Flukes, flukes, and more flukes... All Coming Soon!

Feels like I've (Craig) been neglecting ART Evolved lately, and so to prevent this from happening in the future I'm making a few commitments here in public. So that I can be called out if I neglect to do these (but I am planning too, promise!).


The first of these is documenting a really exciting project I've been working on in conjunction with a new palaeontologist based here in Alberta. I've been collecting all the artistic bits and pieces so far that should make for a descent new series of article.

For no reason other than subject manner of this new project, I've decided to jokingly to make this an indirect sequel to my previous Flukes series. The reason why will become clear once I post this, but for you keeners out there the skull in the logo and the big publication related to this family in 2010 should give away why I'm calling this series Flukes.

I will quickly disclaim, I need to get permission from my collaborating palaeontologist to post this stuff. As they are currently away on their holidays at moment, I will have to wait to arrange this until into the New Year. However, I don't think they will have a problem with our exchanges and progress being made public, but I leave myself the wiggle room in case this is an issue.

Hopefully watch for this shortly into the New Year.

Speaking of Flukes the first, I still owe you guys at least two posts in this series. Sadly as there has been no news on the publication of the paper my artwork is supposed to accompany, one of these posts is delayed indefinitely till we get published. However I still do have one more post I have material for...

This is how to work with actual scientists on palaeo-art projects. Now mind you this is not how to work for a palaeontologist for money, but rather how to hopefully get your foot in the door into the world of scientific illustration.

Personally I found the experience a very educational but challenging one. It had a steep learning curve, and I couldn't imagine any legitimate scientist putting up with paying me while having to take me so much by the hand.

With my post though I hope to prepare you for some of the challenges should you one day pursue this avenue, and also hopefully highlight some of the potential benefits that come with all the obstacles too!

So watch for these and more in the New Year!

We are also looking to expand our ARTicle content. If you are interested in learning about something specific related to palaeo-art let us know so we can try and get some articles together to get you in the know. Also if you have an idea for a single shot article or a whole series of themon something Palaeo-Art just let us know and we'll make it happen! (Our email as always is artevolved@gmail.com)

Scientific American Guest Blog

Today on the Scientific American Guest Blog I have a post entitled, Scientific Accuracy in Art. 

©  Glendon Mellow 2010

In it, I touch on fossils, math, a crucifix and microscopic paint. It attempts to answer: what is science-art for?

Would love if Art Evolved contributors and fans could head there to comment - disagree, support or ask questions!

The burgeoning field of science-art is one I love to explore.  Recently, I was also on a podcast on Atheists Talk with science-artist Lynn Fellman and host Mike Haubrich, and I have been discussing science-art some more on my own blog as I gear up for ScienceOnline11 in North Carolina in January.

-Glendon

Vote for ART Evolved's Second Anniversary Gallery!

Hard to believe that 2 years ago this upcoming March that ART Evolved started. In many ways it feels we just booted up the palaeo-art community yesterday, but yet it has been running for decades.

Regardless, we need a topic for our Year 2 anniversary gallery in March 2011.

Time to have your choice heard again! On the right side bar you'll find the poll. Possible topics include:

• Ammonites
• Hominids
• Sea Scorpions
• Terror Birds
• Troodons

You can vote for multiple choices, but remember to do so by Dec. 31st! The poll closes then.

Can't wait to see what wins!

Elephant Live Blogging Event

With the due date of the Elephant Gallery approaching fast (where does the time go?), a few artists are going the extra mile to get their artwork done. Join us (and them) as they blog their progress on their pieces "live" on the web.

Our current participating artists include:

Peter Bond's efforts will be viewable here as of Dec. 20th

Craig Dylke's posts will be here on Dec. 20th

So check them out, and give them feedback please! Enjoy...

and Happy Holidays from ART Evolved!

Senckenberg Elephant Wall

The Senckenberg museum in Frankfurt has a great wall of elephants about 40 meters long… I composited a bunch of photos into a flat view, detail below is that first skull on the far right (Deinotherium giganteum). Download the big original by clicking the first image.

A Holiday Live Blog

We haven't done a live blogging in a while, so this is the official call out to all you palaeo-artists!
Start work on your piece for the January Elephant Gallery, document your progress on your blog, website, flickr/deviantart/etc site so everyone can follow your artistic process and progress. Let us know when you'll be starting to post your live blogging and the where (please include the html in addition to your sites name so we make sure we link to the right place).

`
The live blogging central event post goes up tomorrow, but we'll be accepting live bloggers till the Elephant Gallery goes up. So be sure to check in back at ART Evolved now and then through this time to catch all the live blogging action.

Remember the Elephant Gallery will be launching on January the 7th 2011!

If you're new to the site, we accept any and all artwork submitted that is themed around any of our gallery topics. Just send your submission(s), along with any accompanying text you'd like with them, and the link to your website/blog/online picture gallery to our email artevolved@gmail.com, and we'll post them!

