Blade-of-the-Moon's Art

[DinoToyForum]

I thought it might be worthwhile having a printer-friendly black and white version of the park map?

[DinoToyForum]

Hmm..maybe Styracosaurus? Or Dilophosaurus, Ceratosaurus? not sure?

I certainly agree Dilophosaurus is well enough known to be a 'star'. And how about Quetzalcoatlus? That's a star in its own right since its the largest pterosaur, plus it was made famous in Jurassic World 3.

Looks good to me. I'm actually hoping to either buy or build a new Quetzalcoatlus. Mine is a a juvenile at 8' tall and unfortunately is pretty badly damaged. Kids have been pretty rough on him. His legs and wings are broke and I've only got him upright with a wire supporting him from tree to tree.  This is one of those case where I really wish I could weld and build a sturdy steel frame.

It's a shame the visitors aren't more respectful but I guess their enthusiasm can run wild, and all theme parks (and museums, I know) have to deal with wear and tear.

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

I thought it might be worthwhile having a printer-friendly black and white version of the park map?

Certainly couldn't hurt!

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

Hmm..maybe Styracosaurus? Or Dilophosaurus, Ceratosaurus? not sure?

I certainly agree Dilophosaurus is well enough known to be a 'star'. And how about Quetzalcoatlus? That's a star in its own right since its the largest pterosaur, plus it was made famous in Jurassic World 3.

Looks good to me. I'm actually hoping to either buy or build a new Quetzalcoatlus. Mine is a a juvenile at 8' tall and unfortunately is pretty badly damaged. Kids have been pretty rough on him. His legs and wings are broke and I've only got him upright with a wire supporting him from tree to tree.  This is one of those case where I really wish I could weld and build a sturdy steel frame.

It's a shame the visitors aren't more respectful but I guess their enthusiasm can run wild, and all theme parks (and museums, I know) have to deal with wear and tear.

I think it started when some parents noticed their kids could sit under him between the wings. After that it was broken claws, toes, wings, until he collapsed.  I was back there last weekend and noticed someone had pulled up the staked baby Struthiomimus, borken their fingers and toes and left them in a pile I had to move them back. I will probably sculpt new pieces for them next time in that area doing repairs. I've learnec to try and not bog time my brain with too many issues at once, better to take one, fix it and move on.

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

Just about done.  Little more heat shrinking left then move and paint.



Dead tree base/support done

[DinoToyForum]

Just about done.  Little more heat shrinking left then move and paint.

I like the T. rex looming in the background of this one.

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

Just about done.  Little more heat shrinking left then move and paint.

I like the T. rex looming in the background of this one.

lol  the Majuna even has a "what was that?" look 

Could you email me higher res maps of the park? Or we could wait til I get the Ourano and Majunga in place. I'm trying to find help to move them now. Tempted to go buy a trailer and an ATV to haul them..I hate begging for help from people I've helped a lot. ugh.

[triceratops83]

Majunga's looking great! It'd be cool to walk around the corner and come face to face with that.

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

Majunga's looking great! It'd be cool to walk around the corner and come face to face with that.

That's kinda what I'm hoping to do. The circular trail has a lot of 8' brush on it where I want to install these new ones. I have a lot of area there but I keep looking for potential giant tree hazards around that sort of helps place them..or hinders rather.

[DinoToyForum]

Yes, let's wait until we've added the Ouranosaurus and Majungasaurus, then I can provide the maps in PDF format. That way you can zoom in (/print them) any size you like without any loss of resolution (except for the logo which is an embedded raster image). The original is a single .svg vector file created in the free program Inkscape. There's one file with different layers, some in black and white, so specific layers can be turned on/off depending on what we want to see/export.

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

Yes, let's wait until we've added the Ouranosaurus and Majungasaurus, then I can provide the maps in PDF format. That way you can zoom in (/print them) any size you like without any loss of resolution (except for the logo which is an embedded raster image). The original is a single .svg vector file created in the free program Inkscape. There's one file with different layers, some in black and white, so specific layers can be turned on/off depending on what we want to see/export.

Awesome!  Hopefully it will be soon. I just finished the heat shrinking on the Majunga today. So both are ready to be moved. I just have to find help to do it.  Once in place I'll finish some epoxy details and paint them up.

[DinoToyForum]

I remembered you already showed me where the Majungasaurus and Ouranosaurus are going, so I've added them to the map and adjusted the numbers along with a few other minor tweaks. So, if you could double check the following images (colour and b&w versions), I can finalise and send you the PDFs.

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

I remembered you already showed me where the Majungasaurus and Ouranosaurus are going, so I've added them to the map and adjusted the numbers along with a few other minor tweaks. So, if you could double check the following images (colour and b&w versions), I can finalise and send you the PDFs.

