Our thanks to dinosaur fan and model collector Nick from Greece, who is so excited about the forthcoming Beasts of the Mesozoic tyrannosaur series that he sent in an illustration of Gorgosaurus inspired by one of the models.
A Gorgosaurus confrontation. Inspired by the forthcoming Beasts of the Mesozoic tyrannosaur series (wave 1), Nick from Greece has chosen to illustrate Gorgosaurus. The Gorgosaurus figure will be in the third wave of model introductions scheduled for quarter 3 of 2023. Picture credit: Nick.
Beasts of the Mesozoic Tyrannosaurs
The tyrannosaur series is the third line of articulated prehistoric animal models, following the highly successful “raptors” and the ceratopsians. A total of twenty-four replicas of dinosaurs from within the Tyrannosauroidea superfamily will be featured, including a Gorgosaurus, which inspired Nick’s superb illustration.
The Beasts of the Mesozoic Gorgosaurus libratus articulated figure inspired the illustration. The Gorgosaurus figure is scheduled to be part of the third wave of these tyrannosaur figures (September 2023).
Beasts of the Mesozoic Gorgosaurus libratus
The Beasts of the Mesozoic Gorgosaurus libratus figure will have twenty-two points of articulation and it will measure around 50 cm in length (1:18 scale model). The Gorgosaurus model is part of wave three of this series and it is expected to be introduced around quarter three of 2023.
In his email to Everything Dinosaur, the artist wrote:
“I am very grateful for your services, without your dedicated work it would be too difficult and expensive for us to purchase many of the dinosaur figures that you’re retailing. In my case the Beasts of the Mesozoic line. I am sending you this illustration as a gift for your contribution to our joyful hobby! It’s an illustration I’ve done last November (for the Dinovember art challenge) and it is inspired by the upcoming Beasts of the Mesozoic Gorgosaurus figure. I hope you like it!”
Responding to Customer’s Requests
We do our best to respond to all our customer’s requests, questions and queries. Building up a relationship with your customer base is very important. Sometimes we get sent little gifts in appreciation of our efforts. Our thanks to Nick from Greece who sent us a wonderful dinosaur (Gorgosaurus libratus) illustration he had created.
Glad to know we are doing something right in these tough times.
To view the range of Beasts of the Mesozoic figures in stock at Everything Dinosaur: Beasts of the Mesozoic.
The recently aired television documentary series “Prehistoric Planet” has drawn praise for the way it depicted long extinct creatures as real animals and not movie monsters. This five-part series aimed to show animals such as marine reptiles, pterosaurs and of course dinosaurs doing more than just fighting, hunting and killing.
The stunning episodes have inspired a whole new generation of dinosaur fans and we have received an illustration of the female Velociraptor that featured in episode three (Freshwater), from young artist Caldey.
The female Velociraptor from the television documentary series “Prehistoric Planet”. The programmes were praised as they depicted prehistoric animals as living creatures rather than fearsome movie monsters. Picture credit: Caldey.
Hunting Roosting Pterosaurs
Our thanks to Caldey for sending into Everything Dinosaur her wonderful illustration of the female Velociraptor. This dinosaur was one of a trio of Velociraptors (a female and two males), in a segment showing these agile predators hunting roosting pterosaurs. Co-operative hunting behaviour was demonstrated and these clever theropods, after some drama, did manage to get a meal.
The female Velociraptor from episode 3 of the television series “Prehistoric Planet”. In this episode entitled “Freshwater” a trio of Velociraptors were shown co-operating in a successful hunt on a pterosaur nesting colony. Picture credit: Apple TV+.
A spokesperson from Everything Dinosaur commented:
“Caldey has sent into Everything Dinosaur several dromaeosaurid drawings, but the female Velociraptor illustration is the first that was inspired by a television programme. Her inspiration for earlier dromaeosaur illustrations has come from prehistoric animal models, for example, the limited-edition Beasts of the Mesozoic Velociraptor osmolskae figure called Alpha.”
