With the information provided by the scientist, a documentation process is put in place to ensure understanding of the specimen to be illustrated, with the objective of identifying the distinctive characteristics of the species, its size and proportions at the desired life stage.

A line drawing is then made to represent what is essential to illustrate the archetype of the species. This initial sketch is sent to the scientist for corrections. 

Once the scientist has approved the sketch, the process continues. 

To obtain the three-dimensional shape of the object with all its textures, the models are mounted at the illumination angle traditionally used in scientific illustration (45º degrees upper left corner). 

All the information obtained from the light and shadow study is used to illustrate the archetype of the species in graphite, in order to produce a volume map that will then be rendered in color. 

This study is the second draft sent to the scientist, who checks that all structures and shapes are correctly represented. 

Using color theory, a pre-selection of the primary colors needed to create the palette of the illustration is made. 

To obtain the exact shades representative of the species, possible mixtures are analyzed in order to establish a special color palette for the illustration. These mixtures are then labeled and catalogued so that they can be reproduced in the final illustration.