LIVE BLOGGING: Post #9: Almost done!

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Here it comes.... Looks like I'll be done soon.



Already got the patterns on one Omeisaurus, now to do the rest, and the Shunosaurus herd (can't forget those little guys, can we?) and the lake up front. That lake needs a crocodile. Trees are pretty much done.

LIVE BLOGGING: Post #8: Deepening the forest

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Here's the latest update! More Omeisaurus in the background and more conifers to fill out the forest. There's at least three types of them here...perhaps four, if you can spot 'em.



The whole piece is slowly coming into view!

LIVE BLOGGING: Post #7: Herd in the background

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Here is the newest update!



More Omeisaurus in the distance with some new trees. I also shortened the tail of the rearing one in the foreground, as it was previously too long. The stream on the left is also more clear.

LIVE BLOGGING: Post # 6: rearing Omeisaurus

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Ok, here's the most recent update:



I added two more Omeisaurus, one of which is rearing to eat higher branches.
I think I got the neck a bit TOO thin on that one, but I'll iron it out on the next update.
Also the dynamics of this graceful creature as it walked must have been truly marvelous, considering that most sauropods are usually depicted (incorrectly) as super-obese, ponderous hulks just barely plodding along at snail pace. This guy was the sports car model, while titanosaurs were the bulky "SUVs" of sauropod-dom. Also if you look closely notice the big thumb claws. There were a lot of sauropods that had them, but Omeisaurus and its kin had possibly the most oversized ones ever known. I can only guess that this was a very useful active defense for a creature that was not quite massive enough to rely on size alone as a deterrent for the packs of big predators of the day.


Also I added more trees and more background to the Shunosaurus area, with one on the hills just behind. It's shaping up very well so far, IMO. The most tedious part will be the trees.

LIVE BLOGGING: Post #5: fern-covered hills

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Here is the next installment of my live blog on the sauropods of Dashanpu.


Basically I more or less completed the outlines of the whole Shunosaurus herd and drew some ferns and other foliage on the rolling hills behind them. The cool thing about using heavy "legal" texture paper is that is allows much better shading and "fog" techniques. These will be easier to spot in the final version (I'm never going back to cheap untextured copy paper again). I also corrected some minor details in the Omeisaurus (and I plan to add more of them). The rocks in the lake also got a facelift.

As for Marica's question on this being a miniature: it's an 8.5 x 11" sheet like most of my pieces here... but it's more of a "miniature" because I drew the dinosaurs from a far distance so they look small. On the paper, those Shunosaurus are barely bigger than a postage stamp! Usually I would go for more of a "close-up shot" but this time I wanted to go panoramic and capture the massive scale of the habitat these sauropods lived in. Sometimes it's about the overall scene just as much as the animals in it. Those super-tall tree trunks will be conifers soon.

Til next time ;)

LIVE BLOGGING: Post #4: Shunosaurus and rocks

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Here's the next installment in our live sauropod blog of the Dashanpu quarry fauna scene.


I drew more Shunosaurus on the right (it's starting to get a bit crowded there, don't ya think?) and also some unusual large rocks and a tree fern behind them. That whole background region is going to be covered in conifers and ferns with a warm misty glow radiating through it - at least that's the effect I'm going for.

I like it so far but it's nowhere near done so I will continue blogging tomorrow and possibly the rest of the week. This is a miniature, so I am confident that it will be done or close to done in less than a week. Keep checking in for more progress pics.

LIVE BLOGGING: Post #3: outlines

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Done with the tree, and now the outlines of two Omeisaurus and a little Shunosaurus are more or less done. Next it will be the trees in the background and several more dinosaurs of both types.



As you can see, Omeisaurus had crazy long necks. And they were unbelievably thin near the head-neck joint.