The Basic Shapes and shading

Drawing practice should progress from the simple lines to basic shapes like square, round, triangle and oval. Develop the shapes in different dimensions. The practice of drawing shapes should progress to making three dimensional objects of the same shapes. Shades is introduced to create depth on the objects.

The first object I practice on is the spray bottle as seen in the picture. It has most of the basic shapes and a good object to start with my drawing. I begin with laying a line in the center of the object. This line will be my reference throughout the drawing process. I lay thin outlines to develop the first rectangle that makes the body of the spray bottle. Next I draw a half oval at the bottom section to create the base of the bottle. The same goes to the top section to create the bottle shoulder.

The neck and cap is developed in similar manner. The entire drawing is constructed from just two basic shape the rectangle and oval. These are two shapes that is most often found in drawings. You must practice making these shapes. Use light clean stroke to make the lines. It can be darken further later.











Next comes the shading part. Shading establishes dimension and gives the realistic look to the bottle. Here the pencil is held low and the side of the lead is use to create the shade. The process is called "burnishing". Different pressure creates different shade.


You can now find similar object and try drawing it. I will add more practice and methods in the next post.

New Topic On Art

I am starting a new topic on art. I shall be discussing techniques and methods beginning with sketching. I will later move on to Pastel, Acrylic and Watercolor. Anyone interested in art may respond to this blog.

The COT Issue - who are we to play god?

Fifteen perhaps twenty years ago the reef at Pulau Lima in Redang have much resemblance to the one I saw in Derawan today. Most shallow reefs at Pulau Paku is almost identical to Hin Daeng / Hin Muang in Thailand. I am puzzled with the transformation of our reef from such diverse eco-system into a reef thats dominated by mostly branching corals (mainly from genus Acropora). This process occurs within a period of twelve years.

Areas and parameters of comparison is established beginning from 1996 until 2009.

Areas I observed includes:

Tanjung Tengah (Redang, devastated by human activities)COT collection is frequent here

Pulau Paku (Redang, major areas of reef is overwhelmed by fast growing corals)COT collection is frequent here

Pulau Lima (Redang, major devastation in the northern side and in the south the reef is overwhelmed by branching acropora) COT collection is frequent here

Tanjung Tokong (Redang, slight devastation but maintained it diversity due to distance and less exposure to human activities)COT collection is occasional here

Tokong Laut (Perhentian, slow process of degradation is observed)COT collection is occasional here

Shark Point (Perhentian, reef is overwhelmed by fast growing corals, only at the deeper end where some diversity is observed)COT collection is occasional here

Tanjung Basi (Perhentian, shallower side totally overwhelmed by fast growing corals)COT collection is frequent here

Tanjung Butung (Perhentian, slight change in diversity in the shallower side)COT collection is occasional here

Karang Sela (Bidong, diversity never change) COT collection is NEVER done here

The Pinnacle (Pulau Yu Kecil, no change in diversity)COT collection is NEVER done here

Parameters I observed is the general appearance of the reef and its diversity. Other than that I also noted the human "conservation" activities in that period (12 years).
In the following I listed the conservation activities that I arranged according to their frequency.

Crown-of-thorns removal - annually, at random or in conjunction with other activities
Reef Check - Annually
Turtle related conservation - continually

Beach and Reef cleanups and Project Aware - annually, intermittently organized by dive centers
Awareness Drives and Outreach programs - seldom, in conjunction with other activities.

Impact on the reef directly related to the removal of COT is what I am addressing in this blog. Other activities is not described here as it could just divert your attention away from the topic.

After years of playing god and removing most of the COT on our reef we have:

1. Altered the diversity of the coral reefs and has allowed the fast growing corals like the branching acropora and pocillopora to overwhelm our reefs.

2. The loss of slower growing corals, soft coral and sea fan is quickly recolonized by branching acropora or just simply covered in zoanthids and algae.

3. Conditions 1 and 2 occurs only in areas where we frequently played god and removed the COT.

4. Exploration to Pulau Yu and Bidong area where COT are never been removed shows that the reef there never changed since 1996 until now!

The COT practices
We have never questioned if this COT removal practices is right or wrong. But we knew that sometime in 60s a young scientist from down under predicts that if the COT is let to exist the coral reef of the world will be gone on ten years. This is due to the extinction of the Triton shell which is known as the main predator of the COT. Since then it has been fifty years and the reef is still here! did anyone ever questioned or challenged the accuracy of this theory?

Ask this questions

Is Triton shell really is the only predator of the COT? or there are some other organisms, things or factors that help control the population of COT? Anyone care to find out? Why is that the COT did not just overwhelm all the reefs beyond human reach and destroy them? If COT is exterminated because they feed on corals, what about the drupella shells and the humphead parrotfish.. they feed on corals too. Why don't we exterminate them too?

