Parasaurolophus in Love

Parasaurolophus in Love ©2011 

Medium: Acrylic Paints

Now that the Hadrosaur Gallery has gone up on ART Evolved, I can reveill the complete parasaurolophus piece!  Be sure to visit the gallery for a metric ton of gorgeous duckbill art!

The point of this reconstruction was to keep my colour pallet to only one to two colours.  As the emotion of this piece is love, I went with the traditional red tones for the critters.  One of the biggest  challenges I have in painting is that I tend to paint with bold, almost primary colours.  A prime example is my Pterosaur family in their garish blue, orange and yellow. 

I have recently bought James Gurney's book, Colour and Light, in an effort to teach myself better colour choice.  I look forward to pouring through it when I can find the time, and hopefully you will see an evolution in my art.

Thanks for checking this piece out and if you have any critiques, please let me know in the comments section below.

Barosaurus Finished

Barosaurus and Allosaurus ©2009

Created during liveblogging for ART Evolved's Sauropod Gallery.  See it's creation here.

I returned to this piece after six months and decided to play with the contrast and lighting...  I think I'll say it's finished and be done with it.  For some reason, I love some aspects (puddles, rain wash) and hate others (rain effect, simple forest, colours).  A fun experiment!

Redesigned Bond's Blog and a Spinosaurus

Spinosaurus strolling at Dusk

Welcome to the newly redesigned Bond's Blog!  As I dabble in tweaking the html, I'm sure the design will shift here and there.  But I am much happier with this new look.

To celebrate this fresh start, here is a new Spinosaur piece I created for the upcoming Prehistoric Times magazine.  It represents an artistic jump in my abilities as I began experimenting in digitally colouring!

The above piece was created using a mix of trad and digital techniques: it began as a pencil sketch, then scanned into the computer where I tweaked the contrast to change the pencil into strong "ink" lines.  Using layers in photoshop, I built up the colours and shades and details, until he ended up looking like the final product.  To finish him, I placed the coloured spinosaur into a photograph of a beautiful beach (that I took in the Philippines while traveling in late 2008.)

Zoom in to see the full effect of this digital colouring.  It's not perfect, as the black "ink" layer gets lost in places, and the general shading still needs work.  (Also, if you think about it, his left foot disappears conveniently behind his right! Yikes!)

Anyway, it's a new style for me that I'd like to continue and try to perfect.  How do you digitally colour your drawings?

A Special Event of Phenominal Preportions

Medals:  USA  39  -  Germany 29  -  Canada 25  -  Norway 22 -  Austria 16  -  Russia 15
GOLD:  Canada 13  -  Germany  10  -  USA  9  -  Norway  8 ...
 
Today was the Greatest Olympic Day yet!  3 Gold Medals!!!  Canada is now third in medal standing and leading in Gold Medals!

With Craig staying with me in Vancouver (and spending all our time enjoying the Olympics!), we are finally able to sit down and do something arty and creative.  So we've decided to do something radical and potentially damaging to our friendship.

Craig work with computer graphics, while I work with pencil and paper.  We thought that it would be interesting to work together and see if we can create something together - a joint dinosaur project using both of our skills!

For this, we're taking on the most famous of dinos - Tyrannosaurus rex!  The progress of this Epic Event is being documented on Craig's blog Weapon of Mass Imagination. 

The process works like this:  Craig creates a tyrannosaur in CG, and I create a tyrannosaur on paper in pencil, and then we digitally lay one over the other to see the difference between the recreations.  The point is to use both our interpretations, along with reference material from the internet and books (specifically Tomas Holtz's) to create an uber Rex.  The final product will be in CG, as we are able to walk through each body part and discuss and tweak it much more easily that on paper.

Step 1: Our two images, side-by-side (left-mine, right-Craig)

I am extremely interested in where this project will lead.  This is the first time Craig and I have worked together side-by-side on the same thing.  We both have our strong opinions, and have already come to blows over honestly stupid details, such as adding muscle grooves and ear-placement.

