Vojta Hybl

Thank you! Really enjoyed working on this one :)

A close-up photo of a burgundy red Sphagnum moss

The waterlogged, oxygen-poor soil means that when plants die, they slowly turn into peat. Healthy peatlands store vast amounts of carbon but commercial cutting, burning and draining have degraded them. Dry, exposed peat releases CO2 back into the atmosphere, which contributes to the climate crisis.

Blanket bogs lie like giant duvets across Scotland. They developed on acidic rocks where incoming rainfall could not drain away. Only plants that thrive in acidic soils - such as Sphagnum mosses - can survive there.

A gouache and coloured pencil illustration showing a cross-section view of a blanket bog. On top are living green and red Sphagnum mosses; in the muddle a dark brown layer of peat; the bottom shows a stripy grey and light layer of folded metamorphic gneiss.

This painting is a cross-section through a blanket bog: Sphagnum mosses carpet the dark peat below, which rests on metamorphic rock. It’s an archive of time: from minutes to billions of years.

#sciart #natureillustration #illustration #gouache

Thank you so much! Hope you’ll enjoy it :)

Two book spreads. Above, featuring PEGMATITE on the left and PERIDOTITE on the right. Below, a landscape illustration of a lava flow and a volcanic eruption in Iceland

It also has non-standard guidebook features like:

– the etymology of every rock name

– a more philosophical take on the rock cycle

– an entry on the confusing existence of dolomite (the rock) and dolomite (the mineral)

– lithic mindfulness

– sneaky Lady Gaga and The Weather Girls references

A book spread featuring PLASTIGLOMERATE on the left and PYROPLASTIC on the right

It has over 100 different rocks: there are sections for igneous, volcaniclastic, sedimentary, metamorphic and anthropic (rocks influenced or made by humans) – something no other geology guide has. Expect ID tips, notes on its formation, and what that can tell us about the Earth’s geological past

A beige book cover with a grey rock in the middle cut by white streaks. The title says ROCKS, below, the subtitle is A Guide to the Stones Around Us and the Stories They Tell, Vojta Hybl. Illustrations of rocks surround the cover.

Ahh I wrote & illustrated my first book!

It’s been a secret I’ve kept for over a year, but very excited to finally reveal ROCKS – published by @quartobooksuk.bsky.social in March 2026!

You can pre-order from all the usual places here: geni.us/Rocks

#SciArt #PortfolioDay #illustrator #BookSky

A hand holding artwork featuring three fungi. On the left is a fly agaric with a bright red cap and a white stem. In the muddle is a bitter beech bolete with a brown cap and an orange-pink stem. On the right is a brown birch bolete with a brown cap and a white stem with spots.

Painted some mushrooms for #UKFungusDay!

#sciart #fungi #illustration #natureillustration #gouache

Rhynie Chert is also the oldest preserved terrestrial ecosystem. The hot, mineral-rich water erupted from geysers periodically coated anything it landed on. It literally petrified the plants, animals and fungi. Their tissue was replaced with silica, which even preserved the individual cells.

Nestled in a mountain valley were hydrothermal springs and geysers, not unlike Rotorua or Yellowstone today. This place was home to some of the earliest plants that made it onto land. There is even evidence of fungal mycorrhizae linked to plant roots – just like we see today.

Back then, Scotland was in the middle of a continent called Laurussia, also called the ‘Old Red Continent’ (because of the Old Red Sandstone, a type of rock deposited in rivers that’s a deep burgundy colour). The Scottish Highlands were *high* (think Himalaya). Oh, and there were active volcanoes.

A gouache illustration of the ecosystem of Rhynie Chert in Scotland. In this illustration are a few inhabitants of ancient Rhynie: Asteroxylon (a green club-like plant) and Rhynia (plants with pink tips, where it released spores from) on land. In the water on the right, two red, shrimp-like Lepidocaris rhyniensis swim around Palaeonitella algae. They grow on top an older, already petrified ecosystem – the dark shapes are the solidified plant stems so typical for Rhynie Chert. In the background are reddish mountains and a grey, rainy sky.

POV: you are in Scotland but it’s 400 million years ago and also you are a tiny springtail

#sciart #illustration #paleoart #kidlitart #natureart

A deceased beige-grey moth with black and blue underwings lying on wet pavement. There is a thumb holding their wing down.

A deceased beige-white moth lying on their back on wet pavement. They have darker line and spot markings on the wings.

A very exciting #moth encounter in Edinburgh today: Clifden Nonpareil / Blue Underwing / Catocala fraxini

The only record in Scotland according to @inaturalist.bsky.social!

My first podcast appearance! Listen to me talk about rocks and art here: open.spotify.com/episode/1LBH...

