Jurassic Pet Shop: concept art & fossil studies

[Mamasaurus]

And the Critter of the Month is...



The newest addition to the shop! You can read more about him in my latest blog post over at Paleopetshop.com

I'll share a snippet of the short story. It's even shorter than usual, less than 500 words!

...............................................................................

He basked in the warmth of the sun, armored scales like a double row of polished stones. Eyes closed, mouth open with glistening teeth, he listened to the stillness. He could hear the distant calls of flying creatures as they gossiped about their day, the faint rustling of a summer breeze through scraggy conifer branches high above, the scratching chirp of a far away insect. The beating of wings.

The thrum of wings drew closer, and he opened his eyes. The creature landed heavily on sun-bleached wood, fidgeting, its head always turning this way and that as it stared out at the world with bulbous eyes. He watched it with crocodilian coolness as it preened. Waited until it rubbed its spindly legs together and combed its claws through its hairy, black body.

Slowly, painfully slowly, he unfolded his long, lean legs and crept forward like a reptilian panther. He hardly dared to breathe as he stole forward, one step at a time. The element of surprise was key. One wrong move and his prey would be gone with a flick of its wings...

................................................................

Click on Skippy's picture to continue the story! I hope you enjoy it!

[Halichoeres]

I like it! Not often an art thread introduces me to a species I hadn't heard of before.

[Mamasaurus]

Hi! It's been awhile, and I think my skills have improved quite a bit. First off is a quick self portrait. I like wearing skirts and you can usually find me barefoot outside. I actually own dinosaurs, but they're chickens, not the prehistoric kind. When I hold one I like to imagine it's something like a Scutellosaurus.

Speaking of, this Scutellosaurus is Skittles.

Next up is Pete, the owner of Pete's Paleo Petshop, a fictional world of mine for the last six years or so. I definitely still need improvement on drawing people, but I think I'm getting better, and progress is good. His friends are Buck the Protoceras and a little Drepanosaurus that doesn't have a name yet. Maybe you can help me come up with one.

[Halichoeres]

Hello, yes, I'd like one drepanosaur please.

[Mamasaurus]

@Halichoeres A Drepanosaurus would make a great pet! Any experience with chameleons or large lizards?

Here's another portrait of Skittles. She's one of my favorites at my prehistoric pet shop.

[Newt]

So sweet! I like the abstract background too.

[Halichoeres]

@Halichoeres A Drepanosaurus would make a great pet! Any experience with chameleons or large lizards?

Not arboreal ones. I babysat a tegu for a few months while a friend was abroad, that's the closest thing.

[Concavenator]

I love your Skittles.

[Mamasaurus]

@Newt Thank you! I'm glad you like her

@Halichoeres That's so cool! I have no experience with lizards at all except tiny anoles. Tegus are pretty cool

@5aurophaganax Thank you!

Here is one of my most recent critters at the shop, Twig the Compsognathus. I had a lot of fun experimenting with the fuzzy texture and lighting, plus I had way to much fun with some of the painterly brushes on Procreate lol. I'm not 100% with the tip of his tail hidden behind bushes though, and I waffle back and forth on how much fuzz to put on his face.

[Mamasaurus]

My art has improved quite a bit over the years, and over this past year I've been upgrading all the critters at the shop so that they are all the same quality.
Just for fun, here's a comparison of the old Ichthyosaurus and the new version I finished last week. Since it was an upgrade and not a completely new illustration, the Ichthyosaurus is the same, though I did redraw the lineart and repaint everything. I've been experimenting a lot with light, and the water was fun.

[Halichoeres]

The light coming through the water definitely gives it another dimension!

[Mamasaurus]

@Halichoeres Thank you very much!

Here is Nina the Nanosaurus. I tried focusing on atmosphere on this one, and had lots of fun with the background. Below her are the first five critters for a little Advent Calendar I have going on at my website. Each day I have a new cute critter with a couple of quick facts.