A what ? A Copepod! These small marine crustaceans play a very important role in the marine food chain, serving as food for a wide variety of fish. I learned about these creatures while working with Great Lakes Aquarium on what I call the "Magnet Board" project.
The project involved illustrating over 20 creatures, including animals, plants and microscopic organisms. Copepods, turtles, fish, and shrimp! Logs, rocks, aquatic plants and otters! You can see some of my favorites here. These illustrations are to become magnets, die cut into custom shapes. They all fit onto a large backdrop portraying the natural landscape, specifically a cross-section of a lake, where most of the action takes place. This is all a part of the Aquarium's Gitchee Gumi Connection - an interactive video conferencing program that connects classrooms around the state to the Aquarium - offering Lake Superior-based environmental educational programs.
Copepod
Algae. They need sunlight to synthesize their food, hence the sunglasses.
The Mysis Shrimp is a very tiny, translucent creature yet has six sets of legs, and a mustache to inspire envy!
I was happy with the way this turtle foot turned out.