An illustration of Velociraptor osmolskae inspired by the limited-edition Beasts of the Mesozoic model called “Alpha”. Picture credit: Caldey.
In response to requests from dinosaur fans and aficionados of the “Jurassic Park/Jurassic World” movie franchise, team members at Everything Dinosaur have produced a dinosaur site safety sign and it is available absolutely free.
Whilst at our local cinema waiting to watch “Jurassic World Dominion”, team members spotted a joke site safety sign declaring three days since the last Tyrannosaurus rex attack. In response to requests received from our posts on social media we have created our own version of this safety sign and it is available as a pdf.
Having received requests from dinosaur fans wanting their own site safety sign we have created one especially for them. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.
Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur
An A4-sized PDF
The Everything Dinosaur site safety sign is available as a pdf document. It can be requested and emailed. The sign has been designed as an A4-sized document measuring 297 mm x 210 mm, once dinosaur fans have received the email, it can be printed off and if required laminated. A non-permanent marker pen can be used to write into the white box the number of days “without a dinosaur incident”. It is just a bit of fun, but would look good on a bedroom wall or on the door to a room.
A site safety notice at our local cinema spotted at the entrance as team members went to see “Jurassic World Dominion”. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.
Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur
A spokesperson from Everything Dinosaur commented:
“We hope fans of this new dinosaur movie like our dinosaur site safety sticker”.
The recent documentary series “Prehistoric Planet” has inspired many young artists to produce prehistoric animal drawings and illustrations depicting scenes from this highly acclaimed five-part television series.
Everything Dinosaur team members have observed an increased level of interest in dinosaurs and prehistoric animals after the programmes were aired on Apple TV+ last month (May 2022). Produced by the BBC Studios Natural History Unit and with Dr Darren Naish acting as lead scientific consultant, each programme looked at a specific dinosaur-dominated ecosystem that existed during the Late Cretaceous.
Young artist Caldey, was inspired by one scene in the first episode (Coasts), sending into Everything Dinosaur her illustration of a T. rex adult and juvenile.
Inspired by the first episode of the highly praised documentary television series “Prehistoric Planet”, Caldey has drawn an adult Tyrannosaurus rex and young. In the first episode of this five-part series, a male T. rex took its family to an off-shore island to feed on turtle remains and young hatchling. Caldey shows T. rex not as a fearsome predator but as an attentive father. Picture credit: Caldey.
Picture credit: Caldey
Depicting Prehistoric Animals as Living Creatures Not Movie Monsters
“Prehistoric Planet” has been praised for its depiction of dinosaurs and other long extinct creatures, not as terrifying, bloodthirsty movie monsters but as living animals capable of demonstrating complex social behaviours.
In Caldey’s illustration, the T. rex is depicted as an attentive parent. By contrast, when the film “Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom” was released in 2018, Caldey sent into Everything Dinosaur a drawing featuring Tyrannosaurus rex in an iconic scene from the movie.
In the Universal Studios production, T. rex is depicted as attacking a Carnotaurus. Once the abelisaurid had been subdued the Tyrannosaurus emits an ear-piercing roar.
Caldey illustrates an iconic scene from “Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom” when the T. rex attacks a Carnotaurus.
Picture credit: Caldey
Prehistoric Planet
A spokesperson from Everything Dinosaur commented:
“The Apple TV plus television series has inspired a whole new generation of dinosaur fans and we have received numerous drawings depicting prehistoric animals from the documentary series. Our thanks to Caldey for sending into Everything Dinosaur her illustration of the male T. rex with its offspring.”
Everything Dinosaur sells a wide range of dinosaur and prehistoric animal models including many theropod dinosaurs.
Everything Dinosaur has thousands of customers and ships dinosaur models and prehistoric animal merchandise to over a hundred countries. We have a 5-star service rating and award-winning customer service and as part of website updates and improvements we will be emphasising this on the home page.
