All of the following sketches were done at a depth between 100 and 60 feet underwater in the Indian Ocean during my scuba diving trip to Maldives, in December 2024. After each dive, I would tear pages with sketches from my notebook, wash them in fresh water several times, let them dry, and then take these photos. A few scans below will give you a view with a little more details so that you can read my notes and see how I incorporate my underwater sketches in my sketchbook with additional notes. A separate post about materials contains information about my set-up.
Why do I draw while scuba diving? I think the simplest answer is that I just like to draw and I do it everywhere. But a little more complex version is this: the world underwater is very different from the world above the water, is very densely packed with information of all sorts and it is impossible to see and process all that is happening to you there. Drawing allows me to focus on things and pay attention for a little longer than is natural in a situation of such overwhelm. And it allows me to make notes and remember at least some of the questions that come up and all of this helps to remember and come back to these thoughts and images later. Nature journaling underwater goes on a whole new level!
Normally I make both sketches of the surrounding landscape, and aquatic life and also some a little more detailed ones with notes of a naturalistic nature: mark what depth I was at, possible position or situation with current, etc., and add information about patterns/textures/colors/behaviors that I observe. However, on this trip I did not have a chance to stay in one place and observe things - I was with a group of people who were moving all the time, and keeping with them was one of the priorities for me. So most of my sketches are super quick gestures trying to capture the movement and feeling of the place - with very few notes. I saw lots of different sharks (some disturbingly close), witnessed close-up some shark feeding and manta ray feeding, saw manta ray on a cleaning station, sting rays and eagle rays, several octopuses, eels, lots of fish in schools (swimming through one is a special treat - I am hoping there will be a video at some point and I will share it!). Also first ever meeting Mantis Shrimp! I wish I could draw all of this and for a longer time!
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