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Tuesday, November 30, 2010

DINO-A-DAY #61: Massospondylus

Welcome to Dino-a-Day, where we'll be highlighting one prehistoric beast per day until the release of our graphic novel Evolution: The Story of Life on Earth on January 4, 2011.

Each of the ninety-six creatures we'll be featuring on this blog are taken from a huge 2-page spread in the middle of Evolution. So while you can see each individual creature here, you'll need to grab the book to see them all together!



NAME: Massospondylus
PRONUNCIATION: mass-o-SPON-dih-lus
ORDER: Saurischia
EXISTED DURING: Early Jurassic
DISCOVERED: South Africa, 1854
FUN FACT: Massospondylus was one of the first dinosaurs to ever be named, and its name, courtesy of Sir Richard Owen, means “longer vertebra.”


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Source: Wikipedia
Pronunciation: DinoDictionary.com

Monday, November 29, 2010

DINO-A-DAY #60: Caudipteryx

Welcome to Dino-a-Day, where we'll be highlighting one prehistoric beast per day until the release of our graphic novel Evolution: The Story of Life on Earth on January 4, 2011.

Each of the ninety-six creatures we'll be featuring on this blog are taken from a huge 2-page spread in the middle of Evolution. So while you can see each individual creature here, you'll need to grab the book to see them all together!



NAME: Caudipteryx
PRONUNCIATION: kaw-DIP-ter-iks
ORDER: Saurischia
EXISTED DURING: Early Cretaceous
DISCOVERED: Liaoning Province, China, 1997
FUN FACT: Caudipteryx was the size of a peacock, but probably slightly more dangerous.


See all the Dino-a-Days HERE

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Source: Wikipedia
Pronunciation: DinoDictionary.com

Sunday, November 28, 2010

DINO-A-DAY #59: Carnotaurus

Welcome to Dino-a-Day, where we'll be highlighting one prehistoric beast per day until the release of our graphic novel Evolution: The Story of Life on Earth on January 4, 2011.

Each of the ninety-six creatures we'll be featuring on this blog are taken from a huge 2-page spread in the middle of Evolution. So while you can see each individual creature here, you'll need to grab the book to see them all together!



NAME: Carnotaurus
PRONUNCIATION: kahrn-uh-TAWR-us
ORDER: Saurischia
EXISTED DURING: Early Cretaceous
DISCOVERED: Argentina, 1985
FUN FACT: The “taurus” in Carnotaurus is from the Greek tauros, meaning bull, referring to the bull-like horns at the top of the skull.


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Source: Wikipedia
Pronunciation: DinoDictionary.com

Saturday, November 27, 2010

DINO-A-DAY #58: Guanlong

Welcome to Dino-a-Day, where we'll be highlighting one prehistoric beast per day until the release of our graphic novel Evolution: The Story of Life on Earth on January 4, 2011.

Each of the ninety-six creatures we'll be featuring on this blog are taken from a huge 2-page spread in the middle of Evolution. So while you can see each individual creature here, you'll need to grab the book to see them all together!



NAME: Guanlong
ORDER: Saurischia
EXISTED DURING: Late Jurassic
DISCOVERED: Dzungaria, China, 2006
FUN FACT: Guanlong had three long fingers on each hand, as seen in the extremely realistic drawing above.


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Source: Wikipedia

Friday, November 26, 2010

DINO-A-DAY #57: Therizinosaurus

Welcome to Dino-a-Day, where we'll be highlighting one prehistoric beast per day until the release of our graphic novel Evolution: The Story of Life on Earth on January 4, 2011.

Each of the ninety-six creatures we'll be featuring on this blog are taken from a huge 2-page spread in the middle of Evolution. So while you can see each individual creature here, you'll need to grab the book to see them all together!



NAME: Therizinosaurus
PRONUNCIATION: thair-uh-ZEEN-uh-SAWR-us
ORDER: Saurischia
EXISTED DURING: Late Cretaceous
DISCOVERED: Mongolia, 1940s
FUN FACT: Therizinosaurus’ name means “scythe lizard,” referring to its enormous scythe-like claws that look awkward but could probably take down prey in one quick swipe.


