C.O.W. - #121: Arctic Dinosaur

[Fozzybar]

http://www.conceptart.org/forums/images/cow/cow.jpg

For more infos and details about the rules go here:
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=110879


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Round #121

Topic:
Arctic Dinosaur

Deadline (extended):
Saturday, 23 August 2008



note: The deadline won't be EXACTLY after a week...it can last up to 24 hours more, i am human and have to work also, you know ;)
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How to post

In this thread you can post all wips, questions, comments etc
However if you are done with your entry, post the final image in the following thread.

THREAD FOR FINAL ENTRIES (http://conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=133959)

READ THE INFO IN THE 1ST POST OF THE FINALS THREAD TO SEE HOW TO POST YOUR FINAL IMAGE!!!

[Fozzybar]

ADDITIONAL INFO

1. The Dinosaur can be extinct or living

2. It must be somewhat huge like bigger than a car, otherwise it would have been called "Arctic Reptile"

3. Think about the Why and How the dinosaur lives in the arctic.

4. As far as i know there is no proof if Dinosaurs were coldblooded creatures, so this shouldn't be a problem. You can come up for any solution for that if you want to.

5. No individual/character!!! Make a concept of a species!

[yoitisi]

Dinosaurs! What more can we wish for :P

I do however have a question: when dinosaurs still lived, the continents where arranged a bit different, and the earth was generally a lot warmer and the seasons were different too. This means there was no actual..uhm.. arctic region -and most likely no reason for dinosaurs to be adapted to the cold of the arctic region as we know it now. Just to make sure, I assume you mean a dinosaur that could live in the arctic cold as it is today? Otherwise, you might find that the arctic continent a couple of million years ago was a lot warmer and that would render the first part of the topic kind of useless :P

[Kezrek]

Dinosaurs! What more can we wish for :P

I do however have a question: when dinosaurs still lived, the continents where arranged a bit different, and the earth was generally a lot warmer and the seasons were different too. This means there was no actual..uhm.. arctic region -and most likely no reason for dinosaurs to be adapted to the cold of the arctic region as we know it now. Just to make sure, I assume you mean a dinosaur that could live in the arctic cold as it is today? Otherwise, you might find that the arctic continent a couple of million years ago was a lot warmer and that would render the first part of the topic kind of useless :P

Maybe these particular dinosaurs survived whatever killed their kin off, and lived on, all the way to the ice age. They would have been forced to adapt, or die; so the ones that thrived in the climate are the ones we're depicting. Where are they now? Well, that's easy. Space Pirates. 8D

Erm. Anyway. Super excited for this topic!

[Fozzybar]

ARCTIC!!!! SNOW!!! ICE!!!! COLD!!!!

I don't care what the areas which were cold before and are warm now or the other way round...the dinos we are looking for are living in an arctic habitat, that's it ;)

[DefiledVisions]

Are we allowed to "re-invent" a dinosaur? like take a t-rex, but just adapt him to the northpole instead of what-ever-he-was back then?

[Zombunny27]

Ok, I've totally just pictured a wide range of of dinosaurs all with furry collars and boots. I need that image to stop being funny so I can try to actually think of something. Yay dinosaurs.

[heavyflash]

nice topic. But I got to practice like hell if I want to challenge myself for this one.

[Mr Man]

Fun! I haven't drawn a dino in a good while :)

[Culture_Vulture]

Sounds neat. The first thing that came to mind for some reason was that Primal Rage game from way back in the day. I think they had an arctic dino, or maybe it was just the ape.

[ImRazil]

Few things that may come in handy with this COW

Article about survival on the Arctic
http://www.wonderquest.com/april-writer/ch8-plants-animals.htm

Pictures of dinosaurs (a lot of them!)
http://www.search4dinosaurs.com/

And a few things:
Dinosaurs were the dominant vertebrate animals of terrestrial ecosystems for over 160 million years, from the late Triassic period (about 230 million years ago) to the end of the Cretaceous period (65 million years ago), when most of them became extinct in the Cretaceous–Tertiary extinction event. Today there are 10,000 living species of dinosaurs that are commonly known as birds.

The discovery in 1862 of Archaeopteryx first suggested a close relationship between dinosaurs and birds; aside from the presence of fossilized feather impressions, Archaeopteryx was very similar to the contemporary small predatory dinosaur Compsognathus. Research since the 1970s indicates that theropod dinosaurs are most likely the ancestors of birds; in fact, most paleontologists regard birds as the only surviving dinosaurs and some believe dinosaurs and birds should be put together under one biological class.[1] Crocodilians are the other surviving close relatives of dinosaurs, and both groups are members of the Archosauria, a group of reptiles that first appeared in the very late Permian and became dominant in the mid-Triassic.

The term "dinosaur" was first coined in 1842 by Sir Richard Owen and derives from Greek δεινός (deinos) "terrible, powerful, wondrous" + σαῦρος (sauros) "lizard". It is sometimes used informally to describe other prehistoric reptiles, such as the pelycosaur Dimetrodon, the winged pterosaurs, and the aquatic ichthyosaurs, plesiosaurs and mosasaurs, although none of these were dinosaurs.

Dictionary: Dinosaur: Any of various extinct, often gigantic, carnivorous or herbivorous reptiles of the orders Saurischia and Ornithischia that were chiefly terrestrial and existed during the Mesozoic Era.

[Fozzybar]

Another rule for this round, which i forgot to add from the beginning, but the first final entry in the finals thread reminded me of it:

The dino is supposed to live on the surface. No water-only creature!!!

I will add it to the 2nd post, but somehow the forums f*** up and doesn't allow editing it for now...

[Fozzybar]

Paul Kang
Please change your entry regarding the last rule, i am sorry that i forgot it, but this topic really needs that restriction, otherwise we will have hundreds of plesiosaurus swimming here ;)

[siiilon]

Fozzybar : Not watter only? Why that? To be honnest I have the same concept in mind, a watter creature situated in nice arctic environment. It would be pitty to give such restriction (my opinion).

[daestwen]

Awesome topic....

...

... I'm sure I can draw dinosaurs if I try! Right? Right?

[yoitisi]

ARCTIC!!!! SNOW!!! ICE!!!! COLD!!!!

I don't care what the areas which were cold before and are warm now or the other way round...the dinos we are looking for are living in an arctic habitat, that's it ;)


Just to get that out of the way, y'know :P Will have to see about entering this one, although I can't just let a dinosaur topic go by now, can I ? :madchef:

[Paul Kang]

its all good, it was really fun doin it anyway

[ImRazil]

Another rule for this round, which i forgot to add from the beginning, but the first final entry in the finals thread reminded me of it:

The dino is supposed to live on the surface. No water-only creature!!!

I will add it to the 2nd post, but somehow the forums f*** up and doesn't allow editing it for now...

Don't want to sound lame or something... But plesiosaurs aren't dinosaurs (stated in the text in my earlier post also), as are the air thingies.

Dino's live on land ^^, glad you caught it though Fozzybar :).

[retter]

I'm going to have some fun with this, I have so many books on dinosaurs which I'm going to have to plow through for inspiration.

Also, quick note; Pterosaurs aren't dinosaurs. Would have been pretty damn hard for one to live in the arctic anyway so I guess it doesn't matter :P.

[artiphats]

dino's? I am soooo in. how could I pass a nice icy dino up in all this southern california heat? :sungod:

[KingWombat]

lol, I just finished an underwater dino sketch... Just now read the New rule.. No underwater.... *tear

[chuck18mp]

Nice subject!
Good luck!
:D

[Paul Kang]

feel your pain man

[Elwell]

2. It must be somewhat huge like bigger than a car, otherwise it would have been called "Arctic Reptile"
Fozz, you can of course set any criteria that you want, but dinosaur ≠ giant reptile. Many, many dinos were smaller than car sized, including some of the most well known and recognizable (velociraptor, anybody?).