An calendar open on February. The top page features a colourful illustration of a komatiite rock on a light background. The dates on the bottom page are underlain by pink bars.

There is also a rock for every month to keep you company through the year! 2026 will feature metaconglomerate, komatiite, cross-bedded orthoquartzite, intrusive breccia, dunite, limestone, marble, agates and jaspers, blueschist, spherulitic pitchstone, geyserite and puddingstone 🪨 #illustration #art

An calendar open on December. The top page features a colourful illustration of a puddingstone rock on a black background. The dates on the bottom page are underlain by colourful bars.

The coloured bars underlying the dates correspond to the official chronostratigraphic chart, so it’s even easier to know where in the year / geological deep time you are on any given day!

A close-up of a calendar page for August. The dates are underlain by a pink bar. On the 9th, there is an event titled ‘the Boring Billion begins’. On the 17th, there is an event titled ‘multicellular life evolves’.

Each day of 2026 corresponds to 12,512,329 years of our planet’s geological history. I highlighted different geological events throughout the months to help you visualise the unimaginable timescales of deep time (it makes for a great science communication or educational tool as well) #geology

2026 Geological Calendar — Vojta Hybl Rocks on Paper geology calendar 2026 is here! This calendar with a timeline of the Earth helps you visualize the geological history of our planet. A rock calendar is a perfect gift for geologists and ...

It’s hereee! My popular geological #calendar is back for 2026 – you can pre-order it now: vojtahybl.com/shop/p/2026-...

It isn’t your regular calendar, though. This is a journey into deep time: I took the whole timeline of the Earth (some 4.567 billion years) and condensed it into one year

#SciArt

Thank you! I am currently obsessed with ultramarine, so it features in most of my illustrations :D

A gouache illustration of a male rock ptarmigan (Lagopus muta) sitting against ultramarine blue sky. There are four windows showing the bird change the plumage colour with the seasons. In autumn, they are grey to blend in with the rocks. In winter, the feathers moult into a snowy white. In spring and summer, the colour transitions into a mottled grey-brown to hide them in vegetation.

My new illustration of an iconic tundra bird – the rock ptarmigan! It traces the colour of their feathers throughout the changing seasons

#sciart #nature

This one is the National Museums Scotland in Edinburgh!

A gouache illustration of boulder covered in bright green, white and mint green lichens. A tiny person with a backpack is walking on the boulder as if it was a hill. #sciart #gouache

Really big lichens or a really small hiker? I’ll let you decide

#illustration

The front cover of a scientific journal titled Ornithologist, dated 1 April 2025. The main headline reads: “BIRDS: DECODED - Groundbreaking New Science.” Below that, a subheading says: “What are the UK’s birds really saying? Pioneering new research provides the answers.”

WORLD-FIRST: Ground-breaking research published today in the Ornithologist Journal has, for the first time, translated common UK bird vocalisations into equivalent phrases in the human language.

The results tell us a lot!

Extracts below... 🧵

A grey, wavy cloud covering the whole sky. Light passes through it in places, creating lighter patches and a very dramatic look.

Cool cloud alert!

A mixed media illustration of a curlew in a coastal mudflat. The sky is pink and grey, its colours reflecting in the water. The scene is framed in the foreground by dark green grassy hummocks.

You’re walking in the coastal saltmarsh on a crisp morning at the tail end of winter. As you peek over the grassy hummocks, you spot a lone curlew feeding in the morning mist.

#natureart #sciart #illustration

A sketchbook page with gouache and coloured pencil illustrations of leaves of plants found in the Caledonian pinewood. Starting on top, clockwise: alder, wavy hair grass Scots pine Scots pine, twinflower, eared willow, blaeberry, rowan, wood sorrel, downy birch, Scots pine again, juniper, holly,bog myrtle, sessile oak, common heather. #SciArt

Leaf illustrations have grown in my sketchbook. Is this a sign of spring?

It’s book publication week!! 😄
“How the Earth works”, out March 6th. Can’t wait to see it out in the real world! 🥰 🌍 ✨

(Personalised signed copies can be purchased directly from my shop! > theflattype.etsy.com)

#SciArt #EarthScience

A hand holding an illustration of seagrass with ten green leaf blades pointing to the right. A small reddish stalked jellyfish is attached to the bottom leaf on the right.

Happy #WorldSeagrassDay! Here’s common eelgrass with a stalked jellyfish friend

#SciArt

Moths in the moonlight

Pterodaustros in the morning sun

A large yellow leaf ginkgo tree

Winter walker on a cold crisp night

It's my birthday today 🥳 If you want to give me a gift, I'd love reposts of my art!