Ceratopsian's first commission: Nasutoceratops (Dan's Dinosaurs)

[ceratopsian]

Sometime before Christmas, I succumbed to buying my first resin model.  Given my liking for ceratopsians, I settled on the Nasutoceratops, sculpted by Andrew Sides, offered in the Dan's Dinosaurs series.  The scale is 1:15 and the beast is 10 inches long.  I have no skill at all with assembly or paint, so doing it myself was out of the question.  So off it went to Martin Garratt.  I wanted it a bit less pale and yellow than the original version, so took a deep breath and asked for something different.  Not radically different, just a bit darker and more towards the burnt orange/old gold tonal range.  I've been hugely taken with images of Martin's bases and I was keen to have something a bit special.  A trip last autumn to France with the UK Dinosaur Society to look at dinosaur footprints (among other things) gave me some inspiration.  (I'm not naturally artistically minded!) The Nasutoceratops looks like he's forging along at a fair lick.  So I thought it would be fun to have him trundling along a dinosaur trackway, nice and muddy, with plenty of footprints visible, both his own and those of other animals.  I also fancied a puddle with a good splash as he trod in it.  I liked the idea of plenty of varied foliage, maybe a tree trunk, and some greenery trampled into the mud.

This is what Martin came up with...
General view of finished model:


Detail of splashing through the puddle and view of footprints:


A good view of his shield, before the splash went in:


And a close-up of his beak and head, again before the splash went in:


These are the photos sent by Marilyn, not my own.  She is now ready to pack my prize, so it should be with me next week.  I'm really excited! My instructions were a bit vague, so I'm thrilled with the interpretation.  I have a suspicion that this is a slippery (muddy?) slope, and it won't be my first commission!

[tyrantqueen]

Stunning

[Patrx]

What a beauty! I've always been a fan of dioramas and bases featuring water, somehow it just makes the whole thing look more "real".

[ceratopsian]

Thank you, both of you.  I too think that water adds a feeling of realism.  Being new to the whole modelling world, I'm amazed what can be achieved.  I'd never imagined how good artificial water could be.  And I'd never have thought of a "splash" being possible if I hadn't seen one of Martin's commissions that had a Styracosaurus wading in a river.  Space precludes a river for me!

[Halichoeres]

That's gorgeous! Great choice for your first professional build-up.

[Viking Spawn]

Excellent work!!! Looks AMAZING!!! 

[AcroSauroTaurus]

Wow, that looks awesome! Again, Garrett makes another dinosaur come to life.

[ceratopsian]

Thank you all for your approving comments.  Martin is indeed a wonderful artist.  I wouldn't have approached him if I hadn't heard about him on the forum, so that is another thanks to people here!

[postsaurischian]

  Awesome piece! Congratulations!

It should be mentioned that the name is Garratt, not Garrett.
This is important, because we have that stupid violin guy called David Garrett here in Germany and they should not be confused .

[ceratopsian]

My mistake and many thanks for pointing it out.  I've back-edited it.

[tyrantqueen]

Garratt (or Garrett) is a fairly common UK surname. My dad bought a car off a guy called Jim Garratt.

[AcroSauroTaurus]

Awesome piece! Congratulations!

It should be mentioned that the name is Garratt, not Garrett.
This is important, because we have that stupid violin guy called David Garrett here in Germany and they should not be confused .

Sorry... I was just spelling it off of how ceratopsian spelled it...

[Jetoar]

Really awesome piece  .

[joossa]

Amazing. Love the water effect.

[Dinomike]

Wow! So beautiful!

[Georassic]

Amazing work!

[ceratopsian]

Thank you all for your comments.  It is indeed a lovely piece.