Dorota Paczesniak
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dorotdesigns.bsky.social
Dorota Paczesniak
@dorotdesigns.bsky.social
1.7K followers 1.6K following 160 posts
Scientific illustrator, educator, biologist
🇵🇱 in 🇫🇮
Drawing to explain and inspire
Commissions open: DM

Visual design portfolio:
https://www.behance.net/dorotdesigns
she/her
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dorotdesigns.bsky.social
A portrait of Charles Darwin dreaming about the tree of life #ArtAdventCalendar
A digital drawing with thin black lines and sparse colours. Charles Darwin has a long beard, closed eyes and is smiling. Above him a cartoon of the tree of life with some plants, animals, bacteria and fungi.
December 14, 2025 at 6:34 PM
dorotdesigns.bsky.social
It was great to work on these as a graphic designer with a group of scientists from @luke.fi and @helsinki.fi. This published version is version 9 in my folder, and my first visual draft looked like this
A photo of a sketchbook with a draft of the infographic in pencil. The main sections (natural forest, breeding, applications) are indicated with coloured frames
December 11, 2025 at 7:38 PM
dorotdesigns.bsky.social
Maybe it’s a bit small when you’re looking on your phone, but these infographics about forest tree breeding are the #SciArt I’m really proud of
(Full resolution: aoe.fi#/materiaali/...)

#ArtAdventCalendar
More details in the thread below 👇
An infographic titled: “Tree breeding - from wild to genetically improved forests”. There are 4 coloured panels with illustrations and diagrams and grey text boxes around them. The panels depict 1. Wild forest 2. Breeding 3. Mass propagation 4. Cultivated forest Developed by Luke (Natural Resources Institute Finland and the University of Helsinki. Graphic design: Dorota Paczesniak
December 11, 2025 at 7:38 PM
dorotdesigns.bsky.social
The fat moose has been one of my first character designs and my alter ego. I drew this picture for a goodbye party invitation when my last research job was finishing and I was leaving Saskatoon (Canada) in 2019
#ArtAdventCalendar
A cartoon style drawing of a moose travelling in a space rocket. The moose has large, widely open eyes and is holding a handbag, which looks exactly like Moominmamma’s handbag
December 9, 2025 at 7:28 PM
dorotdesigns.bsky.social
Jack-in-the-pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum), botanical illustration. This cool plant grows in forests in eastern North America. Young individuals are male, then produce both male and female flowers, and large plants produce only female flowers
#ArtAdventCalendar
#SciArt
A digital illustration of Jack-in-the-pulpit plant (Arisaema triphyllum). The inflorescence is enclosed by a large bract- a modified special leaf with purple and white stripes. It has a large green leaf with three leaflets
December 8, 2025 at 7:17 PM
dorotdesigns.bsky.social
This is one of my older drawings (2019), which I used to teach young audiences about genetic engineering and breeding. It’s illustrating the basics of plant reproduction, highlighting the fact that seeds are plant “babies” #ArtAdventCalendar #SciArt #ChildrenIllustration
A comic style drawing of plants with green leaves and yellow flowers, with faces on the flowers. On the left two plants lean towards each other; an arrow and insects above them indicate pollen transfer. On the right there is a “mommy plant” with a seed pod on wheels that’s full of round seeds, each with a slightly different facial expression
December 6, 2025 at 9:11 PM
dorotdesigns.bsky.social
Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) branch fragment with a mature cone - botanical illustration
#ArtAdventCalendar
#SciArt
A digital drawing of a pine tree branch fragment (Pinus sylvestris). The leaves (needles) grow in bundles of two. The cone is dark brown and partially open at the bottom
December 5, 2025 at 7:48 PM
dorotdesigns.bsky.social
Silver birch Betula pendula branch and seeds; botanical illustration
#ArtAdventCalendar
#SciArt
A digital illustration of a tree branch fragment of the silver birch (Betula pendula). The leaves are triangular in shape with serrated edges. There’s a female catkin maturing on the branch with visible seed case outlines. Above there’s a dark brown seed case and a double-winged seed.
