A Barremian Barbecue by anthon500 on DeviantArt (original) (raw)

Well, since the news is out I can now share this. I've had the privilege of illustrating two new taxon. Meet Ceratosuchops inferodios (foreground) and Riparovenator milnerae, two new spinosaurids from the Wessex Formation that roamed the south of England some 125million years ago.

More in depth analysis can be seen here at Tetzoo.

BBC article

I worked closely with author of the study Christopher Barker, who greatly helped with the reconstructions and I was also provided with some fantastic skeletal artwork by Dan Folkes. Also involved: co author Darren Naish and Neil Gostling.

After Chris and I discussed a few options, we decided that a quarrel over a carcass would be the way to go. In this case, a nicely cooked juvenile Iguanodon (forest fires and lightening strikes were common in the Wessex Formation, despite it being a floodplain and wetlands). Depicting scavenging behaviour in Spinosauridae was something a bit more interesting than just typically catching fish. In the background, we see some scattering Istiodactylus.

To create the artwork I made small clay maquettes, which I then photographed and painted over in photoshop with reptilian and bird scale textures. I also used matte painting and photo bashing skills to create the surrounding Wessex Formation environment. So over all, the piece is a combination of models, photo bashing and painting in photoshop.

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