KeU's Dinosaur Doodles

[Syndicate Bias]

This made my day, thank you!
Gonna make this my new signature 

S @Syndicate Bias
Glad to be of service.
If you want, I can re-arrange the Gigas so they are in 1 single row instead of 2. That will show up better in the signature banner I think.
How bout another piece for Carchatodontosaurus? If you can send me some suggestions.

Mo Models Carcharodontosaurus
Trilobite Studios Carcharodontosaurus
Vwuwuv Carcharodontosaurus

There is another one, it's a bust though I'll have to find it.

[KeU]

It's been awhile.
Here's a Tyrannosaurus duo piece.
Iconic designs from Primal Carnage and JP / JW.

Threw in a dead Dominion Giganotosaurs because I can.
Not picking on it as it is inaccurate.
But because its design is such a stark departure from the established JP / JW aesthetic.
It just looks like it does not fit in the JP / JW universe.
Perhaps that is Trevorrow's way of showing different companies' clones.
But it doesn't make sense in the Prologue.

[KeU]

With the Giganotosaurus' debut in a summer blockbuster (Not counting the 2008 Journey to the Center of the Earth), I figured now is a good time to recount my mini journey of learning about the Giganotosaurus when I was young. Join me as I step through a few milestones of Giganotosaurus designs in the 90s and 2000s and see how varied the reconstructions have been, culminating to the current unique (and ultimately unsatisfying) portrayal of the animal in the JP / JW franchise.



First stop is in 1995, when James Gurney published the illustrated picture book called Dinotopia: The World Beneath. It is a sequel to Dinotopia: A Land apart from Time released 3 years prior.
At this point, James Gurney has heard (And was involved in the announcement) of the exciting discovery in Argentina and included Giganotosaurus in the story. However, since details on the new giant Theropod are not released yet, James Gurney's design is basically a bulked up Allosaurus. It was decked out in flashy colors and had commanding presence in all the pages it was in.

My little mind was blown seeing this new Theropod in action as I flipped through the pages. I can't explain what triggered the switch of favorites in me, especially since Tyrannosaurus was my firm favorite before. And I doubt it was the size, considering I have read about Spinosaurus and Carcharodontosaurus prior to this. Perhaps it is the fantastic oil paintings that James Gurney did. If you have not laid your eyes on the Dinotopia series, I recommend getting any one of the books in the 4 part series. You will get lost in his incredible art and world building.

[KeU]

Second entry to this mini series of Giganotosaurus drawings.



As hinted in the previous post, James Gurney was involved in the announcement piece in National Geographic for the Giganotosaurus discovery.
The article was published in the Dec 1997 copy.
Slight detour, I learnt about the Carcharodontosaurus a wee bit earlier in the June 1996 copy.
Back on topic, James Gurney's illustrations in the Dec 1997 issue was spot on.
This is the first time anyone laid eyes on a more accurate restoration of Giganotosaurus.
It had a similar color scheme compared to the World Beneath version but toned down.
The center piece was a Giganotosaurus sprinting down a sandy bank, chasing down some small Ornithopods.
I remember reading somewhere that if he had to redo this piece, James Gurney would modify it where Giganotosaurus would be moving at a more realistic pace.

So this is what I did. Pretty much replicating the original illustration but with Giganotosaurus strolling at a more leisurely rate.
And I gave it lips too.

[KeU]

Finally, I get to see a Giganotosaurus rendered in game.
Technically, Giganotosaurus was in an earlier game, Warpath: Jurassic Park, which released in 1999.
However, since I played Dino Crisis 2 before Warpath in 2000, this was my first Giganotosaurus game encounter.
This iteration of the Giganotosaurus is massively oversized.
It was over 20 meters long and can easily pick up a Tyrannosaurus.
This is probably where most people get the misconception that Giganotosaurus is larger than the Tyrannosaurus.
Sadly, this is the high point for the Dino Crisis franchise as well, the later games were mediocre and the series was killed off.
However, there is always hope that they might make a comeback with a reboot.

The design on the Giganotosaurus here is pretty iconic.
It has a long head that is pretty accurate.
Capcom adorned the top of the head and neck with spikes to make it look less generic.
The red and black coloration is striking as well.
W-Dragon released a figure of it that is slightly stylized in 2020 which in my opinion was really well done.

I came up with this piece of the Giganotosaurus wrecking havoc on the Tyrannosaurus and human settlement.
In the game, this settlement was named Edward City.
The Giganotosaurus pose was a loose reference to its first in game appearance where it fought a Tyrannosaurus.
I threw in a tank as well to reference the tank section of the game.

[KeU]

We've covered my first encounters with giganotosaurus in a story book, scientific journal, and PS1 game.
Now we go into more mainstream media with my first look at the creature on a TV series.
Specifically, BBC's Chased by Dinosaurs, which consists of 2 special episodes of the main Walking with Dinosaurs series.
The 2 special episodes differentiated themselves from the main series by having Nigel Marvin travel through time and narrate his encounters with the prehistoric beasts.
In the Land of Giants episode, he came face to face with the Giganotosaurus.

The 3D model of Giganotosaurus was based of the Allosaurus model that was previously used in the main series.
Thus the proportions are no where close to that of the actual animal.
The main difference here being a re-modelled head and new colors.

I hope everyone likes my rendition.
Again, I gave Giganotosaurus lips.
And threw in Nigel Marvin's hat.
Hope he made it out ok.

[Pliosaurking]

Fantastic artwork @KeU
Great job on this iconic design

[KeU]

Fantastic artwork
Great job on this iconic design

Thanks!
Glad you liked it.

[KeU]

Well, this last piece took forever. But I am finally past the finish line!

We have made it to the point where I own a physical figure of a Giganotosaurus.
I always remember this moment back in 2008, finally holding a figure of my favorite Dinosaurs in my hand.
Naturally I was beyond happy and on top of that, it was a Carnegie piece!
It is beautifully sculpted by Forest Rogers and til this day, continues to be one of the better Giganotosaurus figures.

Looking back, I can see I overlooked some of its flaws, such as its pencil neck and elongated skull.
But I did not know better then and as we get more studies on Giganotosaurus and its kin, I am much more well informed and critical now.

I made this Giga mini drawing series in anticipation of JW: D.
Unfortunately, after viewing the movie, I am sad to report that I did not enjoy my experience. The Giga design was bad, the visual were decent, the character development was non-existent, the overall story was laughable.
At the very least, it did propel the Giganotosaurus into mainstream consciousness and there has been a mad influx of merchandise on it.

Oh well, it is a miss opportunity for the movie but we move on.
Perhaps a re-visit on my Tyrannosaurus experience but it would be more of a challenge with even earlier memories and very obscure toys that I would have to do some research on.

[Stegotyranno420]

Carnegie's may have become dated, but in my eyes it is still impeccable. Great work on this nostalgic figure

[KeU]

Carnegie's may have become dated, but in my eyes it is still impeccable. Great work on this nostalgic figure

Thank you thank you.