Isn't it wrong to kill one living thing in favor of the other?

We did not belong in the ocean. We strapped a metal cylinder on our back and laid claims to the ocean. Can we decide what should live and what should die?

Who are we? Are we gods?

Enlighten me on this one folks!

What About Textbook Conservation?

What is "textbook" conservation?
The interpretation on the meaning of textbook conservation goes differently from one person to another. I would interpret it as a "checklist" created by people and it is used as a do and don't list. The reason I called it textbook conservation is that it outlined all the possible destructive practices that we do and also the steps on how to prevent them. At times we are so precise in outlining things that it become so delicate that we could not even cope with the list we created ourself.

What is the point?
The point is we are good at identifying and analyzing. So much so that we found if we move a finger it would kill something in the environment. We have imposed too much restrictions to ourselves on the papers. We knew it but we choose to ignore it. If we follow the book it would render our life so impractical and ridiculous. Most of us choose to ignore it. See what I mean?? the book is pointless.. No one follows it.

How it shaped our perceptions?
the textbook conservation is viewed as too many don'ts. It is the guidelines that are leading us back to the stone age! perception? I don't care if there is a guideline or not. I lead my life the way I wanted and I let my consciences decide on how conservative I want to be. The textbook didn't really shaped anybody's perception. It is just a list of do's and don'ts.

Books are excellent reference material. Textbook,journals, newsletter on conservation in any form are good references. Use it where applicable but don't indulge everything thats written. If you make textbook conservation a way of life.. you will probably be ridiculous. Why? because you are part of a minute community in a world containing 6,692,030,277 people. Remember that besides your community the rest can be potentially destructive to the environment.

So does it work in the real world? I believe that conservation concepts should take into considerations on the global scale. It is a very complex issue that requires extensive research because there are no fixed systems that will work for all areas and conditions. As a conservation activist I harness the internet technology much more than other media as it is one of the ways that is far reaching enough to bring any measurable impact.

Ocean Illustrated Facebook impact study

This post is created in conjunction with the development of Ocean Illustrated portfolio. After careful analysis the following information and numbers have been established. It is amazing to find out that the impact generated by Ocean Illustrated page.

The Portfolio

OCEAN ILLUSTRATED

The Conservation Group

About the Founder

Ocean Illustrated is founded by artist / conservation activist Anuar Abdullah as a fan page on www.facebook.com. The page aims to generate followers to his art and conservation activities. Anuar studies oceanography and has spent his early days in the petroleum industry. His passion with the ocean developed since he was young. Pursuing this course he later gets involved with diving and become a diving instructor. Many of today’s marine biologist, scientist and educators are his students. He developed his knowledge about the marine environment through information sharing and through his own expeditions. Anuar have taken steps to instill awareness for conservation first through his writings but as he later discovered the text alone did not create enough impact. He then took up art in 2004. His work quickly gained recognition and in 2007 his first sketchbook “Coral Reefs of the Perhentian Islands” is published. Initially his followers consist of his diver friends and communications are established through emails. Gaining popularity from his website www.anuar.net he soon realizes the importance of social networking through Facebook. He compiled all his illustrations and published them in his new fan page “Ocean Illustrated”.

Official Address

http://www.facebook.com/pages/OCEAN-ILLUSTRATED/179141638644

Contact Information

All correspondence with Ocean illustrated can be done through email at oceanillustrated@gmail.com

Background

Ocean Illustrated is a non-profit group that is created to promote the sale of art in order to help fund conservation activities. This group begins as a fan page that is actively promotes participation that leads to contribution in form of ideas, advise, critics and networking. The fan page is established in November 2009 and has since draw more than 500 fans and followers. Most fans in this page are friends or friends of friends. Now Ocean Illustrated become a page where people of common interest meet and get connected. Gaining popularity has seen Ocean Illustrated rapidly becoming part of the recreational diving community.

Activities

Art work, photographic images, books, eBooks and articles of activist Anuar Abdullah are promoted, sold, auctioned and donated for conservation purposes. In this page also where invitation, announcements, comments and opinions are shared on anything pertaining to conservation of the environment. Recruitment of members for other conservation groups and causes is established in Ocean Illustrated. This in turn makes Ocean Illustrated page as a center in the marine conservation network. Physical activities carried out for Ocean Illustrated includes Anuar’s involvement in conservation projects and his researches. His research on the marine environment is supported by many of his biologist students who now turned professionals. This collaboration opens immense possibilities in the expansion of conservation activity and makes Ocean Illustrated far reaching.

Alliances

Visitors and members of Ocean Illustrated fan page will be aware that it has now generated links to huge numbers of groups, fan pages, conservation agencies both local and international, recreational diving communities and celebrities. All of which has been directly and equally promoted through Ocean Illustrated. Issues pertaining to endangered marine species, coral reefs, forest, climate change and our children is discussed and distributed through Ocean Illustrated. Following is the list of conservation alliance networks of Ocean Illustrated.

