Re: Dinosaur artwork

[Danvarner@aol.com]

In a message dated 1/10/02 1:24:55 PM Pacific Standard Time, 
kyoryu@allo-source.com writes:


<< I'd greatly appreciate any criticisms, comments,
advice, etc. >>


       Just a comment here, and not necessarily just about Kent's artwork, 
but about the majority of dinosaur restorations I've been directed to here on 
the DML by the younger artists. In earlier times dinosaur imagery was 
dominated by the influence of Hawkins (if you want to go back that far), then 
Knight, Burian and Zallinger. Since the "dinosaur renaissance", Bakker, 
Henderson, Hallett, Franczak, Skrepnick and others have had enormous impact. 
By my observation, however, the greatest influence by far (at least here on 
the list) is that of Greg Paul. Greg Paul has done numerous excellent 
paintings and drawings, but I believe his dominance results from his 
spectacular series of skeletal reconstructions. They are mirrored in nearly 
every young artist's attempts I see. And this is a good thing in respect to 
Paul's thoughtful research into every skeletal element and postural 
considerations. However, as excellent as they are, we must remember that they 
are schematic diagrams. They exist only in intellectual space. Every atom of 
every element is seen from the same exact angle. Paul even mentions schematic 
drawings of war planes in his predatory dinosaur book. They are tools and 
blueprints.There is no horizon. It's a universe of profiles. And you DO need 
this to assemble an accurate dinosaur image, but the next step is to put your 
animal in a real world of perspective, light and landscape. If you can do it, 
I would recommend sketching from "life" from mounted skeletons from as many 
different angles as possible. Avoid those profiles. You will be surprised at 
the interesting forms you will discover. Or create a model of plasticene as 
Knight did and put it in the light to study mass and shadows from many 
different perspectives. In other words, take that intellectual knowledge and 
put it into the real world. Compare Paul's drawing of the giant tyrannosaur 
chasing a barenaked lady in PDW with his painting of a pair of Tyrannosaurus 
cruising beneath thunderheads in a Hell Creek landscape to see what I mean. 
DV