Anyway, check our progress out here and let us know how we are doing!  Here come the King!

Finishing the Stegosaur

Continuing the progress on my Stegosaur, it became apparent that the background I painted just wasn't cutting it.  The decision was made to keep the painted dinosaur with all it's millions of scales and put him into one of my photographs (a beach in Donsol, in the Philippines). 

Add a few pterosaurs (Kepodactylus insperatus), and we have a lovely Stegosaurus stenops in a recreation from the Morrison Formation!

Evening Stroll on the Beach

(Click to see every scale!)

There was a reason behind creating this moody Stegosaur piece:  for submission to Prehistoric Times magazine!  Along with Mr. Stego, I'm also submitting my Anomalocaris painting and cartoon, with the hope that at least one of these getting published.

Anomalocaris and the Burgess Shale

Anomalocaris Regret

Either way, look to the next issue (#92) of Prehistoric Times for some great art, and just maybe you'll see one of these guys here!

A Quick Stegosaurus

Photo reference:  Stegosaurus stenops at Discovery Place, Charlotte, NC - taken by midwinter.

Materials: pencil on glossy paper, acrylics, brushes, water...

Progress:  Fair, but this WIP still unfinished.

I plan to add more detail to skin and scales, and contemplate a subtle sunset...
(Click on any of the pics to enlarge them.) 

UPDATE Dec 3rd:

Here I have begun adding scales to the stegosaur. 
So far, only the hind leg and part of the tail has been scaled...

Museums I've Been To: Europe - Part 1: Berlin

Berlin, Germany. 2002.

Our tour through the museums of 2002 Europe begins with the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin. Established in 1810, this is a world-class institution containing two of palaeontology's crown jewel specimens - the Giraffatitan (Brachiosaurus) mount and the Berlin Archaeopteryx. I visited the museum in the summer of 2002, and it has since had a major refit and renovation, so much of what I will show here has changed. If anyone has descriptions of the new layout, I would love to hear it.

Archaeopteryx lithographica

Upon entering the museum, you are immediately dwarfed by the huge main gallery and its centerpiece, the brachiosaur (I will henceforth be incorrectly referring to the Giraffatitan as Brachiosaurus as I was in 2002 and because I want to. She will always be Brachiosaurus in my heart...) Flanking the gigantic sauropod are two more: a cast of the ubiquitous Carnegie Diplodocus and a lovely Dicraeosaurus.

(left) Me and Megalodon's Jaws.

The rest of the photographs speak for themselves. Most of the dinosaur fossils on display were collected during the 1903-1913 Tendaguru Expedition to East Africa (southern Tanzania). Led by Werner Janensch and Edwin Henning, over 250 tons of fossil bone was collected from this 150 million year old Late Jurassic deposit.

Giraffatitan brancai (Brachiosaurus)

Dicraeosaurus hansemanni

See the new mount in this wikipedia photo!

Kentrosaurus aethiopicus
It's new mount can be seen in the dicreasaur photo.

Plateosaurus engelhardti

Elaphrosaurus bambergi
Click here for the new mount!!! It doesn't even look like the same animal!

Dryosaurus (Dysalotosaurus) lettowvorbeck
See the updated mount here...

Stenopterygius zetlandicus

Some nothosaur (name?)

The Second Oldest Turtle = Proganochelys dux

Case of Swimming Things: Fish, seals, penguins, dolphins, ichthyosaurs and plesiosaurs.

The museum and some of the collections were damaged in February of 1945, when an allied bombing raid left the east wing in ruins. It is now finally being rebuilt.

Amazingly, Wikipedia states that less than 1 in 5000 specimens are on display! I'd love to poke around in their extensive collections and see what treasures I could find...

Thank you for joining me on this quick tour. But don't take my word for it, go to the Museum für Naturkunde the next time you're in Berlin, and say hello to my Brachio!

