Feathered Dinosaurs

[Dinoguy2]

I also agree. I WANT to know what a Dinosaur REALLY looked like. Whatever the science tells us I'm good with.

This!

Even among people who like feathered dinosaurs, there's a lot of this going on:
[posts painting of a really cool looking feathered dinosaur, or an eagle doing something cool].
"Who says feathered dinosaurs aren't scary? "

Who says they should be scary!? The vast majority of animals are not scary in any way. Many (most) of them look weird, or silly, or just plain boring. With so many species of dinosaur, odds are at least some of them would look really ridiculous and lame and not scary at all. Even the carnivores. That's just reality.

[suspsy]

Julius Csotonyi just revealed what is hands down the best rendition of a feathered Tyrannosaurus rex to date:

http://morethanadodo.com/2015/08/07/bringing-dinosaurs-to-life/

[Gwangi]

I also agree. I WANT to know what a Dinosaur REALLY looked like. Whatever the science tells us I'm good with.

This!

Even among people who like feathered dinosaurs, there's a lot of this going on:
[posts painting of a really cool looking feathered dinosaur, or an eagle doing something cool].
"Who says feathered dinosaurs aren't scary? "

Who says they should be scary!? The vast majority of animals are not scary in any way. Many (most) of them look weird, or silly, or just plain boring. With so many species of dinosaur, odds are at least some of them would look really ridiculous and lame and not scary at all. Even the carnivores. That's just reality.

I think most of us are aware that dinosaurs don't HAVE to be scary and that many probably weren't but a large part of their draw is their "wow" factor, especially in terms of size...and teeth...and horns etc. etc. so obviously the initial response to comments like "feathered dinosaurs look lame" or "that doesn't look very scary, more like a 6' turkey!" is that hey, dinosaurs DON'T HAVE to look scary, because they were real animals BUT don't dismiss feathered dinosaurs as lame, because there are plenty of awe inspiring feathered dinosaurs around today...case in point *posts picture of eagle*. We're taking baby steps here. The same strategy is used in conservation. See this awesome furious tiger? Send money to save it...so we can save it's habitat and the other mammals, birds, reptiles etc. that live with it. Tigers and eagles and T. rex are our poster children to help spread a larger message. In this case, that there is nothing visually wrong with a feathered dinosaur.

[Dinoguy2]

I also agree. I WANT to know what a Dinosaur REALLY looked like. Whatever the science tells us I'm good with.

This!

Even among people who like feathered dinosaurs, there's a lot of this going on:
[posts painting of a really cool looking feathered dinosaur, or an eagle doing something cool].
"Who says feathered dinosaurs aren't scary? "

Who says they should be scary!? The vast majority of animals are not scary in any way. Many (most) of them look weird, or silly, or just plain boring. With so many species of dinosaur, odds are at least some of them would look really ridiculous and lame and not scary at all. Even the carnivores. That's just reality.

I think most of us are aware that dinosaurs don't HAVE to be scary and that many probably weren't but a large part of their draw is their "wow" factor, especially in terms of size...and teeth...and horns etc. etc. so obviously the initial response to comments like "feathered dinosaurs look lame" or "that doesn't look very scary, more like a 6' turkey!" is that hey, dinosaurs DON'T HAVE to look scary, because they were real animals BUT don't dismiss feathered dinosaurs as lame, because there are plenty of awe inspiring feathered dinosaurs around today...case in point *posts picture of eagle*. We're taking baby steps here. The same strategy is used in conservation. See this awesome furious tiger? Send money to save it...so we can save it's habitat and the other mammals, birds, reptiles etc. that live with it. Tigers and eagles and T. rex are our poster children to help spread a larger message. In this case, that there is nothing visually wrong with a feathered dinosaur.

I see what you mean, but it's sad. It's sad that we basically have to trick people into conserving "boring" wildlife by hooking them in with hype about "cool" animals. In this case it's unfortunate but necessary to secure funding for conservation.

It's not necessary for people to be into dinosaurs though. Science ruined dinosaurs for you? Good. Don't let the door hit you on the way to the next Godzilla movie.

People argue that dinosaurs are a "gateway" into interest in science, and for some people that's true. But tricking them with awesome hyped-up hooks and then pulling the rug out from under them just ends up making people cynical about science. Some people are just more interested in monsters than science, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. We shouldn't try to "convert" them by saying monsters ARE science.

How about next time there's an awesome picture of an eagle taking down a deer we use that to get people hooked on how awesome modern ecosystems are? Then we can kill two birds with one stone. Maybe they'll still think feathered tyrannosaurs are lame (which, who knows, maybe they actually were), but now they'll be getting into science via something else.

