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Life Science Studios - Scientific Illustration

@lifesciencestudios.bsky.social

1.2K followers 480 following 170 posts

Custom illustrations for biologists by Julie Johnson. • #sciart #scicomm • species paintings • scientific diagrams • figure design for ecologists and evolutionary biologists • www.lifesciencestudios.com

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Life Science Studios - Scientific Illustration @lifesciencestudios.bsky.social · Jun 3

Hello ecologists and evolutionary biologists! I work with scientists to transform discoveries into beautiful, accurate, publication-ready figures. Get in touch if you want custom illustrations for your next paper.

Check out www.lifesciencestudios.com to explore services and get started!

#🐡 #🧪

Examples of science illustrations created by Julie Johnson at Life Science Studios, including fish paintings, mushrooms, beetles, an oyster reef, butterflies, and lizards.

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Life Science Studios - Scientific Illustration @lifesciencestudios.bsky.social · 11d

I certainly think so 😊. I feel lucky I get to do this everyday.

Life Science Studios - Scientific Illustration @lifesciencestudios.bsky.social · 11d

Thank you!

Life Science Studios - Scientific Illustration @lifesciencestudios.bsky.social · 12d

Such a good book, especially as someone whose family members and friends have had organ transplants, amputations, knee replacements, cataract surgeries, and facial bone surgeries. As far as I know, no butt lifts among my acquaintances… probably.

Life Science Studios - Scientific Illustration @lifesciencestudios.bsky.social · 12d

Just finished @maryroach.bsky.social new book Replaceable You and the Epilogue really got to me. Our loved one got a kidney transplant two weeks ago, and it’s awful to think of all the life saving research that has been halted by the current administration’s NIH and science funding cuts. 💔

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Life Science Studios - Scientific Illustration @lifesciencestudios.bsky.social · 13d

I thought it might be fun to show you a little behind the scenes of creating a fish scientific illustration from sketch to painting to publication.

🐟 🐡 #evolutionarybiology #thereisnofrogfishemoji

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Life Science Studios - Scientific Illustration @lifesciencestudios.bsky.social · 13d

🤣

Life Science Studios - Scientific Illustration @lifesciencestudios.bsky.social · 13d

When creating fish illustrations, it is very important to have a sleeping cat on your desk. Across the middle of the desk is the ideal positioning.

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Life Science Studios - Scientific Illustration @lifesciencestudios.bsky.social · 19d

Have you considered using an illustrated poster for outreach?

That's just what @vt-invasivespecies.bsky.social did. We created 5 posters about the ISC's mission, Virginia invasive species, and the impacts of invasive species on economics, environment, and health.

Visit: tinyurl.com/mr9s93a3 🐡 🧪

Illustrated outreach: Posters as Tools for Invasive Species Awareness

Even in a digital age, posters remain one of the most effective and accessible tools for bringing community awareness of environmental issues. The Invasive Species Collaborative at Virginia Tech...

www.lifesciencestudios.com

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Life Science Studios - Scientific Illustration @lifesciencestudios.bsky.social · 23d

Hey ecologists and evolutionary biologists!

Is this you? ➡️ "This concept is way too complicated to show in a way reviewers and readers will understand"

Ask for help! Life Science Studios is here to create engaging figures that clearly explain your research.

🧪 #academicsky #evolutionarybiology

Scientific illustration of a Colias butterfly with zoom-ins of the scale structures. Research by Arnaud Martin

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Life Science Studios - Scientific Illustration @lifesciencestudios.bsky.social · 25d

Spots spots spots, endless spots!

🐟 🐠 🐡 #teamfish

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Life Science Studios - Scientific Illustration @lifesciencestudios.bsky.social · 26d

You share this crazy wild world with manta rays. And maybe you'd like to wear a T-shirt that reminds you of that fact!

Visit www.lifesciencestudios.com/shop.html if you want more mantas in your life. A portion of sales supports the Mobula Conservation Project.

#mantaray 🐡 #marineconservation

My BFF wearing a bright blue shirt with paintings of manta rays and devil rays on it. She's wearing sunglasses and clearly loves rays!

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Life Science Studios - Scientific Illustration @lifesciencestudios.bsky.social · 29d

This is the cutest thing I’ve seen!

