw wildlife. I prefer drawing from memory to copying and traceing cause I find it easyer. Sometimes I draw something i couldn’t get a picture of
other times i like to draw what wildlife iv seen or heard and then other times I just like to draw Wildlife anyway regardless cause I enjoy it.
Alot of people say my drawings are very good. People who know me offline including family and even people that don’t know me Well includeing strangers say there very good aswell and have done since I was little
Today I came up with an idea I was wondering about making a post where people can show everyone there drawings of wildlife and have chats about them and what species of wildlife they have drawn or just whatever it is they have drawn and also wondered if people would like to see my drawings aswell
This is one of my drawings of wildlife iv done it’s been raining a lot today so I decided to do some drawings this is one of them Dandelion
Its Just an idea. I don’t know if much people also do drawing but sending photos of drawings of wildlife and sharing them with others sounds like a nice idea to me another idea could be we could have another category called Wildlife art discussions but other wise apart from that general chats about the wildlife that related the art that has been drawn and about the art since Wildlife can inspire people sounds like a great idea
Combining artwork with photos in Observations is good by me. It would be best if the art was mainly to show the ID features and a few arrows with notes about those is surely OK
Hi, Zo.
You are brave to be so honest. There is at least one other regular contributor who is on the spectrum - and makes a lot of very valuable contributions.
We have a lot of autism in our family; and several of them are also very artistic (not me, sadly).
I think that the idea of a showcase for wildlife drawings is a great idea. But I’m not sure that iSpot is the best forum for that as it is primarily an ID site. Have you explored whether there are other possible host sites?
I do believe that it is important to use whatever talents fate has blessed you with.
Any description of what you have seen is good on iSpot and different media - photos, drawings, words - can be used to advantage to highlight particular features. So, from me, a definite “yes” to drawings. (And not just because I might be a little envious of your skill, something I lack unless there’s s ruler and compasses involved and even then …!)
I need to find some links so may come back and edit
The Swiss Orchid Foundation had the most amazing illustrations - remember botany was with us before cameras and some botanists illustrated their observations -
This i what I have found on the internet: “For those interested, I did hear back from the curator of the Herbarium and Botanical Garden at the University of Basel. Apparently the Orchid database was taken offline as it was on an older platform and deemed a security risk. It will eventually be back online under a different platform, however, there is some uncertainty of when due to lack of dedicated resources.”
My photo (yet to be posted on iSpot) and the illustration from the SOF that I used to Identify it:
This is lovely work. Your dandelion has a touch of something special about it Very lovely.
I think drawing is a good way to highlight aspects of an organism that’s been observed, perfectly reasonable to include in an observation, perhaps to enhance it.
Love the dandelion!
You’re not the only autistic user, but you’re brave to be honest about it. It’s an odd condition - and virtually unknown when I was a kid. My wife was never diagnosed when young, though once recognised it seems obvious - but her location on the spectrum is debatable.
dejayM’s suggestion that you could combine a drawing with photos in a post is an excellent one.
And maybe we could have a new forum topic (say ‘user artwork’ - along the lines of collections of notable posts such as Favourites 2023 - #7 by Luisa) that could be added to ad hoc.
Either way, more, please!
You get my support for this too. There is a long tradition of biological illustration for identification. Before there were cameras, there was just text and drawings. And before there were microscopes with cameras which capture the image on-line, the details were also drawn by hand.
The purpose of Drawings of British Plants by Stella Ross-Craig (Part 1 appeared in 1948) was to provide a standard set of illustrations for “a proper understanding of their taxonomy”.
It took a while… Part 31, the final book, was published in 1973.
Thanks everyone. And im glad you all think Its a good idea with what dejay M said i think that what dejay M said is a good idea aswell. Im glad There is another member on the spectrum aswell like me on I spot and it’s nice that a few of you also know someone with Autism. I also write storys about Wildlife sometimes aswell some storys are from personal experiences. Other storys from my imagination and sometimes I do drawings that accompany the storys.
When I only draw and I’m not writeing a story basicly drawings alone of course if I don’t have photos to go with them it might not be a good idea to post a drawing of a species on I spot Nature the one for identification but since people would like to see more of them I came up with an idea of making a post on the forum where anyone can share there Wildlife drawings and have general discussions about them
Thanks for sharing that Zo - we are all unique in our own way aren’t we. I really liked your dandelion and fully agree with what other people have said that drawings could definitely enhance an observation. How nice to have such a lovely talent.
Very lovely.