Julius Csotonyi just revealed what is hands down the best rendition of a feathered Tyrannosaurus rex to date:

http://morethanadodo.com/2015/08/07/bringing-dinosaurs-to-life/

Gorgeous painting but, to my point above, it would be equally cool for somebody to paint the opposite perspective. T. rex as a really ugly, smelly, scraggly-feathered, filth-encrusted brute knee-deep in a putrified hadrosaur carcass while a Triceratops drinks peacefully and un-chased in a pool nearby

[Gwangi]

No, you're right, people don't need to be interested in dinosaurs. But there are modern dinosaurs around today that people should take notice of. If someone is interested in dinosaurs, as monsters or animals, then the potential should be there to generate interest in extant dinosaurs and eventually other extant animals and their ecosystems. Part of what makes the whole birds are dinosaurs revelation so great is the hook that it provides to get young people interested in modern wildlife. Every kid loves dinosaurs, but how many spend time outside looking for their living relatives? Unfortunately that means you often have to ease them into it...

"Hey, I see you like dinosaurs."

"Yeah, Velociraptor is my favorite!"

"Well did you know that birds are living dinosaurs? And that just like a Velociraptor an eagle can kill prey much larger than itself such a deer and foxes? Or that the cassowary has a 5" long dagger on each foot? Or that the little northern shrike in your back yard impales its prey on thorn bushes to save for later? Or that roadrunners kill and eat rattlesnakes? Or that a woodpecker's tongue curls into the back of its skull and is covered with barbs to harpoon insects?"

"Wow, thanks mister! I always thought birds were lame but now I see they're just as cool as any dinosaur. How can I get more involved?"

There is lots you can do to get involved! Join a local ornithological society and take part in bird identification and banding exercises. Keep a life list of all the birds you see and upload sightings onto an online database to monitor population trends. Maybe put up a bluebird house or two. Maybe put out some seed in the winter and plant some bird-friendly plants in your yard! Birds are an important part of our modern ecosystems, don't let them go extinct like the rest of the dinosaurs!"

...and I rest my case.

[Dobber]

Julius Csotonyi just revealed what is hands down the best rendition of a feathered Tyrannosaurus rex to date:

http://morethanadodo.com/2015/08/07/bringing-dinosaurs-to-life/

Wow! I agree that is amazing. Mr. Csotonyi is my dinosaur art God. 

Anyone know if he has any plans for releasing another Art book. I have is first one and I love it and I want more! 

Chris

[Northern Tyrannosaur]

No issues with feathered dinosaurs here. I was fully on board with the birds are dinosaurs hypothesis when I was first introduced to it by "Jurassic Park" in 1993. I was super stoked when Sinosauropteryx was discovered back in 1996. When Sinornithosaurus was described in 1999 I started drawing feathers on my Velciraptors! I was 16 at that time. I fully embraced feathered dinosaurs, I wish more people would. The fossils don't lie, why fight it anyway?

Bit off topic Gwangi, but where in the world is the gif on your banner from? That's some beautiful animation!

[suspsy]

It's from a 1990s' documentary called Dinosaurs. Narrated by Agent 99 from Get Smart. There were several spectacular animated sequences like that one.

http://youtu.be/mAPWYajXlAg

[Gwangi]

Thanks Suspsy! Yes, it is an older documentary but a great one, from 1992. Worth checking out. You can watch the entire series on YouTube.

[Fluffysaurus]

Well i grew up with scaleys. So i love them both.
But here comes the question. If lets say a Velociraptor or other feathered dinosaur would eat meat. Wouldnt they have bold vulture like heads?? Anything known About that?

[Halichoeres]

Well i grew up with scaleys. So i love them both.
But here comes the question. If lets say a Velociraptor or other feathered dinosaur would eat meat. Wouldnt they have bold vulture like heads?? Anything known About that?

Well, they could, but you wouldn't necessarily expect that. Eagles and hawks don't have bald heads. Neither do owls, shrikes, butcherbirds, currawongs, herons, falcons, penguins, or petrels, all of which are predatory. The ones that are bald-headed tend to be carrion feeders that feed on carcasses larger than themselves: vultures and marabou storks.

[Fluffysaurus]

Well i grew up with scaleys. So i love them both.
But here comes the question. If lets say a Velociraptor or other feathered dinosaur would eat meat. Wouldnt they have bold vulture like heads?? Anything known About that?

Well, they could, but you wouldn't necessarily expect that. Eagles and hawks don't have bald heads. Neither do owls, shrikes, butcherbirds, currawongs, herons, falcons, penguins, or petrels, all of which are predatory. The ones that are bald-headed tend to be carrion feeders that feed on carcasses larger than themselves: vultures and marabou storks.