Head over to Brian Engh's post about his Brachiosaur reconstructions, and Matt Wedel's encouragement to be bold with his edgy ideas:

If you go bold, you won’t be right; whatever you dream up is not going to the same as whatever outlandish structure the animal actually had. On the other hand, if you don’t go bold, you’ll still be wrong, and now you’ll be boring, too.

Plateosaurus skull video

Plateosaurus skull _ Loewentor from david maas on Vimeo.

Scrubbing the timeline of a video is the simplest form of interactive illustration I can imagine and already it expands the available information literally into new dimensions. I started some experiments with videos I've taken at museums and will be posting more of these as I find time to stabilize them. That is, if you like them!

Revised date for the Elephant Gallery

As I'm sure many of you have noticed, the Elephant Gallery has yet to go up.

The reason being that with the incredible success of the Pink Dinosaur fund raiser, we lost track of everything else on the site for a month and a bit (can you blame us with an average of 2-4 Pink Dinos coming in a day!). Added to that all the administrators have either been insanely busy with the end of the school year (being teacher and education related professionals) or big developments in their family and career lives.

With things returning to normal finally it time to get back to business as usual.

So the Elephant Gallery will be launching on January the 7th 2011!

If you're new to the site, we accept any and all artwork submitted that is themed around any of our gallery topics. Just send your submission(s), along with any accompanying text you'd like with them, and the link to your website/blog/online picture gallery to our email artevolved@gmail.com, and we'll post them!

Thanks to everyone who have already gotten in their pieces, we apologize about the delay (but it was for a good cause!)

No, no translation yet. I got overwhelmed by a greedy moment of actually drawing and relished it. So... you'll have to wait. In the meantime, you can take in my Veranus indicus reconstruction.

Another Paleoart Competition ... for Kids!

This seems to be the time of the year for eggnog and paleoart contests!  The Creative Kids Contest is for kids 12 and under, by The Fossil Freak Show - a B.C. fossil hunting crew!  Click here for all the information and details for this awesome contest!

Deadline is December 8, so get sketching kids!

Paleoart Competition

The Dinosaurier Park Muenchehagen in Germany has launched a paleoart competition. In short: you have til March 1st, 2011 to send in reconstructions of Europasaurus holgeri. More info here (caution information is in German), and note: it looks great (6 money prizes) but I haven't read through the conditions yet.
Thanks to Denver Fowler of the Dinosaur Mailing List for the report.

Pink Dinosaur Wrap-Up

WHAT A BLAST!  What an amazing fundraising event!  I just wanted to THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH for helping out and sending in your wonderful work!  YOU made Pink Dinosaurs the success it was!  

Craig is planning to do a real finale post summing up Pink Dinosaurs very shortly (stay tuned!), but I wanted to let you know right now as to the final total amount raised through the fundraiser.  For full details, check out the Pink Dinosaurs Event Page, where we had posted a fundraising goal of $500.  So, how much was raised?

A grand total of $556, donated to the Canadian Cancer Society!  We did it, no, YOU did it!!

The biggest Thank You ever goes out from ART Evolved to You!!

 Please click to enlarge the compiled mosaic image and view every Pink Dinosaur!

The Pink Dinosaur Sketchbook

The Ebay auction for the Pink Dinosaur Sketchbook and the two custom Fairy Tails ends tomorrow night at 8:00 PM EST! 95% of the proceeds go to Susan G. Komen for the Cure. If you're interested, click the link and place a bid. Tell your friends! Tell your friends friends! Good luck!

Pink Dinosaur #248: Our Final Submission!

Pink Velociraptor by Niroot Puttapipat

Learn more about the Pink Dinosaur Cancer Fundraiser here. 

And with this wonderful piece, the Pink Dinosaur Cancer Fundraiser Gallery comes to an end.  Thank you so much to all the artists who took time out of their busy lives, grabbed a pink marker and doodled a dinosaur!  Thank you so very much!

Here is a final total: in 248 posts, ART Evolved received a total of 257 pink dinosaur submissions!  This goes well beyond our original expectations!  Look for us to donate that many dollars in the next few days to our Pink Dinosaur Cancer Fundraiser Event Page total which is currently at $256. 

So stay tuned for a final update with our total amount fundraised in our next post...

Pink Dinosaur #247

Pink Austroraptor by Damien Feierday and Taylor Reints

Learn more about the Pink Dinosaur Cancer Fundraiser here. 

Pink Dinosaur #246

Pink Concavenator by Damien Feierday and Taylor Reints

Learn more about the Pink Dinosaur Cancer Fundraiser here. 

Pink Dinosaur #245

Pink Manospondylus bataar 2 by Damien Feierday and Taylor Reints

Learn more about the Pink Dinosaur Cancer Fundraiser here. 

