Drawing Horse

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTSa-LETqxeDQNpR8IToKjquU4QnzMDSmIXvC8tWC2ahZUzuOlyjxSL8c0ZADbYi0vjwrnj16G2SbOpPBWWvdlbDf3jZ62ufRwSEgx_Vl28S0E-tQKzK8u9wKT6vR2oEzWJS0zL1UwtdM/s1600/Drawing_Horse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTSa-LETqxeDQNpR8IToKjquU4QnzMDSmIXvC8tWC2ahZUzuOlyjxSL8c0ZADbYi0vjwrnj16G2SbOpPBWWvdlbDf3jZ62ufRwSEgx_Vl28S0E-tQKzK8u9wKT6vR2oEzWJS0zL1UwtdM/s320/Drawing_Horse.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />This is a drawing horse. It’s a reliable and stable way to steady your work when you draw.<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-LmkilrO07G2lxo0hygFCX86mhJzsccAwnPQrx9UyD3KYz2MqEeNm9JjzuNF7xHSpgi_8J4SwUWyC5QSo96xOnREsGUtz3UmYphp2iifRmqQQ5WeuJfj0-NfmI_pfMS-b3reBNMJ6bME/s1600/Drawing_Donkey.sm.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="346" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-LmkilrO07G2lxo0hygFCX86mhJzsccAwnPQrx9UyD3KYz2MqEeNm9JjzuNF7xHSpgi_8J4SwUWyC5QSo96xOnREsGUtz3UmYphp2iifRmqQQ5WeuJfj0-NfmI_pfMS-b3reBNMJ6bME/s400/Drawing_Donkey.sm.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />This is a drawing donkey. She’s fairly steady but demands to be scratched just behind the shoulders about once a minute or she bumps you with her head.<br /><br />Drawing horse image from <a href="http://www.meerimage.com/blog/blog.php?date=1098687600">Meerimage </a>

Drawing Horse

This is a drawing horse. It’s a reliable and stable way to steady your work when you draw. This is a drawing donkey. She’s fairly steady but...

Read more »

Almost a Miniature Mom

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTjaHUuhAGRGa1H75TCw_iXfuMxn3PzBJ-pA8CJhDCmd1fiOfsH_e90CIlpEwepXeeHjRr7MIJYM-awaUsDwVccbhMYvimja8j2CP-IVDqWkiT3fSbrhXQY6rSDxyk8goms8do40yhBP8/s1600/Skye.sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a>Everyone at the farm was hoping that Skye, the miniature horse, would have her foal by Mother’s Day. But she’s not there quite yet.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTjaHUuhAGRGa1H75TCw_iXfuMxn3PzBJ-pA8CJhDCmd1fiOfsH_e90CIlpEwepXeeHjRr7MIJYM-awaUsDwVccbhMYvimja8j2CP-IVDqWkiT3fSbrhXQY6rSDxyk8goms8do40yhBP8/s1600/Skye.sm.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTjaHUuhAGRGa1H75TCw_iXfuMxn3PzBJ-pA8CJhDCmd1fiOfsH_e90CIlpEwepXeeHjRr7MIJYM-awaUsDwVccbhMYvimja8j2CP-IVDqWkiT3fSbrhXQY6rSDxyk8goms8do40yhBP8/s400/Skye.sm.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />She looks pretty uncomfortable. She stands uneasily and looks around every once in a while to see who’s doing all that kicking inside her.<br /><br />Her patience will be rewarded. Three cheers for Skye! And thanks to moms everywhere for what you go through to make the rest of our lives possible!

Almost a Miniature Mom

Everyone at the farm was hoping that Skye, the miniature horse, would have her foal by Mother’s Day. But she’s not there quite yet. She look...

Read more »

Bat Wings

I have a feeling that one of you out there right now is designing the wings of a dragon, so this post is for you.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdi5ayjjAtocOg4xc1h8yKMB8DH6sJ_zP8aMtcclmi13dtX_V131IDou1vueAjrbeWlljZtUW1lUg4cyHrLXundyPMqmVoQluN_mOMpAylMexqnet8p-E2voBTdA9XH5pGZq1_7YK6C2Y/s1600/Flying_Fox.sm.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdi5ayjjAtocOg4xc1h8yKMB8DH6sJ_zP8aMtcclmi13dtX_V131IDou1vueAjrbeWlljZtUW1lUg4cyHrLXundyPMqmVoQluN_mOMpAylMexqnet8p-E2voBTdA9XH5pGZq1_7YK6C2Y/s400/Flying_Fox.sm.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />Here are a few things I learned while sketching a flying fox. “Megachiroptera” means “Giant Hand-Wing.” With a four to five foot wingspan, it’s one of the biggest bats on the planet, and perhaps the best living inspiration for dragon wings. <br /><br /> The wing is supported with thin arm bones and finger bones that match up with our finger bones, including the knuckle joints. The clawed “thumb” sticks forward of the wing. For a vampire bat, it’s useful for holding onto the host animal when it is sucking blood. The other fingers spread out to support the membrane, with the fifth finger pointing back to support the trailing edge. <br /><br />The bones in bats’ fingers have less calcium than our bones, and they’re flattened a bit, so they can bend without breaking. The skin is stretchy, thin, and delicate. But if it rips, it can regrow.<br /><br />As with birds and pterosaurs, there is a bit of membrane forward of the elbow. The membranes have muscles and blood vessels in them, and they’re covered with some fine hairs. They also have receptor cells that can feel how much the skin is stretched. <br /><br />When I drew this specimen, which hangs in Harvard’s <a href="http://www.mcz.harvard.edu/">Museum of Comparative Zoology,</a> I wasn’t sure what causes those yellow-brown bands in the wing. Maybe one of you is a bat expert and can explain. <br /><br />More on bat wings at <a href="http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/topics/mammal_anatomy/bat_wings.html">Animal Diversity </a>

Bat Wings

I have a feeling that one of you out there right now is designing the wings of a dragon, so this post is for you. Here are a few things I le...

Read more »