And, of course, there's one very famous group of arctic (well, antarctic) dinosaurs alive today...
437978

[ArtZealot]

great topic. count me in.

[Mr_S_14]

I came across this just by chance and then tried to find it on youtube, so here you go, hopefully someone will find this interesting.
the title is "What Color Were Dinosaurs ?"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4NJuzfyNK4

[siiilon]

I've posted before I introduced myself, sorry. Hi all, I am new here and thinking about try my first contribution. I am not sure I'm worthy, but I'll try.
About the water dinos - to be honest, I didn't know that there were no such, so the plesiosaur is just dino like, not dinosaur actually. But should we study paleontology or should we just play with our imagination and make someone believe our creature is arctic water dino? Tommorow someone will make first water dino discovery and only then we can broaden our fantasy? Don't make me wrong, as I said, I am new here and just learning.

[Fozzybar]

Fozz, you can of course set any criteria that you want, but dinosaur ≠ giant reptile. Many, many dinos were smaller than car sized, including some of the most well known and recognizable (velociraptor, anybody?).

And, of course, there's one very famous group of arctic (well, antarctic) dinosaurs alive today...
437978

Of course there were dinos in small sizes, after all Dinos are Reptiles which extinct million years ago, isn't that the definition? They say crocodiles are the living dinos, since they survived and were already on the planet while the dinos lived. But no one defines a crocodile as a dino, they say Reptile.

Do you say "look there are dinos", when seeing penguins? I think we should stick to the definition: Big Reptiles, which lived million years ago.

The thing is that i don't want to have a gecko in the same competition with a Bracchiosaurus, thus the size restriction.

Instead i want to see big Dinos which have to deal with a life in an arctic environment.

[Fozzybar]

Fozzybar : Not watter only? Why that? To be honnest I have the same concept in mind, a watter creature situated in nice arctic environment. It would be pitty to give such restriction (my opinion).

There is a difference between an orca and an icebear. When i make a topic like "Arctic Mammal", i don't want people to come up with orcas. Same goes for this round ;)

[yoitisi]

Haha this is turning into a pretty complicated discussion about what a dinosaur is actually, rather than an art contest :\ I think it's better to just draw what you think fits with this topic and let people shoot at that instead of coming up with loopholes 'n stuff.

That said, Fozz, to classify dinosaurs as 'just reptiles' isn't completely true. A big difference is the way their legs support their torso. A crocodile is actually a descendant from the critters that roamed the earth even before the dinosaurs appeared. Its shoulder and hip structure is different than that of dinosaur. Anyway, enough scientific mumbo jumbo, time to make some WIPs :D

[Keenir]

*is going to try to actually post something this time*

Dinosaurs! What more can we wish for :P

Otherwise, you might find that the arctic continent a couple of million years ago was a lot warmer and that would render the first part of the topic kind of useless :P

Australia's dinosaurs were adapted for polar conditions in the Cretaceous.

[Keenir]

Fozzybar : Not watter only? Why that? To be honnest I have the same concept in mind, a watter creature situated in nice arctic environment. It would be pitty to give such restriction (my opinion).

why? there were never any aquatic dinosaurs.

[Fozzybar]

Haha this is turning into a pretty complicated discussion about what a dinosaur is actually, rather than an art contest :\ I think it's better to just draw what you think fits with this topic and let people shoot at that instead of coming up with loopholes 'n stuff.I think that's actually a good idea. I am not a scientist and never read deep into the details of what dinos are or not. I just go for the common definition of dino here...it sound's primitive, but it makes life easier :D

[Timmy the Turtle]

I'm soooooo in! There shall be detail and hours and hours of work :D BOOYA! :) Nice topic, Fozz

[yoitisi]

Fozzy: It certainly does :P

Here's a WIP of sorts. I think I'll try to do a pencil rendering for this one.

Not really sure how to tackle the problem of the cold environment and things, just brushing up on drawing dinosaurs. I suspect at one point feathers will be involved.

438357

[DefiledVisions]

Yoitisi you're my childhood hero! coooool dinosaurs :D

[Timmy the Turtle]

yoitisi: My god, man! that's all i have to say:)

Very very very very early sketch :)

[Arteater]

Timmy the turtle: Nice work so far, I think its going to turn out great .
I love that bears head

[polydrawer]

Timmy the Turtle and yoitisi, nice work so far

some rough sketches, i personally like the octopus alike dinosaur at the top of his body/head he has icebergs to blend in with the surroundings

http://img502.imageshack.us/img502/8573/cowiceag4.jpg

[longshao]

Big, fat, furry dinos. Count me in.
Nice sketches, yoitisi and timmy.
Good thing you are exploring different shapes, but I think the octopus is too far off.

[ImRazil]

Haha this is turning into a pretty complicated discussion about what a dinosaur is actually, rather than an art contest :\ I think it's better to just draw what you think fits with this topic and let people shoot at that instead of coming up with loopholes 'n stuff.

That said, Fozz, to classify dinosaurs as 'just reptiles' isn't completely true. A big difference is the way their legs support their torso. A crocodile is actually a descendant from the critters that roamed the earth even before the dinosaurs appeared. Its shoulder and hip structure is different than that of dinosaur. Anyway, enough scientific mumbo jumbo, time to make some WIPs :D

DINOSAURS ARE VERTIBRATES WHICH LIVED BEFORE 56 MILLION YEARS AGO AND HAD A CERTAIN HIP BUILD ('LIZARD-HIP' or 'BIRD-HIP') AND LIVED ON LAND. L-A-N-D! (anything that is avic or aquatic doesn't count for this topic thus!) This is the simplest way to put it, any other way has to be supported so I suggest you put it with your art, though the easy way is to just make a huge land creature by the way of Fozziebar...

[Michael Jaecks]

Timmy the turtle, that's very cool, the way the bear looks really sells the whole pose....

Ravenslayer: I like the octopuse but it might be too far off for 'dinosaur'.... BTW: great avatar. ;)

[polydrawer]

yeah, you guys are right about the octopus.
i'm going to do some more sketches to find a better idea thats more dinosaur
and tnx Michael :p

[Djinn]

Timmy the Turtle That thing is awesome.

And I'm really looking forward to whatever Yoitsi brings to the table, those sketches are very impressive

My first Arctic Dinosaur WIP:
I think the hardest part is going to be the scaly dinosaur skin texture.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v465/wolveeberserker/Djinn_AD1.jpg

[LTX]

trying out

http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q255/linetype/dinov3.jpg

[Moai]

Thank you, people who have already pointed out that other extinct animals such as plesiosaurs and pterosaurs are not dinosaurs (ImRazil, retter). I'm very zoologically-minded, and I've been fascinated by dinosaurs practically since birth, so it bugs me when people lump just any old extinct reptile-type creature into the "dinosaur" category. So, the raving paleo-geek within me really appreciates that some of you have made efforts to clarify what a dinosaur actually is.
On a related note, if anyone draws a pterodactyl, Dimetrodon, mosasaur, or a gosh-darn glyptodont and tries to call it a dinosaur, I'm going to have to char that person to cinders with my laser eye beams of death. Just a friendly warning.

Anywho, if anyone would like a serious dose of dinosaur inspiration, check out Specworld (http://www.bowdoin.edu/~dbensen/Spec/Index.html). It's a very complete, extensive, creative, and image-rich result of that old "what if dinosaurs hadn't gone extinct" thought experiment. There's even a few arctic dinosaurs in there, too.:rendered:
Also, for some more conventional dinosaur reference, check out Skeletal Drawing.com (http://www.skeletaldrawing.com/). It has a whole slew of drawings of dinosaur skeletons, and even a few pictures of dinosaur muscular anatomy. A great resource.