Team members have been busy creating a small logo to emphasis our trusted delivery service and here is one of the designs that we have come up with.
Trust Everything Dinosaur to deliver. Team members have been busy creating a new icon for the website to emphasis our fine record of shipping dinosaur and prehistoric animal merchandise overseas. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.
Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur
A spokesperson from Everything Dinosaur stated:
“We can use the “e” from our logo and trademark to create the wheels for our delivery vehicle and we designed a dinosaur driver in keeping with the theme of our website. It was just for a bit of fun, but we do take our award-winning customer service and our excellent record for shipping overseas, extremely seriously.”
The updated and improved Everything Dinosaur website is currently undergoing testing and it is hoped to go live later in the summer (2022).
Everything Dinosaur specialises in the sale of dinosaur and prehistoric animal models and figures. Working in association with museums and other related educational bodies the UK-based company aims to create a marketplace for accurate, exciting, imaginative and educational products.
To visit the Everything Dinosaur website, click this link here: Everything Dinosaur.
As we await the first episode of the exciting Apple TV + series “Prehistoric Planet” with its cornucopia of feathered dinosaurs we thought we would post up one of our favourite dromaeosaur illustrations – Zhenyuanlong suni by Zhao Chuang.
Very probably a ground-dwelling predator. Named and described in 2015 (Lü and Brusatte), Z. suni is one of several dromaeosaurs that have been named and described from fossils found in Liaoning Province. Picture credit: Zhao Chuang.
Picture credit: Zhao Chuang
Dromaeosaurs a Plenty
The five-part documentary television series “Prehistoric Planet” will feature a variety of small, feathered dinosaurs including troodontids and dromaeosaurs. These animals will not be shown tackling large prey but reflecting behaviour as inferred by the fossil record and seen in their living, close relatives the birds.
Viewers can expect to see many of the prehistoric animals that have been so beautifully illustrated by the incredibly talented Chinese artist Zhao Chuang brought to life thanks to ground-breaking CGI and state-of-the-art puppetry.
Steve Brusatte, (School of Geosciences, University of Edinburgh), a co-author of the scientific paper describing Z. suni, is one of the scientific consultants involved in the BBC/Apple TV + documentary series. Viewers can expect to see plenty of feathered dinosaurs, although Zhenyuanlong suni will not feature.
A spokesperson from Everything Dinosaur commented:
“The five television programmes will focus on different ecosystems that flourished during the Late Cretaceous. Whilst there are many genera of small, feathered dinosaurs including numerous troodontid and dromaeosaurid taxa featured in the programmes, Zhenyuanlong suni lived during the Early Cretaceous. It had been extinct for tens of millions of years prior to the time in which these programmes are set.”
To read Everything Dinosaur’s original blog post announcing the discovery of a large-bodied dromaeosaur from the famous Liaoning Province of China: New Winged Dragon from Liaoning Province.
Zhenyuanlong suni Scientific Paper
The scientific paper: “A large, short-armed, winged dromaeosaurid(Dinosauria: Theropoda) from theEarly Cretaceous of China and its implications for feather evolution” by Junchang Lü and Stephen L. Brusatte published in the journal Scientific Reports.
Our thanks to young Caldey for sending into Everything Dinosaur a wonderful illustration of the therizinosaur that features in the forthcoming film “Jurassic World – Dominion”. This eagerly anticipated movie, rumoured to be the last in the “Jurassic Park/Jurassic World” franchise is due to have its world premiere on June 10th (2022).
Therizinosaur
Team members at Everything Dinosaur are looking forward to seeing the film in the cinema, Everything Dinosaur had a small role in helping the production team. We suspect that lots of dinosaur fans and model collectors will be looking forward to this film’s release.