Animal News

Over at the farm yesterday, Lenny harnessed up the Belgian draft horses. He wanted to give them some practice with ground driving.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2YQLQwG4crTjGemcVH_-wITSX1RzeItnrpH0GDzLkYSjKHGVUsFxdKjXOs6fCO9p2RC2tgyvHT8U4ZsTXxh0ISCuCuLaKnN8hh7j8vup4GwVBGk0Kr3q8TFXVRVhvLTuJ9NSWwV94TVY/s1600/Miniature_Horse_Harness.sm.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="303" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2YQLQwG4crTjGemcVH_-wITSX1RzeItnrpH0GDzLkYSjKHGVUsFxdKjXOs6fCO9p2RC2tgyvHT8U4ZsTXxh0ISCuCuLaKnN8hh7j8vup4GwVBGk0Kr3q8TFXVRVhvLTuJ9NSWwV94TVY/s400/Miniature_Horse_Harness.sm.JPG" width="400" /></a><br />Even the miniature horse Skye was in harness. She’s pregnant. A baby miniature foal is due in the next few days. I’ll try to do some sketches when the day comes.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHw0s_GrQ5ilYSWJYkpkbuR1V06AvVvOsXTxZ8RaAHXyASvb_0p3FTdJEe0qqUTQZtv1NQSgZaOWcYcdL_sKr_09ENu-EjhSVvGbvAL7hGFNmU_csjkVos3iVS6a7uStVEZ2c0KeUYr9s/s1600/Ground_Driving.sm.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHw0s_GrQ5ilYSWJYkpkbuR1V06AvVvOsXTxZ8RaAHXyASvb_0p3FTdJEe0qqUTQZtv1NQSgZaOWcYcdL_sKr_09ENu-EjhSVvGbvAL7hGFNmU_csjkVos3iVS6a7uStVEZ2c0KeUYr9s/s400/Ground_Driving.sm.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />Lenny let me try ground driving behind Sofie and Abby. It’s the first time I’ve tried it. He told me to lean back a bit to let them know I was behind them.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_KsZnHG6kJ0S1uAAkB_p0lkwvSVD52PRyG63BL2gxw9HjcdIEW7KJrrOomTgVMwrV0mMqgDZ2x9hmqKgAMk7u4drsRWZDsD0uAgdZ5Xa6MsBiqRVr6o2hyJz7vHqWeZ9YXKd_5qtjQoc/s1600/Plowing.sm.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_KsZnHG6kJ0S1uAAkB_p0lkwvSVD52PRyG63BL2gxw9HjcdIEW7KJrrOomTgVMwrV0mMqgDZ2x9hmqKgAMk7u4drsRWZDsD0uAgdZ5Xa6MsBiqRVr6o2hyJz7vHqWeZ9YXKd_5qtjQoc/s320/Plowing.sm.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />I was pretending I was walking behind a couple of Anchiceratops, like in <a href="http://www.dinotopia.com/dinotopia-store.html"><i>Dinotopia: Journey to Chandara.</i></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlGAGSGFJjfZyMzMUdWyhH2js4MO-vpeT3-D0cclKltbvsAEBf6lWzx_deRCA_TNFhbDT1H-NyrlVuIo0HravHU4Wk4hlmwYjcxlj9WIiCn7nlvKi8CequGEm5tt6vi9tgGlnw9yN5mDs/s1600/Rose_breasted_Grosbeak.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLGeWS4x-ZqCnYDiKvvrOfjEaK7aGmBNobzOBfglUIdYbIdLMbVaPewL6yUd6EkDLjkyUR380dKQFRUpqqX5MFZPo2-IgWC3OCqdUJCBewH3M1Uy_3fH90r_n8kxhhVyi59V2ho6dlZQY/s1600/Black+Bear.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLGeWS4x-ZqCnYDiKvvrOfjEaK7aGmBNobzOBfglUIdYbIdLMbVaPewL6yUd6EkDLjkyUR380dKQFRUpqqX5MFZPo2-IgWC3OCqdUJCBewH3M1Uy_3fH90r_n8kxhhVyi59V2ho6dlZQY/s320/Black+Bear.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />The other news is that on Saturday night a big black bear came right up to the back of our house. I think he smelled the bird feeders. It's the first black bear I've ever seen on this side of the Hudson River.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlGAGSGFJjfZyMzMUdWyhH2js4MO-vpeT3-D0cclKltbvsAEBf6lWzx_deRCA_TNFhbDT1H-NyrlVuIo0HravHU4Wk4hlmwYjcxlj9WIiCn7nlvKi8CequGEm5tt6vi9tgGlnw9yN5mDs/s1600/Rose_breasted_Grosbeak.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlGAGSGFJjfZyMzMUdWyhH2js4MO-vpeT3-D0cclKltbvsAEBf6lWzx_deRCA_TNFhbDT1H-NyrlVuIo0HravHU4Wk4hlmwYjcxlj9WIiCn7nlvKi8CequGEm5tt6vi9tgGlnw9yN5mDs/s200/Rose_breasted_Grosbeak.jpg" width="188" /></a><br />Soon it will be time to close up the feeders for the season, but there have been some spectacular birds passing through, such as my favorite, the rose breasted grosbeak, a bird we see only one day a year.<br /><br />Previously on Gurney Journey<br /><a href="http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/2009/04/flashy-princess.html">Princess the Belgian filly</a><br /><a href="http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/2009/12/christmas-surprise.html">Christmas Surprise (birth of Joy, the donkey) </a><br /><a href="http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/2010/01/joy-in-farmyard.html">Joy in the Farmyard</a><br /><a href="http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/2010/02/snow-plowing-with-draft-horses.html">Snow Plowing with Draft Horses</a><br /><br />By the way, <a href="http://acopal.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=56&Itemid=56">ACOPAL (America China Oil Painting Artist League) has announced its winners and finalists</a>. The link takes you to a gallery of the work accepted. I'm delighted that my painting Chandara was chosen as a finalist.

Animal News

Over at the farm yesterday, Lenny harnessed up the Belgian draft horses. He wanted to give them some practice with ground driving. Even the ...

Read more »

Sharks: The monsters tamed

<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Benchley">Peter Benchley</a> (1940-2006) and Steven Spielberg taught us to fear sharks. But this video presents a different image of them.<br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="290" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/WK2LpUoqX6A" title="YouTube video player" width="480"></iframe><br /><br />When Benchley later saw how "Jaws" led to the wanton destruction of sharks, he said: "[T]he shark in an updated <i>Jaws</i> could not be the villain; it would have to be written as the victim; for, worldwide, sharks are much more the oppressed than the oppressors."<br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WK2LpUoqX6A&feature=player_embedded">Direct link to YouTube video.</a>

Sharks: The monsters tamed

Peter Benchley (1940-2006) and Steven Spielberg taught us to fear sharks. But this video presents a different image of them. When Benchley ...

Read more »

Museum of Comparative Zoology

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU_IXUeXo4Xzlyp6kRZi-xtEkCpH2paQBDLWoCNSgcTpVUm9S5M5dfG5YRI4Cz9xVVzDxXND4b8IxNo0l5YwGKEpnrnpq2QO8j4SmOjyAKelUEWPCxKzMpDbp4W3My-p0l1Ke824b_GCY/s1600/Bison.sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="http://www.mcz.harvard.edu/">The Museum of Comparative Zoology</a> is part of Harvard University’s Museum of Natural History  in Cambridge, Massachusetts.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6DNACBXWDri6lQ-1STHSQZi1ieTfwedW2Z9RyST6dGumw81Z8QdjxA_6qDF6Q5Nin9Qp4H2MmUpfhLPVh2AI96Zx3q1uiOCxNZxEiJ4lOSpJIvIJmCzd_CKgagJYQPe3uqZYze9q-TLM/s1600/Bison.sm.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a> <br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU_IXUeXo4Xzlyp6kRZi-xtEkCpH2paQBDLWoCNSgcTpVUm9S5M5dfG5YRI4Cz9xVVzDxXND4b8IxNo0l5YwGKEpnrnpq2QO8j4SmOjyAKelUEWPCxKzMpDbp4W3My-p0l1Ke824b_GCY/s1600/Bison.sm.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU_IXUeXo4Xzlyp6kRZi-xtEkCpH2paQBDLWoCNSgcTpVUm9S5M5dfG5YRI4Cz9xVVzDxXND4b8IxNo0l5YwGKEpnrnpq2QO8j4SmOjyAKelUEWPCxKzMpDbp4W3My-p0l1Ke824b_GCY/s400/Bison.sm.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />The collection was formed in 1859, beginning with the work of naturalist Louis Agassiz (1807-1873). It is one of the oldest and most extensive natural history collection on display in the western hemisphere.<br /><br />It’s an animal sketcher’s paradise because there’s a huge collection of skeletons and taxidermy animals on display in glass cases with simple backgrounds. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoIKujawitMDU37eqcoTwV6BS0vKgid-WaccDMXlavnGTqXkYo0n34716xpcZp6EGERhmxUfui10LQtMTZJMyzcnUR27zW7pRiDTrWfOU0GQSSAMCv48V_E5sQD5J4Lstq6hHCZsUwncw/s1600/Museum_of_Comparative_Zoology.sm.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoIKujawitMDU37eqcoTwV6BS0vKgid-WaccDMXlavnGTqXkYo0n34716xpcZp6EGERhmxUfui10LQtMTZJMyzcnUR27zW7pRiDTrWfOU0GQSSAMCv48V_E5sQD5J4Lstq6hHCZsUwncw/s320/Museum_of_Comparative_Zoology.sm.jpg" width="177" /></a>In the back room (which is less traveled), the skeleton and mounts are displayed side by side. If you’re lucky, you can find a folding stool or a chair or bring your own, which is allowed as long as you don’t block the corridors. <br /><br />There’s everything ranging from a whale skeleton to a case of hummingbirds. Because the mounts are old, some of them are a little weird looking or cracking, which adds an odd vibe to the experience. <br /><br />There’s an exhibit right now on color in the animal kingdom, and another on animal headgear--meaning mostly antlers and horns of wild deer and sheep. Part of the $9.00 museum admission is the Peabody anthropology museum and the world renowned Blaschka Glass Flowers collection.<br /><br />My sketch of bison is done in watercolor and water-soluble colored pencils in a Moleskine watercolor sketchbook.<br />-------<br /><a href="http://www.mcz.harvard.edu/">Museum of Comparative Zoology website</a><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Museum_of_Comparative_Zoology">Wikipedia's entry on the museum</a>