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Source: Wikipedia
Pronunciation: DinoDictionary.com

Thursday, November 25, 2010

DINO-A-DAY #56: Hongshanosaurus

Welcome to Dino-a-Day, where we'll be highlighting one prehistoric beast per day until the release of our graphic novel Evolution: The Story of Life on Earth on January 4, 2011.

Each of the ninety-six creatures we'll be featuring on this blog are taken from a huge 2-page spread in the middle of Evolution. So while you can see each individual creature here, you'll need to grab the book to see them all together!



NAME: Hongshanosaurus
PRONUNCIATION: hong-SHAN-o-SAWR-əs
ORDER: Ornithischia
EXISTED DURING: Early Cretaceous
DISCOVERED: Northeastern China, 2003
FUN FACT: Hongshanosaurus’ name means “red hill lizard” and refers to the ancient Hongshan culture which lived in the same area as where the fossil was found.


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Source: Wikipedia

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

DINO-A-DAY #55: Ouranosaurus

Welcome to Dino-a-Day, where we'll be highlighting one prehistoric beast per day until the release of our graphic novel Evolution: The Story of Life on Earth on January 4, 2011.

Each of the ninety-six creatures we'll be featuring on this blog are taken from a huge 2-page spread in the middle of Evolution. So while you can see each individual creature here, you'll need to grab the book to see them all together!



NAME: Ouranosaurus
PRONUNCIATION: ooh-RAN-uh-SAWR-us
ORDER: Ornithischia
EXISTED DURING: Early Cretaceous
DISCOVERED: Niger, Africa, 1966
FUN FACT: Some scientists suggest that Ouranosaurus’ large vertebrates were used to hold up a camel-like hump, rather than a Spinosaurus-like sail.


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Source: Wikipedia
Pronunciation: DinoDictionary.com

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

DINO-A-DAY #54: Iguanodon

Welcome to Dino-a-Day, where we'll be highlighting one prehistoric beast per day until the release of our graphic novel Evolution: The Story of Life on Earth on January 4, 2011.

Each of the ninety-six creatures we'll be featuring on this blog are taken from a huge 2-page spread in the middle of Evolution. So while you can see each individual creature here, you'll need to grab the book to see them all together!



NAME: Iguanodon
PRONUNCIATION: ig-WAN-oh-don
ORDER: Ornithischia
EXISTED DURING: Early Cretaceous
DISCOVERED: England, 1822
FUN FACT: Iguanodon was one of the first dinosaurs to be named, and its skeleton was originally put together in a creative, albeit incorrect pose.


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Source: Wikipedia
Pronunciation: DinoDictionary.com

Monday, November 22, 2010

DINO-A-DAY #53: Callovosaurus

Welcome to Dino-a-Day, where we'll be highlighting one prehistoric beast per day until the release of our graphic novel Evolution: The Story of Life on Earth on January 4, 2011.

Each of the ninety-six creatures we'll be featuring on this blog are taken from a huge 2-page spread in the middle of Evolution. So while you can see each individual creature here, you'll need to grab the book to see them all together!



NAME: Callovosaurus
PRONUNCIATION: cuh-LOW-vuh-SAWR-us
ORDER: Ornithischia
EXISTED DURING: Middle Jurassic
DISCOVERED: England, 1889
FUN FACT: Callovosaurus is based on one complete thigh bone and possibly a partial shin bone that was found nearby.


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Source: Wikipedia
Pronunciation: DinoDictionary.com

Sunday, November 21, 2010

DINO-A-DAY #52: Alamosaurus

Welcome to Dino-a-Day, where we'll be highlighting one prehistoric beast per day until the release of our graphic novel Evolution: The Story of Life on Earth on January 4, 2011.

