Thursday, February 23, 2017

A Dinosaur Takes Wing

Although a scene like this would have taken place 160 million years ago, I want the image to look like it was captured yesterday by a wildlife photographer's camera.

Anchiornis in Flight
It appears in Ranger Rick, a magazine dominated by wildlife photography. So I blur the background to suggest depth of field. I spotlight the action with an area of soft dappled light cast from the tree behind us.

The following 1-minute video gives a glimpse of the process.


(Link to Facebook video)

I make the paper-over-wire maquette by photocopying a flat plan drawing of the animal two times onto card stock. Then I make a glue sandwich with aluminum armature wire in the place of the bones. Then I bulk up the maquette with epoxy putty.


Here's an 8 minute video on YouTube of all three dinosaur paintings for the March issue of Ranger Rick Magazine.

(Link to YouTube video)
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2 comments:

  1. mspFebruary 23, 2017 at 4:46 PM

    Your last 4 posts are exceptional! Thank you! Question: Since these three paintings were intended for publication, did you use drying medium in the oils so that the paintings would meet deadline?

    ReplyDelete
  2. My Pen NameFebruary 24, 2017 at 10:18 PM

    now i know why the pileated woodpecker looks so 'prehistoric'

    ReplyDelete

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