Museum of Comparative Zoology

The Museum of Comparative Zoology is part of Harvard University’s Museum of Natural History  in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The collection w...

Read more »

Animals Indoors

French animal painter<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosa_Bonheur"> Rosa Bonheur </a>(1822-1899) kept several animals in her studio, including an otter, a parrot, and various rodents. Sometimes she invited in a couple of old lions, goats, or horses. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyxIihmXATqDldbQ1AnT3GcDexEA71dkeFJBdA5dSH0zQQd-cIN0bLXYy1CAmJqiUewy_N5uV1HAqUnBcgnJoQq4ELkW44f6cBTXvbOb-w3R0epKSBYlorTIfzjGVwOyYOItsfrvQcDbQ/s1600/Rosa_Bonheurs_Studio_1870_by_Chardin.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="332" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyxIihmXATqDldbQ1AnT3GcDexEA71dkeFJBdA5dSH0zQQd-cIN0bLXYy1CAmJqiUewy_N5uV1HAqUnBcgnJoQq4ELkW44f6cBTXvbOb-w3R0epKSBYlorTIfzjGVwOyYOItsfrvQcDbQ/s400/Rosa_Bonheurs_Studio_1870_by_Chardin.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />The otter had “the bad habit of leaving the water and getting in between the sheets of Mme. Micas’s bed, so that all the bedclothes and even the mattress would sometimes be wet through.”<br /><br />Rosa Bonheur grew up in a family that was at home with animals. Childhood friend Hippolyte Peyrol remembered playing hide and seek with a goat that the Bonheur family kept upstairs. <br /><br />There was a tame squirrel living in the hollow leg of a plaster cast of a woman. The squirrel once gnawed through a picture hanging rope, which made the picture crash to the floor.<br /><br />Rosa brought home some quail and let them loose in the studio after putting a screen over the windows. To make them feel at home she set up a little wild garden in the corner of a room.<br />------<br />from <a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=jLVCAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=rosa+bonheur+by+stanton&hl=en&ei=O3mcTbSVIsndgQe7qsiRBw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CDoQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false">Reminiscences of Rosa Bonheur, edited by Theodore Stanton</a>, 1910. It’s a book you can download and read from Google Books<br />Wikipedia on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosa_Bonheur">Rosa Bonheur</a><br />Previously on GJ: <a href="http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/2009/05/bonheur-ram-studies.html">Bonheur Ram Studies</a><br /><a href="www:%20amisderosabonheur.asso.fr">Friends of Rosa Bonheur </a>(French website)

Animals Indoors

French animal painter Rosa Bonheur (1822-1899) kept several animals in her studio, including an otter, a parrot, and various rodents. Somet...

Read more »