Each of the ninety-six creatures we'll be featuring on this blog are taken from a huge 2-page spread in the middle of Evolution. So while you can see each individual creature here, you'll need to grab the book to see them all together!



NAME: Alamosaurus
PRONUNCIATION: AL-uh-mo-SAWR-us
ORDER: Saurischia
EXISTED DURING: Late Cretaceous
DISCOVERED: New Mexico, 1922
FUN FACT: Sadly, Alamosaurus was not named after the famous Alamo in Texas. Rather, the species was named after a type of geologic formation, Ojo Alamo.


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Source: Wikipedia
Pronunciation: DinoDictionary.com

Saturday, November 20, 2010

DINO-A-DAY #51: Mamenchisaurus

Welcome to Dino-a-Day, where we'll be highlighting one prehistoric beast per day until the release of our graphic novel Evolution: The Story of Life on Earth on January 4, 2011.

Each of the ninety-six creatures we'll be featuring on this blog are taken from a huge 2-page spread in the middle of Evolution. So while you can see each individual creature here, you'll need to grab the book to see them all together!



NAME: Mamenchisaurus
PRONUNCIATION: mah-MEN-chih-SAWR-us
ORDER: Saurischia
EXISTED DURING: Late Jurassic
DISCOVERED: Sichuan, China, 1952
FUN FACT: Mamenchisaurus’s neck made up half its total body length!


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Source: Wikipedia
Pronunciation: DinoDictionary.com

Friday, November 19, 2010

DINO-A-DAY #50: Apatosaurus

Welcome to Dino-a-Day, where we'll be highlighting one prehistoric beast per day until the release of our graphic novel Evolution: The Story of Life on Earth on January 4, 2011.

Each of the ninety-six creatures we'll be featuring on this blog are taken from a huge 2-page spread in the middle of Evolution. So while you can see each individual creature here, you'll need to grab the book to see them all together!



NAME: Apatosaurus
PRONUNCIATION: ah-PAT-uh-SAWR-us
ORDER: Saurischia
EXISTED DURING: Late Jurassic
DISCOVERED: Wyoming, 1877
FUN FACT: Once known as Brontosaurus, the name Apatosaurus was found to have been used first, and so the popular name was dropped. The US Post Office caused a row in 1989 when it released four dinosaur stamps, one of which was a Brontosaurus, leading to a public outcry.


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Source: Wikipedia
Pronunciation: DinoDictionary.com

Thursday, November 18, 2010

DINO-A-DAY #49: Camarasaurus

Welcome to Dino-a-Day, where we'll be highlighting one prehistoric beast per day until the release of our graphic novel Evolution: The Story of Life on Earth on January 4, 2011.

Each of the ninety-six creatures we'll be featuring on this blog are taken from a huge 2-page spread in the middle of Evolution. So while you can see each individual creature here, you'll need to grab the book to see them all together!



NAME: Camarasaurus
PRONUNCIATION: kuh-MARE-uh-SAWR-us
ORDER: Saurischia
EXISTED DURING: Late Jurassic
DISCOVERED: Colorado, 1877
FUN FACT: In Bone Sharps, Cowboys, and Thunder Lizards, a misappropriated Camasaurus skull plays a key role in the drama. Read the book to find out more!


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Source: Wikipedia
Pronunciation: DinoDictionary.com

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

DINO-A-DAY #48: Dicraeosaurus

Welcome to Dino-a-Day, where we'll be highlighting one prehistoric beast per day until the release of our graphic novel Evolution: The Story of Life on Earth on January 4, 2011.

Each of the ninety-six creatures we'll be featuring on this blog are taken from a huge 2-page spread in the middle of Evolution. So while you can see each individual creature here, you'll need to grab the book to see them all together!



NAME: Dicraeosaurus
PRONUNCIATION: dye-CRAY-uh-SAWR-us
ORDER: Saurischia
EXISTED DURING: Late Jurassic
DISCOVERED: Tanzania, 1914
FUN FACT: Scientists believe that Dicraeosaurus didn’t compete with its fellow herbivorous species because, as they were all different heights, they most likely consumed different plants.


