CELEBRATING 50 YEARS OF THE ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT

In honor of the 50th anniversary of ESA (the Endangered Species Act), I illustrated 6 endangered or threatened species in the Pacific Northwest, including the northern spotted owl, wolverine, Franklin’s bumble bee, Chinook salmon, gray wolf, and grizzly bear. In each infographic, I included a main portrait of the animal and a couple background sketches of behaviors or fun facts. Towards the bottom, I added range maps and icons for ESA status, habitat, and diet. Franklin’s bumblebee hasn’t been seen since 2006, and with limited references it was challenging to draw.

View the online story published Sunday, Dec. 24, 2023, in The Seattle Times. This story won an Award of Excellence in Story Design in SND’s 45th competition.

Tap on any thumbnail to view a larger version.

I created a feature image for the top of the story. It was a challenge to combine all of the animal poses and the big “50” (the request came after I had completed the individual illustrations!), but… I made it work. 🫣 In the end, I’m quite pleased with how it turned out.

Frank Mina, Senior Assistant Managing Editor, helped with the A1 print design.

Process

I used Procreate on the iPad to render these illustrations. The style is inspired by my background in science illustration, and penchant for classic (timeless!) pen-and-ink and watercolor illustrations. Then I added the text and maps in Adobe Illustrator. Seattle Times Climate Lab reporters contributed to the writing about each species.

Here’s some of my preliminary sketches.