Awesome topic, and some cool entries so far. I might enter, but then I say that to a lot of these topics and nothing ever happens.
Yoitisi- Great sketches. I'm liking those Stegosaurs. I think Stegosaurus was one of the more elegant dinosaurs from a visual design perspective. It has a nice swooping line to its back.
Timmy the Turtle- Promising entry. I'd like to get a view of its head that isn't obstructed by a polar bear. Perhaps add a second creature?
Ravenslayer- These sketches are nice, but none of them are really saying "dinosaur" to me (especially the octopus one, as others have mentioned). Perhaps start with creatures that are more similar to actual, specific dinosaur species, and then make your designs more creative and far-fetched from that starting point.
Djinn- Nice start. Reminds me of some of the creatures from Dougal Dixon's book, The New Dinosaurs, which is another exploration of that "what if dinosaurs hadn't gone extinct" topic. In Dixon's alternate world, many dinosaurs became well-adapted to climbing trees. Your climbing dinosaur reminds me very much of that. The tall sails on its head and back have both their advantages and disadvantages. The advantages are that it makes the design more dinosaur-like, and would also be useful for absorbing more head from the sun; the disadvantage would be that it would give the creature a much larger surface area, which means that it would loose heat more quickly in the arctic. Perhaps make the sails able to fold down, once the creature is warmed up?
LTX- Great start! Your creature is a nice combination of T-rex and yeti. One suggestion: make its tail straighter. The tails of most carnivorous dinosaurs were actually fairly straight and rigid. So, straightening out the tail would make this more scientifically accurate. More importantly than scientific accuracy, though, I think it would improve the creature's pose. Having the tail go off to the left would give the creature's pose a great sense of having just turned, as if pursuing evasive prey.
Paul Kang- I think it's interesting that you seem to be going for an "ice elemental" rather than a natural arctic animal. Instead of just taking a Triceratops and making it icy, however, I think you should get a bit more creative and try to come up with a new creature that is reminiscent of a Ceratopsian, but is never the less a new and different species. Change the pattern of horns, give it a different neck frill, etc.


Edit: Post number 2001!!

[Fozzybar]

Just want to make something clear:

You don't need to take a known dino, you actually should come up with a new design...i think it's lame to take aknown dino and just change the colors...

[Jake Kobrin]

Was this thing real??? This is the coolest dinosaur I've ever seen!
http://www.search4dinosaurs.com/jcjcDimorphodon.jpg

[Jake Kobrin]

I gathered some info that might be helpful. First I found this article:
Researchers Melt Polar Dinosaur Mysteries (http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/02/0225_0225_polardinos.html)
A real life arctic "dinosaur"
http://www.nrdc.org/water/conservation/hbyear/images/jan1.jpg
http://www.galvestonbirders.org/Arctic%20Tern%20hovering2%200807.jpg
About polar/arctic animals:
Most animals that live in the arctic are very stocky and have dense, tough fur or feathers. Also they're bodies generally are close to the ground.
Some arctic animals are Polar Bears, Foxes, Hares, birds, caribou, muskox, sheep, wolverines, lemmings, seals, and walruses. Notice that most of these animals fit the description above, they're all generally stocky.

A question for Fozz, the article says that the Dinos that lived in the polar regions were very small but we can't paint small dinos so... what do we do?

[Jake Kobrin]

Heres a doodle and silhouette. Lets see what this turns into...

[ImRazil]

I gathered some info that might be helpful.
About polar/arctic animals:
Most animals that live in the arctic are very stocky and have dense, tough fur or feathers. Also they're bodies generally are close to the ground.
Some arctic animals are Polar Bears, Foxes, Hares, birds, caribou, muskox, sheep, wolverines, lemmings, seals, and walruses. Notice that most of these animals fit the description above, they're all generally stocky.

A question for Fozz, the article says that the Dinos that lived in the polar regions were very small but we can't paint small dinos so... what do we do?

Do you notice the word 'most' in your sentence ;). I know you're not asking me this, but there are options for a large creature to survive on the Arctic. Muskox for one are massive goats, though they seem to survive quite well on the Arctic. The Arctic is also a massive amount of space, so you can also adapt a little (perhaps migrating species of the arctic, a species that follows the summertime? To avoid the harsh Arctic winters? Or something that lives on the warmer spaces of the Arctic?).

Adaptations for animals on the Arctic are (besides being short and stocky): multiple layers of hair, fat/blubber, black color (dark colors keep warmth better, though white colors help blend in with the environment. If your creature is massive and has no natural predators, then I'd aspect a black color, since it has no need for blending in). Think evolutionairy! How would you adapt to such a space?

[ImRazil]

Just a WIP, any comments?

I'm making a species that has a compact and sturdy body, though still quite large. The color will be dark to preserve warmth and he will also have some form of warmth preservation (blubber, feathers or hair, haven't decided yet). The species has evolved to have a certain form in the horns which means that it can charge at others with every strain that comes at the horns will be directed at the body itself (meaning that the strain on the 'horns' will be redirected to the body and thus the horns won't break easily). This would be the first evolutionairy reason to have developed these horns, but they also make an effective shovel and pick, which means that this species can dig out shrubs and other plantlife from under the snow without making use of soft tissue that could freeze. It's situated on a car to show the size of the creature.

WIP UPDATED:
http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/468/cowwip3oe8.jpg (http://www.imagehosting.com/)

[chuck18mp]

Timmy the turtle: Nice start!!!
:D

[draconas]

One really simple way to tell if it's a dinosaur is to see if it has it's limbs completely underneath it, that's really the only thing that make dinos dinos.
It's also why there are no aquatic dinos because they all had flippers sticking out to the side.

[Moai]

On a related note, if anyone draws a pterodactyl, Dimetrodon, mosasaur, or a gosh-darn glyptodont and tries to call it a dinosaur, I'm going to have to char that person to cinders with my laser eye beams of death. Just a friendly warning.

Was this thing real??? This is the coolest dinosaur I've ever seen!
http://www.search4dinosaurs.com/jcjcDimorphodon.jpg

Jake, you were warned. Now I'm going to have to char you to cinders with my laser eye beams of death.:P

Edit: Dimorphodon (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dimorphodon) is a very cool Mesozoic creature, though. I love the contrast of its gracile body and its large, deep skull. That's an attractive rendering of it, too.:wink:

[Arteater]

Jake got burned!

[MJ_Alcazar]

yoitisi - I love the sketches, stegosourus is my favorite, I always thought it looked so beautiful. I think I spelled that right, if I didn't I'm sorry.

LTX - looking awesome! I like it! :)

Timmy the Turtle - I love the feel of yours, especially that polar bear!

Djinn - I like yours too, it looks really delicate for the artic though. Maybe give it some more fat layers or something? It's looking good. :)

[Tyrus]

If I have time I plan to make a dinosaur that fits a similar niche and has similarities to the walrus :)

[Fozzybar]

A question for Fozz, the article says that the Dinos that lived in the polar regions were very small but we can't paint small dinos so... what do we do?Simple: You do large dinos.

[Jake Kobrin]

Jake, you were warned. Now I'm going to have to char you to cinders with my laser eye beams of death.:P

Edit: Dimorphodon (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dimorphodon) is a very cool Mesozoic creature, though. I love the contrast of its gracile body and its large, deep skull. That's an attractive rendering of it, too.:wink:

It was under a list of DINOSAURS so I assumed it was one... well it's the coolest Pterosaur I've ever seen then.