Caldey has chosen to illustrate the therizinosaur, complete with its impressive manual unguals (claws). The therizinosaurus makes an appearance in the last film in the “Jurassic Park/Jurassic World” franchise “Jurassic World – Dominion”. Picture credit: Caldey.
Picture credit: Caldey
“Jurassic World” – Therizinosaur
Numerous different types of theropod have adorned this film franchise, from the iconic Tyrannosaurus rex, the frill-necked dilophosaurs and the over-sized Velociraptors from the first film “Jurassic Park” that was released in the summer of 1993 to Spinosaurus, Carnotaurus and hybridised forms such as Indominus. A therizinosaur makes its appearance in “Dominion” and it has appeared in the trailer for the film, which has been viewed on YouTube more than fifty million times.
A spokesperson from Everything Dinosaur commented:
“We congratulate Caldey for her excellent therizinosaur illustration. It is such a splendid drawing. We enjoy receiving dinosaur illustrations and it never ceases to amaze us how talented some of these young artists are.”
The latest issue of “Prehistoric Times” magazine has arrived at Everything Dinosaur’s offices and team members have been admiring all the reader submitted artwork, articles and features contained therein.
The front cover illustration has been provided by British palaeoartist John Sibbick, who must hold the record for the number of “Prehistoric Times” front covers produced by a single artist. The stunning illustration depicts typical Jehol Biota members Microraptor and Jeholornis and there are plenty of feathers on show which is appropriate as inside the magazine regular contributor Tracy Lee Ford provides part three of his excellent series on integumentary coverings.
The front cover artwork for the next edition of “Prehistoric Times” magazine. John Sibbick has depicted some of the feathered dinosaurs associated with the famous Jehol Biota. Picture credit: Mike Fredericks
Picture credit: Mike Fredericks
Bajadasaurus and the Fearsome Thalattoarchon
Phil Hore provides information on the bizarre sauropod Bajadasaurus and the ferocious Triassic ichthyosaur Thalattoarchon and there are plenty of reader submitted examples of artwork to admire too. Palaeontologist Gregory S. Paul co-authored a scientific paper published recently that proposes that there were three species of Tyrannosaurus in the Late Cretaceous of North America. The magazine includes an in-depth explanation of the paper’s conclusions and reviews the evidence.
Randy Knol updates collectors with the latest model news and editor Mike Fredericks reviews the latest book releases and there is a comprehensive section providing details of recent fossil discoveries and research.
Burian and the Marginocephalians
John R. Lavas continues his long-running series highlighting the astonishing artwork of the Czech artist Zdeněk Burian. Issue 141 of “Prehistoric Times” sees him focusing on the Burian’s interpretation of ceratopsids and their close relatives.
An illustration of Chasmosaurus by Zdeněk Burian.
Picture credit: Zdeněk Burian
Jon Noad tells the story of one of Calgary Zoo’s oldest residents Dinny the dinosaur and Sean Kotz explains how to create a model of a Pachyrhinosaurus. Brian Novak provides part two of his series on prehistoric coins, not currency from the Cretaceous, but an illustrated guide to the types of coins and currency with a prehistoric animal theme.
Our thanks to young dinosaur fan and artist Caldey who sent into Everything Dinosaur a wonderful illustration of the South American abelisaurid Carnotaurus (C. sastrei). Caldey’s pencil drawing captures this large predator and shows plenty of fine detailing and different sized scales on the animal’s skin. If you look carefully, one of the bony horns on top of this dinosaur’s head, from which this animal was named (meat-eating bull), has been damaged. Scientists remain uncertain as to the function of these small horns, although they may have played a role in species recognition, asserted dominance or perhaps were involved in visual communication.
The illustration of the fearsome Carnotaurus by Caldey. The drawing was inspired by the Jurassic World Carnotaurus. Team members at Everything Dinosaur expect that the forthcoming film “Jurassic World Dominion” will inspire a new generation of palaeoartists. Picture credit: Caldey.