Pink Dinosaur #244

Pink Manospondylus bataar 1 by Damien Feierday and Taylor Reints

Learn more about the Pink Dinosaur Cancer Fundraiser here. 

Pink Dinosaur #243

Pink Allosaurus by Ingunn Aasland

Learn more about the Pink Dinosaur Cancer Fundraiser here. 

Pink Dinosaur #242

Pink Albertosaurus sealeyi by Damien Feierday and Taylor Reints

Learn more about the Pink Dinosaur Cancer Fundraiser here. 

Pink Dinosaur #241

Pink Dinosaur by Santiago Jimenez Iglesias

Learn more about the Pink Dinosaur Cancer Fundraiser here.  

Pink Dinosaur #240

Pink Compsognathus by Damien Feierday and Taylor Reints

Learn more about the Pink Dinosaur Cancer Fundraiser here. 

Pink Dinosaur #239

Pink Passer Tsaagan by Albertonykus

Learn more about the Pink Dinosaur Cancer Fundraiser here. 

Pink Dinosaur #238

Pink Balaur by Damien Feierday and Taylor Reints

Learn more about the Pink Dinosaur Cancer Fundraiser here. 

Pink Dinosaur #237

Pink Pentaceratops by vultur-10

Learn more about the Pink Dinosaur Cancer Fundraiser here. 

Pink Dinosaur #236

Pink Sanjuansaurus by Damien Feierday and Taylor Reints

Learn more about the Pink Dinosaur Cancer Fundraiser here. 

Pink Dinosaur #235

 Pink Scansoriopteryx by Albertonykus

Learn more about the Pink Dinosaur Cancer Fundraiser here. 

Pink Dinosaur #234

Pink Utahraptor & Astrodon by Damien Feierday and Taylor Reints

Learn more about the Pink Dinosaur Cancer Fundraiser here. 

Pink Dinosaur #233

Pink Haplocheirus by Albertonykus

Learn more about the Pink Dinosaur Cancer Fundraiser here. 

Pink Dinosaur #232

Pink Ibis by David Tana

 

31 – Eudocimus ruber – the scarlet ibis is a tropical South American bird with a brilliant scarlet color covering all of its body (with the exception of its black wig tips).  Like flamingos, it gets this color from small crustaceans it eats, as it is born grey and white, and only develops this color as it ages.  It finds them by probing soft sediments with its long, curved beak. Image references for illustration from Wikimedia Commons.

Huge congratulations to David for completing his month-long, 31 pink dinosaur drawings!  Thanks so much!

Also, raise a glass to ART Evolved for reaching it's 400th post!  Woot!

Learn more about the Pink Dinosaur Cancer Fundraiser here. 

Pink Dinosaur #231

Pink Ornithocheirus by Damien Feierday and Taylor Reints

Learn more about the Pink Dinosaur Cancer Fundraiser here. 

Pink Dinosaur #230

Pink Changchengornis by Albertonykus

Learn more about the Pink Dinosaur Cancer Fundraiser here. 

Pink Dinosaur #229

Pink Ptilinopus by David Tana

30 – Ptilinopus jambu – this small Asian dove lives in the mangrove swamps and lowland rain forests of Java, Sumatra, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Brunei.  As its name suggests, this inconspicuous bird feeds on fruit directly from the tree or that has been dropped to the ground. This male has a face just pink enough to make the cut for this ART Evolved event. Image references for illustration from Wikimedia Commons.

Learn more about the Pink Dinosaur Cancer Fundraiser here. 

Pink Dinosaur #228

Pink Dice Deinocheirus by Bruce-Earl Barr

I’ve painted my friend Dice Denocheirus pink, and have a pink shirt on today.  Unfortunately it was Permanent paint and won’t wash off till later this month.  Because I am a vocaloid fan boy I included Tako Luca... (yes I know it’s a Palaeontology Blog... but LOOK AT HER! SHES SOOOOOOO CUTE!)

... GOOD LUCK with the Cancer thing!!!

Learn more about the Pink Dinosaur Cancer Fundraiser here.  

Pink Dinosaur #227

Falcarius by Damien Feierday and Taylor Reints

Learn more about the Pink Dinosaur Cancer Fundraiser here. 

Pink Dinosaur #226

Pink Caudipteryx & Therizinosaurus by Albertonykus

Learn more about the Pink Dinosaur Cancer Fundraiser here. 

Pink Dinosaur #225

Pink Loxia by David Tana

 

29 –  Loxia leucoptera– this little crossbill is a member of the finch family, known as the white-winged crossbill or two-barred crossbill depending on the region where it is found.  This male has a pinkish color and white wingbars that make is easily distinguishable from other crossbills and finches that live in the same locations.  Image references for illustration from Wikimedia Commons.

Learn more about the Pink Dinosaur Cancer Fundraiser here. 