[JIVA*SOUL]

cool topic

[Timmy the Turtle]

Great stuff everybody! :) Thanks for the kind words, people :D Here's some progress on the thingie. :) I posted a croped version 'cause you like my fuzzy polar bear :D

[Moai]

Jake Kobrin- If you like Dimorphodon, you might want to browse through wikipedia's pages on Pterosaurs. I'm sure you'll find many more Pterosaurs to be inspired by. Examples of cool Pterosaurs: Anurognathus (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anurognathus), Scaphognathus (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scaphognathus), Ornithocheirus (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ornithocheirus), Nyctosaurus (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nyctosaurus), Pterodaustro (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pterodaustro), Dsungaripterus (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dsungaripterus), and Tapejara and its close relatives (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tapejaridae).

[BlightedArt]

Cool ideas everyone.

Nice topic... hmm. I plan on implementing an igloo in mine, if that gives you guys any ideas. :)

[Texahol]

the dinosaur debate is a great example of real working experience where the brief isn't as accurate as you might like it to be. The 'art director' aka fozzy has complete control on what he wants to see from this 'project'. If he says dinos and his definition of dinos is different than yours and your work doesn't fit the brief according to his definition...well you didn't do 'the job' and won't 'get paid' aka taken to poll.

All the debate is kind of silly. He wants something larger than a car, lives on land, and looks like a 'dinosaur' aka giant reptile-like creature.

that being said...lets see some interesting designs ;)

[MonkeYoakum]

Could a dinosaur, asuming they are cold blooded, live on geothermal power? and if so, what would the water temperature to time spent soaking ratio be to maintain survival?

[BlightedArt]

This is pretty basic but may as well throw it in here for those it might help, don't forget the basic acronym "MRS. GREN" when it comes to developing a creature:

Movement
Respiration
Sensitivity

Growth
Reproduction
Excretion
Nutrition

How do they work? How will your creature accomplish ALL of these fundamentals?

[yoitisi]

Jiva*soul: Don't want to spoil the fun for you, but a mammoth is definately NOT a dinosaur. It's a mammal, and it lived a couple of million years after the last dino had become extinct. Plus, having a final entry this early means you can do loads more work on it...

[BlightedArt]

My WIP, went through a few ideas including how to implement the back (still working on that, nowhere near finished) and if he should be bipedal or quadrupedal etc. Got a loooong way to go.

It's supposed to resemble an igloo in parts. Any C&C would be greatly appreciated.

[retter]

BlightedArt: really cool initial sketch, i like the igloo idea but something about it concerns me, it has the head of a carnivore but its body looks as though it's not built for much running/hunting etc. what with the bulky frame, low centre of gravity and - for lack of a better word - lumpiness. unless the idea of the dinosaur is to lie in wait and quickly ambush its prey (which would be pretty cool, actually) the head doesn't really match the body. but that's just my two cents.

[Fozzybar]

Jiva*soul: Don't want to spoil the fun for you, but a mammoth is definately NOT a dinosaur. It's a mammal, and it lived a couple of million years after the last dino had become extinct. Plus, having a final entry this early means you can do loads more work on it...yep, that's why it is deleted now ;)

[BlightedArt]

BlightedArt: really cool initial sketch, i like the igloo idea but something about it concerns me, it has the head of a carnivore but its body looks as though it's not built for much running/hunting etc. what with the bulky frame, low centre of gravity and - for lack of a better word - lumpiness. unless the idea of the dinosaur is to lie in wait and quickly ambush its prey (which would be pretty cool, actually) the head doesn't really match the body. but that's just my two cents.

Thanks, that's a very good point. In actuality it dips its jaw in the water (hard to see here, but the jowls are actually similar to the pelican, where it scoops and stores fish), and has a means of refracting light in order to attract fish into its mouth (sounds odd, but it works, and will be better explained in thumbnail illustrations).

Do you think that eating smaller fish is an okay reason to have the head and body paired up as they are? :) If not please say so! :D Thanks again.

[monotony]

yoitisi really cool sketches so far.
Timmy like your concept as well.
BlightedArt cool sketch you have there. I like the idea of him resembling an igloo.
but wouldn't it make sense if that igloo was actually for attracting humans?
a dinosaur specializing on trapping and eating humans would be kindof scary but his design and size would make a lot more sense to me than him hunting fish.
just some thoughts.

gonna give this cow a go as well.
this is the sketch I might slap some colors on.
440129

[longshao]

Sketch, I am doing a hadrosaur.

http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q137/yty2000/sketch1.jpg

[DefiledVisions]

wow.. impressive stuff! you guys should be doing illustrations for dinosaur books damnit! timmy I love the polarbear.. poor thing :D Longsaho thats gonna turn out great.

going for a stegosaurus inspired dinosaur.. probably furr/feathers.. like penguins. I see this creature as a big salamander like thing. I think I need to give it a more streamlined shape if it's going to go hunt food in the water.

[Timmy the Turtle]

Nice stuff guys. longshao, I really like yours! :D Anyway, here's more progress on mine. :)

[Antne]

Man! Some really good stuff already!

One little prob and forgive me if Fozzy already dealt with this but if it has fur like many of the WIPs already posted, doesn't that make it a mammal and not a giant terrible lizard? As you can see below, a giant woolly mammoth thing was my first thought until it occurred to me it was a mammal. I hope I'm wrong because there are some cool looking furry creatures so far.

Below are some early sketches of mine. I am leaning towards one of the bottom two. What do you guys think?

[retter]

Thanks, that's a very good point. In actuality it dips its jaw in the water (hard to see here, but the jowls are actually similar to the pelican, where it scoops and stores fish), and has a means of refracting light in order to attract fish into its mouth (sounds odd, but it works, and will be better explained in thumbnail illustrations).

Do you think that eating smaller fish is an okay reason to have the head and body paired up as they are? :) If not please say so! :D Thanks again.
ah okay, so he just kind of camps next to the water and waits for fish? that makes sense, the head and body combination are definitely justified by his eating habits.. but he might need a longer neck :P.

[BlightedArt]

ah okay, so he just kind of camps next to the water and waits for fish? that makes sense, the head and body combination are definitely justified by his eating habits.. but he might need a longer neck :P.

Haha, yes you're right there, unfortunately I don't have enough paper to do that just yet, but when the image is scanned that won't be a problem!

Also thanks Monotony for the input, he was initially going to hunt humans with the same "luring" method, but to be honest there are too many "scary", "evil" and "bloodthirsty" monsters in C.O.W. these days. :P Will probably still make this guy carnivorous though. Also your sketch is looking very cool too. I'm not sure about its legs though, might they be too thin and exposed to bare the harsh cold?

[Moai]

One little prob and forgive me if Fozzy already dealt with this but if it has fur like many of the WIPs already posted, doesn't that make it a mammal and not a giant terrible lizard? As you can see below, a giant woolly mammoth thing was my first thought until it occurred to me it was a mammal. I hope I'm wrong because there are some cool looking furry creatures so far.

Nope. Fur is not the defining characteristic of mammals. Mammals are defined by mammary glands, a particular organization of bones in the jaw and ear, and other characteristics. Archosaurs (the group of reptiles that includes dinosaurs, crocodiles, and probably pterosaurs) have many different body coverings. Some had scaly skin, some (like crocodiles) have scutes (a kind of armored scale with a bony core), pterosaurs had hair, and many dinosaurs have feathers (all the dinosaurs that still exist have feathers, in fact). Some Ceratopsians (Triceratops and relatives) had a row of bristles going down their backs. So, I think you could put just about any body covering you want on a dinosaur and still be in the realm of plausibility.:rendered:

[Aedant]

This is a w.i.p. for my entry, wich I wish to finish. My design is a cross between a ceratopsian and a musk ox.

http://fc05.deviantart.com/fs32/f/2008/230/1/1/Trike_head_detail_by_Narseith.png

The nivaceratops (Nivaceratops Ansonii) has evolved from north american ceratopsians after some of them managed to survive the mass extinction. These ceratopsians remained about the same until the ice age came. At that time, individuals with protofeathers became more apt to survive the cold temperatures and with generations those huge creatures became covered by a thick mass of fur. It provided the insulation they needed to survive the icy winds of the north. Their noses became covered with fleshy overgrowths that warmed the air before it could penetrate their lungs. Their horns, once used for display and defense, helped them dig the surface of the snow to uncover lichens an small plants on wich they fed. Now that the ice age is over, only few groups of nivaceratops still thrive in the arctic.

http://fc02.deviantart.com/fs31/f/2008/230/8/9/Arctic_Trike_by_Narseith.png

Tell me what you think!

