Botanical Art & Illustration Certificate Electives

Students seeking a Certificate may focus their electives on watercolor, colored pencil, drawing—or they may choose a natural science concentration. Elective courses build on foundation skills and allow the student to tailor their direction of study. Students who are pursuing a Certificate must complete at least 54 elective course hours.

Elective course offerings vary with every catalog season. Browse this page to discover what's currently scheduled.


May

If you're looking to transition from drawing to watercolor painting or fine tune your watercolor techniques, this class is for you. You will practice basic techniques such as flat washes, glazing, graded washes, and dry brush for fine details. Dilutions more...
254BIL407O 05/01 Th 5:30pm-8:30pm Vogel
ONLINE

Talented botanical artist and active scientific illustrator Crystal Shin will share her approach to colored pencil renderings, from the importance of color observation to unique layering techniques that yield deep saturation, smooth surface, and vibrant, glowing undertones of watercolor. Through more...
254BIL409O 05/01 Th 6:00pm-9:00pm Shin
ONLINE

Practice techniques learned in Botanical Watercolor I using live subjects such as leaves, stems, and fruit. Emphasis is on realistic portrayal of botanical subjects and traditional methods of dry brush watercolor painting, with attention to detail and color accuracy. more...
254BIL332O 05/14 We 10:00am-1:00pm James
ONLINE

June

All flowering plants produce fruit, regardless of whether the fruit is edible, hard or soft. In this class, you'll combine botanical morphology with illustration to gain a deeper understanding of plant reproduction—how fruits develop from fertilized carpels in various ways more...
254BIL449O 06/06 Fr 11:00am-1:00pm Leech
ONLINE

July

Plants that "eat" animals have intrigued naturalists for centuries, from glistening sundews to vivid, almost erotic Venus flytraps. In this class, you'll learn why these plants are carnivorous as you develop your skills to accurately render their morphology on paper. more...
261BIL389O 07/08 Tu 10:00am-12:00pm Leech
ONLINE

Enhance the realism in your botanical compositions by mastering the art of drawing the fine details. In this class, you'll explore various graphite techniques that help to capture the intricate detailing of small, complex botanical subjects such as dried seedheads, more...
261BIL371O 07/12 Sa 12:00pm-4:00pm Schermer-Gramm
ONLINE

August

Capture the vibrant beauty of summer stone fruits. Using PanPastels, which are soft colors packed in a unique cake-like format, you'll create rich, soft compositions that highlight the luscious colors and forms of seasonal fruit. Enhance your artwork by adding more...
261BIL365O 08/03 Su 10:00am-3:00pm Reiner
ONLINE

Explore the fascinating world of pollinating insects and their host plants. In this mixed-media course, botanical artist Mindy Lighthipe will demonstrate techniques for accurately depicting the vibrant colors and intricate patterns of butterflies, moths, other pollinators, and their host plants. more...
261BIL507O 08/04 Mo 6:00pm-8:00pm Lighthipe
ONLINE

September

Featuring a myriad of colors ranging from green to red, blue, pink and purple, tomatoes—a kitchen staple—are fascinating subjects for botanical illustration. Learn how to observe the subtle underlying tones as you prepare to draw an heirloom tomato using colored more...
261BIL418O 09/02 Tu 6:00pm-9:00pm Shin
ONLINE

Gain an understanding of how light interacts with multiple botanical subjects in a single composition. Light on form is critical to creating dimension in a botanical illustration; when a composition contains several botanical specimens, additional attention to the placement of more...
261BIL450O 09/15 Mo 10:30am-1:30pm James
ONLINE

October

Late summer brings an abundance of composites—flower types that are composed of multiple disc and ray flowers —reminiscent of sunny days. In this class, you'll use ellipses and spirals to lay out your drawings before transferring them to vellum. After more...
262BIL312 10/04 Sa 10:00am-4:00pm Woodin
NYBG