Killackey Illustration
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kjkillackey.bsky.social
Killackey Illustration
@kjkillackey.bsky.social
Natural science 🐡 & archaeological illustration 🏺 by Kathryn Killackey. NEH-Mellon Foundation Fellow ('23 - '24). Available for freelance #sciart. Lover of #books, #textiles, and absurdities. She/her
www.killackeyillustration.com
My teen edition, found on my parents’ shelves and guarded fiercely ever since.
February 12, 2026 at 2:17 PM
I love when artists subtly break with traditional and show a slightly more naturalistic view once in a while. Like Raymond Harris Ching’s illos in “The Reader’s Digest Book of British Birds”. They’re often left profiles and you can still use them for id but they’re more lifelike positions.
February 9, 2026 at 2:47 PM
Yeah, it’s a general convention though there are exceptions (like insects are usually top down if only showing one view). It makes cross species comparisons easier. Also, Renaissance lighting + facing right = a lot of well lit butts.
February 9, 2026 at 2:35 PM
Me with my crew in 2024:
January 31, 2026 at 10:07 PM
Blurry coyote going about their business, no time to chat, in SoCal yesterday.
January 23, 2026 at 4:24 PM
Sketching in the new year. My one resolution is to finally fill up this old and mostly empty sketchbook.
January 1, 2026 at 5:35 PM
Christmas book! “The Nature of Fashion” by @carrysomers.bsky.social And look at the beautiful cover design by Kimberly Glyder and cover art by Victoria Villasana! Can’t wait to get started.
#textiles 🧶 #fashionhistory #archaeology 🏺 #botany
December 25, 2025 at 8:03 PM
I slipped out of the TAG York party last night and found this beauty waiting patiently for me, a little blessing on the proceedings.
December 17, 2025 at 9:34 AM
Tiwanaku popping up in surprising places, @aroddick.bsky.social spotted the Gateway of The Sun motifs decorating a treasure chest in “Pirates of the Caribbean” while watching with our sick kid. It makes vague sense as the bulk of Spanish treasure was silver, mined in Potosi, Bolivia.
#archaeology
November 29, 2025 at 4:21 PM
And another coincidence, The illustration @biodivlibrary.bsky.social shared is by Alcide D’Orbigny who also visited and drew Tiwanaku in the 19th century, the Bolivian archaeological site that’s been my focus for the past couple years.
#archaeology
November 19, 2025 at 11:26 PM
Hey, it’s #WorldAnteaterDay and I’m coincidentally working on a digital painting of a giant anteater (as well as some relatives).
#SciArt
November 19, 2025 at 11:04 PM
Taking a moment to recognize how lucky I am, someone is paying me to paint sloths.
October 28, 2025 at 2:00 PM
A major perk of being a science illustrator is constantly learning new things. I recently got to delve into the world of North American mastodons while creating this editorial illo to accompany new research from @mcmasteruniversity.bsky.social Ancient DNA Centre.
1/2
#SciArt #paleoart #illustration
September 18, 2025 at 3:42 PM
The goldenrod and one of the pollinators in question. I think it’s a brown belted bumblebee?
September 15, 2025 at 4:32 PM
Me reading another headline saying “Spending as little as 5 minutes outside with nature improves quality of life”: “yeah, yeah, yeah”

Me tearing myself away from my computer to walk the dog around the neighborhood and spotting a large clump of goldenrod with pollinators buzzing:
September 15, 2025 at 4:27 PM
Some tickets make use of both sides, the Madison et Jardins Claude Monet ticket suggests other cultural and historic places to visit nearby and the DC Tourmobile has its route mapped with all the attractions. The beautiful Predjama Castle ticket becomes a postcard after use.
August 11, 2025 at 2:58 PM
My life-long compulsion to save every scrap of paper that crosses my path is finally paying off, I’ve just found a stash of other paper objects w/ outreach potential!

Such as entrytickets w/ imagery that can serve as souvenirs (places & approx. date visited in alt text)
🏺 #archaeology 🐡 #SciArt
August 11, 2025 at 2:58 PM
Here's one of my old graphite drawings of outdoor spaces at Çatalhöyük showing a stamp seal being used on bread. If I remember correctly, the idea was to show them as more of a maker's mark but I love the idea of a decorative border instead.

#archaeology 🏺 #SciArt 🐡
July 29, 2025 at 3:05 PM
This is may sound weird/morbid, but I encourage my brother to send me photos of dead animals, roadkill or sometimes dead of unknown causes that he spots mountain biking. They make good #SciArt drawing references!

Anyway, he sent me this one yesterday.
July 17, 2025 at 3:28 PM
Part of the interior with more, very tiny, handaxes…I think I purchased this at the BM during my MA.
July 16, 2025 at 7:29 PM
Adding isometric coloring books to my collection of simple paper outreach products and ideas, such as these trading cards (made by the Science Museum of Minnesota for Çatalhöyük), paper model postcards, and foldout timelines. Also thinking about pop up books & paper dolls.
#SciArt 🐡 #archaeology 🏺
July 16, 2025 at 7:14 PM
Finding a view point that showed what we needed took some time. Looking over the river towards site did this best. I'd love to fully develop an image of people washing up & primping before making a big entrance. There's hints here, this guy has pulled out his best tunic & is tying his shoes.
6/9
July 15, 2025 at 4:59 PM
We’ve also included other details such as a necklace made from boar’s teeth collected during a previous hunt and a red deer antler, another type of faunal material found along with the boar crania deposit (the source of the long distance transport data).
5/9
July 15, 2025 at 4:59 PM
We looked at other sites for inspo & settled on a flat roof for the communal building and more impermanent materials for the domestic structures. These are only seen in the background & could easily have been the subject of their own illos showing all the possibilities & #uncertainty.
4/9
July 15, 2025 at 4:59 PM
This meant peppering the researchers w/ questions about seasonality, vegetation, material culture, etc, etc. Asiab’s structures were one sticking point as most of the Neolithic surface has deflated & only the floors and pisé foundations of the semi-subterranean communal building remained.
3/9
July 15, 2025 at 4:59 PM