Steve Haddock @stevehaddock.bsky.social · 29d

It is great to see Mackenzie Gerringer's taxonomic work, describing a fish we collected from 3800 meters, featured in the @nytimes.com. We tried to spin this story to combat the blobfish's "ugliest creature" reputation, to get people excited by deep-sea exploration, not turned away. 🧪🦑

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Reposted by Life Science Studios - Scientific Illustration

Liz Butler @lizlagomorph.bsky.social · Aug 29

✨Starting on Monday!✨

#SciArtSeptember is a month-long creative challenge inspired by natural sciences. 🌿

Post on your own schedule.
Post new work, old work, work-in-progress.
Post artwork, music, words - whatever you like to make. (Thematic baked goods?🤞)
-
#SciArt #SciComm #Nature

A banner image promoting the month-long art challenge, Sci Art September 2025. The banner features an animal illustration plus text describing a monthly theme, weekly themes, and daily prompt words. The month-long theme is conservation. In order, the weekly themes are: Lands, species, water, people, and a shared future. Finally, the list of daily words is as follows. Week one: Islet, canopy, jewel, riverbank, corridor, prairie, boreal. Week two: Niche, vanishing, tawny, venomous, wandering, bottleneck, mimic. Week 3: Spawning, rift, trawl, cenote, depths, glacial, reef. Week 4: Fellowship, scouting, numbered, tireless, forage, bounded, harvest. Week 5: Foresight, dream. The event is hosted by LizLagomorph and LucyGemArt.

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Life Science Studios - Scientific Illustration @lifesciencestudios.bsky.social · Aug 28

Scientific illustrations are a great way to add visual interest to your paper, especially if your species are hard to photograph (ahem… fish).

Not to mention, they look pretty great in a PowerPoint!

#scientificillustration #ecology #evolutionarybiology 🧪

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Life Science Studios - Scientific Illustration @lifesciencestudios.bsky.social · Aug 28

Species paintings can really enhance your figures. There are real organisms underlying your data, and they are such beautiful organisms!

Adding images of your study species can help your audience instantly understand what your work is about.

🐡 🧪 #scientificillustration

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Reposted by Life Science Studios - Scientific Illustration

Molecular Biology and Evolution @molbioevol.bsky.social · Aug 25

@chasedbrownstein.bsky.social @tjnear.bsky.social et al. reveal that amblyopsid fishes colonized caves at least four times from ancestors adapted to low-light environments, and use genomic data to infer ages of subterranean ecosystems in N. America.

🔗 doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msaf185

#evobio #molbio

Convergent Evolution in Amblyopsid Cavefishes and the Age of Eastern North American Subterranean Ecosystems

Abstract. Genomes provide tools for reconstructing organismal evolution and larger Earth system processes. Although genome sequences have been jointly anal

doi.org

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Life Science Studios - Scientific Illustration @lifesciencestudios.bsky.social · Aug 20

Don’t mess up don’t mess up don’t mess up…

#botanicalart #sciart

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Life Science Studios - Scientific Illustration @lifesciencestudios.bsky.social · Aug 19

Excellent! I was wondering if any anglers would recognize this one 😁

Life Science Studios - Scientific Illustration @lifesciencestudios.bsky.social · Aug 18

Progress shot. He looks so naked!

Life Science Studios - Scientific Illustration @lifesciencestudios.bsky.social · Aug 18

Who is on my desk today? A yellow perch, Perca flavescens! This guy was the perfect excuse to use my gold-green paint, which is practically neon.

#sciart #scientificillustration #fishart

A watercolor painting of a yellow perch laying on a desk with a messy watercolor palette and paintbrushes next to it.

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Life Science Studios - Scientific Illustration @lifesciencestudios.bsky.social · Aug 17

Now I have created shirts, water bottles, and mugs featuring my mobulid ray paintings so you can also enjoy them! Plus, 20% of each sale goes toward conservation research through the Mobula Conservation Project!

Visit www.lifesciencestudios.com/shop

Life Science Studios - Scientific Illustration @lifesciencestudios.bsky.social · Aug 17

Painting brings me closer to the incredible organisms of the world. In creating these paintings of manta rays and devil rays, I got to spend time looking closely at them and learning more about their biology, behavior, and the threats they face.

🐡 #marinelife

Super awesome blue T-shirt, mug, and water bottle featuring manta ray paintings

Totally cool white stainless steel water bottle with paintings of manta rays on it, sitting on a boat with ocean in the background

Gorgeous white ceramic mug with paintings of manta rays, sitting on a boat with ocean in the background.

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Life Science Studios - Scientific Illustration @lifesciencestudios.bsky.social · Aug 14

Just a pic of my bestie beating the summer heat with her new manta ray water bottle.

Manta and devil rays need our help! For every sale of gear featuring my watercolor ray paintings, I will donate 20% to my friends at Mobula Conservation Project.

Get yours at www.lifesciencestudios.com/shop.html

The very talented Rani Davidson hanging out at a marina with a super cool stainless steel water bottle covered in paintings of manta rays and devil rays. Photo by Tanem Davidson.

Life Science Studios - Scientific Illustration @lifesciencestudios.bsky.social · Aug 14

I’m on time today. Zuri approves.

A happy, sleepy ragdoll cat taking up most of my desk.

Life Science Studios - Scientific Illustration @lifesciencestudios.bsky.social · Aug 14

You should see the other side of the room

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