Looks good to me. I spent today looking over the site for the Majunga an Ourano, Lot's of nice spots back there I think I know where the new Juv Brachiosaurus will go when done too.

[DinoToyForum]

I remembered you already showed me where the Majungasaurus and Ouranosaurus are going, so I've added them to the map and adjusted the numbers along with a few other minor tweaks. So, if you could double check the following images (colour and b&w versions), I can finalise and send you the PDFs.

Looks good to me. I spent today looking over the site for the Majunga an Ourano, Lot's of nice spots back there I think I know where the new Juv Brachiosaurus will go when done too.

Great. Do you want me to add the new Brachiosaurus position on as well? And shall I update 50 to Allosaurus*? or Allosaurus* & Brachiosaurus*?

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

I remembered you already showed me where the Majungasaurus and Ouranosaurus are going, so I've added them to the map and adjusted the numbers along with a few other minor tweaks. So, if you could double check the following images (colour and b&w versions), I can finalise and send you the PDFs.

Looks good to me. I spent today looking over the site for the Majunga an Ourano, Lot's of nice spots back there I think I know where the new Juv Brachiosaurus will go when done too.

Great. Do you want me to add the new Brachiosaurus position on as well? And shall I update 50 to Allosaurus*? or Allosaurus* & Brachiosaurus*?

We can wait on the Brachio, I have just started making a head so it might be awhile but I'm currently motivated to get it done. Summer hits with events, parties and such to schedule and things can get mired down.

#50 could be Saurophaganax* & Brachiosaur* since I used a Giraffititan for the that one originally.  The new one is based on B. Altihorax. So it will be a Brachiosaurus when done.

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

Elasmosaur head frame, critiques welcome.







Started updating our Styrgimoloch too

[DinoToyForum]

The Thalassomedon is taking shape! My main critique is that it is looking a bit too 'boxy' at this stage, with flat sides and a flat top. This gives it an almost rectangular cross section, which I realise it partly down to the construction method, and is partly an artefact of projecting 3D shapes from 2D references.

If possible, the cross section of the skull should be more oval than rectangular, with the cross section almost approaching triangular in the snout region, forming a midline ridge. You'll notice the midline ridge marked "mr" in Fig 3A of the Thalassomedon paper I shared.

The eyes were also probably closer to each other and faced a little upwards (not just sideways), so they would be visible from above. Much like in many snakes, like this Nerodia:


Although plesiosaurs are not close relatives of snakes, there's something superficially snakey about their heads, with the forward positioned eyes and large temporal muscles. I'm confident these muscles would have bulged out in plesiosaurs either side of the parietal crest, a bit like they do in snakes, as also pictured above.

The following image shows an accurate reconstruction of another elasmosaurid (Nakonanectes), which depicts the skull fossil, reconstructed skull, and restored head. The head is a particularly good reference for the general shape in elasmosaurids, especially because it shows it from the front, so you can get a clearer idea of the cross section as described above.

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

The Thalassomedon is taking shape! My main critique is that it is looking a bit too 'boxy' at this stage, with flat sides and a flat top. This gives it an almost rectangular cross section, which I realise it partly down to the construction method, and is partly an artefact of projecting 3D shapes from 2D references.

If possible, the cross section of the skull should be more oval than rectangular, with the cross section almost approaching triangular in the snout region, forming a midline ridge. You'll notice the midline ridge marked "mr" in Fig 3A of the Thalassomedon paper I shared.

The eyes were also probably closer to each other and faced a little upwards (not just sideways), so they would be visible from above. Much like in many snakes, like this Nerodia:


Although plesiosaurs are not close relatives of snakes, there's something superficially snakey about their heads, with the forward positioned eyes and large temporal muscles. I'm confident these muscles would have bulged out in plesiosaurs either side of the parietal crest, a bit like they do in snakes, as also pictured above.

The following image shows an accurate reconstruction of another elasmosaurid (Nakonanectes), which depicts the skull fossil, reconstructed skull, and restored head. The head is a particularly good reference for the general shape in elasmosaurids, especially because it shows it from the front, so you can get a clearer idea of the cross section as described above.

Let me see what  I can do.  The foam layer will help take the hard edges off and so will the epoxy layer. I need to get a rough correct shape though to start with. It would almost be easier to carve a straight up foam block. lol It's a bit like playing chess and trying to anticipate what each area will look like 5 moves ahead.

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

Did some carving and reglued. I think the basic shape is there now?



Ridge in the middle of the skull is more prominent, back area is rounded where it will be bulked up to look filled out. Eyes I think are in a pretty close to right place looking slightly up and to the side instead of all to the side.  Still need to double check the size of the eyeball, eyelids all that fun detail stuff.

[DinoToyForum]

That's right, nicely done!