Nature's Compendium

Just posted some new #paleoart to #Patreon (www.patreon.com/c/markwitton), full images coming soon. For now, here's a nigh-on-midnight special preview of one new piece, just for other folks who really should be off their screens already: a baby mammoth chasing ducks. Some mammoths are just jerks.

Illustration depicting a late Cretaceous arctic beach where several species of birds are nesting and several other dinosaurs are around

Bird nesting in the Cretaceous! This is the illustration I did for a new paper by Lauren Wilson and colleagues that is published TODAY in Science

The new paper describes an assemblage of fossils that includes both chicks and adults from multiple species of Late Cretaceous birds!

#paleoart #birds

New walk cycle animation I did for @naturescompendium.bsky.social. His new video on Carnotaurus drops TOMORROW and is going to be awesome!

#paleoart #paleontology #dinosaur #carnotaurus #animation #aftereffects

As a bonus, here’s the walk cycle of Paralititan I also did for @naturescompendium.bsky.social. We’ve got a lot more on the way this year, so stay tuned!

#paleoart #paleontology #dinosaur #carnotaurus #animation #aftereffects

Tune in Saturday, March 15 to watch my latest video on #Carnotaurus! patreon.com/Natures_Compendium

All 2D! The puppet was provided for me by @naturescompendium.bsky.social. He draws all the assets for the videos himself.

A momma Homotherium accompanied by her two playful cubs on a snowy field. The animals are rusty-colored with some light cream and white lighlights, mirroring the colors of the environment around them.

Even though I did kinda jump on the badwagon back when the frozen Homotherium cub was published, I decided to focus on the adult interpretation, though I knew eventually I would like to do something featuring cubs. And here it is! A nice family portrait.

#paleoart #SciArt #artbyjulio

Screenshot of a work in progress Allosaurus fragilis head sculpt.

Working on a lil Allo lady

A small baby deer standing in front of a female Megaloceros.

Our second Dev Report is now live on Patreon!

Come take a look at our first paleo plant from the scrubland biome and see even more baby animals. They're so a-deer-able! ❤️

📝 Patreon Post: bit.ly/4aP1BS8

A group of tiny, feathered Velociraptors babies standing next to an adult.

Our first Dev Report is now live on Patreon!

Tune in to get a glimpse at even more ADORABLE baby animals and see what the team's been up to this past week. 🐣

📝 Patreon Post: bit.ly/3EiAnr5

Studies of the elephants for which we actually know what the size and morphology of external ear looks like. From left to right woolly mammoth, asian elephant, savannah elephant, forest elephant. Scaled to around same head size

Mammoths

How them ideas start

Discovery of a potential open ocean nursery for the endangered shortfin mako shark in a global fishing hotspot - Scientific Reports Scientific Reports - Discovery of a potential open ocean nursery for the endangered shortfin mako shark in a global fishing hotspot

Discovery of a potential open ocean nursery for the endangered shortfin mako shark in a global fishing hotspot 🦑🐟🌿🧪🦈 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Hey Bluesky, this is our first post here!

Prehistoric Kingdom is a zoo building/management tycoon game with dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures, currently in Early Access on Steam and Epic!

🦕Steam (30% off!): bit.ly/pk_steam
➡️ Latest Dev Diary: bit.ly/3Wqev3o
📝 Patreon: bit.ly/4hnK9GM

Work in Progress #Paralititan animation by @tylerstoneart.bsky.social for one of my upcoming videos this year! 🦕

Reconstructions of the mesozoic ferns Coniopteris and Todites

Reconstructions of the Mesozoic trees Elatides and Ginkgo

I've got the go ahead to post concept art I did for the Video Game Prehistoric Kingdom. I helped with the design of their Palaeobotany system. First up are the ferns and trees from the 'Coastal' biome. Check out the Dev Diary below to see some of those plants as in-game models!

To give you an idea what kind of landscape Giganthopithecus lived in, and what you can expect next Saturday...

#paleostream #sciart #paleoart

A painted bust of T. rex

Normally, I hate blue on my big predatory theropod dinosaurs, but I gave my T. rex slightly blue-ish highlights, and it’s not… terrible

(I still hate blue)

A large elephant-like animal wades through a misty swamp at sunset. The sky is orange with blue encroaching from above, against which large orange and red cypress trees stand out. White egrets fly around the mastodon, which has a grey-purple body and orange face. Its tusks curve into the air, while at its feet are projecting cypress "knees".

Just to keep things ticking over while I wrestle with Christmas deadlines, here's #paleoart of the American mastodon, sans hair, for which there is virtually no fossil evidence. Mastodon were not denizens of cold climates, like mammoths, and they may have looked very different in life. #sciart

Jefferssons Ground sloth (Megalonyx jeffersonii) and living Two-toed sloth

A view looking towards an overcast sky, with a Quetzalcoatlus flying with wings spread open, surrounded by a flock of tiny birds. Some are closer to it while most of the flock appear far behind. A comet can be seen passing through the clouds. This was made in 2011.

Same composition as before, but the lighting, textures and anatomy of the Quetzalcoatlus are enhanced. This remake was made in 2022.

Two Gorgosaurus appear to be doing a dance in a snowy landscape. The dinosaurs are covered in white feathers, with faint darker spots. The legs, hands and snout are unfeathered and dark. They have a yellow strip of color running from the tip of the snout to the horns above the eyes. There are leafless trees in the background and it is snowing. This was made in 2012.

Same composition as before, but now the dinosaurs aren't spotted and their crotch area is unfeathered. There are footprints visible in the snow. The textures and anatomy of the animals are enhanced. This remake was made in 2016.

This morning's blue #PaleoArt, for all the new #Bluesky people, features the Oligocene #whale Ediscetus hunting Spanish mackerel.
#SciArt #SciComm

Golden hour scene of a group of adult Tyrannosaurus rex coordinating to hunt a sub adult Alamosaurus- the two species’ ranges overlapped and their are also T.rex teeth found associated with Alamosaurus fossils that suggest either scavenging or active predation on occasion!

Very speculative painting, but here’s an idea that in some parts where their ranges overlapped, T.rex might have cooperatively mobbed sub-adult Alamosaurus as a hunting strategy! Inspired by lions in the Okavango delta who are able to take down elephants! #paleoart #paleosky #sciart #dinosaurart

A delicious #Tyrannosaurus rex dinner! youtu.be/-Iktb3Mq2nU?...

My latest video on the new #Homotherium_latidens mummy is out! Enjoy! youtu.be/ye0uSjuARmU #homotherium #sabertoothcat #pleistocene #paleoart #iceage

This #Homotherium Cub got lost in the snow. Hopefully nothing bad happens to him... #animation #mummy #iceage #paleoart

Decided to pitch in on the interpretations of the 3 week-old Homotherium cub.
What a phenomenal discovery. I'm very excited to see what other research will be published.
#paleoart

This would be a little departure, but I'm wondering if I should make a new entry for my cave painting series with the Homotherium figurine now

Homotherium is my favourite cat. Here are some old sketches