Many students taking Biology are intimidated by "Biological Drawing" and many take this lightly. Actually, to do a Biological drawing one does not have to be an artist. You are not expected to produce a masterpiece. What important here is to draw a given specimen as accurately as possible. Whether you like it or not, you will have to do it one way or another. You as a Biology student, cannot escape from it. It is always asked in the practical paper of the 'O' level examination.
Why is Biological drawing important?
You may sometimes think that Biological drawing is ridiculous but actually it is training and testing your power of observation. Having a strong power of observation is one characteristic that a future scientist must have. It helps you to be more pertinent in your future work. For example, if you want to be a forensic scientist, having a strong power of observation is very important in solving a problem.
DRAWING TECHNIQUES:
- Draw what you see, do not draw what you imagine or what you have seen and remember from books.
- Your drawing is two-dimensional only, not three dimensional.
- You must have with you a sharp 2B pencil and a high quality eraser (Remember: neatness and cleanliness count!!!).
- Do not shade your drawing. Coloring is totally forbidden!
- Your drawing should be large covering at least 75% of the given drawing space.
- Drawing line must be continuous and not fuzzy.
- Mind your proportion. For example, if you are asked to draw a fruit, the size of the seed(s) must be in the right proportion as that of the whole fruit.
- Your drawing must have a suitable title. Example: Transverse Section of Fruit W1 (X2.3).
- Labeling (in pencil) is preferably on one side of your drawing. Criss-crossing is not allowed when labeling.
- Determine the magnification of your drawing by dividing the length of your drawing with the length of your specimen. Your magnification should have a multiplication sign before the value (for example: X2.3) and there should not be any units placed after your magnification value.
- Draw a line on your drawing to show where you were taking your measurement.
Examples of well drawn specimen (Mind you, labeling and lines to show where measurements for calculating the magnification are not shown in the following drawings)
The following are examples of Biological drawings which deserve high credit (Remember: Your drawings should be clear and show that you really draw what you observed)
The following are examples of Biological drawings which deserve high credit (Remember: Your drawings should be clear and show that you really draw what you observed)