Pink Dinosaur #224

Pink Koreanosaurus by Damien Feierday and Taylor Reints

Learn more about the Pink Dinosaur Cancer Fundraiser here.

Pink Dinosaur #223

Pink Deinonychus, Archaeopteryx & Jinfengopteryx by Albertonykus

Learn more about the Pink Dinosaur Cancer Fundraiser here. 

Pink Dinosaur #222

Pink Egretta by David Tana

 

28 – Egretta rufescens – the reddish egret is a native of the Gulf Coast, the Caribbean, Central America and Mexico that makes a life for itself hunting small vertebrates and invertebrates in shallow water.  They are more energetic than other herons and egrets, and often employ canopy hunting as a method of prey capture.  Image references for illustration from Wikimedia Commons.

Learn more about the Pink Dinosaur Cancer Fundraiser here. 

Pink Dinosaur #221

Pink Piano Prodigy Shuvuuia by Ingunn Aasland

Walking with dinosaurs - the musical!
This idea started with the popular expression "I need [item] like a Carnotaurus needs an accordion"... (What do you mean it's not a popular expression? It should be!)

Once I'd drawn him, I started wondering what musical instruments other dinosaurs clearly wouldn't need - hence the drumming Therezinosaurus, trumpet-playing Masiakasaurus, and piano prodigy Shuvuuia. I don't know whose anatomy I've mangled worse, the dinosaurs' or their instruments'! 

Learn more about the Pink Dinosaur Cancer Fundraiser here.

Pink Dinosaur #220

Pink Titanis by David Tana

 

27 – Titanis walleri – this flightless, carnivorous phorusrhacid known as “Waller’s titan” lived in the Pliocene and Early Pleistocene (~ 4.9 – 1.8 mya) of North America. It was one of the last surviving members of its group, and the only “terror bird” known to have migrated out of its ancestral home in South America.  The reference for this restoration comes from a skeleton (cast?) on display at the Florida Museum of Natural History.  Pen and color pencil on paper.

Learn more about the Pink Dinosaur Cancer Fundraiser here. 

Pink Dinosaur #219

Pink Trumpet-playing Masiakasurus by Ingunn Aasland

Walking with dinosaurs - the musical!
This idea started with the popular expression "I need [item] like a Carnotaurus needs an accordion"... (What do you mean it's not a popular expression? It should be!) 

 

Once I'd drawn him, I started wondering what musical instruments other dinosaurs clearly wouldn't need - hence the drumming Therezinosaurus, trumpet-playing Masiakasaurus, and piano prodigy Shuvuuia. I don't know whose anatomy I've mangled worse, the dinosaurs' or their instruments'! 

Learn more about the Pink Dinosaur Cancer Fundraiser here. 

Pink Dinosaur #218

Pink Village Weaver by Mo Hassan

Created using an original JPEG photograph saved as a bitmap and coloured over using Microsoft Paint.

Learn more about the Pink Dinosaur Cancer Fundraiser here.

Pink Dinosaur #217

Pink Argentavis by David Tana

26 – Argentavis magnificens – the giant teratornithid was, quite possibly, the largest volant bird that ever lived.  Known from several Late Miocene (~ 6 mya) sites in Argentina, it probably relied on soaring and gliding, rather than flapping to keep it in the air. The reference for this cranial restoration comes from an image in the paper by Chatterjee et al. (2007) titled “The aerodynamics of Argentavis, the world’s largest flying bird from the Miocene of Argentina” from the journal PNAS of the USA. Color pencil on paper.

Learn more about the Pink Dinosaur Cancer Fundraiser here. 

Pink Dinosaur #216

Pink Dromornis by David Tana

25 – Dromornis stirtoni – the dromornithid birds (sometimes called Mihirungs) lived in Australia from the Late Miocene – Early Pliocene (~ 15 mya – 30,000 years ago).  Although they may look like other large flightless birds (emus, moas, rheas, etc.) they are more closely related to ducks, geese, and swans. The reference for this restoration is a reconstructed skeleton on display at the Museum of Central Australia. Pen and color pencil on paper.

Learn more about the Pink Dinosaur Cancer Fundraiser here. 

Pink Dinosaur #215

Pink Drumming Therezinosaurus by Ingunn Aasland

Walking with dinosaurs - the musical!

This idea started with the popular expression "I need [item] like a Carnotaurus needs an accordion"... (What do you mean it's not a popular expression? It should be!) 

 

Once I'd drawn him, I started wondering what musical instruments other dinosaurs clearly wouldn't need - hence the drumming Therezinosaurus, trumpet-playing Masiakasaurus, and piano prodigy Shuvuuia. I don't know whose anatomy I've mangled worse, the dinosaurs' or their instruments'! 

Learn more about the Pink Dinosaur Cancer Fundraiser here.