December 4, 2025 at 7:56 PM
dorotdesigns.bsky.social
The black alder (Alnus glutinosa) digital illustration of the tree silhouette and a branch fragment with male and female flowers
#ArtAdventCalendar #SciArt
A digital illustration of black alder (Alnus glutinosa). On the left there’s the tree silhouette (an upright tree with a large crown). On the right there’s a branch fragment with leaves, as well as male and female flowers. The leaves are rounded with a slightly wedged tip and a serrated margin. The male flowers (catkins) are elongated and green, and the female flowers are drawn in dark brown, and look a bit like tiny conifer cones
December 3, 2025 at 11:19 AM
dorotdesigns.bsky.social
Is climate change making parasites and diseases worse? The short answer is: it depends, and both negative and positive effects are possible. Read more in this PNAS commentary by Jukka Jokela, which I had the pleasure of illustrating 🧪🐡
A conceptual figure showing that climate change (temperature rise, changes in precipitation) can have both positive and negative effects on hosts, parasites and their interaction. From "Some parasites like it hot, some don’t" by Jukka Jokela, PNAS 2025
December 2, 2025 at 7:36 PM
dorotdesigns.bsky.social
This portrait of Charles Darwin is inspired by traditional depictions of Saint Francis surrounded by birds. Here, Darwin is holding a book and perched on his arm and shoulder are the Galapagos finches #ArtAdventCalendar
A line drawing of Charles Darwin with a long beard and a hat. He’s holding a book and 3 birds are sitting on his arm and shoulder
December 1, 2025 at 7:52 PM
dorotdesigns.bsky.social
If you see this post your bird art #birds

I hope imaginary birds count too, I used these for a lesson about evolution #sciart
A cartoon illustration of four birds with strange beaks. They’re supposed to look like chopsticks, a spoon, drinking straw and a fork. This was an illustration for a lesson about evolution: “Natural selection in peachicks”
November 10, 2025 at 4:48 PM
dorotdesigns.bsky.social
Snailposting? Yes please! #SciArt
A silhouette of a freshwater snail, Potamopyrgus antipodarum, in shades of gray
November 9, 2025 at 8:50 PM
dorotdesigns.bsky.social
Hello, it’s #PortfolioDay and I’m a scientific illustrator open to commissions of figures, infographics, learning materials, posters, presentations, branding and character design

I’m also open to a full time-job in communications or educational design 🐡
Figure from a scientific review paper on plant phenology (the cycles of seasonal changes) focused on integrating information other than plant leaves. This figure shows a model of biogeochemical flux (y axis) and time throughout a year (x axis) in three scenarios: A- per species, B- cumulative, C- cumulative with interactions. The three species are indicated with colours (green, yellow, purple) and distinct leaf shapes. Morris, K., & Nair, R. (2025). Below the leaves: Integrating above- and below-ground phenology for earth-system predictability. Functional Ecology, 00, 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.70057 Digital vector drawing of Siberian larch (Larix archangelica, syn. Larix sibirica): tree silhouette and branch with cones A photo of a leaflet open to show the inside pages. A cell and DNA structure are visible in addition to non- legible information. This is an infographic for the Conservation Genetics Workshop Citation: Buser CN, Weber AAT, Feulner PGD, Richman S, Fischer MC, Grossen C, Naciri Y, Paczesniak D, Paerli R, Reutimann O, Tschan J, Widmer A & Gugerli F. (2025). Types of genetic markers: What can they reveal? (Conservation Genetics Workshop, Infographic 1). Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL. https://doi.org/10.55419/wsl:40663 Lemonade Exploration logo in yellow and white on a dark background with some website icons and some delicate light grey lines that resemble contour lines of a mountain terrain.