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Source: Wikipedia
Pronunciation: DinoDictionary.com

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

DINO-A-DAY #47: Saltasaurus

Welcome to Dino-a-Day, where we'll be highlighting one prehistoric beast per day until the release of our graphic novel Evolution: The Story of Life on Earth on January 4, 2011.

Each of the ninety-six creatures we'll be featuring on this blog are taken from a huge 2-page spread in the middle of Evolution. So while you can see each individual creature here, you'll need to grab the book to see them all together!



NAME: Saltasaurus
PRONUNCIATION: salt-uh-SAWR-us
ORDER: Saurischia
EXISTED DURING: Late Cretaceous
DISCOVERED: Argentina, 1980
FUN FACT: A huge Saltasaurus nest found in Argentina contained eggs with tiny armor-plated embryos.


See all the Dino-a-Days HERE

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Evolution: The Story of Life on Earth
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Source: Wikipedia
Pronunciation: DinoDictionary.com

Monday, November 15, 2010

DINO-A-DAY #46: Bagaceratops

Welcome to Dino-a-Day, where we'll be highlighting one prehistoric beast per day until the release of our graphic novel Evolution: The Story of Life on Earth on January 4, 2011.

Each of the ninety-six creatures we'll be featuring on this blog are taken from a huge 2-page spread in the middle of Evolution. So while you can see each individual creature here, you'll need to grab the book to see them all together!



NAME: Bagaceratops
PRONUNCIATION: bag-uh-SAIR-uh-tops
ORDER: Ornithischia
EXISTED DURING: Late Cretaceous
DISCOVERED: Gobi Desert, 1975
FUN FACT: The diminutive Bagaceratops was a herbivore, and most likely dined on ferns, cycads, and conifers.


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Source: Wikipedia
Pronunciation: DinoDictionary.com

Sunday, November 14, 2010

DINO-A-DAY #45: Brachiosaurus

Welcome to Dino-a-Day, where we'll be highlighting one prehistoric beast per day until the release of our graphic novel Evolution: The Story of Life on Earth on January 4, 2011.

Each of the ninety-six creatures we'll be featuring on this blog are taken from a huge 2-page spread in the middle of Evolution. So while you can see each individual creature here, you'll need to grab the book to see them all together!



NAME: Brachiosaurus
PRONUNCIATION: BRACK-ee-uh-SAWR-us
ORDER: Saurischia
EXISTED DURING: Late Jurassic
DISCOVERED: Colorado, 1903
FUN FACT: Once again, Jurassic Park had it wrong: Brachiosaurus could not, in fact, rear up on its hind legs to nibble on tree leaves.


See all the Dino-a-Days HERE

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Evolution: The Story of Life on Earth
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Source: Wikipedia
Pronunciation: DinoDictionary.com

Saturday, November 13, 2010

DINO-A-DAY #44: Saurornithoides

Welcome to Dino-a-Day, where we'll be highlighting one prehistoric beast per day until the release of our graphic novel Evolution: The Story of Life on Earth on January 4, 2011.

Each of the ninety-six creatures we'll be featuring on this blog are taken from a huge 2-page spread in the middle of Evolution. So while you can see each individual creature here, you'll need to grab the book to see them all together!



NAME: Saurornithoides
PRONUNCIATION: SAWR-or-nih-THOY-deez
ORDER: Saurischia
EXISTED DURING: Late Cretaceous
DISCOVERED: Mongolia, 1924
FUN FACT: Saurornithoides had stereoscopic vision and thus good depth perception -- a necessary trait when chasing after small rodents in the desert.


See all the Dino-a-Days HERE

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Evolution: The Story of Life on Earth
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Source: Wikipedia
Pronunciation: DinoDictionary.com

Friday, November 12, 2010

DINO-A-DAY #43: Allosaurus

Welcome to Dino-a-Day, where we'll be highlighting one prehistoric beast per day until the release of our graphic novel Evolution: The Story of Life on Earth on January 4, 2011.