Angry Animals

In Dinotopia, dinosaurs and humans humans get along most of the time. But not always. <br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX8H3fmu1nBdYUE0zREBC-cxTuaj-rxBD2eLFh5qN54vBZ2K9LvuL6QNOeVjUtHcLL4BSe5mOGtGR3YC5R1sqkcJcj5vPdU_KzjnzIe8fVdBvRT1vyI5Qqr3s0oAEgcRI13ELs-4ccunc/s1600/Escape.On.Strutter.sm.WT.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX8H3fmu1nBdYUE0zREBC-cxTuaj-rxBD2eLFh5qN54vBZ2K9LvuL6QNOeVjUtHcLL4BSe5mOGtGR3YC5R1sqkcJcj5vPdU_KzjnzIe8fVdBvRT1vyI5Qqr3s0oAEgcRI13ELs-4ccunc/s400/Escape.On.Strutter.sm.WT.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />If you drive a strutter through the Rainy Basin, don’t be surprised if you get attacked by a T. rex. (Image from <a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=2999230124118604245"><i>Dinotopia: The World Beneath</i></a>)<br /><br />The same is true with animals in our world, as the following photos attest.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn7cp6xo8Rz8hdA3THNPC5VP78ELvLaER3AXOqEAXiRALhyphenhyphenkxfd0-ewnHwOxQjwOombEpg84xdKRn9h-LGUGdTEFxsLSYHa8ExZtqFMFMzNKG6-rwN4TToe7LelsCfMxSsHl_vLVPCCuo/s1600/Monkey_Attack.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn7cp6xo8Rz8hdA3THNPC5VP78ELvLaER3AXOqEAXiRALhyphenhyphenkxfd0-ewnHwOxQjwOombEpg84xdKRn9h-LGUGdTEFxsLSYHa8ExZtqFMFMzNKG6-rwN4TToe7LelsCfMxSsHl_vLVPCCuo/s400/Monkey_Attack.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJARh6TZgQ2o9bCY1-4hQYPAZB4AJPKToKBl-Nu-RJfeonkC86A8ztnAA9inoJ086_ztOJNj_5v_VhBQodQ88GtogmXygogYoap-fdamlo9gYhbeOerPtYAqYltnQQo1Uk61lOJW1rR_Q/s1600/Elephant_Attack.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFNQf64Mg9cHVFc9SkBk0qNf-7_-d7KqPWW3DyskKtMpporXAWWMmEsK7HIXsc1IqR5Bb5aqv7ibS64t3P6q-yMCU-61QhJM2V1vnmTTFQI6CToD4qgM4a7Q-xCdJjgy5u0am7hF1Of5s/s1600/Gull_Attack.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFNQf64Mg9cHVFc9SkBk0qNf-7_-d7KqPWW3DyskKtMpporXAWWMmEsK7HIXsc1IqR5Bb5aqv7ibS64t3P6q-yMCU-61QhJM2V1vnmTTFQI6CToD4qgM4a7Q-xCdJjgy5u0am7hF1Of5s/s400/Gull_Attack.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3OpizpKOEUdYeUcVCp_1r5whqnXniXHY61K_dmAyItujY2coYb3Sx_2AwMzib7RVILgq3rOpCnioCqt2_UoJ-dxynTqNyOUAEfgzjIHjcejG-hs4MYrk9P1Y1P4CZV_sbsb8LBrYtavw/s1600/Hippo_Attack.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3OpizpKOEUdYeUcVCp_1r5whqnXniXHY61K_dmAyItujY2coYb3Sx_2AwMzib7RVILgq3rOpCnioCqt2_UoJ-dxynTqNyOUAEfgzjIHjcejG-hs4MYrk9P1Y1P4CZV_sbsb8LBrYtavw/s400/Hippo_Attack.jpg" width="345" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7gAb1u9x93hVydTKRWDNR7yqkgzOEm2tKeykohETXgyCmL5brnZfVM7-Bis67Vk3TR6jQry_mHoGKRwM35Tia9BOFE1Q9_x4ikP82JHM4oSzqq7uaiuX5ScySd_BxJ6wjKyC6mO1-X5s/s1600/Kangaroo_Attack.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7gAb1u9x93hVydTKRWDNR7yqkgzOEm2tKeykohETXgyCmL5brnZfVM7-Bis67Vk3TR6jQry_mHoGKRwM35Tia9BOFE1Q9_x4ikP82JHM4oSzqq7uaiuX5ScySd_BxJ6wjKyC6mO1-X5s/s320/Kangaroo_Attack.jpg" width="288" /></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcLWmdvshp4VGH0gr7bBpjtTpUkCoMVknfY_RhyphenhyphenXDMiXHOeXcLOOtKnmJaEdcnPcJHgDTLCTpnmc9JlFMSxhUGGm_bfk1MHscFeWVnIpIZFGCVas1-62rRQjhjaeHCKy6PiZDifYagauI/s1600/Eagle_Attack.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="390" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcLWmdvshp4VGH0gr7bBpjtTpUkCoMVknfY_RhyphenhyphenXDMiXHOeXcLOOtKnmJaEdcnPcJHgDTLCTpnmc9JlFMSxhUGGm_bfk1MHscFeWVnIpIZFGCVas1-62rRQjhjaeHCKy6PiZDifYagauI/s400/Eagle_Attack.jpg" width="400" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbYnGCRKsVI5mz7GDRJbm1UspSGlvzC2e8H6Fha7ZorsUGkc1_zu3ljoIt7hFAElcY5s7T5-qE2HDJphrtlvrd-OAnWFUbCRXuJQh6Av6i7KKFMK4URlPQprX6UAbDPpZvdWstbLGVV9Q/s1600/Babboon_Attack.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbYnGCRKsVI5mz7GDRJbm1UspSGlvzC2e8H6Fha7ZorsUGkc1_zu3ljoIt7hFAElcY5s7T5-qE2HDJphrtlvrd-OAnWFUbCRXuJQh6Av6i7KKFMK4URlPQprX6UAbDPpZvdWstbLGVV9Q/s400/Babboon_Attack.jpg" width="400" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1ZaNwURfjilnuSWsnrPtElsOzjgbfmbimD9iyCJPWgu-sTtnXTvXosByRQr99gGiKouXz_nVvbYJ_Kv1dC2UL1uxPV0fBuQZpAvQ9UPkcz-fdK57_bvQS3i2GOvbk9geGJSy1PxTphBE/s1600/Crock_Attack.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1ZaNwURfjilnuSWsnrPtElsOzjgbfmbimD9iyCJPWgu-sTtnXTvXosByRQr99gGiKouXz_nVvbYJ_Kv1dC2UL1uxPV0fBuQZpAvQ9UPkcz-fdK57_bvQS3i2GOvbk9geGJSy1PxTphBE/s400/Crock_Attack.jpg" width="366" /></a><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhG0HvAeF0KEXnqMiEXI-8vPdEHMaWcQAoHa-TclgBzhA1lszAPqi7aGYshyphenhyphenxIRbyl_g4oFysKdGZEPmlZXoVPs1ORpHvSTuBeEm91xyL2v49C0aEBlacGTdbCf-7LclZkwbIlOpygHxA/s1600/Polar_Bear_Attack.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhG0HvAeF0KEXnqMiEXI-8vPdEHMaWcQAoHa-TclgBzhA1lszAPqi7aGYshyphenhyphenxIRbyl_g4oFysKdGZEPmlZXoVPs1ORpHvSTuBeEm91xyL2v49C0aEBlacGTdbCf-7LclZkwbIlOpygHxA/s400/Polar_Bear_Attack.jpg" width="400" /></a></div> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio8hYPczMqenD3MiHRvl2ljyFzdkC5d00coScjK-gS6Nbn9p2ZEcZWFDc93vX9dU-HP3-RPWGtjbGJqg6ORSaiGqI8ZDbPSBUL4hqA2NYaBaiBZoFRBGfo5XtYecrOJ2NwzqkkNeqi7Ro/s1600/Cassowary_Attack.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio8hYPczMqenD3MiHRvl2ljyFzdkC5d00coScjK-gS6Nbn9p2ZEcZWFDc93vX9dU-HP3-RPWGtjbGJqg6ORSaiGqI8ZDbPSBUL4hqA2NYaBaiBZoFRBGfo5XtYecrOJ2NwzqkkNeqi7Ro/s400/Cassowary_Attack.jpg" width="400" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJARh6TZgQ2o9bCY1-4hQYPAZB4AJPKToKBl-Nu-RJfeonkC86A8ztnAA9inoJ086_ztOJNj_5v_VhBQodQ88GtogmXygogYoap-fdamlo9gYhbeOerPtYAqYltnQQo1Uk61lOJW1rR_Q/s1600/Elephant_Attack.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="333" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJARh6TZgQ2o9bCY1-4hQYPAZB4AJPKToKBl-Nu-RJfeonkC86A8ztnAA9inoJ086_ztOJNj_5v_VhBQodQ88GtogmXygogYoap-fdamlo9gYhbeOerPtYAqYltnQQo1Uk61lOJW1rR_Q/s400/Elephant_Attack.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />I don’t know the sources for these photos, so sorry, I can’t credit them. Thanks, Jim!<br /><a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=2999230124118604245">Video of World Beneath artwork with ZBS audio adventure</a>

Angry Animals

In Dinotopia, dinosaurs and humans humans get along most of the time. But not always. If you drive a strutter through the Rainy Basin, don’t...

Read more »

Did Egyptians have Pygmy Mammoths?

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifmOTaI7DgfbtOb5qvfhnDh6RGvzIBcCLtNa8RfDZFj2HSb-22sddlnKkpwUnJe2UK-NdhTHHcPZHS8_b6O85M_hOc1UY4Jrh1hnny2RemaXHc2jT7SjpOcqWzU7b_a_T4OQ-9KcVix34/s1600/Rekhmire-tomb-elephant-and-bear--490-px-Jan-2011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a>An Egyptian mural from the Rekhmire Tomb (c. 1479 to 1401 BCE during the XVIII dynasty) shows what appears to be a baby mammoth. The artist portrayed an elephant-like creature with lots of hair, a convex back, a high-domed head, and tusks.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifmOTaI7DgfbtOb5qvfhnDh6RGvzIBcCLtNa8RfDZFj2HSb-22sddlnKkpwUnJe2UK-NdhTHHcPZHS8_b6O85M_hOc1UY4Jrh1hnny2RemaXHc2jT7SjpOcqWzU7b_a_T4OQ-9KcVix34/s1600/Rekhmire-tomb-elephant-and-bear--490-px-Jan-2011.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifmOTaI7DgfbtOb5qvfhnDh6RGvzIBcCLtNa8RfDZFj2HSb-22sddlnKkpwUnJe2UK-NdhTHHcPZHS8_b6O85M_hOc1UY4Jrh1hnny2RemaXHc2jT7SjpOcqWzU7b_a_T4OQ-9KcVix34/s400/Rekhmire-tomb-elephant-and-bear--490-px-Jan-2011.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />Science writer Darren <strike>Nash</strike> Naish proposes the “tentative suggestion that the elephant shown in Rekhmire's tomb might actually be a dwarf Woolly mammoth. If true, this would have radical implications. It would mean that the ancient Egyptians had a trading link of sorts with far eastern Siberia, and also that mammoths were captured and then transported alive to Africa!”<br /><br />Both Naish and the commentators to his web article suggest other possibilities. Could it have been a surviving pygmy mammoth from one of the Mediterranean islands? Or was the artist unclear about what Asian elephants really looked like?<br />-----------<br />Read the post at Nash’s site: <a href="http://scienceblogs.com/tetrapodzoology/2011/01/ancient_egyptian_pygmy_mammoth.php?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TetrapodZoology+%28Tetrapod+Zoology%29&utm_content=Google+Reader">Tetrapod Zoology.  </a><br />More about<a href="http://www.cryptozoology.com/"> Cryptozoology</a>

Did Egyptians have Pygmy Mammoths?

