Seashell Course

RECOMMENDED MATERIALS

  • Sketchbook or your paper of choice
  • Pencils of various types and hardnesses (I use a mechanical pencil)
  • Water-soluble media such as graphite and colored pencils and pens
  • Kneadable eraser (to hold seashells steady if you choose to draw from your own collection)
  • Downloadable guides and high-resolution images (available in the following sections)
  • Seashells found during beachcombing (please refrain from purchasing shells from curios shops whose collecting methods may be unethical)

INTRODUCTION TO SEASHELL ANATOMY AND DIVERSITY

Seashell Booklet by Christine Elder


SEASHELL SKETCHING TIPS

Six Steps To Sketching Success Seahorse handout


SEASHELL DRAWING WARMUP ACTIVITY

Seashell Reference Photos by Christine Elder handout


EGG SHELL ACTIVITY IN WATER-SOLUBLE INK

Egg Shell Seashell Reference Photo handout


BONNET/HELMET SHELL ACTIVITY IN PENCIL

Bonnet Helmet Seashell Reference Photo handout


BONUS WORKSHOPS

LAND SNAIL DRAWING WORKSHOP AND INTRO TO THE MOLLUSCS

African Land Snail Sketching Cheat Sheet


NUDIBRANCH/SEA SLUG DRAWING WORKSHOP

Sea Slug Sketching Cheat Sheet handout


SEA SHELL AND MARINE MOLLUSC RESOURCES

Below you’ll find a list of books and websites where you can learn much more about seashells and the marine gastropods that live in them!

BOOKS

  • National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Seashells by the National Audubon Society
  • Smithsonian Handbooks: Shells by S. Peter Dance
  • Compendium of Seashells: A Full-Color Guide to More than 4,200 of the World’s Marine Shells by R Tucker Abbott and S. Peter Dance.
  • The Book of Shells: A Life-Size Guide to Identifying and Classifying Six Hundred Seashells by M.G. Harsewych and Fabio Moretzsohn
  • Shells: Nature’s Exquisite Creations by Joyce Tenneson
  • Seashells of North America: A Guide to Field Identification; a Golden Field Guide from St. Martin’s Press
  • Peterson First Guide To Shells Of North America by Roger Tory Peterson and John Douglass
  • Guide to Seashells of the World (Firefly Pocket series) by A. Oliver and James Nicholls

WEBSITES