Part 1: Pteranodons / Thumbnails

Earlier this year, the National Wildlife Federation asked me to do a couple of paintings of Pteranodons for their magazine, Ranger Rick. The final artwork appears in the current October issue.

Here are some preliminary sketches. The first painting they wanted was a double-page-spread title opener, with the giant pterosaurs skimming low over the edge of the surf, looking for fish. I started by studying photos and videos of albatrosses and pelicans, watching how they fly, land, and fish.

I did all these small thumbnail sketches in watercolor, water soluble colored pencils, and white gouache, about 1.5 x 2 inches each.

Here's another batch of sketches. I find it helps to consider the whole effect of the page from the very start, because eventually the art director and I will need to come to terms with headlines and type, and there's no point falling in love with a composition that won't serve its design purpose.

They're numbered from one to ten. Can you guess which one the art director picked?

Tomorrow I'll show you how I made the maquette.
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Ranger Rick October issue
Previous posts about Ranger Rick paintings
Tylosaurus
Mega Rodent


The Pteranodon series:
Part 1: Pteranodons / Thumbnails
Part 2: Pteranodons / Maquette
Part 3: Pteranodons / Step by Step

Dog-a-Saurus

Damian Johnson reworked this photo of me shooting a maquette to show the “Real Gurney Method.”


The original photo, along with the story of the making of the Tylosaurus painting, is covered in the upcoming February/March issue of International Artist.
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Previous Posts: Painting Tylosaurus.
International Artist magazine
Thanks, Damian!

Sea Monster, Part 2

Two days ago, I showed you the finished painting of a Tylosaurus, and today I want you to see the preliminary sketches. The editors of Ranger Rick magazine suggested a few ideas, which I drew up in water-soluble colored pencils.


At left is the first idea for a breaching Tylosaurus, obviously based on a humpback photo.


Another sketch at top center arranges the scene with the Tylo’s flipper on the left.

The assignment included scenarios for other illustrations, including a Kronosaurus and an Elasmosaurus. After researching online and in books and videos, I came up with lots of sketches, each one about the size of a business card.


Once the editors had narrowed down the images to the final three ideas, I tried additional sketch variations to see if I could improve the color and design. These are painted in oil, about 4 x 5 each.

For example, which is better? The front-lit Tylo with blue water, or the backlit version with the warm tonality? The final painting incorporates aspects of both.
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Ranger Rick magazine's current October issue has the final illustration
See the finished painting in Sea Monster, Part 1

Sea Monster, Part 1

The current October issue of Ranger Rick has a three new paintings of ancient sea creatures.


One shows the giant mosasaur Tylosaurus grabbing a plesiosaur called Dolichorhynchops in a breach attack from below, similar to the way killer whales catch seals. A specimen of Tylosaurus was actually found with the skeleton of a “Dolly” inside.


Some of you at the Illustration Master Class in Amherst last summer watched me draw and paint the finished image. The instructors in that workshop actually brought their jobs (I sort of brought my whole studio) so the students could see the process. Paintings by Greg Manchess and Scott Fischer are pinned up in the background.

You can see why I like the traditional scrap file for photo reference. There are a bunch of photos of breaching humpback whales spread around the final oil painting on the drawing board.

Tomorrow I’ll show you how I did the sketches.
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Ranger Rick magazine
Illustration Master Class
Tylosaurus on Wikipedia