An Egyptian mural from the Rekhmire Tomb (c. 1479 to 1401 BCE during the XVIII dynasty) shows what appears to be a baby mammoth. The artist ...

Read more »

Prehistoric Times

What do you get when you cross a guinea pig with a rhinoceros?<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHLYh7qN875tEB3GZzDyn-_nCVGHTyS1BdlPoJaO1XNOzg5MPUZXtzmqjE0BN_e-38qXuee1gqXOr9ODhJOZl_dSaNtE1POqpCwgwX_3uR948_vT2_d-F2R_i0BMuemU8hBb7l-eMy1TI/s1600/cover96.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHLYh7qN875tEB3GZzDyn-_nCVGHTyS1BdlPoJaO1XNOzg5MPUZXtzmqjE0BN_e-38qXuee1gqXOr9ODhJOZl_dSaNtE1POqpCwgwX_3uR948_vT2_d-F2R_i0BMuemU8hBb7l-eMy1TI/s400/cover96.jpg" width="310" /></a> <br />The new Winter issue of <a href="http://www.prehistorictimes.com/"><i>Prehistoric Times</i></a> magazine has two new features that I wrote: “How I Painted Titanoboa” and “The Making of a Giant Rodent.”<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHLYh7qN875tEB3GZzDyn-_nCVGHTyS1BdlPoJaO1XNOzg5MPUZXtzmqjE0BN_e-38qXuee1gqXOr9ODhJOZl_dSaNtE1POqpCwgwX_3uR948_vT2_d-F2R_i0BMuemU8hBb7l-eMy1TI/s1600/cover96.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhnF-NWcyRAZLVKoJiXjxoSxbPTHQoXvd88UCt3VbkVebXjCZgfBjA23GJqY-vDh64vAHok0WfxbJ3KbKO1gV0uVtg8OJ2sAOygKyPWN6PocSPBXH5VUSMuT0z9HKpI3Tz19EL44qRvbQ/s1600/PT.Titano.Josepho.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="172" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhnF-NWcyRAZLVKoJiXjxoSxbPTHQoXvd88UCt3VbkVebXjCZgfBjA23GJqY-vDh64vAHok0WfxbJ3KbKO1gV0uVtg8OJ2sAOygKyPWN6PocSPBXH5VUSMuT0z9HKpI3Tz19EL44qRvbQ/s400/PT.Titano.Josepho.jpg" width="400" /></a><br /><br />Each article has a behind-the-scenes look on how I reconstructed an extinct animal. In each case, all I had to start with was one or two bones. The rest took a lot of educated guesswork—and you guessed it....maquettes!<br />-------<br />If you love extinct animals, check out the print magazine <a href="http://www.prehistorictimes.com/"><i>Prehistoric Times</i></a>

Prehistoric Times

What do you get when you cross a guinea pig with a rhinoceros? The new Winter issue of Prehistoric Times magazine has two new features tha...

Read more »

“If You Please, Sir, a Lion Have Come”

Nineteenth-century animal painter Briton Riviere was wise to live near the Zoological Gardens in London, for the authorities there were kind to him.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLJ4wG7BYmB3sjDVLQETsRHNKi6Qm3gOG5s-p_swSnJRaVGKn4oY8PrArGxg14mLp25wp94BDAFk32D1yZD9o9_tR70GlUNVE-gnGJZ_ZrV1zMAYdu6NXbNiEytALGpChaocLLgt5C3Vc/s1600/una_and_lion.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLJ4wG7BYmB3sjDVLQETsRHNKi6Qm3gOG5s-p_swSnJRaVGKn4oY8PrArGxg14mLp25wp94BDAFk32D1yZD9o9_tR70GlUNVE-gnGJZ_ZrV1zMAYdu6NXbNiEytALGpChaocLLgt5C3Vc/s400/una_and_lion.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7Do-F2CkKWb8dgf5hIu-aUhI7mTNTAKb70eqhjfEV7jGaI41GgRH_SEeAbHdwz3RrOkmJw9Gy0tS3sAoPGcHTGNSdeKbe0empiogvojSSI3aFhqy87KGD7wRgdsIOIEr1oIp5WyO1nOA/s1600/Riviere_Una_and-the_Lion.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a> <br /><br />According to an 1896 article in the <i>New Windsor </i>magazine:<br /><br /><blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7Do-F2CkKWb8dgf5hIu-aUhI7mTNTAKb70eqhjfEV7jGaI41GgRH_SEeAbHdwz3RrOkmJw9Gy0tS3sAoPGcHTGNSdeKbe0empiogvojSSI3aFhqy87KGD7wRgdsIOIEr1oIp5WyO1nOA/s1600/Riviere_Una_and-the_Lion.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>“When the beasts die they courteously send the bodies over in a cart to the painter. One morning, when he was at breakfast, a servant entered the room with the remark, ‘If you please sir, a lion have come.’ Mr. Briton Riviere stepped out into the street, and there, sure enough, was a lion upon a truck. The beast had died during the night. </blockquote><blockquote>But a limp, dead lion is a very different object from the splendid living beast, with every muscle taut and radiant with the symmetry of limb and motion that delight the painter’s heart, so the dead animal is merely utilised in the way that medical students study the subjects of the dissection-room....Tame creatures, such as horses, dogs, and donkeys, Mr. Briton Riviere admits to his studio. They enter from a large stable door, and sit, or rather stand, patiently upon a bed of straw.”</blockquote>-----------<br />Image from <a href="http://www.art-prints-on-demand.com/a/riviere-briton/una-and-the-lion-from-spe.html">Art Prints on Demand</a><a href="http://www.kevinalfredstrom.com/art/v/paintings/?g2_page=3"></a><br />Previously on GJ: <a href="http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/2010/06/briton-rivieres-studio.html">Briton Riviere's Studio (photo showing big cat skins)</a><br /><a href="http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/2009/11/enchantment-symposium-tomorrow.html">Enchantment Symposium (with another repro of Riviere)</a>

“If You Please, Sir, a Lion Have Come”

Nineteenth-century animal painter Briton Riviere was wise to live near the Zoological Gardens in London, for the authorities there were kind...

Read more »

Amazing Powers of the Octopus

David Attenborough narrates this video clip showing how the cuttlefish and octopus can make rapid changes in color, shape, texture. These abilities, in combination with a formidable reasoning ability, can bluff predators or confuse prey.<br /><object height="290" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/jN99Kx_ghC8&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&version=3"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/jN99Kx_ghC8&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&version=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="480" height="290"></embed></object><br /><br />Such displays of awareness and responsiveness in invertebrates force us to revise our notions of intelligence in the animal kingdom, and they provide fresh ideas for creature designers.<br />--------<br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jN99Kx_ghC8&feature=player_embedded">Direct link to YouTube page</a><br /><a href="http://bestofyoutube.com/index.php">Via Best of YouTube.</a>

Amazing Powers of the Octopus

David Attenborough narrates this video clip showing how the cuttlefish and octopus can make rapid changes in color, shape, texture. These ab...

