From Sketches to Conservation: The SciArt Saga of Wildlife with Richa Kedia

Have you ever wondered how artists masterfully capture even the smallest details of their subjects? Especially wildlife illustrators!

The span of a bird’s wings, the detailing on the feathers, and the shape of its beak, all help us distinguish one species from another. So, is wildlife illustration just art?

We recently had a conversation with a wildlife illustrator, Richa Kedia, to get her views on wildlife illustrations, her creative process, and the role of SciArt in her work.

Read on to find out.

Credits: Richa Kedia

Tell us a little about your journey

I am a chemical engineer by profession but in 2017, I quit my full-time job and started pursuing art. I have mainly been doing freelance projects mainly related to science. I have also worked with some organizations related to health.

I believe the more you get into it, the more can be done. Earlier science and art used to be in separate blocks and they worked in silos. But, that’s the issue, right?

Now, the world’s getting smaller and now you can’t really have such silos and especially for communicating!

Most people don’t understand science, you need art to communicate it.

Earlier, science and art didn’t exist as separate entities. People like Leonardo Da Vinci, studied anatomy, astrology, pretty much everything under the sun!

There was also Maria (Sybill Merian) who researched insects and illustrated them. So, that was probably SciArt too!

What is the creative process for you like?

It is interesting because it varies from project to project. I have worked with scientists, forest departments, corporates and NGOs too. They are all different sets of people and they have different expectations.

For example, with scientists, you get into discussions and then you research with them. I also have worked with doctors at AIIMS. All of them know their subject, but the only thing is- communication. Generally, I need to ask them a lot of questions, get to know things, and do my research on the subject.

Other times, it can be like the people I am working with don’t have a lot of in-depth knowledge, so I have to converse with other people or go through a lot of online reading material or books or I learn on the field!

After that, it's the ideation process. I sketch my ideas on paper on the possible solutions. Once, I get it approved, I start illustrating.

Most of my work is again on paper, so I scan it and then digitise it.

Credits: Richa Kedia

Do you think there are elements of science in your work, what are they?

Yes, definitely. My background in science probably makes it easier for me to understand. Nature itself is science and most of my work revolves around nature, it's inspired by that.

But, as I mentioned before, I have also worked on specific health-related education material also. Like with AIIMS, I illustrated an app for schizophrenia patients.

That was a subject I didn’t have much idea about. I talked with the doctors at the hospital, they told me a bit about it. Then, I also interacted with patients directly. I learned how every individual is different, and how symptoms for everyone are different.

Most importantly, I learned how art is playing an important role in mental health also. It’s therapeutic for sure but, many people can’t communicate verbally, right? However, they can sketch or draw.

In India, we have so many languages. It’s very difficult to translate educational content in all those languages. Art or visuals are practically uniform!

Visual language is quite similar across the world. It helps in communicating across the world.

During COVID, I made this poster on bats. People were killing bats like crazy. That poster was essentially explaining how bats are helping the ecosystem! I had also translated that poster to 10 languages and it was circulated a lot.

In places where they couldn’t understand what was written, they could understand what was being talked about because of the visuals.

That’s the beauty of visual language, it is pretty much uniform all across.

Even though art is open to interpretation, as an illustrator, it's one’s job to make it less open to interpretation and more towards communication.

What inspired you to start working on wildlife illustrations?

Nature and wildlife are my passion areas. Growing up, even in Delhi, we had nature all around us. Like we used to go hiking, collect Mica, etc. Earlier you step out of Delhi, and you could see those yellow mustard flowers in bloom covering vast areas of land like in DDLJ. Winters in, and around, Delhi would mean those yellow fields.

Now, if you go there, it's all buildings. You’ll only see concrete.

The things you took for granted as a child have now become very valuable. I think it's very important for me to spread my love for wildlife and nature. I want people to value and love it. If you love something, you’ll protect it. That’s what I try to do.

People are slowly losing touch with nature, with trees. In India, we have so many trees that flower during spring. You have Palash, Semal and Coral trees which have red flowers. Sometimes, people even go as far as to say that trees are making a place dirty because of the falling flowers. This is a constant complaint where I live and something I find hard to wrap my head around.