Group Name	Network	Causes	Size
Earth Hour	Global	Conservation	909288
Animal Lovers	Global	Conservation	1587
Panasonic Marine Conservation	Malaysia	Conservation	4
Set Whale Sharks Free in Dubai Aquarium	Global	Conservation	26049
Marine Conservation Cambodia	Cambodia	Conservation	878
Green Hopes Warriors	Malaysia	Conservation	555
HOPE	Malaysia	Conservation	2659
Project Tiger	Global	Conservation	488
Let’s Stop Dolphin Massacre	Global	Conservation	478842
Say No To Sharkfin Soup	Global	Conservation	12970
Inno Fisheries (Coral Farm Project)	Malaysia	Conservation	160
Stop Poisoning Ourselves with Plastic	Global	Conservation	1368
Change of Law on Shark Finning (Galapagos)	Galapagos	Conservation	2010
Appeal to rescue Lions	Africa	Conservation	1237
The Reefsponsibles	Malaysia	Conservation	69
Support Selangor No Plastic Day	Malaysia	Conservation	4963
Sugar Wreck	Malaysia	Conservation	815
		Network Capacity	1443942

Diving Communities

Diving communities are the largest group of people directly involved in ocean conservation. These communities promote awareness for conservation of the marine eco-system much more than other sea sports. Ocean Illustrated communicates and maintains a network that helps recruit participation of divers in its conservation projects. Following is a list of groups in the diving community that established alliance with Ocean Illustrated.

Group Name	Network	Causes	Size
ScubaBuddy	Malaysia	Diving Community	841
Sea Horse Dive Center	Malaysia	Diving Community	290
Dive Jobs Worldwide	Global	Diving Community	3767
Mentari Scuba	Malaysia	Diving Community	240
Chimearas Divers	Malaysia	Diving Community	346
Scuba Jeff	Malaysia	Diving Community	1374
Fauna Reef Divers	Malaysia	Diving Community	68
Scuba Diving Lovers	Red Sea	Diving Community	3499
Asian Diver	Global	Diving Community	149
Fishermen Divers	Malaysia	Diving Community	503
Bubbles Bistro and Café	Malaysia	Diving Community	535
Dive Buddy	Malaysia	Diving Community	1069
Dive Tengara	Malaysia	Diving Community	352
Marine Monkeys	Malaysia	Diving Community	361
Stone Diver Dive Team	Malaysia	Diving Community	258
Diving @Scubatex	Malaysia	Diving Community	241
ScubaFrenz	Malaysia	Diving Community	229
SeaUnta	Malaysia	Diving Community	95
Sea Divers Argentina	Global	Diving Community	1211
Universal Divers	Malaysia	Diving Community	635
AsianDiver	Malaysia	Diving Community	325
Amigo Surface Interval	Malaysia	Diving Community	517
U/W Photography & Videography	Global	Diving Community	4017
Date a Diver	Global	Diving Community	2561
Maldives Diving	Global	Diving Community	1348
1 trilion & 1 Scuba Diver on facebook	Global	Diving Community	607
DCIM Show	Global	Diving Community	1323
AquaSport Dive Center	Malaysia	Diving Community	193
Beach Bummers United	Malaysia	Diving Community	313
Bubbles Dive resort	Malaysia	Diving Community	851
Atlantis Dive Resort	Phillipines	Diving Community	910
Naui Divers	Global	Diving Community	3334
Perhentian Dive Professionals	Malaysia	Diving Community	39
MobiDeco Enthusiast	Global	Diving Community	152
Divelah	Malaysia	Diving Community	123
Malaysian Divers	Malaysia	Diving Community	1166
MUW	Malaysia	Diving Community	457
		Network Capacity	34299

Total number of divers that receives updates of Ocean Illustrated activity is 34,299.

Network Capacity (in Facebook Groups)

Ocean Illustrated since it is established has generated networking with 17 conservation groups that are connected to 1,443,942 audiences. 37 diving communities are linked to Ocean Illustrated that has 34,299 members. Other communities with over a million members like academics, trades and arts are also linked to Ocean Illustrated. In total of 1,478,241 people are reached whenever an article is published on the Ocean Illustrated page.

Network Capacity (in Facebook Fan Pages)

Second area where Ocean Illustrated network link is in the Facebook that carries immense connection is the Fan pages and its followers. Considering this Ocean Illustrated itself has 593 fans. Anuar’s friends list itself is gaining popularity with over a thousand followers. 131 fan pages have already been linked to Ocean Illustrated. Impact from these connections is immense. Messages conveyed through fan pages especially those of celebrities could reach few million fans. Steps are taken to gauge the impact of this network.