Allosaurus Fragilis
A pleasant irony
presents itself in the act of using a computer to render illustrations
of dinosaurs. Computers are one of the icons of our times, and
they have a futuristic quality which is a constant reminder that
we are living in a world straight out of science fiction. Dinosaurs
are symbolic of the ancient and the extinct. So why would I want
to draw dinosaurs, and why do I draw them on a computer?
Almost all children go through a period of fascination with
dinosaurs. In our culture they are domesticated monsters, the
largest, most frightening animals imaginable, tucked away in
books and turned into toys. Parents are often surprised by their
child's ability to memorize the names of dinosaurs, but children
sense that there is power in names. When they can name a dinosaur,
they own it. Some children never grow out of their dinosaur phase.
God have mercy on me, I'm one of them.
Edmontosaurus
Annectens
In order to reconstruct a dinosaur,
I have to research it as thoroughly as possible. This frequently
involves sorting through the outrageous claims and contradictory
statements that are so much a part of this branch of science.
Gregory Paul says that Tyrannosaurus Rex could run and sixty
or seventy miles an hour, easily. John Horner says that T. Rex
never ran at all. I examine their claims, look at the opinions
of others, read studies ranging from the design of running animals
to the estimated bone strength of dinosaurs, and decide that
despite their extremely valuable contributions to paleontology,
on this subject John and Greg are totally out to lunch.
After I've gathered my information,
I can get to work. All of my current drawings are based on photographs
or diagrams of actual skeletal remains. I'm not just reconstructing
a type of dinosaur; I'm constructing a unique creature. Usually,
I flip the image on the computer, enlarge it, and print it out.
If I'm working from a skeleton that has been mounted inaccurately,
I redraw it. If I'm working from a diagram that someone else
has drawn, I reposition the limbs, head, and tail so as to avoid
feeling like a lame rip-off artist instead of a cool rip-off
artist. Then, using tracing paper and muscle diagrams, I put
the meat on the bones. After this, I lay down another crackling
sheet of tracing paper, and I diagram the surface details-skin
folds, horns, teeth and claws and so on. Then down goes another
sheet of tracing paper, and I render the drawing in pencil or
pen and ink. By this time, I am buried in a mound of eraser crumbs,
tracing paper, and little tan wads of used drafting tape. Fighting
my way to the surface, I go to the computer and scan in the finished
image.
Albertosaurus
Liberatus
I use the programs Photoshop, Painter, and Illustrator to
render final versions of my pictures. I hate working with just
about all standard media. I can't work a brush and I hate mixing
and cleaning up paint. Airbrushes are monstrosities, plain and
simple. Pastels get on my nerves. Colored pencils are laborious
and limited. Everything is difficult to fix after you have made
a mistake. I make mistakes constantly. On the computer, when
you make a mistake, you press a button. The mistake goes away.
I can isolate particular objects and areas, and render them without
having any effect whatsoever on the rest of the illustration.
I can select colors at will, pulling them out of photographs
or the drawing if I want to. Best of all, I'm always finding
a new way of working, so I don't feel limited by a particular
style of illustration. The constant expansion of possibility
is incredibly exciting.
Coelophysis
Bauri
The resulting image almost always surprises me to some degree. We're so used to seeing renderings of these animals that are based on outdated information that a currently semi-accurate drawing is vaguely shocking. Despite my dissatisfaction with my abilities, I'm still thrilled to see a sort of individuality, almost personality, in my drawings. I started off with a pile of bones and technical jargon, and I ended up with a living creature I can't imagine a more satisfying use for art.