Read more »

Bull Encounter

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcWLDRzdM1O8xgf63aDObKONA2TLSBTeKH-vnD4hQouiYrjAqt6ODsyo9wzIXj8BcvJio_tavW-a8H41IULqCjvZL6KmISPX_LGsiZMnsWiaKU-bN8VQL84gDNlgbEuWf38q6_W8Pi8GY/s1600/Bull_Encounter.sm.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a>I made this drawing on February 14, 1975 when I was sixteen. Back in those days I used to take a bottle of ink and a set of dip pens around with me in a canvas backpack. I didn’t have any art teachers and no one told me that sketching with dip pens was kind of a dumb idea.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcWLDRzdM1O8xgf63aDObKONA2TLSBTeKH-vnD4hQouiYrjAqt6ODsyo9wzIXj8BcvJio_tavW-a8H41IULqCjvZL6KmISPX_LGsiZMnsWiaKU-bN8VQL84gDNlgbEuWf38q6_W8Pi8GY/s1600/Bull_Encounter.sm.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcWLDRzdM1O8xgf63aDObKONA2TLSBTeKH-vnD4hQouiYrjAqt6ODsyo9wzIXj8BcvJio_tavW-a8H41IULqCjvZL6KmISPX_LGsiZMnsWiaKU-bN8VQL84gDNlgbEuWf38q6_W8Pi8GY/s400/Bull_Encounter.sm.JPG" width="400" /></a><br />Also, no one told me it’s a dumb idea to sit in a field and sketch bulls. This bull was OK at first, as long as he was surrounded by his cows. But my scratching pens annoyed his harem. One by one, they got up and headed off, leaving just me and the bull. He sat there, staring over at me and looking more and more irritated.<br /><br />Then he struggled to his feet and started walking toward me. <br /><br />I dropped my pen set and sidestepped slowly over to the middle of the field. I stood in a patch of high grass. For every step I took, the bull followed me. <br /><br />“Nice bull,” I said. I yanked out a big wad of grass to offer him. He stared dully back at me.<br /><br />I waved the grass back and forth a few times. He put his head down and started to trot toward me. I trotted backwards, but it was too far to the fence. I held out the grass so that he could really see it, and I tossed it to the side, figuring he would choose me or the grass. <br /><br />At the very last second, he lurched to the side and bent down to eat the grass. I ran back to where I was sketching and picked all of my pen points out of a wet cow pie.

Bull Encounter

I made this drawing on February 14, 1975 when I was sixteen. Back in those days I used to take a bottle of ink and a set of dip pens around ...

Read more »

Christmas Donkeys

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdIzZPavEbFoeB5XY1RrhzOfSivc_moavzXWvKachbFb9szTbCMpM3u2APRa1CuRq8ys5xpShvbyusGtEnCKCPr2SG6lgEqpsd1mlO0bzzIIbbIQOi9MZslLa2f-GJdqNUk97ixNZJGRI/s1600/Jim_Donkeys.sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a>We took a walk to the farm to see Joy, the donkey who was born exactly one year ago. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdIzZPavEbFoeB5XY1RrhzOfSivc_moavzXWvKachbFb9szTbCMpM3u2APRa1CuRq8ys5xpShvbyusGtEnCKCPr2SG6lgEqpsd1mlO0bzzIIbbIQOi9MZslLa2f-GJdqNUk97ixNZJGRI/s1600/Jim_Donkeys.sm.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdIzZPavEbFoeB5XY1RrhzOfSivc_moavzXWvKachbFb9szTbCMpM3u2APRa1CuRq8ys5xpShvbyusGtEnCKCPr2SG6lgEqpsd1mlO0bzzIIbbIQOi9MZslLa2f-GJdqNUk97ixNZJGRI/s400/Jim_Donkeys.sm.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />That’s Joy, the dark brown one one behind on the left. Lenny was asked to care for eight other donkeys temporarily. He needs to find homes for them because their owner died unexpectedly.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6nbvS7FkUQB-pwMJT_sEYPHdFdPdSJTvWChwz_0JChypQmSjniC3M7SdOsusgTYL0S-pwmVq1Be0Z-imnTknqRkoFI5IBqdbHbKm_BIl0J_9r-l-7w5IWZzIL5kRnboY6qq62OKwXwsM/s1600/Jim_Farmyard_12.25.10.sm.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6nbvS7FkUQB-pwMJT_sEYPHdFdPdSJTvWChwz_0JChypQmSjniC3M7SdOsusgTYL0S-pwmVq1Be0Z-imnTknqRkoFI5IBqdbHbKm_BIl0J_9r-l-7w5IWZzIL5kRnboY6qq62OKwXwsM/s400/Jim_Farmyard_12.25.10.sm.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />I don’t even know the name of this donkey, but she was very friendly, nibbling on my fingers (and the sketchbook) as I did her portrait. Handsome, the barn cat, curled up on my lap and swung his tail across the drawing.<br />-----<br />Previously on GJ:<br /><a href="http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/2009/12/christmas-surprise.html">Christmas Surprise (birth of Joy)</a><br /><a href="http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/2010/01/joy-in-farmyard.html">Joy in the Farmyard (one week old)</a><br /><a href="http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/2010/07/donkey-portrait.html">Donkey Portrait (Peanut)</a>

Christmas Donkeys

We took a walk to the farm to see Joy, the donkey who was born exactly one year ago. That’s Joy, the dark brown one one behind on the left. ...

Read more »

Animals in Perspective

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-8TE4CUNZa-cZexYYW4zKr4n6J_1yTC7tgfy9yJxr6VQ6wmR8NBxRV0TApT_KzljSCtHctMEoG_Cdr-4PPTqVKgIhLsBu6PvqcPozhMrxya5CWqJ_VRItmEw9SDSVGGaRIwWBUzWSVmWI/s1600/Hippo_Drawing.sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a>Perspective doesn’t apply just to architecture. Everything follows its laws, including people and animals. Some perspective teachers suggest drawing a box around an animal, and that’s a good idea.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-8TE4CUNZa-cZexYYW4zKr4n6J_1yTC7tgfy9yJxr6VQ6wmR8NBxRV0TApT_KzljSCtHctMEoG_Cdr-4PPTqVKgIhLsBu6PvqcPozhMrxya5CWqJ_VRItmEw9SDSVGGaRIwWBUzWSVmWI/s1600/Hippo_Drawing.sm.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-8TE4CUNZa-cZexYYW4zKr4n6J_1yTC7tgfy9yJxr6VQ6wmR8NBxRV0TApT_KzljSCtHctMEoG_Cdr-4PPTqVKgIhLsBu6PvqcPozhMrxya5CWqJ_VRItmEw9SDSVGGaRIwWBUzWSVmWI/s400/Hippo_Drawing.sm.jpg" width="333" /></a><br />An even simpler idea is to draw a set of lines across the form of any animal or person. It’s a quick way check the placement of all the features. If they’re out of position, you’ll know right away. <br /><br />In these zoo sketches of a hippo, each head has a set of parallel lines to make sure the ears, eyes, and nostrils are kept in their proper relationship. In the top sketch, I’ve also lightly drawn the center line of the form. I tried to simplify the lighting by massing the shadow as a light, uniform tone.<br /><br />In the lower sketch, I simplified the forms a bit (note the spherical forms around the eyes). The shading lines follow the cross-section contours, which helps even more to describe the form.

