Kaytidid

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	Demo - A Katydid
	This picture of a Katydid is provided as a reference. I found this Katydid in a temple in Beijing. Chinese people believe that when a person dies, their soul will attach to these insects. This belief is strongly held and it is forbidden to kill any living insect so that the soul of the departed person may be protected. Click on the image to enlarge the photo to see the detail more clearly.
	Painting a Katydid - in a traditional Chinese style
	Customarily, we start with the head. First, dip your brush tip into concentrated black ink and touch it to the paper gently to form the head. Then quickly apply a second, smaller stroke for the neck. (see diagram)
	To make the thorax:
	This step consists of four stokes to form a triangular shape that represents the thorax.
	Adding the wings (which cover about 80% of the body):
	We load the whole brush with yellow-green paint. Then dip the loaded tip of your brush into blue-green paint. Immediately follow by touching the tip of the still-loaded brush into medium-dark ink. This brush stroke is applied from the back end of the insect and moves toward the thorax, with the brush held at an angle while applying the paint to the paper. What you are aiming for is to produce a continuous gradient of colour (from blue-green to yellow-green) that reflects the natural variation in the colour of the wing.
	Using medium-dark ink, draw in the texture of the wing - like shown in this illustration.
	For the abdomen: First load the whole brush well with yellow-green paint and pick up some brown with half of the loaded brush head. Try to lay down one sweeping stroke that has a slight curve to it extending almost from the back end of the wing to the lower part of the thorax. With medium-dark ink, we can create the divisions visible in the abdomen of the insect.
	Touching up katydid's wing & hind leg Using a fine brush and a steady hand, draw the legs. Notice that a katydid's hind leg is quite long with tiny spike-like projections. I always encourage my students to observe a subject carefully and closely follow the form and shape of that subject for accuracy. As an artist, once we are familiar with the subject, we no longer merely reproduce the appearance of the subject but aim to convey the essence or spirit of the subject. Sometimes we choose to eliminate, exaggerate or even create certain details to express what we see & "feel".
	Finally we coat part of the wing & body with an emerald-green paint mixed with a little white to harmonize the colour of the wing and the body and create an element of "3-D"-ness. This is the most exciting part of the drawing. We finish by applying feelers with a very fine brush and the lightest of strokes. You may need to practice a few times before drawing it onto the actual painting to ensure that the angle, relative intensity and the length of the feeler is proportionate and delicate-looking.
	This is a different profile of the katydid using the same method shown above. You can click the image to enlarge the photo to take a closer look.
	I like to experiment and create my own interpretations of katydids. This is an example of how you can modify the angle of viewing a katydid. This image is drawn on "Xuan paper". Click on the image to enlarge the photo to study the detail more closely.
	This is an immature Katydid (nymph). Again, this is a modification of the Katydid - from a different perspective. You can click on the image to enlarge the photo for a closer look.

Art Instructor Danny HL Chen

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