1:20 scale dimetrodon

[spinosaurus1]

ive recently gotten more and more interested in sculpting nowadays and decided to finally role out some clay and give it a go. while the acrocanthosaurus is rather outdated and the utahraptor have incorrect proportions at a scale that turned out to be larger then the intended scale, i want to create a lineup of 1:20 scale prehistoric animals to possibly mold and sell. allt of the inspiration has come from members of this forum so i would like to thank you all for delivering unique ideas and depictions for me and others to view.

i decided to start off with something simple, yet iconic and something everybody loves. something that could be considered small enough to fit in any shelf, but large enough to be admired. so dimetrodom grandis came to mind.

dimetradon grandis might be cosidered a little too overdone by figure standards, but i wanted to but some interesting speculation with mine to make it more distinct. i depicted it in a high walking stace, something it would be capable of doing. its sail is tattered and rugged from previous battles for territory and mating rights. its mouth will be closed with lips to hide its fierce dentition giving it a more placid look.
and finally, i took an extra step and given it a gular sac. something it can use to attract mates or broadcast calls, similar to some species of primates

here is the biuld so far





more progress coming soon.

[E.D.G.E. (PainterRex)]

sounds awesome, don't see any pics though. Might just be my computer

Edit: I love it, great job, cannot wait to see it finished!

[Newt]

It's looking good, Spinosaurus1! I like the tattered sail. I bet a big old bull Dimetrodon would have been pretty beat up.

[Yutyrannus]

It's looking very good so far, I look forward to seeing more of it .

[Pachyrhinosaurus]

I like that you are making it standing more erect, and with a closed mouth, both good choices. It is actually harder than I thought to find any depiction of a prehistoric carnivore with a closed mouth.

Was the gular sac inspired by Charles Knight at all?

[tyrantqueen]

Looking good so far. If it turns out to be really good, maybe you could consider selling copies

[spinosaurus1]

thank you everyone. i aim to post more progress pics of the sculpt tomorrow. it has 3 out of the four legs and some extra body detail done. the dimetrodon is sort of an experiment. i do plan on attempting to mold it when finished. if successful, then i'll try to mold it in mass and what comes forth from there.

pachyrhinosaurus, glad to hear that the build is to your liking, especially seeing the amazing sculpts you create. to be honest, i haven't refereed to Charles Knight's dimetrodon for the gular sac idea. i was just thinking about dimetrodons extremely deep and solid chest and thought it would be cool to see a large gular sac that matches the chests impressive stature. and orangutans and siamangs came to mind for a good plausible representation of the idea.

[FishFossil]

Loving the texture work so far! Glad you chose to give it a beat up look. Certainly a more plausible rendition than the pristine specimens you see so often.

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

Very nice!  I'm reminded of green Basilisk lizards immediately, the wild specimens have a bit of a beat up look sometimes, hazards of the wild and all that. Scars also tell stories..we can make up any number of scenarios for them..the imagination really thrives where there are story elements.

[spinosaurus1]

thats the exact feel i want this model to represent. not something too dramatically withered but something that looks naturally tattered by abuse. basilisks are a very good representative for this




here are more pics of the dimetrodon.








more progress to come

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

very realistic looking!

[spinosaurus1]

thanks alot blade

also, he has a head! i added facial scaring to emphasize on the creatures tough life

unfortunately, the way i positions the stance is to have three contact points on the ground. two on the right side of the body, the left back leg is lifted in the air, and the left front forlimb is on it's tipsy toes. when baking it, the clay soften and warped the fingers of the left front leg, giving it a much lower appearance and messy fingers. i place to cut off and resculpt the hands and feet of the sculpture asap

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

Looking good!  If the legs shift a bit, you an always sculpt a base with unlevel terrain to make it work.

[tyrantqueen]

It's looking really good. Any plans to cast? I would buy. I like the closed mouth a lot.

[Halichoeres]

Bummer about the feet, but it looks really good!

[Lanthanotus]

I like your interpretation of the head and especially the sail with its battered look, well done .

Personally I'd beef up the Dimetrodon's legs and tail to emphasize its alpha predatory role during its time. To be able to fill this role, the animal would need to be able to actively hunt, run and pin down its prey. I do a lot of research on varanoid lizards and a look to their comparably thin leg and tail bones would not make you consider how heavily muscled their legs and tails are....

[Pachyrhinosaurus]

Pretty cool sculpt  .

[Everything_Dinosaur]

Like the wear and tear on the sail.

[spinosaurus1]

thanks for the responses guys.

molding and selling sculptures like these is indeed a goal i want to accomplish. this would be the fist creature i ever attempted to mold. and if a sizable quantity is created, then you bet i'm going to start selling these buggers.

lanthanotus. as a reptile owner and varanid admirer myself, i agree wholeheartedly with what you said here. weirdly, the legs look very robust from the front, but are indeed too thin from the side and perhaps a tad too short when looking back at my plans. i plan to add more clay to buff out and lengthen the limbs  a bit. might as well since i'm re sculpting the hands and feet anyway.

as for the tail, its actually much broader looking from the top  then the sides, especially at the base of the tail. not sure how much analogy Pelycosaurs tails would have with varanids (or any modern reptile for that matter) and i had rodents in mind when i was thinking of a mammalian analog, but admittedly, i might of been to conservative about the tails girth. just something else to modify. thanks for the criticism

[Archinto]

If you do plan on beefing up the legs, take a look at a skeleton of a dimetrodon to get an idea how the leg thickness should relate to its body and the size of the head. It really helps me out a lot on my sculpts to look at dinosaur skeleton photos. I am eager to see how this guy comes out, its got a lot of character.