Observatio naturalis
Look closer at nature
Learn to spot what makes an animal or plant unmistakably itself, and gather references that become a starting point rather than something to copy.
A new online course with Kaitlin Hoyt
Nature Into Fantasy
Create your own botanical animal in acrylic & coloured pencil
Learn how I turn real animals and plants into creatures of my own, then paint one of yours, from the first reference photo to a finished piece.
Opening soon
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Hello, I’m Kaitlin.
Most of my paintings begin outside. A fern unfurling, a fox at the edge of a field, the little face hiding in a pansy. Then I start asking what if?
In Nature Into Fantasy, I’ll share the whole process behind my botanical animals: researching without copying, inventing a hybrid that feels like it could really exist, building a world around it, and bringing it to life with layers of acrylic and coloured pencil.
You don’t need to have made fantasy art before. If you have some drawing or painting experience and a soft spot for the natural world, you’re ready.
Join the waitlist and you’ll get
- An exclusive offer, only for people on the waitlist
- Early access before enrolment opens to everyone
- Sneak peeks and studio stories as the course comes together
A field guide to the course
Four stages, one creature of your own. Here’s the path we’ll grow along together.
Creatura inventa
Invent your creature
Combine animal and plant so they feel like they grew together, not like flowers stuck on fur. Push your ideas further and give your creature a personality all its own.
Habitat imaginarium
Build its world
Imagine where your creature lives, then plan the composition, colour and mood, with a little help from Procreate, so creature and background feel like one place.
Pictura viva
Paint it to life
Build your painting in acrylic, then layer coloured pencil for fur, feathers, petals and tiny details. Finish with glazes that pull everything together into one illustration.
By the end, you’ll have one finished botanical animal illustration: a creature that exists nowhere else, painted by you.
Join the waitlistMeet Kaitlin
I’m a fantasy and nature illustrator, and for the past six years I’ve been painting whimsical fusions of flora and fauna, inspired by early scientific illustrators and the magic of fairytales.
I’m completely self-taught. I started painting after years of being too afraid to really try, and found my way through challenges like painting 100 birds in 100 days. Today I work as a freelance illustrator and have written and illustrated three books, with two more in the works.
This course is the process I wish someone had shown me at the start: a way of looking at nature that leaves plenty of room for imagination.
See you in the studio,
Kaitlin
@kaitlinhoyt
Join the waitlist