[Antne]

Nope. Fur is not the defining characteristic of mammals. Mammals are defined by mammary glands, a particular organization of bones in the jaw and ear, and other characteristics. Archosaurs (the group of reptiles that includes dinosaurs, crocodiles, and probably pterosaurs) have many different body coverings. Some had scaly skin, some (like crocodiles) have scutes (a kind of armored scale with a bony core), pterosaurs had hair, and many dinosaurs have feathers (all the dinosaurs that still exist have feathers, in fact). Some Ceratopsians (Triceratops and relatives) had a row of bristles going down their backs. So, I think you could put just about any body covering you want on a dinosaur and still be in the realm of plausibility.:rendered:

Cool! Who new? Well, I guess you did. Thanks for schooling me. That opens up all kinds of fun possibilities for me. Thanks, Moai.

[Paul Kang]

aedant i love you man, or woman
that thing is a beauty

[Paul Kang]

well heres mine so far
i know theres always something to add to a picture so
any comments or suggestions on the dino would be great


http://fc05.deviantart.com/fs31/i/2008/230/f/9/arctic_dino_by_warmll.jpg

timmy, lookin good:asskisser:

[scorge]

Moai: Man, as soon as I saw this topic, your "name" popped into my head. I especially love your point about the tail. All this time I've been drawing over sized bipeds w/ tails, and never considered the physical aspect of balance. Thanks for your knowledge and common sense approach to all the things we sometimes forget. Seriously.
I hope I can get in on this one. Haven't checked the deadline yet so I'll do my best to squeak one in....Here's hoping I'm fast enough.:D

[Djinn]

Aedant Your WIP has some amazing texture to it, I'm jealous. =P My only concern is that its too musk ox, and not enough 'ceratops. Though I'm not sure how you might go about remedying that.

Paul Kang Overall it's at a good spot, but you're right there are a lot of areas to improve. It's legs seem way too bright for the rest of the body (unless they have different kind of armor scaling or something like that, even so, make that more apparent). And the fur, while being a good underlayer, is too blurry to fit the rest of the image. I also recommend taking another run at his head/jaw, and consider doing something with the line where the fur starts. I'm looking forward to the next version!

Antne My favorite is the top right, a tweak on the snout would make it feel more 'dinosaur' and less 'big salamander'. The bottom right is super intimidating, and the bottom left is actually really cute. Whichever way you go, all those sketches rock, and I can't wait to see your next step.


EDIT:: I'd also like to mention how impressed I am with the wide array of dinosaur knowledge here. =)

[retter]

here's my work in progress.
i was looking up adaptations that animals have for arctic regions and nothing really stood out to me as interesting so i looked at what some plants do to stay alive through the harsh cold and one plant secretes a waxy oil over its body to insulate the heat, which i thought is much cooler (not literally of course... haha lame joke.) so that's what those sac-like things are on this guy's face and back, i mean paleontologists are still tossing up theories as to what hadrosaurids used them for so i may as well throw mine into the mix, heh.
there's a lot of blank space which will be fixed with the patterns i add during the colouring phase.

[siiilon]

Hi guys, nice pictures.

Paul Kang I would make more clear overal anatomy concept before shading. I would sketch dino in its limit poses and try to depict it within its own environment. When it looks believable and pretty it's time to go for good composition to show its beauties. Yes I know, lack of patience, I skip this part often myself :( - but it's definitely a bad habit.

Aedant Overal seems good, but I would pay more attention to dino's head/skull. Try to sketch its skull and you'll see how you can improve it. Try to make it more compact with more continuous shapes, especially the part above his eyes.

Ok guys, we still have some time to repaint/redraw things, so don't hesitate and play with your concepts until last moment. So I hope my pic wont be eye harmfull. >:D

[Michael Jaecks]

Goodness, this thread is exploding out of control. It's hard to have a favorite.

Anytime Fozz think's the previous week was a little thin in participation, just say 'dinosaur' and everyone shows up. Just don't say 'Dinosaur from Hell" or you'll probably crash the site. ;)

Nice work everyone. I can't play this week, but I am really looking forward to the finals... perhaps moreso this week than in any in recent months.

[DefiledVisions]

oh man.. sad to hear you're not joining in this week. Was looking forward to see your piece.


Think I'm done with the sketch.

[Paul Kang]

Aedant Your WIP has some amazing texture to it, I'm jealous. =P My only concern is that its too musk ox, and not enough 'ceratops. Though I'm not sure how you might go about remedying that.

Paul Kang Overall it's at a good spot, but you're right there are a lot of areas to improve. It's legs seem way too bright for the rest of the body (unless they have different kind of armor scaling or something like that, even so, make that more apparent). And the fur, while being a good underlayer, is too blurry to fit the rest of the image. I also recommend taking another run at his head/jaw, and consider doing something with the line where the fur starts. I'm looking forward to the next version!

Antne My favorite is the top right, a tweak on the snout would make it feel more 'dinosaur' and less 'big salamander'. The bottom right is super intimidating, and the bottom left is actually really cute. Whichever way you go, all those sketches rock, and I can't wait to see your next step.


EDIT:: I'd also like to mention how impressed I am with the wide array of dinosaur knowledge here. =)


yeah i decided to give the legs an "icy" look, kind of like a natural camoflauge.
you are def right about the fur, i would have done this on my laptop that has photoshop, but my brother broke the damn thing the other night, so i had to do this on alias sketchbook on my crap computer

[Sir Bret]

This COW calls for some extreme ideas - it's all great so far, but perhaps a little too subtle. Considering this isarctic dinosaurs, don't you think we need a little more ice or some weird creatures, like DefiledVisions?

[Moai]

Everybody, stop what you're doing and look at this site: http://csotonyi.com/Galleries.html. It's the most beautiful paleo-art I've seen in a long, long time. Incidentally, it's the same artist who painted that Pterosaur that Jake Kobrin posted.
Looking at these gorgeous images has gotten me really pumped up to start on my own entry!

(My apologies to the illustrator if he doesn't appreciate his images being shown).

[longshao]

Moai--good stuff. Csotonyi is one of my favorite paleo artists, up there with Paul, Martin, Henderson, and Conway.
antne--I personally like the bottom lift one. The other ones are either too mammal or dragon-like. I expect more energy and elegance from a dinosaur.
aedant--I like what you have so far. It's clearly a ceratopsian
PaulKang--Maybe design the ground more?
Retter--good overall, I don't know about the hump though.

[Moai]

longshao- I'm with you on Gregory Paul and Douglas Henderson. I'm not familiar with the names Martin and Conway, though.

Here's a rough of mine. It's a Ceratopsian, but closer to the Psittacosaur and Leptoceratops lineages, which were smaller, less quadrupedal, and lacking the extensive horns and neck shields of the better known Ceratopsians. This is just a very rough sketch, feeling out how the bones and muscles will show under the skin.

Also, this page (http://liberal-debutante.com/dinosaurs/im-not-fat-i-just-have-thick-skin.html) has a pretty cool depiction of a Psittacosaurus. I'll probably be using it as reference when I give this guy a downy, bristly fur coat.

