Bee Research

For the brief I started doing some research into bees. Including how they are designed and drawn in various ways.

Here are some of the best and most suitable drawing styles for bees and the brief set. There are really only two kind of paths to take, either cartoon designs or more realistic detailed approaches. I really like the watercolour style (middle-right). However the simplicity of some of the cartoon styles with faces really gives it character.

I looked at some articles and other sources on the internet and found some useful facts about bees:

- There are nearly 20,000 known species of bees in seven to nine recognized families.

- Bee pollination is important both ecologically and commercially; the decline in wild bees has increased the value of pollination by commercially managed hives of honey bees.

-Bees range in size from tiny stingless bee species whose workers are less than 2 millimetres (0.08 in) long, to Megachile pluto, the largest species of leafcutter bee, whose females can attain a length of 39 millimetres (1.54 in).

-Humans have kept honey bee colonies, commonly in hives, for millennia. Beekeepers collect honey, beeswax, propolis, pollen, and royal jelly from hives; bees are also kept to pollinate crops and to produce bees for sale to other beekeepers.