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Techniques for CollectorsAnybody sketching micros???

3rd Feb 2013 22:31 UTCTim Jokela Jr

Anybody sketching micromounts?

I've only done a few, decades ago, but recall it being a very satisfying process, and am thinking about doing some more.

I have all these fantastic micro crystals doing crazy things, and sketching seems easier than the endless slog of trying to produce quality photomicrographs.

So if anybody out there is doing simple line drawings, in the style of Glenn and Fisher (RIP, bow to the masters, I miss you guys), I could use some beginner tips. Ideal pencils, papers, that sort of stuff.

This insane little herringbone twin group of marcasite I hammered out of boulders in Niagara Falls is dying for attention.

4th Feb 2013 16:55 UTCDonald Peck

Hi Tim, I remember using 4H pencils in art class, but the paper escapes me (That was about 65 years ago). I would love to see some of your sketches.

4th Feb 2013 18:14 UTCBill Lechner Expert

Hi Tim,

I don't have any advice since I've very little artistic talent, but I remember Garry Glenn telling me that when he and Bob Fisher started drawing for their MSH book (no longer in print BTW), their styles were different. However, after considerable consultation and comparisons with each other, their styles became very similar. So, if you look at their drawings now, you'll be hard pressed to identify who did which drawing.

I, too, would be interested in seeing your drawings.

Bill

4th Feb 2013 19:54 UTCEugene & Sharon Cisneros Expert

Tim,

I have never made a sketch of a mineral, as I have no talent in that direction, nor should I wish to try to cultivate it. However, I sometimes do get the desire for an old time nostalgic pencil drawing. For me, the easiest way to produce such a rendering is the long long way around. I go through "the endless slog of trying to produce quality photomicrographs" and then modify them digitally....whew! Anyway, call me nuts, but they are fun to do and look neat, IMO.

Neptunite

San Benito County, CA

Cheers,

Gene

4th Feb 2013 20:38 UTCVandall Thomas King Manager

Bob Fisher"s and Garry Glenn's Micro Minerals of Mont Saint-Hilaire, Quebec (1989) was not the first book on Mont Saint-Hilaire minerals illustrated by micromount sketches. That was Geology and Mineralogy of Mount St. Hilaire, Quebec by the Worcester Mineral Club, 1973, but that book had only about forty sketches of micromount crystals and most were not complete specimens. You might enjoy the pen and ink sketches of micromount and larger sized specimens in Minerals of Washington by Bart Cannon (1975).

5th Feb 2013 03:12 UTCDoug Daniels

There's a micromounter in the Georgia Mineral Society, Dave Babulski, who does sketches/watercolors of micros. He uses a camera-oscura contraption to draw the overall specimen, and goes from there. I believe there was an article about him in Rocks & Minerals a few years back.

7th Feb 2013 19:13 UTCTim Jokela Jr

Holy shit, Gene, that is cool!

Thanks for the input, everybody.

10th Feb 2013 22:29 UTCEugene & Sharon Cisneros Expert

Tim,

I know that this isn't exactly on subject, but just for fun, here is one more "pencil drawing".

Cubic Magnetite, San Benito County, CA

Gene

10th Feb 2013 23:48 UTCHarjo Neutkens Manager

Tim, for drawing you need pencils ranging from hard to soft. 4B to 2H should do.

However.... doing micro photos isn't difficult and doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg. I'll be happy to show you how.

Attached you'll find a pencil drawing made by me (whether it's a mineral or a Verocchio statue in Venice, drawing is drawing ;-) ) and a microphoto done with a $100 camera, a $150 scope, northern light and CombineZ (freeware)

Cheers,

Harjo

10th Feb 2013 23:56 UTCEugene & Sharon Cisneros Expert

Harjo,

Nice work on both the drawing and the photo! What is the field of view on the fluorite photo?

Gene

11th Feb 2013 16:56 UTCDonald Peck

Gene: nice drawing of the cubic magnetite. When it comes to drawing I don't think it makes much difference whether it is a macro or a micro specimen . . .it is interpreting what one sees.

Harjo, Great drawing of the statue... wish I could do that well. How about starting another thread on how you made that photo. I for one would like to know.

11th Feb 2013 19:04 UTCEugene & Sharon Cisneros Expert

Donald,

Thanks, but I can't take any credit for artistic abilities that I don’t have. This is kind of tongue in cheek and you probably missed my posts above. To be clear both of my “pencil drawings” above are actually digitally manipulated photos of some of my micromounts.

However, now my curiosity has been tweaked and I’m going to have to sit down and try real pencil drawings. If you don’t see any of them posted here soon, you will know the results of the endeavor.

Cheers,

Gene

12th Feb 2013 16:30 UTCDonald Peck

Gene, I have great faith in your talents!

12th Feb 2013 16:58 UTCDonald Peck

A while back, I needed to sketch/draw a large number of crystal figures on my computer. I did about 400 using Microsoft Paint and maybe another 200 using Microsoft Publisher. The difference is that Paint is a bitmap program and Publisher is a vector graphics program. Anyway, the first of the two attachments is from MSPaint and the second from MSPublisher.

