Odontolabis ludekingi
| Distribution: | Thailand |
| Size: | 70+mm |
| Diet: | Wood, fruit |
I can’t find out much about this particular species of stag beetle, so instead I’ll talk a little about the drawing process. As I recall, this was one of the instances where I felt I really had to raise my detail game to do the specimen justice. Looking at the detailed shots below, you can see that the head has a beguiling knobbly texture towards the edge, whilst appearing smoother nearer the middle. I really wanted to make sure I captured this texture in an accurate way so spent a long time meticulously drawing out the high- and low-lights that I saw in my specimen photo.
There are probably texture brushes available for Procreate (the iPad program I use to draw all my bugs) that would give a decent approximation of this bug’s carapace, but I always draw the textures myself using Procreate’s 6b and fineliner brushes.
Take a closer look…
