Meet the "Clockwork Carnivore"

Scott Elyard just finished the show mascot, "Clockwork Carnivore", and it looks totally awesome.

I would like to add that all contributors to the Archosaurs and Automata IndieGoGo campaign who donate $50 or more will receive a "Clockwork Carnivore" t-shirt, with the above design on the front, and the show information on the back printed underneath. We will also have t-shirts available at the show itself for all the local fans.

Thank you to all the gracious contributors so far - we're 1/4 of the way funded!

Geminiraptor and IndieGoGo Updates

#10oclockart PM edition - Some quick updates.

Geminiraptor progress...

Geminiraptor: As you may have noticed, I've been taken prisoner by the curly feathers on the neck. I think I used a French curve once or twice, but mostly the curves are all done freehand. I also worked on my proportions. Since Geminiraptor is estimated to be among the largest and oldest of the North American Troodon species, I gave it a more robust body style than some of its more derived cousins. I also added a more realistic moon and tried cambering it to look like the moon in Utah's sky.

...and a mechanical archosaur for the
Indiegogo campaign. Art by Scott Elyard.

Archosaurs & Automata IndieGoGo Campaign - Wow! We're nearly a quarter of the way there, and it's been less than a week. Scott Elyard has been working on a mascot and t-shirt design for the show, called "Clockwork Carnivore". It's a mechanical Euparkeria and it's stone-cold awesome. You can see a rough draft of it on the campaign website.

Archosaurs & Automata Art Show IndieGoGo Campaign

Hello, dear readers! Scott Elyard and I have been working on a follow-up show to our successful "Dinosaurs and Robots" exhibition last October, to be held at the same venue (Modern Dwellers Chocolate Lounge in midtown Anchorage) entitled "Archosaurs and Automata". Some of the works in progress you see on my previous blog posts will be displayed at the show, as well as some other pictures that Scott and I are working on.

However, being that we moved not too long after the original "D&R" show from Anchorage, to Homer, AK, which is 250 miles to the south, things are a bit more complicated. That's why we've put together an IndieGoGo campaign to help pay for travel expenses, materials, and printing costs.

Click here to donate to our show!

For your contribution, we are offering several levels of perks - from "hey, I found this fiver in my blazer I wore at my brother's bar mitzvah", to "Holy cow, you must _really_ like dinosaurs." Everyone who contributes, regardless of amount, will be honored at our show on a list of donors, and will also receive a hand-written "Thank You" postcard from Scott and myself.

This is our first attempt at this crowdsourcing thingy, and regardless of whether or not we reach our $1000 goal, all proceeds go towards making the show a reality.

Conchoraptor Close to Completion!

#10oclockart PM edition - well, at least the main part of the image is almost complete.

Blocked in the baby and the crab the mother Conchoraptor is holding. Finished the sky and background, but I still have a ton of work to do - all of the Dinosaur Zodiac images will be placed in an art nouveau style "inset", complete with flourishes and the Zodiac sign and dates.

Dino Zodiac and Other Project Updates

#10oclockart PM edition - Conchoraptor progress.

Getting back to the Dino Zodiac project, as well as getting started on some exciting upcoming stuff, including a First Friday art show for the month of January at Modern Dwellers Chocolate Lounge in Anchorage, AK with myself and Scott Elyard. More on that soon.

In the meantime, I have changed out some designs and added some new items at my CafePress store (for real this time!), including a queen-size Troodon in the Rushes duvet cover.

Moonlight Huntress (Updated 11 Sept 2012)

#10oclockart PM edition - I finished the tyrannosaurus and triceratops painting for my friend's granddaugter.

The female tyrant in the foreground is based almost entirely off the "sitting t-rex" mount showcased during the 2011 Dinosaur Expo at the Natural Science Museum in Tokyo and was referenced from photographs on Wikipedia. Triceratops was actually recycled from a 2008 pen and pencil drawing, which I updated with a thicker tail and quills.

If you are interested in purchasing prints or other gifts with this design, please visit my DeviantArt and CafePress pages.

Hat tip to Jack Horner - "scavenger-style" tyrants seem to get no love from the paleo-art community, and while I don't agree that rexes were obligate scavengers, I doubt they would turn their nose up at a free meal.

UPDATE: I can't leave well enough alone - I fixed some things that were bugging me about the foreground, added some detail to the moon, and some moonlit details on the 'trike.

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References:

1.  Tomoaki, Inaba. August 28, 2011. Wikipedia - File:Tyrannosaurus resting pose.jpg <http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tyrannosaurus_resting_pose.jpg> [July 10, 2012]

2.  Xu, X.; Wang, K.; Zhang, K.; Ma, Q.; Xing, L.; Sullivan, C.; Hu, D.; Cheng, S. et al. (2012). "A gigantic feathered dinosaur from the Lower Cretaceous of China." Nature 484: 92–95.

3. Horner, John R. and Lessem, Don. Simon & Schuster (1993). The Complete T. rex – How Stunning New Discoveries Are Changing Our Understanding of the World’s Most Famous Dinosaur.

Female Tyrant

In the middle of all the other stuff I've made for myself to do, I'm working on a present for a friend of mine's granddaughter, whose favorite dinosaurs happen to be Tyrannosaurus rex and Triceratops.

This is one of the two that will be in the scene - a brooding female. I'm fascinated by the concept of large feathered theropods, and since the discovery of Yutyrannus, I've been itching to do one of my own. Based loosely off a marabou stork.

Conchoraptor Face Detail

#10oclockart PM entry - details of the folds and wrinkles on Conchoraptor. I think I finally have that weird facial anatomy figured out...

Why I Love Digital Paint

#10oclockart early PM entry - This is why I love doing artwork in the digital age.

Before...

The face of this Conchoraptor looks more like a parrot than an oviraptorid - something I didn't pick up on until I started working in the wrinkles and folds in the skin. Back in my pen and ink days, this would have resulted in much wailing and cursing as I accidentally erased bits I didn't mean to, or the bits I wanted to erase wouldn't completely disappear after several attempts, or I tear the page because I erased one too many times in the same spot.

...and after!

Now, thanks to the power of digital paint (and the internet, which pointed me to delicious oviraptor skeletal reference by Jamie A. Headden), there will be no more hair-pulling or wailing while walking widdershins around my apartment. I just selected the offending "jawline", wrinkles and all, and moved it up for a more proper oviraptor profile. This is still amazing to me.

Dinosaur Zodiac - Cancer

#10oclockart entry - Conchoraptor with a crab. 

Taking a little break from Geminiraptor and getting a jump on Cancer. I'm thinking "budgie-come-seabird" in purples, yellowish-greens, and blues on this one.