[longshao]

Moai--very good structure on your dinosaur.
Here's a few from Martin and Conway.
Raul Martin is one of the best paleo artists from Spain, you might have seen his work in National Geographics. He used to do many acrylic paintings but have started to paint digitally art in recent years.
http://www.raul-martin.net/raulmartin/uno/triceratops.jpg
http://www.raul-martin.net/raulmartin/uno/supersaurus.jpg
http://www.raul-martin.net/raulmartin/uno/kritosaurus.jpg
http://www.raul-martin.net/raulmartin/new/styracosaurus.jpg

John Conway is on deviant art (jconway). He is an expert on pterosaurs, did some incredibly extensive studies on the subject matter:
http://palaeo.jconway.co.uk/pterosaur_structure.php
I see a lot of "Paul" in his work.
http://palaeo.jconway.co.uk/src.php?objectid=38&size=full
http://palaeo.jconway.co.uk/src.php?objectid=19&size=full
http://palaeo.jconway.co.uk/src.php?objectid=2&size=full

[Rizza]

I've been using Painter X a lot but decided to play with photoshop for this one. It seems like a lot of people do it in bw then color over it, which I haven't done so I'll try it with this one. I'm just getting the basic dinosaur figure down but eventually it will have some traits of a Killer Whale and some other snazzy things. Please give me tips and advice since I haven't been doing digital painting for long.


http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b89/FarewellApollo/Picture1-1.png

Edit:

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b89/FarewellApollo/smallarctdinobw.png

[Kasen Kato]

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3254/2777750790_dc009990bf_o.jpg

I love dinos! I hope it turns out!

[ArtZealot]

Everybody, stop what you're doing and look at this site: http://csotonyi.com/Galleries.html. It's the most beautiful paleo-art I've seen in a long, long time. Incidentally, it's the same artist who painted that Pterosaur that Jake Kobrin posted.
Looking at these gorgeous images has gotten me really pumped up to start on my own entry!

(My apologies to the illustrator if he doesn't appreciate his images being shown).

Thx very much moai, that site is great. :asskisser:

[yoitisi]

Moai, Longshao: Thanks for throwing out these artists names. It is pretty hard finding any good paintings of dinosaurs on the internet actually (at a decent size).

[Mr Man]

Don't forget to check out James Gurney!
(ignore the horrible frames, I just googled these)
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2171/1621015357_2c261ed9d1_o.jpg

http://www.galleryone.com/images/kim/gurney%20-%20dinosaur%20parade.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2064/1621013975_1efe28af89_o.jpg

[Camara]

In my opinion,the best paleo artist around is Todd Marshall

http://www.marshalls-art.com/pages/ppaleo/paleo13.htm

Take a look at his absolute amazing Spinosaurus

http://www.marshalls-art.com/images/ipaleo/paleopg10/Spinodetail.jpg
http://www.marshalls-art.com/images/ipaleo/paleopg16/Spino_v4.jpg
http://www.marshalls-art.com/images/ipaleo/paleopg6/spinoport.jpg
I am sure that this is the way that the dinosaur skins should look like,just like todays lizzards and iguanas.

[Fozzybar]

Anytime Fozz think's the previous week was a little thin in participation, just say 'dinosaur' and everyone shows up. Just don't say 'Dinosaur from Hell" or you'll probably crash the site. ;)
Hehe, you have my number, man :D Still there is the demon, predator and boobs joker i am reserving for really poor times :perv:

[Mr Man]

Here is my test so far. I didnt want to follow the crowd by having a hairy lizard. So Im trying to go for a whale/seal approach, blubbery. Looks like a generic dino at the moment, need to fatten it up.
I made him colourful just for fun, but I Will change the colours later .

This is a good exercise for experimenting with textured brushes :)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v63/mrswoman/Dinotest.jpg

[Paul Kang]

heres mine so far
i was goin for a warm "sunsetty" arctic look, apposed to the traditional blue cold colors
thanks to djinn for the critiques

any further comments or suggestions on it would be great

[Matteo'89]

Awesome entries guys - Yaoitsi, great sketches!

Here goes sketch of my dino, it is from Hadrosauridae family and mostly looks like Parasaurolophus, but is smaller and has other shape.
I also did an info card.

I will add him feather next.

http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z34/Mateo-89/ArcticDinosaur-SketchSmall.jpg

http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z34/Mateo-89/ArcticDinoSkeleton-InfoTable-Small.jpg

[Moai]

Longshao- Thanks for those examples, man. I'm sure I have seen Raul Martin's work in National Geographic and other places. As for John Conway, I think I see the influence of both Henderson and Paul in his work. His paintings especially remind me of Henderson, with simple, quite, naturalistic scenes. To tell the truth, I think Gregory Paul's influence is too pervasive; his dinosaurs have very distinctive textures, proportions, and silhouettes, and I see his style imitated too much by other paleo-artists.
Mr. Man- James Gurney is indeed awesome. Everyone should check out his blog (http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/) if they haven't yet. It's updated daily, and often has very good tips on color and light that you can't find anywhere else. Also, James Gurney's secret to making convincing paintings: reference, reference, reference!
As for your creature, I like the color scheme and the chubbiness of it. Since you're going for the blubbery approach, perhaps take a look at the skin texture of walruses. They have great knobby, bumpy, wrinkly hides.
Camara- Thanks for that. Cool stuff! A little too dramatic for my taste, and some of his dinosaurs are a bit too monstery (too raged, scaly, and toothy), but very cool nonetheless.
Matteo'89- Nice idea. My main crit has to do with its anatomy. Since our creature designs are based on dinosaurs, which are real animals, I think you should make an effort to make your dinosaur's skeleton and musculature more accurate. Right now, I'm sorry to say, it's not very close; it doesn't even have a shoulder blade or a lower jaw that's a separate bone from the rest of the skull. I posted this link already in this thread, but I'll post it again here: http://www.skeletaldrawing.com/. It's a great reference for dinosaur skeletal and muscular anatomy.

[Troken]

Have anyone read "The new dinosaurs" by Dougal Dixon? I think there was an arctic dinosaur in it, havent read it though.

http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/ciu/01/56/cc51319f8da02247ac777110.L.jpg

[Quinn Simoes]

Here's my WIP.

I hope I'm fitting the criteria for this one...

Quinn

[BANNED_For_POOPY_PANTS]

Nice one Quin Simoes. That would actually pass for an arctic dinosaur, as opposed to a standard familiar dinosaur with an "arctic" makeover.

Don't fool yourselves guys, this one's HARD.

[monotony]

Quinn that looks great so far!

my wip.
441945

[Rizza]

Aw Monotomy, I like how yours is so expressive and more cute and friendly rather than mean like everyone else's. I like how the body is so large and wiggly and its tiny legs just create such a great character. I'm looking forward to the finish. To me it's original while not straying away from the realistic facts of how a dinosaur could adapt to a colder climate.

Timmy The Turtle Really like the head on him so far and I love that polar bear. The face is very interesting and the eyes have a nice ghostly appearance to them. Your color selection of the dinosaur is great but I feel like the background matches it too much and there should be more blue sky to it.

Defiled Visions Nice figurative lines, love how they're full of action and can't wait to see it finished.

Yoitisi Amazing pencil rendering and I love the trex looking head with the large horn and fur, hope you settle on that design.

LTX Love the position you placed your dinosaur in and how it varies from everyone else's traditional pose.

Camara <3 Todd Marshall.

Moai Interesting head and I like the shape of his body.

[ImRazil]

Quinn Simoes, is that the 'Dinosaur from Hell' Michael Jacks is referring to? Looks awesome. :).

