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*** Please ensure that you have everything you need - files and/or instructions printed off from the website (find them currently in the ARCHIVES section) - by 31st December 2025 as they will not be available after this date ***

Natural History Illustration

Natural history illustration by Lotti Brown - creating art from nature...

'Natural history' can be a slightly confusing term, but really it's just anything to do with the natural world, be it animals, birds, plants, insects, rocks and geology, space and more.

Natural history is scientific, but it's traditionally had more of a cross-disciplinary emphasis...

So art and illustration can be included (and not just scientific illustration), but also our own human history of our interactions with and perceptions of the world around us.

And how that's led us to interact with the world - perhaps using animals and plants for our own benefit, and becoming aware of our growing role as protectors and guardians of our own natural world...

Holly blue butterflies natural history illustration

Holly Blue butterflies watercolour illustration by Lotti Brown

These pieces are from my earlier artwork series - each piece is drawn by hand and then carefully composed and coloured digitally. They’re still available to purchase as fine-art prints and gifts via my Redbubble store.

Red admiral butterfly illustration

Spurge Hawkmoth art illustration

Loving and Learning Nature

Today (as in history) you don't have to be a professional scientist (or artist) to be interested in the natural world or to call yourself a 'naturalist'...

If you love nature and you like learning about it and finding out interesting things about different animals and plants in whatever context, you can consider yourself a naturalist...

And get involved in your own way in learning more and hopefully feeling a sense of guardianship over the natural world in your own local area, be that your balcony, garden, village, town, country or continent!

Natural history illustration is not just an artistic representation of nature though (like you can see in my nature artworks here) - it's a combination of science and art...

As well as being beautiful to look at, the illustration should also be scientifically accurate for example if it needs to be used in a field-ID guide.

So accurate drawing is a must, as well as careful observation, and attention to colour...

Which all go together to make an illustration that should be easily recognizable as the animal, bird or plant (or other natural object) and is accurate enough to be used scientifically.

And of course, we all want it to look nice, as that's what the artistic side is about after all - so careful composition and good artistic skills and techniques are important here too!

The study of natural things can also go beyond the insect, plant, bird or animal itself, too, and also look at the ecology or ecosystem around it - simply the environment around your subject and how it fits into that - which can also be its own subject for nature illustrations.

Big Rose Chafer beetle illustration work in progress

fritillary butterfly watercolour illustration

Dark green fritillary butterfly illustration in watercolour

Big Rose Chafer Beetle illustration

Holly Blue butterflies illustration

Natural History Illustrations by Lotti Brown Designs

Insect and Butterfly Illustrations

Butterfly and insect scientific illustration - Lotti Brown's artistic representations of nature...

I love butterflies so I've so enjoyed getting stuck into learning about butterflies and insects - I've gained a new appreciation not just of butterflies but of bees and beetles too...

Peacock butterfly watercolour illustration

Red Admiral butterfly watercolour illustration

In the Spring of 2024, I studied the insect illustration module in my natural history illustration studies at the University of Aberystwyth - and learned lots about making insect scientific illustrations accurately depicting a typical specimen of a butterfly or other insect.

I've been able to examine some of my subjects under a magnifying glass to get a really close-up look at the detail of the legs, antennae, and the beautiful butterfly wings which are surprisingly hairy, which I've tried to show on my watercolour illustration of the Red Admiral in the image above...

Bumblebee illustration in pen

Wasp beetle illustration - WIP

The little bees were fun to work on with all the tiny hairs all over - I was surprised to notice the hairless areas too. The bee wings are amazing with a semi-transparent membrane that looks so delicate but works so hard to keep the little bees buzzing!

And drawing the beetles was amazing, too, with all the different shapes, sizes and colours - some, like this Big Rose Chafer beetle specimen (below), had an amazing metallic irridescent shine that was a real challenge to capture in watercolour - so lots of practice studies were necessary! Like tiny jewels!

It's certainly made me more attentive at looking for and at beetles when I'm out in the garden or in the fields - so many different ones, and often just so tiny!

Big Rose Chafer Beetle watercolour illustration

I've loved, loved, loved drawing and painting the butterflies and moths - they're so delicate and beautiful and then when you get close you see their tiny antennae, the miniscule scales on their wings, and the soft hairs that are quite liberally covering some species - such a challenge to try to capture in paint, but I'm so enjoying spending more time with our miniature winged friends!

Spurge Hawkmoth watercolour illustration

Once I'd created my butterfly and insect scientific illustrations in watercolour, I decided to have some fun with them and make them into new colourful artwork illustrations by scanning my watercolours into the computer and using Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator to put them together with my other drawings of plants and flowers...

I'm pretty pleased with how they came out and they're perfect for making into art prints, T-shirts, throw pillows, phone cases and more - you can see them all on this page alongside my other butterflies artworks...

Hawkmoth art illustration by Lotti Brown

Gatekeeper butterflies art illustration by Lotti Brown

If you like my colourful designs, you can buy them as art prints, T-shirts, tote bags, phone cases, throw blankets, shower curtains and more - all from my online store...

I'm continuing to draw and paint these lovely butterflies and insects as they're such amazing creatures and I love to see them out in nature...

Where to go next...

See more butterfly and moth artworks and illustrations on this page...

And find out more about the absorbing hobby of nature journaling here...

Shop all of my nature-inspired art in my store here...

Explore my current art collections here!

Celtic Sunflower and Peacock Butterfly Tshirt

Sunflower and butterfly T-shirt - click to find it in my store...

Moths notebook or journal - click to find it in my store...

Shall we stay in touch..?

Each month, I share stories from my own nature journal, new art from my studio, and simple seasonal inspiration to help you feel more connected with the turning year...

Natural History Illustration

Loving and Learning Nature

Natural History Illustrations by Lotti Brown Designs

Insect and Butterfly Illustrations

Where to go next...

Shall we stay in touch..?

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