color photos vs hand drawn

[wareagle69]

when i started this journey into wildedibles i wanted lots of books with clor photos and while it did help with a limited few pics of small plants it does no good with larger plants, heres an example
there is a plant growing around here all over the place my yard the pastures roadsides and such about 3ft tall alternate leaves with yellow flowers, should have been easier to id that it was i looked thru my lone pine series of ontario wildflowers and thru peterson feild guide and audon society, now some of these picts were of a leaf or of the flower itself one black and white drawing is not bad, finally yesterday at a gift shop on the island that sells allot of native artifacts along with books and cd's (you get the idea tourist trap) so i am looking at all the books and i now look for allot in a book i have so many sittting on the shelf i no longer use, i come across another lone pine book was a compilation of ontario nature great book but as i look at one page i see color hand drawn picts which i have been using allot of latley a bang there she was, common evening primrose, so i bought the book
so to make a long story longer last week i bought an artist skecth book and color pencils, now i am no artist but i am gonna try to use this style for my book, you need a complete picture of a plant roots stem leaves and flower so much more detail can go into this type of pictures try it you will so agree with me

[Gray Wolf]

WE are you going to post some of your drawings?

[trax]

I tried that when I was being shown medicinal plants once, my drawings sucked so that was pretty much the end of that.

[wareagle69]

WE are you going to post some of your drawings?

just starting out my freind give me a few weeks to submit any that are worthy

[Rick]

I could not agree more, WE. I admire your tenacity in seeing the whole picture. It won't matter whether you think the drawings are "art" worthy or not. As long as you understand what they represent, that's really all that matters. Don't try to "draw" the plant. Take a minute and look at it's features. How the light falls on it, whether the leaves are hairy underneath, where light reflects from the leaves. Then look at the colors the plant displays. Once you understand the "parts"; light, reflection, absorbtion, etc. then you can capture the plant.

Trax - You probably stopped drawing when you were a kid. So when you started again you drew just like....a kid. Don't let that stop you. Like everything else, practice is required!

[wareagle69]

i agree rick(ouch)
part of the reason of me drawing these is to see a plant in the wild draw it to evry detail then find it at home with all the minute details captured if that helps others then great but it sure with translate in my mind

[Ole WV Coot]

TRAX writing and drawing on the bathroom wall don't count. This may sound dumb but anything I can't identify or forgot I will take it to a few older than me people and ask. I won't get the correct name but I will get what it's called in this area and if it's good for anything. I never study books on plants because I grew up in this area and plan to stay now that I am back. I learned lots when I was younger and it seems to come back to me.

[wareagle69]

for some that is the best way coot and that is why in books some plants have so many different names, but for someone like me who has been wandering the earth until the last year and have no elders to look to i must rely on botanists, naturalists, and plagiarists.

[Ole WV Coot]

for some that is the best way coot and that is why in books some plants have so many different names, but for someone like me who has been wandering the earth until the last year and have no elders to look to i must rely on botanists, naturalists, and plagiarists.

Good luck is about all I can say. I tried books, internet and the plant just didn't look the same. If I moved out of the Appalachian chain I would be lost. Besides food and maybe a medicine people know a lot more uses than listed. I have found folks that know the old names and uses don't think anyone is interested and they are happy to tell you about the one you have and then walk out with you and show you other plants. They go kinda quick to write after and don't want recorded. I may get shot but I just take a little recorder about 1/2 the size of a pack of cigs in my shirt pocket.

[danmc]

I've gotta agree. I've seen lots of color photos that just don't capture the detail of interest the way a good drawing does. I've actually considered taking a drawing class at a local community center just to help develop the ability to make better plant drawings. Haven't had time yet.