Thankyou for your awnser, i always wondered how that would work. So the plumage could differ from pack to pack. Very interesting

[Patrx]

If lets say a Velociraptor or other feathered dinosaur would eat meat. Wouldnt they have bold vulture like heads?? Anything known About that?

I feel like I may have shared this before, but the featherlessness of the heads of vultures and condors has more to do with temperature regulation than feeding habits. 

[stargatedalek]

So the plumage could differ from pack to pack.

I don't know of any modern bird that displays such characteristics. Although if you want to stretch it you could say that great white sharks and orcas both show such geographical variations in pattern.

[alexeratops]

Julius Csotonyi just revealed what is hands down the best rendition of a feathered Tyrannosaurus rex to date:

http://morethanadodo.com/2015/08/07/bringing-dinosaurs-to-life/

That coloration looks... natural! Like it's real!! Thanks for posting that, it's amazing!

[Monkeysaurus]

I clicked "no", however I took some advice from a member here to actively try and take an interest in birds (I'm a reptile guy) by watching documentaries or observing them in the wild, and I'm getting there little by little. I saw a hawk swoop in to catch a mouse the other day at work, so I followed it to see the feeding. It proceed to rip the intestines out with its hooked beak while stomping on it with its clawed feet. I was strangely fascinated by the whole process. I imagined I was watching a real live dinosaur, which I was. So things like that are helping me accept feathered and accurate dinosaurs little by little. At 30 years of age, however, it can be a bit of a challange to let go of cherished concepts you've held to be true throughout your entire life. Hopefully I'll get there soon enough 

[Gwangi]

I clicked "no", however I took some advice from a member here to actively try and take an interest in birds (I'm a reptile guy) by watching documentaries or observing them in the wild, and I'm getting there little by little. I saw a hawk swoop in to catch a mouse the other day at work, so I followed it to see the feeding. It proceed to rip the intestines out with its hooked beak while stomping on it with its clawed feet. I was strangely fascinated by the whole process. I imagined I was watching a real live dinosaur, which I was. So things like that are helping me accept feathered and accurate dinosaurs little by little. At 30 years of age, however, it can be a bit of a challange to let go of cherished concepts you've held to be true throughout your entire life. Hopefully I'll get there soon enough 

Oh you'll get there. Before you know it you'll be setting up a bird feeder in your back yard.  Glad to see you taking interest in extant dinosaurs.

[tyrantqueen]

I clicked "no", however I took some advice from a member here to actively try and take an interest in birds (I'm a reptile guy) by watching documentaries or observing them in the wild, and I'm getting there little by little. I saw a hawk swoop in to catch a mouse the other day at work, so I followed it to see the feeding. It proceed to rip the intestines out with its hooked beak while stomping on it with its clawed feet. I was strangely fascinated by the whole process. I imagined I was watching a real live dinosaur, which I was. So things like that are helping me accept feathered and accurate dinosaurs little by little. At 30 years of age, however, it can be a bit of a challange to let go of cherished concepts you've held to be true throughout your entire life. Hopefully I'll get there soon enough 

Nothing wrong with liking what you like. I still love the old tail draggers.

[Gwangi]

I clicked "no", however I took some advice from a member here to actively try and take an interest in birds (I'm a reptile guy) by watching documentaries or observing them in the wild, and I'm getting there little by little. I saw a hawk swoop in to catch a mouse the other day at work, so I followed it to see the feeding. It proceed to rip the intestines out with its hooked beak while stomping on it with its clawed feet. I was strangely fascinated by the whole process. I imagined I was watching a real live dinosaur, which I was. So things like that are helping me accept feathered and accurate dinosaurs little by little. At 30 years of age, however, it can be a bit of a challange to let go of cherished concepts you've held to be true throughout your entire life. Hopefully I'll get there soon enough 

Nothing wrong with liking what you like. I still love the old tail draggers.

I agree, I still love them too. For their nostalgic and historical value though. You don't have to let go of one to embrace the other.

[Monkeysaurus]

Nothing wrong with liking what you like. I still love the old tail draggers.

I agree, I still love them too. For their nostalgic and historical value though. You don't have to let go of one to embrace the other.

Lol, I've never been a fan of tail draggers, most likely because theropods became horizontal when I was a kid so that's what I grew up with. I hear what you're saying about liking what you like - it's something you can't really control, however at the same time I think it's better to let reality influence your emotions and not the other way around like creationists do. T-Rex was always my favorite dinosaur growing up... Until the discovery of its dreaded feathered ancestors - now it's Carnotaurus because we know it had pebbly skin  I even tried searching for any evidence I could get my hands on that justified my continuing to believe in a bald Rex, however the evidence is just too overwhelming at this point. That's why I'm actively trying to build up an interest in birds, so I can continue to love dinosaurs for what they were - not what I want them to be.