Also, Austin Translation just left this here. And if it is true, then I cannot freaking wait!!! (Remember: they research their asses off.)
Also also, a lot of nifty tidbits from "Dinosaur Revolution" (am I the first to joke, "but what happened to 'Dinosaur Reloaded'?" Ah? Ah? [there is a long and awkward pause] Nevermind.) have been popping up. This here animatic in particular is a thing of beauty.
Also also also, and more immediately relevant, I need to reiterate that I do not know which artist painted what in the Humongous Book of Dinosaurs (by the way, I cannot tell you how sick I am of typing that out over and over). I am sorry if it appears as though I am totally by accident and not on purpose picking on one person over and over. (TL:DR - John Sibbick is awesome. And now that I can put a name to his paintings, I realize I owe him much of my childhood as a dinosaur geekette.)
Which leads us (finally) into HBoD Maniraptor Week. Today, it's nothing but deinonychosaurs (everybody with large talons). Yup, the HBoD has inadvertently collected some of the strangest 80's 'raptors I've ever seen. With this in mind, we will ignore the fact that they are all running around buck naked. Feathers are an issue for Thursday (though it will end up being a big one).
This Velociraptor and Deinonychus look pretty happy to be running around naked (sorry) with a broken tail and broken wrists. Actually, they're not too bad for this time, come to think of it.
The same can't be said for the following:
Oh my...
The stiff-tailed kangaroo-hands iguana-faced kick-stepping deinonychosaur was quite common in the 80's. I figure this is all due to cheap illustrators copying each-other copying the famous Bakker image from the 70's.
Bu-bu-bu-but WAIT it gets WORSE!!!
Holy Zarquon singing fish. I do believe we've found the worst deinonychosaur ever drawn. Love the giant, deformed left foot claw.
And then there's this strange (though beautifully painted) image, which I know I've seen somewhere before.
If you remember way, way back to the first post, the HBoD tapdances around the issue of Archaeopteryx, because "dinosaurs can't fly". I found, I think, only two decent illustrations in the book of everyone's favorite transitional form, and they are... contradictory...
In this corner: reptile halfway finished evolving into a bird who is also a Sparkleraptor (E: and almost certainly the direct inspiration for Archen/Archeops). In this corner: winged maniraptor who gives no guano about you and your "evolutionary levels". You kids fight it out, let's check in on the troodontids.
Yikes! On second thought, let's not.
Especially since these are not the eyes of an animal that is stone-cold sober. (Bonus: There just so happens to be a very similar image in our copies of Predatory Dinosaurs of the World.)
Wait, do you guys see the same thing I do?
Eh, maybe it's just me.
Next up, feathers, eggs, and what's all this about an old friend?
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But until then, it's time for part three of "Living With Dinosaurs"! In the words of Nelson Muntz, I can think of at least two things wrong with that title...
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Sketch of the Day!
Little winged maniraptors!
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