Sunday, June 10, 2012

Tyrannosaur Attacking Strutter

This scene from Dinotopia: The World Beneath (1995) shows a tyrannosaur and a couple of allosaurs attacking a Dinotopian walking machine called a strutter. 


In Dinotopia it's dangerous to cross through the jungle in the center of the island, which is ruled by large theropods. The scene takes place as the strutter crosses a shallow stream.

The tyrannosaur is using its powerful foot to pin down the head of the strutter, and is biting off the top of the frill. For a scene like this, I used existing dinosaur models for lighting reference. Trying to guess where those shadows would fall without a maquette would be rather difficult.

The color scheme is limited to yellow ochre, dull red-violets and dull blue-greens. I tried hard to keep bright blue out of the scene.  The painting is done in oil fairly transparently on the dinosaur, with a little more opacity in the background.

Dinotopia: The World Beneath

9 comments:

Tomas Honz said...

Wonderful image James. I have never had a chance to see your book. I guess I should catch up with others and get it. :)

H4lfM4d said...

this is why YOU IS THE MAN.

Jessica Morrison said...

Thanks for the awesome post! I've been following your blog for years and recently picked up Imaginative Realism. It's one of the most informative, clear, and helpful art books I've ever owned. Thanks for putting all of that knowledge out there, both on your blog and in your book. :)

Jessica Morrison said...

Thanks for the awesome post! I've been following your blog for years and recently picked up Imaginative Realism. It's one of the most informative, clear, and helpful art books I've ever owned. Thanks for putting all of that knowledge out there, both on your blog and in your book. :)

Matt said...

The world beneath was my favourite Dinotopia book when I was younger. I think I managed to love it to death actually, this reminds me that I should buy a new copy.

Michael Damboldt said...

Thanks so much for sharing! I always loved seeing T-Rexes cause mayhem on the Dinotopians.

Anonymous said...

This reminds me of an experiment wherein a steel T. rex skull was made and powered by hydraulic equipment meant to mimic the tyrannosaur's actual biomechanical capabilities. There's a video here where you can watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AiNHosvKB3g

It's a little hokey, but pretty interesting nonetheless. A mini-cooper isn't the same as a strutter though - I'm guessing the strutters were made better.

Sarah Chalek... said...

I thought of you when I saw this article the other day: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/47698760/ns/technology_and_science-science/
Thanks for keeping a great blog!

Unknown said...

Looking back on this having seen this is fascinating.