engleski

Graphic art in Earth sciences, various ways to illustrate obvious and unobvious

Graphic expression is essential in research and communication in Earth sciences, Geology in particular, where modern graphic and visual technologies complement basic drawing skill which is still indispensable in communication of science. We utilize graphic expression: a) to document fossils and minerals in process of their study, to document geological structures and cave topography, etc., b) to illustrate anatomy of fossils (from single-cell organisms up to plants and animals), to illustrate mineral forms and relationship of various mineral species in intergrowths, c) to illustrate and describe field geological motifs what encompasses field sketches of rock outcrops, cartographical presentation of geological composition of an area, and illustration of geological relationships of certain area in the geological past, to illustrate mineral morphology and crystal forms, d) to illustrate morphological reconstructions of some organisms (e.g. dinosaurs), the reconstructions of environments and geological relationships at some stages of the geological history, to illustrate mineral composition of rocks, deformation effects, and e) to visualize composition of the Earth, migration of masses in the Earth interior, Earth's magnetic field, propagation of tsunamis, shape of ore bodies, etc. Basic drawing technique which illustrate static geological motifs is complemented by animations which illustrate time-controlled changes, such as changes of environments in relation to the changes in position of the sea-level. All of the tasks described demand certain degree of art skills of researchers, but in some companies they may enjoy support of professional technical staff. In any case, professional artist can not effectively and accurately illustrate a desired motif if the author-researcher himself is incapable of documenting it!

art; Earth science; anatomy; documenting; modelling

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