The Dragonfly

The theme that I have researched and illustrated was that of the dragonfly. It is such a complicated thing it amazes me on how it works. I have made many drawings to show the many different things that make up the creature and have found some things I did not even know about its habits and anatomy.

Short animation - ants

Whiteboard and marker animation by Dale Sylvester, commenting on the social interaction of ants and the importance of pheromones.

The Asian Elephant

I chose to illustrate the Asian Elephant because it is an animal I found particularly interesting. I think the way they are worshipped and treasured by the Asian community is really fascinating and the elephant is seen as a good luck symbol in many cultures.

The area I focused on is the habitat loss of the Asian elephant leading to the animal becoming critically endangered. Therefore my lino prints show the Asian elephant fading and the landscape changing.

Kate Cronin

Cat

Experimental animation by Holly Stanton

Duck

The Blue Duck, the one that features on the reverse side of a New Zealand's $10 note.
This species is an resident breeder in New Zealand, nesting in hollow logs, small caves and other sheltered spots. It is a rare duck, looking after their territories consistently on fast flowing mountain rivers.
The Blue Duck is a very limited species now threatened by being hunted by mammals especially stoats, competition for its food with trouts, and human activity causing the ceased mountain rivers flow for building work.

In 2011 the New Zealand Department of Conservation and Genesis Power started the Whio Forever Project, a five-year management programme for Whio (New Zealand locals, Maori, call the Blue Duck 'Whio'). It will enable the start of a national recovery plan that will double the number of fully operational secure Blue Duck breeding sites throughout New Zealand.

They are amazing animals and key factors that influenced my visual developments are: they all inhabit New Zealand rivers, they occur nowhere else is in the world, Blue Ducks have unique features such as streamlined head and large webbed feet to enable them to feed in fast moving water, and they are in danger of extinction due to human activity. I have made many drawings, some 3D objects and animated my animal to expose some of its habitual behaviours and routines.

Bat

The animal I chose was a bat because most people think they are evil and ugly but I think they are very misunderstood and if people took the time to look they would see they are amazing creatures that do more good than they do bad. I also chose to research the bat because of its dark and creepy look that often puts people on edge. I was also fascinated by their nocturnal behaviours and how they are the only mammals that are truly capable of flight.

Galapagos Tortoise

There was an abundance of information regarding tortoises including their prehistoric origins, conservation programmes and Charles Darwin’s research. The images highlight the exploration of narrative within children's books, aboriginal art and the search for definitions and how they may be interpreted visually. I attempted to keep the images visually similar in order to achieve a sense of consistency. I worked primarily in fine liner and ink, as seen within the included images.

Ollie Tubb