13th Feb 2013 20:27 UTCTim Jokela Jr

Damn, this thread is getting interesting.

Very envious of your skill with pencil and camera, Harjo.

Fantastic xl drawings, Donald.

And for anybody even slightly curious about sketching minerals, I highly recommend trying it. Grab a sharp pencil and a file card.

It's really not that hard, just takes practice. And I don't have an artistic bone in my body.

Lastly, remember that science has determined that it only takes about 10,000 hours of study to master a skill like this.

So get cracking!

14th Feb 2013 16:42 UTCDonald Peck

When I had all those crystal figures to do, I remembered that there was an Appendix in the back of "Dana's Textbook of Mineralogy" that told how to do it. Ha! It was kind of like trying to read computer assembler code. But I did learn a couple of things. 1) if the lines represent parallel edges of a face, draw them parallel (and usually equal in length). 2) if you want an oblique view, draw face (a axis) on and another down the c-axis first. They have to be at the same scale so draw one above the other so you get the same width to vertical faces and top edges. Then move the top view above and to the left of the front view; rotate it 5 to 15 degrees clockwise and a vertical dropped from any point intersecting with the horizontal from the same point on the front view is the point on the oblique view. It isn't an exact method, but it is pretty close. It helps to start with large major faces and work outward from there.

MS Publisher is a good drawing program. it is a vector app (as opposed to bit map) and is pretty easy to use. You can drop in movable guide lines, duplicate and move edge lines to assure parallelism and equality of length, and easily erase mistakes.

MS Paint is a bit map program. Here, one just has to have a good eye. The problem with a bit map is that you do not get nice crisp lines unless they are either horizontal or vertical. All the rest have a case of the "jaggies".

All this, I think, is transferable to drawing with a pencil, pen, or brush. It just isn't quite as easy.

22nd Feb 2013 17:45 UTCLászló Horváth Manager

Some years ago I have seen a setup for micro specimen drawing in Schweizer Strahler, the Swiss collector's magazine. It had many really wonderful specimen drawings by several collector/artists. From what I remember they had a very clever gadget mounted on the microscope that projected the specimen image on the paper which could be traced or drawn by pencil.

22nd Feb 2013 18:55 UTCSteve Hardinger 🌟 Expert

I suppose one could begin to develop the basic sketching skills by putting translucent paper over a photo, and tracing what you see.

22nd Feb 2013 19:04 UTCRobert Rothenberg

There is a word for what Laszlo has described, but I cannot remember it. I searched for "drawing microscope images" and found several articles on techniques for doing so. They also discuss appropriate supplies.

Bob

22nd Feb 2013 20:46 UTCAlex Homenuke 🌟 Expert

"camera lucida"

23rd Feb 2013 09:40 UTCSteve Sorrell Expert

The camera lucida technique was used for a couple of centuries for scientific illustrations. Doug is right. David Babulski uses that sort of technique. I use a variant of it myself. The biggest issue with hand drawing minerals is that you only have to be a little off, and it just doesn't look right.

Here's a painting I finished today. Blue kinoite and colourless apophyllite-(KOH) from the Christmas Mine, Gila Co., Arizona. The largest apophyllite crystal is only about 0.8mm across. Water mixable oils on black card.

Regards

Steve

23rd Feb 2013 16:57 UTCDonald Peck

Steve, I love your paintings! I hope that you keep posting them.

7th Apr 2013 12:47 UTCSteve Sorrell Expert

Finished this painting today and thought I would share it. Erythrite, Bou Azer. Water-mixable oils on black card.

Regards

Steve

7th Apr 2013 16:19 UTCDonald Peck

Steve,

I wish I had your talent and skills. Your paintings are beautiful. Keep them coming!

12th Apr 2013 12:58 UTCSteve Sorrell Expert

Thanks Donald!

12th Apr 2013 21:25 UTCTim Jokela Jr

That's lovely, Steve! I need one of those in miniature size for under $300... hahahahahaa. Beautiful work.

7th May 2013 19:47 UTCDoug Rambo Expert

I believe that mineral artist Fred Wilda said, during one of his talks at the Maine Mineral Symposium, that he based his images of Palermo Mine specimens in Bob Whitmore's book (The Pegmatite Mines Known as Palermo) on what he observed through the scope.

7th May 2013 22:35 UTCBoris Erjavc

Hi

I started to paint after a long time and this is my latest.

Calcite Sveden, oil painting.

Good luck!

Boris

8th May 2013 01:36 UTCSteven Kuitems Expert

Boris, that is beautiful, the saturated color of those calcite crystals ... still impressive after seeing them in person over a decade ago.

Steve.

8th May 2013 16:39 UTCDonald Peck

Hi Steve. I surely agree with you. I never saw the crystals, the painting is gorgeous, Boris!

12th May 2013 11:24 UTCSteve Sorrell Expert

Excellent Boris!

Regards

Steve

17th May 2013 13:57 UTCSteve Sorrell Expert

Not micros but...

http://www.mindat.org/mesg-61-294098.html

Regards

Steve

2nd Feb 2015 02:02 UTCAaron Glenn

Tim Jokela

I just wondering where I might find this book dad helped writ??

Thanks

A. Glenn

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