It wasn't too long before the first of the visitors arrived and started filtering through more frequently. Pretty soon it was almost a constant stream coming by. Some go straight by the tank and not seeing anything obvious, some decide that there is nothing in there and declare their point loudly as if they have been cheated. Others stop to investigate and of those only a few take the time to really look. But those that do are delighted when they see something, pointing excitedly at their discovery. I love it when people show such an interest and don't just expect everything to be there to 'perform' for them - that they value and appreciate that this is the animals' home and sometimes it can be seen and other times not.
The harbour crab came to the front in full, and perfect photo, view when there were two little girls looking in at the time. They, of course loved it and oooh'd and ahh'd quite excitedly as it clambered across the front of the tank, showing itself off nicely. However, this did mean that I couldn't take advantage of that rare opportunity that the crab had offered. I had to stand to one side biting my lip and the urge to shove my way in to get that 'would-have-been-a-perfect' photo! So I had to watch that one slip away from me. Maybe I'll get lucky another day... I do have a photo of this crab but could do with a better one really.
So then as the crowds built up, it was time to head back to the peace and quiet of the graphic's studio. I uploaded the hermit crab photo's and then sorted out my collection so far - comparing the shots, picking the best and deleting the rest. Then I chose a photo each for the common limpet, painted topshell, edible periwinkle, common brittlestar, cushion star, hermit and harbour crab to put on the IDs. These had to be resized and then added to the computer file. So far I have 10 of the 23 species suitably photographed for the IDs. Now waiting for some more info to come from Mark and pretty soon I can started printing and putting them on display.
I had an email from Jonny in the Aquarium with info for four species (greater pipefish, shanny blenny, flounder and spiny starfish) that are also kept in the underground section of the Seal and Penguin Coasts. They haven't had a proper ID for sometime as there were plans to revise the ID situation there. However, once the seahorse ID went up it was decided that the others should have IDs done the same way too. These are presented as the Aquarium format i.e. minimal text on a black background with pic and symbols for dietary habits. I have no illustrations done for any of these species yet, but they now get added to my list.. which now seems to have shot up in recent days! Once I had compiled the info on the computer file, I printed, trimmed to size and laminated them before applying double-sided tape to the back and sticking them on display in the section by the relevant tank displays.
At 3pm I popped back to Bug World, as earlier arranged with Mark, as they were doing a water change in the rockpool display and a feed afterwards. When I got there at just after 3pm the water change was done and Mark was waiting for me, so that he could drop the feed in. The idea of this is that it might draw out some of the more shy animals, hopefully giving me the chance to get photos. Sadly for successful photos the only area where I can get a decent shot, without glass and water distortion, is in the 4" strip along the front edge of the tank. So whilst the harbour crab and the goby did come out.. they were at the back and middle of the display - out of range for photo's. However, it was still a useful exercise, as up until now I hadn't seen the goby (the staff have given it the wonderful name of Obi Wan the goby - love it!). Now at least I knew his/her size and colouration so I now know better what to keep an eye out for to see it again. It is quite a small fish, just a couple of inches in length, and coloured very mutely, blending in so well with the rocks they have in the display that if it sat quietly on one, I doubt I would see it, unless I knew it was there!
Finally back to the studio to mix colours for the tailless whip scorpion background. I need a colour that is pale enough to show up the darker markings of the beastie, as well as enabling a clear view of its spindly legs, but also dark enough to show up the few pale markings on those legs. The animal is a smokey brown/purple colour with pinky buff markings on the body and some almost white markings on the two very spindly legs. I mixed a mid greyish brown and painted a patch of colour onto some watercolour paper, let it dry and then scanned it into the computer then printed it onto the good quality paper that is used for the ID signs. I do this to see how the computer 'reads' the colour and will reproduce it in the printing process. Some paint colours just do not seem to scan and then reproduce true and will throw up the most odd slant on the original. Some greens and yellows just seem to evade the otherwise competant abilities of our scanner and printer, so if they are in the mix it can alter the outcome sometimes for the better sometimes for worse. The murky pale brown I had mixed and painted, came out a lovely warm buff colour! Although it was a nice colour it was not suitable for this illustration, so on Monday it will be back to the drawing board to mix another version as the pale markings of the beastie will get lost on that background once scanned and printed; although it would look absolutely fine on the original.
This is the drawing I did of the tailless whip scorpion this week.
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