October 14, 2025 at 7:20 PM
dorotdesigns.bsky.social
This snail silhouette is now available in PhyloPic: Potamopyrgus antipodarum, the New Zealand mud snail. It was really fun to draw, as we have a close connection: I have studied their fascinating reproductive system in my PhD www.phylopic.org/images/51df2... 🧪🐡
A black silhouette drawing of the snail Potamopyrgus antipodarum - a freshwater mollusc with a bit pointy shell
October 12, 2025 at 6:52 PM
dorotdesigns.bsky.social
It’s here! Such a thrill to hold the book in my hands: “The Communicating Scientist” with my illustrations inside. It’s the kind of book I wish I had when I was a PhD student, and I’m glad to have it as a reference as a communications professional #SciComm 🧪
link.springer.com/book/10.1007...
Me holding the book “The Communicating Scientist” Me holding the book “The Communicating Scientist” open on the title page. The text reads: Olle Bergman • Sarang Park • Joanna Bagniewska The Communicating Scientist A Practical Handbook with illustrations by Dorota Paczesniak The book open on a page showing some illustrations related to the colour theory The open book showing an illustration of a metaphor for a scientific conference, where the contacts you want make are the fish and your poster is a fishing rod.
September 23, 2025 at 7:02 AM
dorotdesigns.bsky.social
That’s how the ground looks like when you look closely - Finnish Lapland, latitude 68 N #nature #arctic
A close-up photo of a mossy forest floor with three little brown mushrooms in the middle A close-up photo showing two glossy white mushrooms and some moss and leaves around them A photo of the forest floor showing moss, lichens and mushrooms A close-up photo of bright green moss and a small rock
September 10, 2025 at 2:27 PM
dorotdesigns.bsky.social
Proudly presenting "The Communicating Scientist" - a communication handbook by Joanna Bagniewska (@joannabagniewska.com), Sarang Park, and Olle Bergman, with illustrations by me 😄

Link to the book: link.springer.com/book/10.1007...
20% discount with this code: SPRAUT
August 20, 2025 at 10:15 AM
dorotdesigns.bsky.social
My most recent design/illustration project is out! 🐡Three infographics for the conservation genetics workshop, aimed at practitioners working in #biodiversity conservation #consgen 🧪
Available in German, French, Italian and English with a CC BY license: free to use, share and modify
Front pages of three infographics: 1: Types of genetic markers: what can they reveal? 2: Concepts of population genetics 3: Conservation genetics in practice: how to plan a project? An infographic in a form of a folded flyer, showing the front and the back page. The front page has a title: "Types of genetic markers: what can they reveal?", as well as bullet points for the main take-home messages, and an illustration of three levels of biodiversity: genes, species and populations. The back page has an info box about open and FAIR data and the footnote with contact details, "how to cite", funding, and institutional logos An infographic in a form of a folded flyer, showing the open inside page with a large table explaining the four essential biodiversity variables: genetic diversity, genetic differentiation, inbreeding, and the effective population size. The German language version is shown. An infographic in a form of a folded flyer, showing the front page. This is the French language version of the infographic titled "Conservation genetics in practice: how to plan a project?" Apart from the bullet points for the main take-home messages there is an illustration of the main steps of the project planning. The visual summary follows a path from 1) define the problem & form the question, 2) identify partners, 3) plan the project, 4) do the work and obtain results, 5) communicate findings, 6) formulate recommendations. There are visual icons for the different partners (land owners/farmers, engineers, foresters, researchers, nature conservationists, planners, government agencies) and an additional path going back from partners (2) to problem/question (1) labeled „co-create”
July 8, 2025 at 7:04 PM
dorotdesigns.bsky.social
It’s fun to look at my illustrations from 2019 as I update my portfolio with some of my older outreach projects www.behance.net/gallery/2297...