In Delhi, these new societies that are coming are planting trees that have no flowers. Prim and proper throughout the year!

These days we also use so many insecticides. We’re killing insects without even realising that not all insects are harmful. People see a caterpillar, they kill it. What would the world look like without butterflies and bees?

Credits: Richa Kedia

What is it that you want people to know? What message would you say is most integral to your work?

I want people to fall in love with wildlife.

The most integral message that I would like to send out is to motivate people to start protecting nature.

We’re becoming so indifferent to trees. How can one pass by a tree in bloom and not stop to stare and look at it?

I think people now don’t want to step out of their urban spaces. But, once you step out in nature, it pulls you in. It makes you curious. Like for me, the more I learn, the more I want to learn.

This, I want to evoke in everyone, especially kids. I think curiosity should be an innate part of their personality. Youtube doesn’t have all the answers but nature does!

We experience the world with all five of our senses. As a child, you see, you hear, you touch and then finally, you taste. That’s how children are introduced to the world.

Do you think SciArt can help you in any way? Maybe in communicating ideas or better some techniques?

I consider most of what I do SciArt. I work with scientists in different fields to communicate various aspects of science. Right now, I am working with the Raptors team at WWF. The project is basically to help identify the different types of raptors and spread information on how to preserve them as they are also slowly disappearing.

In my work, science and art are not separate. I mostly get my work approved by experts.

Is it challenging to communicate a scientific idea with the help of art?

Sometimes, it is. You have to make the other person understand what you are thinking. In many cases, it is also about the end-user understanding it. For instance, on the AIIMS project, we had to make sure that the patients were able to easily comprehend what was being talked about. We tested a few techniques and found that stick figures worked the best.

The same was the case for colours. Yellow is usually a happy colour, blue can be calming for some but depressing for others. Different colours, different people, different interpretations.

So, all of this is done keeping in mind the audience and all of this is taken into account at the research level itself.

There’s something that I want to work on in the future - Educational games. Right now, in India, they are quite educational. But, they can be a little more fun. A child should not feel like they are learning but rather playing. It’s also something that requires a lot of research and you actually have to sit with the audience to see if it works.

Moreover, apart from research you need to spend a lot of time to incorporate that fun element. However, most projects in India are time bound, so it does become a challenge to balance the two!

It’s interesting to know that there’s so much that goes into creating art. There are so many layers to it.

Yes, you see there are two forms of art. One is when you create art and are sold at a gallery. In that case, it doesn’t really matter if someone’s able to understand it, the buyer should like it.

But, when you are making art for communication, you have to make sure that your audience understands it. You have to make a large group of people understand it! Especially in India, even though we are one country, we are also very diverse. You have to take into account all of this into consideration.

Sometimes, it can get irritating, if you’ve put your heart and soul into something and people don’t like it. But over time, I have understood that it's for the greater good.

Is there any SciArt in capturing wildlife?

Yes, there everything has to be scientifically correct. I have just finished working on a poster for the Eagles. Now, the difference between any two species of eagle is very subtle. The placement of the gape of the beak with respect to the eye actually decides the species. So, the research part is really important.

Mostly, I like to go out in the field because when you observe something it registers better in your mind. So like science, an artist needs to go out in the field and observe. Moreover, with climate change every year is different. This year march was colder, so some trees bloomed early, and some bloomed late. There’s so much to observe!

So, yes. The science part is equally important.

Credits: Richa Kedia

Would you call yourself a SciArtist?

Yes, for sure! I consider myself a SciArtist. My personal work has comprised much of science. Wildlife has been my favourite domain but I have also worked on projects related to mental health. Art can definitely play a role in communicating science.

See, whatever research is happening, it's happening in a silo. Art is a very strong medium to help bridge the gap.

Last question: How do you think PurpleBlue House can further contribute to SciArt?

PurpleBlue House is a very good initiative, much required really. The bridge between science and art should become stronger with time, that’s the need of the hour. There is a lot of scope for this and you guys can play a big role in this.

Disclaimer: The information posted here represents the views and opinions of the interviewee and does not necessarily represent the views of PurpleBlue House.