Animals in Perspective

Perspective doesn’t apply just to architecture. Everything follows its laws, including people and animals. Some perspective teachers suggest...

Read more »

French Bulldog

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2142IrNyrv5AhgnCMWgPVTWXD-v2ntS1G0tkqVAlUOO5eIBcUOQZYc0SpB6t26xvdeAQvtswB8N4f1lCYeR-C7ysrw1NcYSgVPkm9DW1H7duNdclQC292dxnGbKM4uvvGTFMsw1JEd3cO/s1600/French.Bulldog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a>This little fellow was a passenger on the train from Nantes to Bourges yesterday.<br /><br /> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2142IrNyrv5AhgnCMWgPVTWXD-v2ntS1G0tkqVAlUOO5eIBcUOQZYc0SpB6t26xvdeAQvtswB8N4f1lCYeR-C7ysrw1NcYSgVPkm9DW1H7duNdclQC292dxnGbKM4uvvGTFMsw1JEd3cO/s1600/French.Bulldog.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2142IrNyrv5AhgnCMWgPVTWXD-v2ntS1G0tkqVAlUOO5eIBcUOQZYc0SpB6t26xvdeAQvtswB8N4f1lCYeR-C7ysrw1NcYSgVPkm9DW1H7duNdclQC292dxnGbKM4uvvGTFMsw1JEd3cO/s400/French.Bulldog.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />His owner had a little blue padded bed for him and encouraged him to sleep, but he preferred to glance out the window. When I made bird-whistle noises, he looked over at me so I could do his portrait.

French Bulldog

This little fellow was a passenger on the train from Nantes to Bourges yesterday.   His owner had a little blue padded bed for him and encou...

Read more »

Elasmosaurs

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXBV29v7FWL_Od-KLd_KxnUkKkwdQ8Y7i7oligrRrYtXRgi6ImapDuOaT1wUVUOVC7C4JiOLkHsGQsIiLSOLAo9hFF64xva05j_MzrgdBdh2YVaVaFjc4le6Pf0XH0QN9bScVILB52F58s/s1600/Elasmosaur.fin.sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a> OK, one more "sea monster" painting, this time an elasmosaur, a long-necked plesiosaur.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXBV29v7FWL_Od-KLd_KxnUkKkwdQ8Y7i7oligrRrYtXRgi6ImapDuOaT1wUVUOVC7C4JiOLkHsGQsIiLSOLAo9hFF64xva05j_MzrgdBdh2YVaVaFjc4le6Pf0XH0QN9bScVILB52F58s/s1600/Elasmosaur.fin.sm.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXBV29v7FWL_Od-KLd_KxnUkKkwdQ8Y7i7oligrRrYtXRgi6ImapDuOaT1wUVUOVC7C4JiOLkHsGQsIiLSOLAo9hFF64xva05j_MzrgdBdh2YVaVaFjc4le6Pf0XH0QN9bScVILB52F58s/s400/Elasmosaur.fin.sm.jpg" width="400" /></a> <br />Here's the finish first. There are some caustic effects on the back, with a few fish scattering before those long snaking necks.<br /><br />I'm showing two hunting in tandem, with a surprise-attack technique of lifting the head up in murky water to grab fish from below. I had to control the values to make the colors get lighter as they go farther back in the water.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHOJk3H-RSCIe1Zgjdcs4q102-ftq7zZzM6D7URNa-_VenGJLof5FtL7f5oqh4o2TOWAgRq5k4TD3hyphenhyphenKWrOmp3-PD3BywL8gjmQoI71bSjI60O-j5LTqIQwyiW2ME7H1fpc0wHSrUueinh/s1600/Elasmosaur.study.vsm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHOJk3H-RSCIe1Zgjdcs4q102-ftq7zZzM6D7URNa-_VenGJLof5FtL7f5oqh4o2TOWAgRq5k4TD3hyphenhyphenKWrOmp3-PD3BywL8gjmQoI71bSjI60O-j5LTqIQwyiW2ME7H1fpc0wHSrUueinh/s400/Elasmosaur.study.vsm.jpg" width="340" /></a></div> Here are two comp sketches, each of which had qualities I liked and didn't like. I liked the pose of the first one, but the water looked too clear. And the second one was a bit too monochromatic, and the fish looked too much like a "bait ball"-- tricky prey, probably too fast for such a big predator.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxQeab7qcOhyXzD9z55kM_WOiQMc_dJAB31rF2HuAlhjFzgne7hOVX9A13xmrryqWG2Art95QNl4CCjJKTbKIFLxkSF2SrlRwQNzC27qRi8_neh_wqH1udTbFoXRcIpJzeEjQLlFXfQwlc/s1600/Elasmosaurs.sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="175" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxQeab7qcOhyXzD9z55kM_WOiQMc_dJAB31rF2HuAlhjFzgne7hOVX9A13xmrryqWG2Art95QNl4CCjJKTbKIFLxkSF2SrlRwQNzC27qRi8_neh_wqH1udTbFoXRcIpJzeEjQLlFXfQwlc/s400/Elasmosaurs.sm.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>And here's the first sketch in colored pencils, playing with the idea of turning the page to see the head. When doing illustration sketches for a magazine, I like to see how the picture looks with type around it.<br />----------<br />Check out your newsstand for the October issue of <a href="http://www.nwf.org/kids/ranger-rick.aspx">Ranger Rick magazine </a>to see the paintings!<br /> Previously on GJ: <a href="http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/2008/06/caustics.html">Caustic Effects</a>,  <a href="http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/2010/01/color-underwater.html">Color Underwater</a>

Elasmosaurs

OK, one more "sea monster" painting, this time an elasmosaur, a long-necked plesiosaur. Here's the finish first. There are s...

Read more »