Picture credit: Caldey
“Jurassic World Dominion”
Caldey was inspired to produce a Carnotaurus drawing by the forthcoming film “Jurassic World Dominion”, which is thought to be the last film in the “Jurassic Park/Jurassic World” movie franchise. The COVID-19 pandemic had delayed the release date for this eagerly anticipated film, it is now scheduled for global cinema release on June 10th (2022). The trailer for the film was released eight weeks ago and has already received over fifty million views on YouTube.
When viewing the image that Caldey had sent into us, it reminded team members of the recently introduced PNSO Carnotaurus figure “Domingo”.
We compared Caldey’s excellent drawing with one of the images we have in our database for the PNSO Domingo the Carnotaurus model.
Caldey was inspired by the Carnotaurus seen in a film, but we think the drawing is similar to the PNSO Carnotaurus model Domingo. Picture credit for the illustration: Caldey.
A spokesperson from Everything Dinosaur commented:
“It is always a pleasure to receive artwork from dinosaur fans. We have received lots of illustrations from Caldey and we are very impressed with her work and her attention to detail. Keep up the good work Caldey!”
When a new prehistoric animal is named and described in a scientific paper, often, an illustration featuring the new discovery is commissioned so that readers and viewers of any subsequent media release can get an impression of what the creature might have looked like. These life reconstructions show the animal in context, providing an insight into the palaeoenvironment and sometimes also highlighting contemporaneous species that shared the same habitat.
Illustrating a Scientific Paper
These, frequently stunning illustrations are carefully conceived. Great care is taken to reflect the scientific evidence, however, the artist has some licence when it comes to considering the landscape, the choice of colours and the motif of the artwork.
Sometimes the person responsible for the scientific illustration is one of the authors of the study. For example, the artwork supporting the media release on the recently described rhamphorhynchid pterosaur from the Isle of Skye (Dearc sgiathanach), was created by the lead author Natalia Jagielska, a PhD student at the School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh.
The Isle of Skye 170 million years ago. A theropod dinosaur hopes to catch a Dearc sgiathanach, but this large pterosaur is too quick and avoids capture. The lead author of the scientific paper created the stunning artwork that accompanied the media release. Picture credit: Natalia Jagielska
Everything Dinosaur asked the artist what inspired and influenced her when it came to illustrating the newly described Scottish pterosaur.
Reflecting Scientific Evidence in Palaeoart
Natalia explained that she was inspired by Scottish birds, both those in Edinburgh, where the D. sgiathanach fossil material is stored and also the many seabirds synonymous with the Isle of Skye (where the fossil was found). Gannets are common on the island. They have a similar wingspan to that estimated for Dearc sgiathanach. With their long crania, robust neck and slender wings, these piscivores could be regarded as occupying a similar niche in the marine based ecosystem as the rhamphorhynchids.
“I wanted to form this connection between contemporary local fauna and ancient fauna”, Natalia commented. “I also added a splash of blue hues and yellows on the head in some reconstructions, as a nod to its Scottish origin and the Scottish flag”.
Dominating the skies on the Isle of Skye. Several pterosaurs flying over the coastline (Dearc sgiathanach). Picture credit: Natalia Jagielska.
Setting the Scene for a Jurassic Pterosaur
The background into which the life reconstruction is inserted can also help to convey important information relating to geology and the ancient environment. The rugged cliffs (above), reflect the famous steep cliffs of Skye and link the Jurassic landscape to modern Scotland, as both have been extensive shaped by the Caledonian orogeny, a period of mountain building that occurred during the Palaeozoic.
The waters represent the Hebridean basin and are part of Boreal Seaway, their presence in the artwork helps to reinforce the view that Dearc sgiathanach was associated with coastal and marine habitats.
