Concavenator’s Paleoart (new 26/10/2024)

[Concavenator]

*deleted*

[Stegotyranno420]

Don't worry about it being "awesomebro". There are plenty of modern animals that could be considered that. Superbly drawn

[Concavenator]

@Stegotyranno420 Thank you!



Tyrannosaurus rex (Osborn, 1905)

Yeah, not the first T.rex I've done this year, but wanted to do a new one that reflects my current style.



Based on RSM P2523.8 ('Scotty') from Dan Folkes' skeletal, the integument is based on Mark Witton's 2018 Tyrannosaurus facial integument chart.

[Halichoeres]

I think I remember you saying elsewhere you weren't very interested in anatomy. In that case, how do you approach art? To me those are hard to separate.

Also, Suchomimus looks hungry, it needs a fish  But seriously I like that you managed to get the palms to looks like they're facing each other, that can be tough in lateral view.

[Concavenator]

@Halichoeres Interesting question! When I said that, I meant it from an academic standpoint, as in studying anatomy. My main focus is on biochemistry, molecular biology and structural biology, so I tend to find something as "macroscopic" as anatomy generally uninteresting (even though I dig zoology and ecology), at least when isolated. However, I do care about anatomical accuracy, when drawing (at least I try) and when it comes to the figures I get... So I guess that, in a way, I'm interested in anatomy, albeit in an "applied" way, if that makes any sense. 

Regarding fishes, what happens is that I'm not really into including them with piscivorous predators (when I draw I focus on a single organism). Plus I'm not familiar with depicting fish, so I'd rather generally not draw them than screw them up big time (which, given the case is the most likely thing to happen  ). On another hand, I don't like it when companies include fishes as dinosaurs' prey because they're basically making fodder out of them. On another hand, I'm not an expert on fish, but you are and based on your review of the Dino Hazard Irritator & Equinoxiodus, I imagine most fish depictions as preys aren't very well-researched. Personally, when it comes to depictions of fishes, I'd rather artists solely focused on them individually (so they put more attention to accuracy) or they just didn't tackle them, at least if the difference in accuracy between the predator and the prey is noticeable (which I imagine usually is).

And thank you! Though that really isn't my merit, I used Sereno's new skeletal as a reference:

[Concavenator]

*deleted*

[Halichoeres]

You know, Suchomimus looks pretty good without all its teeth hanging out

[Concavenator]

*deleted*

[Halichoeres]

Do you think it will ever be synonymized with Alioramus?

I realize I haven't done any drawings this year! This is good inspiration...

[Concavenator]

Do you think it will ever be synonymized with Alioramus?

I realize I haven't done any drawings this year! This is good inspiration...

Not sure about that... They both have their own autapomorphies, so them being different genera is supported. Or purportedly so... I get the idea that there are actually way too many genera of prehistoric animals and that a lot of their autapomorphies are mostly trivial details that could be abscribed to intraspecific variation. But this seems unlikely to change. If Qianzhousaurus and Alioramus were still alive today we might consider them to belong to the same genus (and the same would probably be true for other creatures as well).

About your second line... maybe time to fix that? 

[Concavenator]

*deleted*

[TooOldForDinosaurs]

Those look great! I especially like the Megaraptor. I would agree that I also prefer the original Maiasaura over the digitally modified version.

[Stegotyranno420]

I think the digital also looks very good.
Glad to see you make a comeback.

[Concavenator]

@TooOldForDinosaurs Thank you! Yeah, I think some of the finer lines didn't really translate well when digitalising the pic.

@Stegotyranno420 Thanks, hardly a comeback though, these are rather rough and quick drawings.  I will make something more elaborate when I have more time. I mostly did these so as not to get too rusty.

[Halichoeres]

The first Maiasaura looks better to me. Do you still have the original? You could try some hatching to shade it.

[Concavenator]

@Halichoeres Nope, I threw it! Was so quick of a drawing that I thought it wasn't worth keeping. Still, thanks for the advice. 

[Concavenator]

Maiasaura peeblesorum (Horner & Makela, 1979)

I noticed my previous Maiasaura follows the wrong head reconstruction (with the hornlets), so wanted to fix that. Went for a full-body drawing, since the last one I made was that Deinocheirus from November 2022.  You can tell I've become lazier for these full-body drawings...

Nasal fleshy crest based on Drysdale et al. 2016 and Horner et al. 2004. Enlarged neck scales based on fellow saurolophine Edmontosaurus regalis (UALVP 53722) (Bell et al. 2014). "Hoof" based on Edmontosaurus annectens (NDGS 2000) (Drumheller et al. 2022). Clusters of scales along the body also based on Edmontosaurus annectens (AMNH 5060) (Osborn 1912). Dorsal scales inspired by the closely related brachylophosaurini Brachylophosaurus canadensis (Hartman 2018).

Based on Scott Hartman's 2018 Maiasaura skeletal.

[Halichoeres]

So this one is supposing a soft-tissue amplifying structure atop the nasal and frontal?

[Concavenator]

So this one is supposing a soft-tissue amplifying structure atop the nasal and frontal?

Yep, I went with a soft-tissue crest as I've seen in other depictions, and also in order not to give the impression of it having hornlets (which is believed to be inaccurate).

[Halichoeres]

So this one is supposing a soft-tissue amplifying structure atop the nasal and frontal?

Yep, I went with a soft-tissue crest as I've seen in other depictions, and also in order not to give the impression of it having hornlets (which is believed to be inaccurate).

Makes sense! I get why for most vertebrates, the convention is to diagram them in strictly lateral view, but it can make it hard to discern between paired and midline structures. We've seen Ouranosaurus with a crosswise crest, fish with two whorls of teeth when they should have one, fish with one whorl of teeth when they should have two, pairs of fins where there should be singles. I'm sure there are many more examples.