Berlin Brachio...er... Giraffatitan Reconstruction

Giraffatitan brancai Restoration - The New Berlin Mount

With ART Evolved's Sauropod Gallery up in all it's glory, I quietly added one more piece from me - a brachiosaur in pen-and-ink with dot-shading. Officially, it is a reconstruction of the new mount of the Berlin Brachiosaurus ...err... Giraffatitan branchai.

Giraffatitan. A name just not as cool as ol'Brachio. If you're interested in why this specimen was renamed, check out here and here. My interest lies not in the new name, but with the new mount.

Back in the summer of 2002, I traveled around Europe by train (good ol'Eurorail!), checking out the many museums and beer halls the UK, Ireland, France, Spain, Italy, Belgium and Germany has to offer.

Besides the beer, wine, rich food and chocolate consumed, one of my favorite things I found in Europe was the Berlin Brachiosaur - yes, still Brachiosaurus in 2002 - at the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin. It was huge - a mighty testament to an amazing animal as well as to the scientists who discovered, prepared and mounted her. Umm, created her mount. Yeah.

Still the tallest mounted skeleton in the world, the Berlin Brachiosaur was updated when the museum underwent renovations. Gone were the elbows-out arms and draggy tail. Now she strides elegantly in lovely Greg Paul-style, head held high and arms underneath.

You can see the transformation from the original pose in these 2002 pictures (before digital panorama ability!) and the new pose in the Wikipedia picture at the top of the post. Next to that new mounted Giraffatitan is my pen drawing of the animal reconstructed. As you can see, I moved the positioning of the back legs, to make it look more stable where it stands.

I love this specimen - one of my favorites out there, and when sauropods became the next ART Evolved gallery, it seemed right to reconstruct the Giraffatitan. (Though she'll always be the ol'definitive Brachiosaurus to me.)

Having delved into these old European museum photos, I feel the need to share them. And so begins a new series here on Bond's Blog - A Photographic Tour of Museums I've Been To: Europe - Part 1: Berlin. Coming soon...

A Love Letter to Canada

What would you do if you had one day, one week, or one month to live?

This is the premise behind the new film "One Week" (now on DVD). It stars Joshua Jackson as a young man diagnosed with stage 4 cancer, who decides to motorcycle across Canada - from Toronto to Tofino. Filled with stunningly beautiful images of Canada along with Canadian icons, such as the Stanley Cup and Gord Downey of the Tragically Hip, "One Week" really is a love letter to my country.

For those palaeo-people out there, Joshua does ride through Drumheller (poses with the World's Largest Dinosaur) and stops at Dinosaur Provincial Park, where he takes a moment to equate his potential fate with that of the long-lost reptiles. The breathtaking shots of the badlands took me right back to 2002-04, when I lived amongst them...

But it was the film's central question that made me think. What would I do with a week to live? I identified greatly with Joshua's character in the film; both the same age (30), same career (teachers), similar look, similar decision making processes... I often found myself intensely emotionally invested in his choices.

But what would I do if I had one week to live?

I don't know. Until I'm faced with that situation, I don't think I could say. But I do have a few ideas...

• Travel Canada and the USA in the circle - cross Canada, down the East Coast, through Texas, up through California, Arizona, Montana, back to Vancouver.
• Be alone for a day. Reminisce. Write a book.
• Spend as much time with family and friends as possible. Laugh.

...I just realized as I wrote this that my first and third point seem mutually exclusive. Hmm. Being selfish and doing what you think needs doing, or sharing your time. Can these be reconciled? Time is precious when there isn't much of it.

I guess that is one of the points of the film. For all my fellow Canadians out there and everyone else around the world, see this movie. Not just to ponder this deep moral question, but also to experience just how damn beautiful Canada is!

Lost Treasures (Part 4)

And now for the main event: "The Adventures of Flat-Foot, the Deinonychis!"

