Editor’s Note
Dinosaur Art: The World’s Greatest Paleoart is a unique blend of breathtaking artwork – some never before seen – and cutting edge science.
Bringing to life the distant past requires a unique artistic skill that blends imagination and paleontology — the study of prehistoric animals. Now, for the first time, Dinosaur Art: The World’s Greatest Paleoart showcases a selection of skillful, innovative artwork produced for movies, television programmes (Jurassic Park, When Dinosaurs Roamed America and Dinosaur Planet) and for museums around the world, alongside exclusive interviews with the artists, in which they reveal the sources of their inspiration, their working methods and the influence of digital multimedia on their artwork.
With a Foreword by paleontologist & museum curator Philip J. Currie, and an Introduction by paleontologist & evolutionary biologist Scott D. Sampson DinosaurArt brings a unique, insightful perspective to the prehistoric landscapes of the Earth’s past. Steve White writes: “Dinosaur Art will appeal to anyone – from child to adult enthusiast – who loves dinosaurs and
all the other spectacular creatures from our planet’s evolution”.
The impressive lineup of the world’s leading paleoartists artists feature: Mauricio Anton, John Conway, Julius Csotonyi, Douglas Henderson, Todd Marshall, Raul Martin, Robert Nicholls, Gregory S Paul, Luis Rey, John Sibbick. Steve White edits the collection.
The Book Review
From the offset this book declares itself as an art book first and science second. It goes into detail to explain each illustrator’s history, strength and techniques. Every page has beautifully reproduced images—some fully rendered masterpieces, others just a sketch or an idea. I particularly enjoyed looking at the sketches of all the featured illustrators, as they are like a “behind the scenes” of their draftmanship. If, like me, you are a newcomer to the paleoart world, you may not be familiar with most of the illustrators in the book, but I assure you would recognise their work.
Not one to pick favourites, I did take a notable liking to the work of John Conway. His work has a softer approach and seems less concerned with every speck and pore, and more of the creatures shape and their habitats. You get a definite sense that Conway’s approach is very different from some of the other illustrators.
It is a stunning book, filled with knowledge and a level of skill that you can only find in scientific illustration—plus it has the added bonus of having raging reptiles with flesh hanging from their teeth. It is perfectly presented with a lush cover, and fascinating supporting text. This book makes a concerted effort to not be aimed solely at pubescent boys, as so often is the case with dinosaur books, but instead presents itself in a much more mature and forthcoming manner. In short, most illustrators can pick this book up this book and enjoy it, as a good resource of ideas and inspiration for both form and technique. It is available now from Amazon and is priced at around £14.
