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Hi all, I do all my graphs myself, using OpenOffice Calc (free Excel) and then exporting them in Inkscape (free Illustrator) where I can change little details and get a vectorial graph. I also do all my pictures myself, sometimes they’re good enough :). I’m in a commercial unit and the time I spend on that work is included in my study’s planning. Thierry ARGANT [log in to unmask] > Le 1 juil. 2015 à 15:45, GIDNEY L.J. <[log in to unmask]> a écrit : > > Most of my output is for commercial units, who have in-house graphics staff to re-photograph my duff pictures and turn Excel graphs into something of publication standard. Problems arise with graphics for conference papers not funded by units. When I was still part of an Archaeology Department, there was an in house illustrator. Now we've both been made redundant and gone freelance, I pay her for graphic work, if I can afford it. The crunch comes when a publication requires an illustration that I don't have as standard and I have no budget to commission the work. I have no graphics package and no expertise in using them. I belong to the tracing paper and Letraset generation and this sort of product is no longer deemed acceptable. > > ________________________________________ > From: Analysis of animal remains from archaeological sites [[log in to unmask]] on behalf of Deb Bennett [[log in to unmask]] > Sent: 01 July 2015 07:10 > To: [log in to unmask] > Subject: Re: [ZOOARCH] Scientific Illustration > > Dear Zooarchers....I tried posting this a couple of days ago, so my > apologies if you've already seen it, but it seems it didn't go through to > the whole list and there were no replies, so I'm posting it again because > I think this must surely be a topic of general interest. > > The question is -- How do you get the illustrations for > papers which you intend to publish? I ask because I was once the official > "Scientific Illustrator" for the K.U. Museum of Nat. Hist., but also > because in the years since, I've sometimes seen people struggle with this > as a problem. > > This for several reasons: for example, graduate students as a category > tend to be short on funds, either private funds or grant funding. But > staff/faculty may also not have grant funds, or if they have a grant, no > line item for that particular category. And even where grant funds are > available, the illustrator may not be available, i.e. a person able to > produce the sort of illustration desired or required may be hard to > locate. > > Another point relates to Oyvind Hammer's wonderful PAST software. That > program produces the BEST computer output I've ever seen, but when I use > it to produce a graph or chart, I look at it and know that even so it does > not quite meet journal standards for quality drafting. So what do you-all > do with this? Do you run the PAST output through some other program that > can "automatically" convert/upgrade it? Do you re-draft it by hand? > > Overall -- Are you doing your illustrations yourselves? Does your > institution provide in-house services? Do you try to contract it out? > Would you use illustration services from an outside contractor if you knew > where to find them? > > As an idea, I'd like to see an clearinghouse for scientific illustration, > so that we can better connect illustrators with scientists needing > illustrations. I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts on this common topic! > -- Deb Bennett