Baby Louie identified as new oviraptorid!

[Patrx]

I'd hazard it's the same with claws - folk were following too much outdated pronated bunny-hands imagery (admittedly difficult to see how you could form a wing if you thought theropod hands were held like that) and inaccurate Archaeopteryx reconstructions as examples of feathered dinosaur art; and the dangerous-looking, often huge claws almost demand to be prominently displayed for an impressive illustration. But if there's one tidbit about that aspect of life appearance I'd pass onto budding or unfamiliar palaeoartists, it's this:
www.scienceblogs.com/tetrapodzoology/2010/06/30/clubs-spurs-spikes-and-claws/

I think that's definitely part of it. Adding to that, there's a widespread and flawed interpretation of wings and hands as totally distinct things - "dinosaurs had hands, birds have wings". So, illustrators and sculptors go into the the design of these things with that false dichotomy in their mind somewhere. If you make "raptor" hands look accurate, they don't look like hands anymore, and that just seems wrong to most artists. So, the same mistakes keep cropping up - scaly hands with three separate fingers on the end of feathery arms. I can't think of a single maniraptoran model in any price range that's gotten it right.

[stargatedalek]

I'd hazard it's the same with claws - folk were following too much outdated pronated bunny-hands imagery (admittedly difficult to see how you could form a wing if you thought theropod hands were held like that) and inaccurate Archaeopteryx reconstructions as examples of feathered dinosaur art; and the dangerous-looking, often huge claws almost demand to be prominently displayed for an impressive illustration. But if there's one tidbit about that aspect of life appearance I'd pass onto budding or unfamiliar palaeoartists, it's this:
www.scienceblogs.com/tetrapodzoology/2010/06/30/clubs-spurs-spikes-and-claws/

I think that's definitely part of it. Adding to that, there's a widespread and flawed interpretation of wings and hands as totally distinct things - "dinosaurs had hands, birds have wings". So, illustrators and sculptors go into the the design of these things with that false dichotomy in their mind somewhere. If you make "raptor" hands look accurate, they don't look like hands anymore, and that just seems wrong to most artists. So, the same mistakes keep cropping up - scaly hands with three separate fingers on the end of feathery arms. I can't think of a single maniraptoran model in any price range that's gotten it right.

The Carnegie Microraptor got the wings right, even has the alula, but it has other problems of it's own.