The Art of Dinosaurs

Dinosaurs have inspired, excited and terrified generations of children, and many grown up kids too. Far from new knowledge ‘running out’, the last two decades have seen more paradigm shifts in our understanding of how dinosaurs lived than in the previous century or more, and more discoveries of increasingly bizarre species – vegetarian carnivores, bristle-tailed burrowers, and of course, the feathered predators and their living descendants, the birds.

Paleo-art – the visual reconstruction of extinct species – is the perfect combination of art and science. Children draw (literally!) on both the clues presented by fossil evidence, and their imagination. The habits and colours of living animals are also used as inspiration. Students discover, through drawing, the interrelatedness of living and extinct animals and ecosystems, and how knowledge of the present can aid in reconstructing the past.

Fossil casts, dinosaur models and examples of my dinosaur art and books are presented.

Topics:

• What is a dinosaur, and what isn’t
• Fossils (body and trace), and casts
• Dinosaur names – why so difficult?
• Basic anatomy
• Sketching techniques