Up till now, we've been seeing work I did as a kid. Hopefully showing you the evolution of my passions. This will be the last Lost Treasure for the next little while, but it is one of my most favorite projects I created!

Saving up the best for last and here it is - my earliest attempt at writing and illustrating a kids story book. I have to laugh at a lot of bizarre plot points and twists. Go ahead, we will laugh together!

I have reproduced the text below each page word-for-word, in case the old computer text is too difficult to read. I have rewritten it as is, complete with spelling mistakes and punctuation errors. Enjoy!

Cover Page

Adventures of ..... Flat-Foot the Deinonychs

Once long, long ago dinosaurs ruled the earth. There was a deinonychs called Flat-Foot. He had a big claw on each of his hind feet.

One day Flat-Foot went to see if enything was in the mailbox. He levitated the mail to his hand. He ripped open all the mail at once. He opened one with a mark on it. The envelope was a letter from: Torro the Tyrannosaurus rex!!!


It read that a bomb was planted in Sanfrancisus, his home city. Flat-Foot took the earliest ride to Sanfrancisus. He went straight to his mom. There he found a note that said, "Dear Flat-Foot, I will meet you on 15th Death Lane at 2:30am."


At one Flat-Foot dashed out because it was 2:20am. He waited 10 minutes, then saw a spaceship. It landed on a builing and Torro slid down. They both floated into the desert by a tractor beam. There was a huge volcano in the middle of the desert. While Flat-Foot was looking around, Torro jumped up and bit Flat-Foot's back. Flat-Foot ran as fast as he could to the volcano. Torro came and pushed Flat-Foot into the volcano!!!



He fell 10 meters into the volcano. Torro thought he was dead but all of a sudden .... Tery the Pteranodon swooped up and caught Flat-Foot!!! Seeing that, Torro raced to his spaceship and flew to his fortress. Tery and Flat-Foot followed him.


In his fortress there were lots of cages. They hid behind a cage and put Triceratops meat in the cage. Torro saw it, he went inside and Flat-Foot closed the cage. Torro was trapped! Flat-Foot levitated the meat and ate it himself. Torro said, "O.k. O.k. The bomb is planted in the sewer."

They went and stoped the bomb. Flat-Foot, got a modal for saving Sanfrancisus.

The End.

About the Author:
Peter was born in 1978 in Canada, B.C. He likes dinosaurs, sience and sharks

Lost Treasures (Part 2)

Another in this series of Lost Treasures, or Artwork from my Childhood. This piece I am the least proud of. Not because it has no title, nor due to the quality of art, but because it is only an experiment. An experiment created in the computer lab, using Paint on the old box-style Macintoshs.

Again, it is in French (I went to a French-Immersion school) and again dinosaurs are prevalent in my work (still are!). Apperently for spice, I do include hearts and a viking ship. I have no idea why, though the project may have been created around Valentine's day. But that doesn't explain the vikings.

Again, I will translate the French for those not French-enabled. Enjoy.

Page 1 - "Brontosaurus and Tyrannosarusa urus rex" Hmm, may not have spelled that right...
And I don't know what "G65 PETE" means.

Page 2 - "Saint Valentine" Big hearts and, um.. Cupid in the top right...skating.

Page 3 - "The Dinosaurs/Evil and Terrible/Catch, Kill, Eat/I like them/The Tyrannosaurus rex"

Page 4 - "I have three horns/I am as big as a rhyniceros/I eat plants/I am a savage animal/Who am I?"
Savage? Well, he certainly looks a bit scary standing on it's hind legs!

Page 5 - Viking ship. I don't know why.

Page 6 - "(jumbled) Catch/Break bones/roar/kill/eat/defend/teeth/big/attack/...a tail"

There we go. No story, but computer-based art. In fact, this project incorporates both digital art and traditional art in the form of felt markers over computer line work. I direct you to Glendon's blog, who is currently discussing the use of digital art in his work.

Next up: The Shark and the Fisherman, by Peter Bond.