Well probably won't get it finished, but here's my WIP.

http://img77.imageshack.us/img77/2907/cowwip6md6.jpg (http://www.imagehosting.com/)

Any comments for the last stretch? My school has just started again and with some good pointers maybe I can finish this and in the situation that I can't finish this, dew to time-restraints, I can use the tips for my new projects on school.

Amazing works! Aedant and Moai, you're my favorites.

Aedant: your bison-esque triceratops is very realistic and I really like the close up of the hair.
Moai: great concept, though the ceratopsian features could be a bit stronger to show the decent of the creature (as now it almost looks like a dwarfed pachycephalosaurus, loosing it originality a bit).

[ImRazil]

Pretty bad though that every entry has small spikes or arms or a thin tail sticking out... Those are the features that would prevent a creature from surviving the arctic climate (those features would freeze easily).

[longshao]

As for John Conway, I think I see the influence of both Henderson and Paul in his work. His paintings especially remind me of Henderson, with simple, quite, naturalistic scenes. To tell the truth, I think Gregory Paul's influence is too pervasive; his dinosaurs have very distinctive textures, proportions, and silhouettes, and I see his style imitated too much by other paleo-artists.


I agree. The serenity and lush environment in Henderson's paintings set him apart. It also contrasts greatly with an artist like Marshall, whose images often depicts the peculiarity and brutality.
As for Paul, I think it's a good thing that people imitates him. His anatomy drawings are fairly accurate.

Quinn--original creature design.
monotony--lovely colors, I like it.
Imrazil--clarify the interaction, I am not sure what the dinosaur is doing to the car.

[Camara]

Talking about Todd Marshall,I recently bought this two models from the french trade mark Papo.They are absolutly amazing!!!The level of detail is incredible!The T-rex is based on the Jurassic Park T-Rex (I loved it when I was a child,but now looks a little bit strange),the detail is fantastic,but the pose is a little bit weird.The other one is GORGEOUS!!!Is an allosaurus based on the artwork of Todd Marshall,with all those ornamental scales.The figure is just amazing,perfect to use it as a reference.Buy it if you want,just 20€!!

http://img111.imageshack.us/img111/5421/dsc01444wy2.jpg

http://img153.imageshack.us/img153/5045/dsc01448gi1.jpg

[Rizza]

Yeah the T rex does look a little awkward but the one with the spiny face is awesome. Reminds me a little of McFarlane's dragons.

[Moai]

Troken- I know that book! You have no idea how excited I was when I first discovered that book as an imaginative, dino-crazy kid.:teeth:
Monotony- I really like your creature, especially the design of the head and the arrangement of tusks and scales. The legs are probably too tiny to be plausible in a strictly realistic sense, but they give the creature a great whimsical quality, so that's okay.
Rizza- Firstly, nice avatar. The king vulture is one of the neater looking birds out there. Secondly, thanks for the comment on my creature. The shape of the body is what attracted me to this design over the other sketches and thumbnails that I drew.
ImRazzil- Thanks for the comments!
Moai: great concept, though the ceratopsian features could be a bit stronger to show the decent of the creature (as now it almost looks like a dwarfed pachycephalosaurus, loosing it originality a bit).
Funny you should mention that it looks like a Pachycephalosaurus. Ceratopsians and pachycephalosaurs are actually two closely related groups of dinosaurs, both having similar structures along the rims of their skulls. So, it makes sense that my primitive ceratopsian would be similar to a pachycephalosaur. However, I have been thinking that perhaps the head isn't interesting enough. I'll probably give it a more interesting set of horns when I do my final drawing of it.
As for your entry, one thing that I'm noticing is that the perspective is kind of weird. It looks to me like we're viewing the head and lower body/limbs from more of a side view, and at its armored back from more of a top view. A good way to get the perspective right early on is to reduce your design into very simple rounded and boxy shapes. Once you have those simple shapes in correct perspective, that is when you go in and make the shapes and details more specific.
Also, the basic design of your dinosaur isn't that different from already existing ankylosaurs. Give it a little something extra, something unique!

[Kasen Kato]

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3293/2780100025_3939e61979_o.jpg

DUN!

Presenting the Icasourasrex!!

Not completly imaginitive but i had loads of fun with it.

Might add a background. Who Knows lol. Spent a butt load of time on it so i hope you like!

[Billzarro]

Troken I just recently was able to track that book down. Its a somewhat interesting read, and there was indeed an artic dino in it but it was more of a dinosaur covered in thick layers of blubbery fat than and far less interesting than the designs that Im seeing here. I'll see if I can dig that book out and scan the pic.

[Arteater]

well here is what I have, I really wanted to get something done for this c.o.w. :( well there's always next week. I was going for a cousin to those penquins Elwell posted on page one.
http://fc05.deviantart.com/fs31/i/2008/233/b/b/snow_dino_in_progress_by_arteaterproductions.jpg

longshao: I cant wait to see your finished piece

[Troken]

Troken I just recently was able to track that book down. ... I'll see if I can dig that book out and scan the pic.

Oh, please do, I've been curious about that book many years now, but not to be found where I live. Anyway, I can recommend Dougal Dixons alternative evolution/future evolution books, one of the sources that inspired me to start illustrating creatures of all sorts.

[Thalion]

Dinosaurus!!! :D It reminds me my childhood... I always wanted to be paleontlogist. Dinosaurs were on my first pictures;) I will prepare something for this topic. :]

P.S. I can't remember of there were some dinos at north pole... but in Australia (in Mezozoic period this land was at the south pole) lived dinosaurs that had to cope with the cold. Here is one of them: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leaellynasaura It can be good inspiration. :)

P.P.S. Fozz - dinosaur does not mean big;) There were also small ones, such as Compsognathus: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compsognathus or Eoraptor: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eoraptor Thanks for that interesting topic!:)

[DefiledVisions]

Moai looking good there. Only thing that bugs is that it loks like he'll tip over any minute, Due to the hips being so far behind.

Rizza, thanks :) yours is coming along niceley aswell. Colouring in black/white can be tricky in the beginning. What I usualy do is lay down the grays, and then add lots of multiply and overlay layers of colour to slowly bring out the values. Ill post my gray and the beginning of my colour for you to see.

Mr.Man Thanks for posting James Gurneys stuff. Dinotopia was my favorite book as a youngling and well.. I blame him for puting me here :) Your dinosaur is cute. Allthough I can't really see him living in the arctic, he is too colourful.

Paul Kang looking good there. Ilike the furry back of the sauropod. Only crit would be the very small thigh-bone. Almost as if there is no thigh.

Matteo'89 aah a Hadrosauridae, excellent! I think they're really cool.

Quinn Simoes definitely a cool and unique concept you've got going here. I like the colours and can't wait to see it finnished.

Monotony that's a nice background! Dig the dino aswell, he feels a bit eastern-asian influenced haha. Don't know why, just get the feeling.

ImRazil nice taking on an ankylosaurus.. allthough I don't know how you'll have a car in the arctic ;)

Kasen Kato nice concept. Allthogh the picture is very flat, because you've chosen that view-point. And even so we should be able to see some trace of the other limbs. I also suggest you work a bit more on contrast to make it stand out more :)

Arteater funny concept :D Although I cant see dinosaur in it.. not to upset you, but it looks more like a lemur (is it spelled like that?) the furry monkey like creatures on madagascar.

All of you others I left out, sorry. Just checked page 4 and 5... Here's the progress of mine, I'm sorry it's so dark.

[Kasen Kato]

Defiledvisions Finally some feedback. lol thanks you very much i notive it not that you point it out and im going to go work on that right now ^_^

[Rizza]

Hey thanks a lot DF, I like your choice of color so far and the background. I got mine colored but I think I made him look too contrasty with many lights and darks and little midtones. I'm not sure if I'll add a background since I'm moving into college this Friday and Saturday but this is what I have so far. Was going for a killer whale kind of look.