Chasing the Story

In the October issue of Ranger Rick, an article on ancient sea monsters starts off with a giant pliosaur swimming right toward us.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt-GIhlzU_7_L2nrg_SAkK-wya3KIBPTT1YhGZvFIy_b1gnVeS8SmZVkHMHWVz_ttb1FX0yu5LKPo_wlTYq7BAkgGoXr7-Pv1L2g7Jze3JhuMvyMC5G567N-iKYvJQIr_K9eJ0CkP4Wu3t/s1600/Pliosaur.Sketch.sm.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="156" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt-GIhlzU_7_L2nrg_SAkK-wya3KIBPTT1YhGZvFIy_b1gnVeS8SmZVkHMHWVz_ttb1FX0yu5LKPo_wlTYq7BAkgGoXr7-Pv1L2g7Jze3JhuMvyMC5G567N-iKYvJQIr_K9eJ0CkP4Wu3t/s200/Pliosaur.Sketch.sm.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />Here was the first sketch for it, drawn in water-soluble colored pencils. The big sea creature is chasing down a bunch of squid-like cephalopods, who are scattering in the foreground.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU5d4Ask4Nz_s0rstp3QIjYbZAGUsOMjqLbXySZuwvNzvrbxdv2KXFMk3IT9lRxPKSANCTjlOvHPUC1t0OEI_J5vYJpbM2uevp3U9861Aw9KilrzMY6U5Tp9iQn9hFiAt0NKTTKXMpGf5a/s1600/Pliosaur.Study.vsm.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU5d4Ask4Nz_s0rstp3QIjYbZAGUsOMjqLbXySZuwvNzvrbxdv2KXFMk3IT9lRxPKSANCTjlOvHPUC1t0OEI_J5vYJpbM2uevp3U9861Aw9KilrzMY6U5Tp9iQn9hFiAt0NKTTKXMpGf5a/s320/Pliosaur.Study.vsm.jpg" width="239" /></a><br />Before going to the finished painting, I did two small oil studies to give the art director some latitude for layout. But even though I got the green light to go to finish, I wasn’t feeling excited enough about the picture. <br /><br />It wasn’t the design or the color that bothered me. The problem was that I didn’t care enough about the situation, because it’s hard to identify with invertebrates.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYj-gJAGtJGZLubFmIF_AasuGr-W_UFc6dL5dl7KsnEwz1Hyzzt8kMHSIuYEDdrDuJ8Xeg1er-Susv9WfblKHKlTZ9clmGPWYjtv7OmgfToLml6dirgi2IyckFDk8j8ECzbxL78iTW_p2c/s1600/Pliosaur.vsm.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYj-gJAGtJGZLubFmIF_AasuGr-W_UFc6dL5dl7KsnEwz1Hyzzt8kMHSIuYEDdrDuJ8Xeg1er-Susv9WfblKHKlTZ9clmGPWYjtv7OmgfToLml6dirgi2IyckFDk8j8ECzbxL78iTW_p2c/s400/Pliosaur.vsm.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />The solution was to show the big predator chasing a pair of sea turtles instead. We can feel for sea turtles, and we know from the fossil record that pliosaurs ate them. Framing the scene with big coral stands instead of open blue water also helped the drama. <br /><br />The take-away point is that design alone isn’t enough (at least for me) to drive a picture. The story is just as important. If anything, the story should drive the design. And sometimes it takes sketch after sketch to nail down the story.<br />-------<br />Previous post on the Tylosaur,<a href="http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/2010/10/sea-monster-part-1.html"> Part 1</a> and <a href="http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/2010/10/sea-monster-part-2.html">Part 2</a><br /><a href="http://www.nwf.org/kids/ranger-rick.aspx">Ranger Rick magazine</a>

Chasing the Story

In the October issue of Ranger Rick, an article on ancient sea monsters starts off with a giant pliosaur swimming right toward us. Here was ...

Read more »

Spotted Cats

Discovery News announced yesterday that the spotted patterns on woodland species of wild cats are tied to the patterns of dappled light in their forest environments.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwmqpR_9Nihifs43VmZsdXkIrg7H5-rd5JDm-ZLkrr_PbMrqyqJGEhei10mFyDG5N6EAcCHaZqk7bbCV8eIX3Svh-FYEIQxRS6HHi_N3YyAOO4x47tHIIU_v6URMWo32Q1igp6WGawaJqe/s1600/Dappled_Light_Spotted_Cats.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwmqpR_9Nihifs43VmZsdXkIrg7H5-rd5JDm-ZLkrr_PbMrqyqJGEhei10mFyDG5N6EAcCHaZqk7bbCV8eIX3Svh-FYEIQxRS6HHi_N3YyAOO4x47tHIIU_v6URMWo32Q1igp6WGawaJqe/s400/Dappled_Light_Spotted_Cats.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />Cats in open ranges, such as lions, tend to have plain coloration. Tiger stripes, according to the University of Bristol researcher William Allen, are still something of a mystery.<br /><br /><a href="http://news.discovery.com/animals/leopard-spots-cat-color.html#mkcpgn=rssnws1%20%20">Full article by Jennifer Viegas </a><br /><a href="http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/2008/03/dappled-light.html">Previous GurneyJourney post on Dappled Light </a> <br />Thanks, Libby!

Spotted Cats

Discovery News announced yesterday that the spotted patterns on woodland species of wild cats are tied to the patterns of dappled light in t...

Read more »

Sea Monster, Part 3

Even though this illustration of a mosasaur had only about a six-day time window from start to finish, I spent the first two days making quick reference maquettes to help visualize the creatures in three dimensions. That investment of time made the final painting go much faster.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfL2d0ShHw_H1rAbOYOaOAfIERzIjZE5cV6-KbjxIP9U5avGb8M9QqQ0pVfkehNE0cqNtlbAJlWJsNtatATUizWF5JR0UUelTnUpxASr2XB_-FjNs7k0ggPhKM6BpnCjKIATDak8A3Nuce/s1600/Tylo_Maquette1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfL2d0ShHw_H1rAbOYOaOAfIERzIjZE5cV6-KbjxIP9U5avGb8M9QqQ0pVfkehNE0cqNtlbAJlWJsNtatATUizWF5JR0UUelTnUpxASr2XB_-FjNs7k0ggPhKM6BpnCjKIATDak8A3Nuce/s400/Tylo_Maquette1.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />On the far left is an aluminum wire armature on a threaded bolt. The bolt is screwed into a pine base and bent to the side. The wire armature, loose as it is, fits within the measurements of the adjacent line drawing. It’s smeared with two-part quick-dry epoxy to hold it together.<br /><br />To the right is the finished Sculpey maquette, painted with acrylic. The streams of water are represented by strips of flexible packaging foam hot glued to the fins.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8ByuBzVVLp5aWfjv8gKSJQP7vvKg8QMgBnqVTwVGVkbY08pM3gp1qg2X7GspKrBX1IwW-4UIyM6cvQHFLipehMlBIUmTfuqbQSnWOmBiUrv_o1hmSYjyhjSSbfBAPyRVizKM66inHDE3w/s1600/Sea.M.Shooting.sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="363" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8ByuBzVVLp5aWfjv8gKSJQP7vvKg8QMgBnqVTwVGVkbY08pM3gp1qg2X7GspKrBX1IwW-4UIyM6cvQHFLipehMlBIUmTfuqbQSnWOmBiUrv_o1hmSYjyhjSSbfBAPyRVizKM66inHDE3w/s400/Sea.M.Shooting.sm.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />I tried photographing the maquette in a variety of natural lighting conditions. Real outdoor light is almost always better than artificial illumination. The maquette is held in position on a C-stand, while I hold a white backdrop behind it. The digital SLR camera is mounted on a tripod, set for a small aperture to get maximum depth of field.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigMQMkXX92nQljgfeX-Sst-kZR3bx_phtGshBvWHGS1MgPff8Py_Mq1MPdT4BJGCuzVC7YdlyU5y-ZfsvwrO8Mw2IX7Rc26t1ZMapVZnJXdZTG2XZpoOtWNNN_f0i0AqXtXgB1uA9MDR1J/s1600/Pteranodon_Maquette.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="367" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigMQMkXX92nQljgfeX-Sst-kZR3bx_phtGshBvWHGS1MgPff8Py_Mq1MPdT4BJGCuzVC7YdlyU5y-ZfsvwrO8Mw2IX7Rc26t1ZMapVZnJXdZTG2XZpoOtWNNN_f0i0AqXtXgB1uA9MDR1J/s400/Pteranodon_Maquette.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />I also made a 2D-3D maquette of the Pteranodons, which made the foreshortening a lot easier to imagine. A little maquette like this, since it has bones made of aluminum wire, can be reused and repositioned many times for future illustrations.<br /><br />------<br /><a href="http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/2010/10/sea-monster-part-2.html">Sea Monster, Part 2</a><br /><a href="http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/2010/10/sea-monster-part-1.html">Sea Monster, Part 1</a><br /><a href="http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/2008/03/microraptor.html">2D to 3D Maquette</a> on GJ

Sea Monster, Part 3

Even though this illustration of a mosasaur had only about a six-day time window from start to finish, I spent the first two days making qui...

Read more »