for the Yasuni rewilding project with Mossy Earth
Here it is so far:
There are gaps because my contact asked if I could squeeze a few more species on there. Of course! The challenge I’m having is fitting very long names around the ovals…one of the new ones I need to do is a Black-necked Red-Cotinga (with the snappy Latin name of Phoenicircus nigricollis) so somehow I need to find a way of getting both those lines of text along the edge, although I’m hoping it will be similar to the Crimson-crested Woodpecker (Campephilus melanoleucos) which is also a formatting mouthful.
The design might all be up in the air anyway as they will be printed locally, in Ecuador, and I have sized this as an A2 poster. The “A” paper sizing is used internationally, but the US have their own system, and then – as I learnt yesterday – Colombia has a different one again which is used by not just that country but those surrounding it in South America. I had to check my atlas (apologies for my Eurocentric view) but yes, Ecuador is next to Colombia so I am waiting to hear what paper will be used so that I can rejig if necessary.
What I love about these projects is that I am always learning, not just about birds, but also design and the software; I’ve come a long way since fiddling about back in lockdown to make the birdwatching logbooks. I might keep the A2 version and print myself one just for posterity. It would also be a good way to show what can be done for organisations where a poster might be more applicable than a logbook.
I am really pleased with it so far, and luckily the ornithologist liked the illustrations – what a relief! Sometimes expert birders find the artwork childish or oversimplified so I’m encouraged by his response. I’m still not sure about the background but I might try something else. That will be my 4th attempt though and I know from experience that the first one is usually the best, but I’ll see.