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b89/FarewellApollo/artcdinosmall2.jpg


And a little humor from The Perry Bible Fellowship
http://pbfcomics.com/

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b89/FarewellApollo/PBF055-Dinosaur_Meteors.jpg

[DefiledVisions]

Looking great Rizza. Woa, college? gratz :D hope it'll be great. I myself have to wait a year before I can go study anywhere like that.. oh well. And lol, great comic.

[Quinn Simoes]

An update on mine...

Still have a bit of work to do.

[Kasen Kato]

Quinn Simoes Visually stunning! I love it and the blood and cave just set a monster mood. I only have one problem. Not too much dinosaur influence.

[Billzarro]

Troken: I have that book as well, its a bit more fun than the Dino one. I love all that bestiary/guidebook creature stuff its actually what lead me to find this site! Speaking of that kind of stuff and on topic with the dinosaurs you MUST check out "The World of Kong: A Natural History of Skull Island" its awesome as well as "The Wildlife of Star Wars". Both really interesting fun reads and most importantly inspiring!

[banhatin]

Quinn Simoes :I think your creature need more dino's characteristic as well,bcuz the rendring is nice!
Now this dinosaurs looks too much like monster!

[Quinn Simoes]

Kasen Kato and banhatin Thanks for the feedback guys, I see what you mean, I was beginning to think the same thing, I will defiantly work on improving its dinosaur characteristics.

Thanks again!

[Kasen Kato]

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3022/2783414522_c3f5af9c1c_o.jpg

Thanks to DefiledVisions I gave him some more limbs and some more tones to make him pop more. Hope you like ^_^

[Rizza]

Kasen Kato When I saw your dino's face I loved how you added icicles to his chin and think it might be cool if you expand upon that idea. Since his mouth is so large and open I wouldn't be surprised if he slobbered a lot and maybe it would be cool to give him an icy beard. But I also tend to add spikes to anything I can so don't let me pressure you.

[Vorace]

I love dino, cant resist :)

some cool stuff here!!



sketch and fast first colors

[corspufo]

Hello All! I'm joining this party a tad late, but here's what I've been sketching so far. My idea is that I'm going with a Walrus meets a T-Rex. Fat and blubbery to keep it warm, and strong legs to propel it across the ice in a torpedo style charge. Their charge will essentially make buffet lines out of penguin marches. Let's see Morgan Freeman narrate THAT! More to come, ENJOY!

[Rizza]

Great design corspufo and I love the small image with the penguins haha. The head is really interesting while the rest of the body is powerful and unique. Cute flipper hands.

[DefiledVisions]

Thalion just saw your pic in the final.. really cool! I love the textures and the background.

I hope I finnish this .. there are a lot of things happening both tommorow and on saturday.. and my sparetime is really limited.. enough excuses, here's wip.

[Kasen Kato]

Just throwing this out there but i like the idea of artist helping artists, But if the artist feels like it maybe they could share a technique they used in there creation to help the other artist, like for example i could maybe do my ice cicles or ice in general, or maybe how defiledvisions used a scribble and filled it in to give him a different and cool character anatomy. I have a feeling this might get shot down though lol.

[ArtZealot]

Woot! finished!

[Kasen Kato]

ArtZealot Visualy stunning O_o i love the king kongyness of this picture. And it also reminds me of a crappy movie called minotaur if you have ever seen it.

Corspufo Lol perfect combination between dino and penguin. Its like hunger hunger hippos, But with a big...Dino...Penguin thingy.

[DefiledVisions]

Kasen Kato the tutorial thingy wasnt a bad idea, but I feel I'm in no position yet to be able to make a tutorial. When I have a solid workflow I'll try to :)

Scales with custom brush.. still needs loads of work and i dont have time :'(

[Troken]

Hi, my first attempt for a COW. This is a wip, any suggestions are appreciated of course. My approach is a "realistic" one, a feathered dinosaur, white like most bigger polar animals. A short fat body to preserve precious body heat.

http://web.comhem.se/troken/Arctic-dinosaur.cow.jpg

[ArtZealot]

Hi, my first attempt for a COW. This is a wip, any suggestions are appreciated of course. My approach is a "realistic" one, a feathered dinosaur, white like most bigger polar animals. A short fat body to preserve precious body heat.


Pretty cool for first COW ever. The only thing i might critique about it is that the thick, long hair on it's head flows in a way that makes it look like the arm of him is growing out the back of his head. Other than that, lookin good. cheers'

[Vorace]

update on mine !

cool stuff guys

[Mitze]

Great work everybody.

I don't think i have tried a C.O.W in years. Here is my attempt. Not quite finished yet and ah-hem a bit rushed towards the end but might finish if off tomorrow depending on how bad my hangover is.

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f162/mekese2000/dino21.jpg

[Aedant]

I posted my final one. I decided not to color it since I wanted to focus on the texture. I'm pretty happy with it! Comments and critiques are always appreciated!

[Djinn]

DefiledVisions It was great to see your process, thanks. Great texturing.

ArtZealot :xpld:

And then mitze has to come along and show us all up by making THREE of his awesome creation. Hehe.

troken I love it, but it kind of looks like a Dinobear. which is probably both a good and a bad thing. But if you wanted to avoid that, I'd say do some work on the nose/nostril area. I love the low arctic sun/sunrise too.


And, I don't think I have time to finish mine. Oh well. I'm working too hard on the COW monk.

[Moai]

Some great entires shaping up! I don't really have the energy or patience for much critique-giving at the moment, but I do have one or two things to say.
Defiled Visions- I'm really liking this one. It's an interesting design, and not so obviously based on any particular type of dinosaur. My small critique for this piece is that you overdid the highlights in the last update. I'd like to see you tone down the values over much of the creature's body to something more like they were in the version you posted in post #138, then come in and add the bright blue highlights to only a few select spots, such as the head, the first scaly hump, and the tail. As it is now, it looks like pretty much its entire shoulder and thigh are made of highlights, and it's harming the sense of form and robbing attention from your focal points.
Artzealot- Very impressive image, by far the best I've seen from you in CoW, I think. My only crit is that the edge of the cliff in the background, behind and to the left of the dinosaur's head, is too rounded and regular. Make it craggy like the rest of this environment.
JIVA*SOUL- I saw your image in the final entries thread. The image is nice, but like others told you earlier, a woolly mammoth is still decidedly, emphatically, sincerely, absolutely positively not a dinosaur. Mammoths are species of elephants, and elephants are mammals.

Here's the progress on mine. I'm somewhat disappointed with myself, since I've been wasting my time and only really got started with the rendering today. But, I'm liking how it's turning out, and having fun. Whether that sense of fun will survive the rendering of that coat of bristly fur remains to be seen.:P

[PhilipArts]

my concept of an arctic Dinosaur. been working on it and posting in Critique center, not sure when this week's drawings are done... Sunday? Anyhow, Any thoughts are welcome. I like the concept of a Brachiosaur frozen and then slowly being revealed with the passage of time...

[chrislomaka]

Wow! All the art here is amazing (some even so good that it just makes me not even want to try). But I'm here to get my creativity going and to work on my DS Colors skills, so i guess i don't have to worry too much, eh? ;) Anyways, here's my artic dino right out of my DS before i did a little photoshop work touching it up. And here's a link showing it being painted:
http://colors.brombra.net/details/6137-Artic_Dinosaur_by_clomaka.php

[BerNo]

This is my thrd intent for C.O.W., hope this time my entry will pass.
http://fc05.deviantart.com/fs34/f/2008/237/c/4/Artic_Dinosaur_by_berno666.jpg

My Deviantart Gallery (http://berno666.deviantart.com/)
:lounge:

[Fozzybar]

poll is up:
http://conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?p=1881524