A cartoon style drawing of a bright green frog and 3 pairs of pink chromosomes. The caption says: Origami frogs are a unique breed of frogs made of paper. They have 6 chromosomes (3 pairs) in each of the cells in their body. Genes are located on chromosomes. A photo of a sketchbook and loose pages on the table. On the pages there are drawings of frogs in black ink/pencil with varying degrees of detail. There are also two green origami frogs (folded paper with eyes drawn on top) A photo from the public outreach event "Agriculture in the city" (2019) in Saskatoon (SK, Canada). Two presenters (me, Dorota Paczesniak, and Angie Li) are leaning over a table with bright green origami frogs and the paper worksheets with my drawings. In front of us there are children and we’re pointing at the teaching materials engaged in the conversations
July 7, 2025 at 7:59 PM
dorotdesigns.bsky.social
#SciArt #Artshare I’m a scientific illustrator with genetics and evolution background open to commissions of infographics, illustrations, scientific figures, …
A fragment of an infographic about genetic markers, showing a close-up of a plant cell with nucleus, mitochondria and chloroplasts. A DNA strand is unraveling from a chromosome A vector drawing of Siberian larch (Larix archangelica, syn. Larix sibirica) tree silhouette and branch fragment with seed cones A large infographic entitled „Genetic variation in improved forests” with sections about tree breeding in Finland, propagation (seed orchards and vegetative propagation) and forest regeneration. Made in collaboration with the Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke) and the University of Helsinki
June 28, 2025 at 8:25 PM
dorotdesigns.bsky.social
infographic design process #education #congen #edchat #sciart
June 23, 2025 at 6:47 AM
dorotdesigns.bsky.social
The third infographic „Conservation Genetics in Practice-how to plan a project?” evolved a lot between the draft versions
A paper draft with messy handwriting and a drawing that goes from „Question” (a person with a thought bubble with a question mark) to „Approach” (4 puzzle pieces fitting together) to „project planning” (a flow diagram with boxes connected by arrows) An intermediate digital draft of the infographic on planning a conservation genetics project. The visual part has now 5 stages planned: 1) question, 2) identify partners, 3)approach, 4) project planning and 5) outcome: recommendations A digital first page of an infographic titled „Conservation genetics in practice: how to plan a project?” The visual summary follows a path from 1) Define the problem and form the question 2)identify partners 3) plan the project 4) do the work and obtain results 5) formulate recommendations. There are visual icons for the different partners (land owners/farmers, engineers, foresters, researchers, nature conservationists, planners, government agencies) and an additional path going back from partners (2) to problem/question (1) labeled „co-create”
June 22, 2025 at 5:52 PM
dorotdesigns.bsky.social
Recently I have been working on creating learning materials for a Conservation Genetics Workshop organized by several Swiss research institutions. The final infographics will soon be published with CC BY license, but I think it’s interesting to show how the visuals developed
This is a first paper draft: a pencil sketch on paper in messy handwriting with some drawings of coloured fishes. Large and small population is shown and gene flow between them This is the first page of an intermediate digital draft, titled Concepts of Population Genetics. On top there are 3 bullet points will the main message. The drawing features populations of different coloured butterflies (in shades of pink, yellow, purple and blue, some are mixed colours). The large population has larger diversity (more colours) that the small population. There is gene flow between the two populations. Genetic drift is depicted as: 1) founder effect, spatial (one pink butterfly leading to all-pink population) and 2) genetic bottleneck, temporal, (the resulting smaller population has fewer colours, meaning less diversity). Selection is depicted as a text box with arrows pointing in different directions. This is an advanced version of the first page of an infographic titled „Concepts of population genetics”. In the illustration four main evolutionary processes are depicted: genetic drift, selection, gene flow/migration, and mutation
June 22, 2025 at 5:52 PM
dorotdesigns.bsky.social
It was fun to make figures for this paper and I’m really glad how they turned out
A conceptual figure illustrating some of the differences between above-ground and below-ground environments that are important for plant phenology From: Morris, K., & Nair, R. (2025). Below the leaves: Integrating above- and below-ground phenology for earth-system predictability. Functional Ecology, 00, 1–19. Figure caption: Above- and below-ground environments differ. Most phenology information comes from above-ground, where resource gradients, plant–soil functionality, and coupling to photosynthesis are not the same as below-ground.
April 30, 2025 at 6:26 PM