BrainStuff Classics: How Do Paleoartists Create Dinosaur Drawings?

Short answer: Very carefully. Learn about the history and modern practices of paleoart in this classic episode of BrainStuff.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of iHeartRadio. Hey brain Stuff.
I'm Lauren vogelbaumb and this is a classic episode from
our podcast's archives. This one goes into the fascinating world
of paleo art. Drawings of dinosaurs are necessarily cool, but
the way that artists have depicted them, based on the

(00:23):
best science available, has changed a lot over time. Here's
some of that history.

Speaker 2 (00:30):
Hey brain Stuff, Lauren vogelbomb here. Celebrated paleo artist Ray
Troll told us in an email, shared passion for an
obscure topic is what binds scientists and artists. They're both
curiosity driven, and he would know. Based in Alaska, Troll
builds on scientific findings to create art that depicts prehistoric life.

(00:50):
Through paleo art, fossils are revived. A single drawing or
sculpture can define how the public will visualize an extinct species,
so paleo artists strive to keep their work as accurate
as possible, a task that gets harder when the experts disagree.
It's a tough job, to be sure, but also a
dream job for loads of fossil fans and dinosaur enthusiasts.
But how do they go about creating it. First off,

(01:13):
a little history. A dinosaur renaissance changed the game. Paleo
art didn't always feature dinosaurs. All prehistoric organisms, from early
palm trees to wooly mammoths make worthy subjects. Nevertheless, the
fascinating reptiles were at the center of a significant period
in the history of this art form, called the dinosaur Renaissance.

(01:33):
Prior to the nineteen sixties, dinosaurs were largely written off
as dim witted, tail dragging hulks. Most paleo art from
the early twentieth century reflects that view, but in nineteen
sixty nine, Yale paleontologist John Ostrom published a new paper
on Danonikus, an eleven foot that's three point three meter
predator akin to the Jurassic Park imagining of velociraptor. Noting

(01:54):
its long legs and sickle shaped claws, Ostrom claimed Danonikus
was an athletic beast who ran down its prey and
might have even hunted in packs. The scientist went on
to popularize the now widely accepted idea that today's birds
are descended from Mesozoic dinosaurs. Exciting hypotheses like these changed
the discourse about how dinosaurs looked and behaved. In the

(02:14):
nineteen seventies and eighties, a growing number of artists responded
by illustrating the creatures in active, dynamic poses. What followed
was a renewed public interest in both the study of
dinosaurs and in paleo art itself. But there was a problem.
Bare bones and skeletons often don't tell you a whole
lot about the overlying soft tissue. Hence, some paleo artists

(02:35):
have chosen to reconstruct animals reptiles in particular, as lanky
beasts with ultra low body fat, skinny tails, and heads
that are largely devoid of cartilage or loose skin. This
practice has been called shrink wrapping, and if you couldn't
tell from the moniker, it's been contentious. Troll broke it
down for us quote. I think there are some really
valid points to be made about shrink wrapping. Many paleo

(02:57):
artists are reluctant to jump into more speculatives constructions, preferring
to play it safer. So by keeping their animals lean
and mean, paleo artists can highlight known skeletal anatomy without
making conjectural guesses about an animal's soft tissues that might
not have been preserved. Back in the dinosaur Renaissance, shrink
wrapping was in fashion, that's no longer the case. Modern

(03:19):
critics point out that living animals tend to look a
lot different than you might expect if you had nothing
to go on but their naked skeletons. A troll pointed
out that things like trunks, ears, and blubber don't usually fossilize.
We also spoke via email with Matt Celeski, a paleo
artist and museum exhibit designer, who also offered his thoughts
on the issue. Quote, today's paleo artists are looking more

(03:40):
closely at the extent of soft tissue in living animals.
I think this fleshing out of paleo art makes for
heightened levels of believability in the reconstructions and greater diversity
in the way artists approach their subjects. In other words,
chunky limbs and necks and not to mention, puffy dino
feathers have gone mainstream, but figuring out what those features
might have looked like takes some serious research. To scientists,

(04:03):
the skeletal drawing is one of the most useful forms
of paleo art, an animal skeleton is usually depicted in
an upright position that is standing or running, and juxtaposed
against a black silhouette that represents the creature's body profile. Unfortunately,
in the fossil record, complete skeletons tend to be rare.
When parts are missing or broken, scientists and artists can
only speculate about what those elements looked like. Zeleski said,

(04:27):
every skeleton presents unique challenges, but I find the most
difficult thing is filling in the parts you don't know,
extrapolating the shapes of missing bones, or correcting the shapes
of bones that have been damaged or distorted by time.
Filling in each missing piece involves a complex mix of research,
inference and educated guesses, and I always wonder if they
are better choices than the ones I end up making.

(04:48):
But these efforts aren't new. Let me take you back
to eighteen fifty three, when sculptor Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins was
hired to build more than thirty full sized concrete models
of prehistoric animals for Crystal Palace Park in London, England.
The man really did his homework, consulting experts, scrutinizing fossils
and reviewing the scientific literature. In short, he was a
dedicated paleo artist. One of hawkins Guanadon molds had a

(05:12):
carnivorous gut big enough to hold a table and some chairs,
so as a publicity stunt for his project, twenty one guests,
including paleontologists William Buckland and Sir Richard Owen, were invited
to climb down into the belly of the beast for
an eight course dinner party. The Big Shindig took place
on New Year's Eve in eighteen fifty three. Restoration projects
have helped these master works survive to the present day.

(05:33):
The beasts attract thousands of visitors every year, even though
they are no longer deemed accurate. Hawkins Megalosaurus, for example,
stands menacingly on all fours, but scientists now think the
meat eating dinosaur was by pedal. Nevertheless, the Victorian era
giants capture the prevailing wisdom of their time, giving them
immense cultural value. Prehistory matters, but so does our history.

Speaker 1 (05:57):
Today's episode is based on the article five you Didn't
Know about paleo Art on Howstuffwork dot Com, written by
Mark Mancini. Brain Stuff is production of iHeartRadio in partnership
with HowStuffWorks dot Com and is produced by Tyler Klang.
Four more podcasts my heart Radio, visit the iHeartRadio app,
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