Adding a Theropod Dinosaur
A theropod dinosaur features in one of the illustrations included with the media release. The presence of theropods in the Middle Jurassic of Skye is indicated by tridactyl prints preserved in the petrified mudflats. The Megalosaurus depicted in the scene sports cranial crests. PhD student Natalia explained that as Megalosaurus does not have a well- preserved skull, she took the opportunity to give her theropod a pair of Allosaurus-inspired head crests.
The dinosaur provides a helpful scale, the viewer is in no doubt that Dearc sgiathanach was a large animal. Indeed, with a wingspan estimated to be around 2.5 metres, the Isle of Skye pterosaur is the biggest flying reptile described to date from Jurassic material.
“Pairing a theropod with the pterosaur is an excellent way of displaying Dearc’s sheer size and making the viewer perceive it’s in the Jurassic”, Natalia stated. “Megalosaurus is excellent too, showcasing basal bauplans of carnivorous dinosaurs associated with the Middle Jurassic”.
The Pterosauria
The Pterosauria continued to evolve throughout the Mesozoic, with some of the Late Cretaceous taxa evolving to become the largest flying animals of all time. Scientific illustrations evolve and change too. In Natalia’s email correspondence with Everything Dinosaur, it was pointed out that the original concept was to depict the pterosaur fighting with the dinosaur over a piece of carrion – a macabre tug-of-war between the two archosaurs. However, the final illustration depicts a different form of interspecific competition, the brash theropod chasing after the pterosaurs much like a dog might chase gulls or oystercatchers on the beach today.
The addition of a megalosaurid helps to provide a scale and illustrates a typical theropod from the Middle Jurassic. Picture credit: Natalia Jagielska.
The subtle tones of the sky at sunset add atmosphere and an almost ethereal quality to the artwork. Natalia commented that the background to the illustration featuring the theropod was inspired by J. M. W. Turner’s “The Fighting Temeraire”, she wanted to give her work a grandiose, maritime-look using the light, colours and shading as depicted in the famous Turner painting. The iconic painting “The Fighting Temeraire”, featuring a huge warship making its final journey to a London shipyard so that it could be broken up, was painted in 1839. Ironically, it was during the late 1830s that the remarkable pterosaur fossils including many examples of rhamphorhynchids, from the Solnhofen limestones of southern Germany were being subjected to detailed scientific scrutiny.
Bathonian Mammaliaforms and Sauropods
In the bottom left corner of the artwork, large rib bones can be seen and sitting precariously atop one of the bones is a small mammaliaform. The Lealt Shale Formation from which the pterosaur specimen was extracted, has not yielded many body fossils, but mammaliaforms such as Wareolestes (W. rex), are known from the roughly contemporaneous Kilmaluag Formation of the Isle of Skye. Natalia wanted to highlight the significance of Skye for helping to shed light on an important stage in the evolution of many different types of tetrapod, including our own ancestors.
The Isle of Skye is also famous for its extensive sauropod tracks. Admittedly, the pterosaur specimen comes from a bedding plane devoid of such prints although tracks associated with thyreophorans (stegosaurs) have been identified.
Mammaliaform fossils although exceptionally rare have been found in Middle Jurassic exposures in Scotland. The artwork highlights the presence of such creatures (arrowed) and the huge rib bones are a nod towards the extensive sauropod tracks associated with the Lealt Shale Formation. Picture credit: Natalia Jagielska.
The addition of the sauropod bones permitted the artist to hint at one of the theories put forward to explain the preservation of animal remains over a period of 170 million years or so.
Natalia explained:
“The ribcage in the foreground suggests one of theories suggesting superb preservation, maybe the fossil was buried in mudflats. The location showcases a marginal marine setting, with storm deposit layers and evidence for periodic aerial exposure – truly a perplexing combination”.
Stunning Illustrations in a Scientific Paper
The illustrations are certainly stunning, helping to tell the tale of a pterosaur that soared over Scotland way back in the Middle Jurassic. Our thanks to Natalia Jagielska for sharing her thoughts on the inspiration behind the artwork.
