The Mammal That Ate Dinosaurs: Behind the Art

Description

Product Description This workshop invites you to share in the making of two illustrations for Scientific American magazine. Illustrator James Gurney fleshes out two mammals that lived alongside dinosaurs: the badger-like Repenomamus which ate baby dinosaurs, and the flying squirrel-like Volaticotherium, which Gurney develops for the cover of the magazine. Working closely with scientific experts, Gurney shows all the development stages, including thumbnail sketches, color comps, maquettes, field research, and the final painting in oil. The artist's voiceover explains all the methods in practical terms, along with the thinking behind them. Includes a bonus update on how to de-warp a board, plus an exclusive slideshow of fossil photos, sketches, and closeups of the art. Review When the magazine Scientific American commissioned James Gurney to create a cover and interior illustration of these newcomers he decided to film his process. The resulting process joins a small but high-quality series of videos James has built up over the past few years. --ImagineFX magazineWatching the process outlined in the video reminded me of the books I'd read about nineteenth and twentieth century illustrators. Howard Pyle, N.C. Wyeth, and Norman Rockwell spring to mind. I'd say James is, without a doubt, a modern day version of those greats. --Darren Rousar, founder of Studio Rousar.He explains both his methods and his thinking with an emphasis on techniques, thereby creating a believable reconstruction of a scene that is imagined based on scientific evidence. Jim gurney shows how he chooses his colors, what brushes he uses at each stage, and how he prepares his board for painting. The production is packed with information that will fascinate dinosaur artists as well as all other artists. --Mike Fredericks, editor, Prehistoric Times P.when('A').execute(function(A) { A.on('a:expander:toggle_description:toggle:collapse', function(data) { window.scroll(0, data.expander.$expander[0].offsetTop-100); }); }); About the Actor James Gurney is the author and illustrator of the New York Times bestselling Dinotopia book series, which was published in 32 countries and 18 languages. He designed the World of Dinosaurs stamps for the U.S. Postal Service and has worked on over a dozen assignments for National Geographic magazine. He has won the Hugo, Chesley, Spectrum, and World Fantasy Awards. Over 35 solo exhibitions of his artwork have been presented at museums such as the Smithsonian Institution, the Norman Rockwell Museum, and the Norton Museum of Art. He was named a Grand Master by Spectrum Fantastic Arts and a Living Master by the Art Renewal Center. About the Director James Gurney's book, Color and Light: A Guide for the Realist Painter is required reading in many animation and VFX studios. Gurney has blogged daily at GurneyJourney for almost 8 years, and has written 37 consecutive articles for International Artist magazine. See more