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GROWTH AND DECAY OF CORAL REEFS

Here’s a selection of illustrations, charts, and maps I created for a book by renowned marine biologist and author, Dr. Peter J. Vine. The book, Growth and Decay of Coral Reefs: Fifty Years of Learning, was published as a hardcover and an ebook by CRC Press on September 15, 2023.

It was a great honor to work with Vine, who in the 1970s, led a group of British scientists who studied Red Sea reefs off the coast of Sudan, including corals growing on Cousteau’s abandoned underwater garage. He also studied the many fish and other creatures that inhabited the reefs, and the dynamics between coral, CCA (crustose coralline algae), sponges, and macroalgae. His observations are an important part of the historical record, documenting how coral reefs flourished or declined 50 years ago compared to today.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, I worked remotely with Vine to help redraw 30 dive transects in a publishable format. I contributed maps of the region, diagrams of experiments and Cousteau’s garage, and over 50 illustrations of Red Sea fish.

Illustration of a red lion fish
Red lion fish (Pterois volitans). Illustration by Fiona Martin, ©2023 Peter J. Vine.
Illustration of honeycomb grouper
Honeycomb grouper (Epinephelus merra). Illustration by Fiona Martin, ©2023 Peter J. Vine.
Gallery Image
Spot-fin porcupine fish (Diodon hystrix). Illustration by Fiona Martin, ©2023 Peter J. Vine.
Gallery Image
Spotted eagle ray (Aetobatus narinari). Illustration by Fiona Martin, ©2023 Peter J. Vine.
Gallery Image
Illustration by Fiona Martin, ©2023 Peter J. Vine.
Orientation of Jacques Cousteau's underwater garage at Shaab Rumi reef.
Orientation of Cousteau’s underwater garage and quadrants studied, relative to the current and deep reef-face of Shaab Rumi. Side A–B received most of the incoming current, while side C–D remained relatively protected (as it faced the back-reef of Shaab Rumi). Illustration by Fiona Martin, ©2023 Peter J. Vine.
Transect 14 (19°37.2'N, 37°13.13'E). Location: Starting from the stern section of the wrecked ship, MV. Mani, working in a westerly direction towards Port Sudan's large grain elevator.
Transect 14 (19°37.2’N, 37°13.13’E). Location: Starting from the stern section of the wrecked ship, MV. Mani, working in a westerly direction towards Port Sudan’s large grain elevator. Illustration by Fiona Martin, ©2023 Peter J. Vine.
Bar chart showing distribution of fishes at transect sites.
Distribution of fishes at transect sites (part 1 of 2). Chart by Fiona Martin, ©2023 Peter J. Vine.
Map of Suakin Harbor
Map of Suakin Harbor, marine laboratory, and nearby dive transect sites. Map by Fiona Martin, ©2023 Peter J. Vine.

Poster design

While the book was in press, I designed this minimalist poster with the black-and-white fish illustrations. It was selected to be shown in the 2023 GNSI Juried Members’ Exhibit.

Poster of Red Sea fish.
Poster of Red Sea fish included in the book Growth and Decay of Coral Reefs, by Peter J. Vine. Illustrations and design by Fiona Martin, illustrations ©2023 Peter J. Vine.

Process

I’m happy to have found ways to incorporate traditional styles in digital media. The result is high-quality graphics that stand out compared to photos or more plastic-like digital illustrations.

For this book, I used Adobe Illustrator along with Astute Graphics plugins. While my style appears similar to traditional pen-and-ink and watercolor, it is actually composed of scalable vector paths and editable layers.

Four-step process for digital stippling, using a yellow box fish (Ostracion cubicum) as an example.
Four-step process for digital stippling, using a yellow box fish as an example.



I was able to render each fish in about 4 steps. (1) Referring to a combination of reference images, I drew the lines with Illustrator’s pen tool, varying stroke widths or adding tapered ends as needed. (2) On a separate layer, I added shading in grayscale to show planes or curves, fin rays, and patterns. (3) Next, using the Astute Graphics’ Stipplism plugin, I transformed the grayscale fills/gradients into stippled dots. (4) Finally, I adjusted the dot density as needed.

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