Jurassic Pet Shop: concept art & fossil studies

[Mamasaurus]

Thank you Newt and Paleona, it really means a lot, coming from you.   I was hoping to include a page on the site on what people are saying about the illustrations.  Would you mind if I included your kind words?

Meet Twig the Compsognathus!  He finally got an update, with dew claws this time.  His legs still look a bit short to me, but I'm blaming fudged foreshortening.   In the post, I say he's more the size of a turkey, not a chicken, based on the larger adult specimen.  But on second thought you have a wide range of turkey sizes just like chickens, so that might be just as erroneous.  Perhaps I should have said, as big as a very small turkey, or very large chicken.  

[Newt]

Please feel free to quote me. I'd prefer you use my real name - Nathan Parker. Thanks!

[Paleona]

Sure, you can add my comment. Also- Twig is adorable! Love their coloration, and shaggy coat. They look very curious~

[Mamasaurus]

Thank you Nathan and Paleona, that would be awesome.

@Paleona, Thank you!  I'm glad you like him.  At first I missed the floofy tail (the older version), but this new look is really growing on me. 

Here's another updated critter from the shop, Steggy the Stegosaurus!  I'm still not happy with her plates, especially since they should be more like a single row instead of what looks like a double row here.  But I'm much happier with her new color pattern.  You can see the older version by clicking the picture.

[alexeratops]

Can you elaborate on how taking care of a Stegosaurus would be a challenge? Seems easy breezy to me. 

But seriously, I love your cartoony-but-accurate art style. That is what I'm shooting for in my art, so you are a great inspiration and reference! Can't wait to see everything finished.

[WarrenJB]

Can't beat the classics. The pattern looks great. Nicely done!

Can you elaborate on how taking care of a Stegosaurus would be a challenge? Seems easy breezy to me. 

An anecdote inside an anecdote: for some reason this reminds me of a story on the old BBC series about Longleat safari park. Years ago a hippo escapes. A local farmer calls to say it was in his yard, so he pulled his wooden gate over to trap it in. When he goes back out, both hippo and gate are nowhere to be seen.

Scale that up to about... oh... twice the weight, give or take?

[alexeratops]

Can't beat the classics. The pattern looks great. Nicely done!

Can you elaborate on how taking care of a Stegosaurus would be a challenge? Seems easy breezy to me. 

An anecdote inside an anecdote: for some reason this reminds me of a story on the old BBC series about Longleat safari park. Years ago a hippo escapes. A local farmer calls to say it was in his yard, so he pulled his wooden gate over to trap it in. When he goes back out, both hippo and gate are nowhere to be seen.

Scale that up to about... oh... twice the weight, give or take?

I was just joking, but what's with the Inception music?

[WarrenJB]

I had tried to wrap the video's url tags around the words 'An anecdote within an anecdote'. I failed.

[Mamasaurus]

Thank you very much!

Yeah, Steggy is a challenge not only for size and strength (so special enclosures are a must), but also because they tend to be reactive.  They're not too bright, so loud noises or anything out of the ordinary can spook them, and they always strike first and never ask questions later.  Steggy gets lots of training, so she's cool with just about anything.

@Alexaceratops: Thank you!  I'm truly honored that you find my art inspiring. 




For your viewing pleasure today...meet Elmer the Brachiosaurus!  He likes time alone unless it's time spent with his special person.  He would love a fern ball treat, if you have one or five about you.   He eats a ton.




Yay for progress!  I really should add the rough sketches for the info pages and back cover on this chart at some point...

[alexeratops]

The Brachiosaurus wants a hug but the best I can do is a bracelet.

[Mamasaurus]

It's been a little while, so here are several critters for you today, along with the latest picture-book progress.   Click on any of the pictures to find out more about each critter!

[Halichoeres]

Nice work! It's as though Mash's "How to Keep Dinosaurs" were executed more lovingly, with better art.

[WarrenJB]

Brilliant as always. I particularly like the satisyfingly chunky Allosaurus - especially after the latest Dino Toy blog post!

[Mamasaurus]

Nice work! It's as though Mash's "How to Keep Dinosaurs" were executed more lovingly, with better art.

Thank you very much for your kind words! I'm actually planning a collection of supplemental material alongside the picture books, which will have more of the dinosaur field-guide or "dummies guide to x pet" type feel.  Similar to Mash's book.  I considered purchasing it once, since I loved the idea of a dinosaur pet care book, but the illustrations turned me off so much I thought I'd make my own!

Brilliant as always. I particularly like the satisyfingly chunky Allosaurus - especially after the latest Dino Toy blog post!

Thank you! I always like a more filled-out frame on dinosaurs.  Too many starving critters out there!

[Reptilia]

Love your Compsognathus and Allosaurus, they look cute and plausible at the same time.

[Mamasaurus]

Thank you Reptilia.

Here are a couple more critters, including my latest addition to the Paleo Petshop, Douglas the Dimorphodon! You can click on any picture to find out more about that critter.

[Mamasaurus]

Hey there! I didn't realize how terribly inactive I've been on here until I took a look at the date on my last post! I've been posting once a month over at Paleopetshop.com, but I'll try to post here more often now too.

Here's a little on what I've been up to over the past year...



This is the current progress on one of the illustrations for my picture book. A young family goes to a pet shop full of Jurassic critters to find a small, quiet dinosaur. This page is still in a very rough stage, missing a few people, detail work, and no light and shadow. But it's a start!

Below is Alfred the Allosaurus, who enjoyed his holidays very much.



New full color illustrations like these are few and far between, but I post sketches on my Instagram @Paleopetshop, and on the first of every month I feature a different critter at the shop for our Critter of the Month.

What does that mean?

- The Critter of the Month gets its portrait featured
- The critter gets featured in a brand new short story (800 words or less)
- I give an update on my progress with the picture book.
- Sometimes I'm able to provide sketchy illustrations for the featured short story.

This year I'm working towards introducing more new characters to the shop, and I'll make it a plan to post the featured critter here each month too, along with a snippet of its short story.
I'm really looking forward to this year, and I hope you enjoy the critters. Feel free to suggest Jurassic species, especially critters that are not dinosaurs! I have a list, and I'd love to hear of more species to add to it.

[ITdactyl]

I really like that Allosaurus art.  He's just so happy.

[Mamasaurus]

Thank you! The best kinds of presents for both kids and dinosaurs turns out to be a cardboard box to play with. Especially if it has a savory treat inside!

[Dinoreplicas]

Love to see this in print someday.