Each of the ninety-six creatures we'll be featuring on this blog are taken from a huge 2-page spread in the middle of Evolution. So while you can see each individual creature here, you'll need to grab the book to see them all together!



NAME: Allosaurus
PRONUNCIATION: AL-uh-SAWR-us
ORDER: Saurischia
EXISTED DURING: Late Jurassic
DISCOVERED: Colorado, 1869
FUN FACT: One theory of Allosaurus’ predation habits is that it snuck up behind potential prey and used its upper jaw like a hatchet. Ouch.


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Evolution: The Story of Life on Earth
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Source: Wikipedia
Pronunciation: DinoDictionary.com

Thursday, November 11, 2010

DINO-A-DAY #42: Euhelopus

Welcome to Dino-a-Day, where we'll be highlighting one prehistoric beast per day until the release of our graphic novel Evolution: The Story of Life on Earth on January 4, 2011.

Each of the ninety-six creatures we'll be featuring on this blog are taken from a huge 2-page spread in the middle of Evolution. So while you can see each individual creature here, you'll need to grab the book to see them all together!



NAME: Euhelopus
PRONUNCIATION: you-heh-LO-pus
ORDER: Saurischia
EXISTED DURING: Late Jurassic
DISCOVERED: China, 1929
FUN FACT: Euhelops had longer fore legs than hind legs, which is a unique feature among sauropods.


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Source: Wikipedia
Pronunciation: DinoDictionary.com

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

DINO-A-DAY #41: Baryonyx

Welcome to Dino-a-Day, where we'll be highlighting one prehistoric beast per day until the release of our graphic novel Evolution: The Story of Life on Earth on January 4, 2011.

Each of the ninety-six creatures we'll be featuring on this blog are taken from a huge 2-page spread in the middle of Evolution. So while you can see each individual creature here, you'll need to grab the book to see them all together!



NAME: Baryonyx
PRONUNCIATION: bare-ee-ON-iks
ORDER: Saurischia
EXISTED DURING: Early Cretaceous
DISCOVERED: Surrey, UK, 1983
FUN FACT: The first Baryonyx fossils were found near what used to be Wealdon Lake -- a huge lake that covered most of what is now northern France and England during the Cretaceous (140 million years ago).


See all the Dino-a-Days HERE

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Evolution: The Story of Life on Earth
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Source: Wikipedia
Pronunciation: DinoDictionary.com

Tuesday, November 09, 2010

DINO-A-DAY #40: Triceratops

Welcome to Dino-a-Day, where we'll be highlighting one prehistoric beast per day until the release of our graphic novel Evolution: The Story of Life on Earth on January 4, 2011.

Each of the ninety-six creatures we'll be featuring on this blog are taken from a huge 2-page spread in the middle of Evolution. So while you can see each individual creature here, you'll need to grab the book to see them all together!



NAME: Triceratops
PRONUNCIATION: try-SAIR-uh-tops
ORDER: Ornithischia
EXISTED DURING: Late Cretaceous
DISCOVERED: Denver, Colorado, 1887
FUN FACT: The first Triceratops fossil found was a pair of horns. When it was sent to O. C. Marsh at Yale to be categorized, he believed the horns belonged to a kind of over-sized bison.


See all the Dino-a-Days HERE

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Evolution: The Story of Life on Earth
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Source: Wikipedia
Pronunciation: DinoDictionary.com

Monday, November 08, 2010

DINO-A-DAY #39: Arrhinoceratops

Welcome to Dino-a-Day, where we'll be highlighting one prehistoric beast per day until the release of our graphic novel Evolution: The Story of Life on Earth on January 4, 2011.

Each of the ninety-six creatures we'll be featuring on this blog are taken from a huge 2-page spread in the middle of Evolution. So while you can see each individual creature here, you'll need to grab the book to see them all together!



NAME: Arrhinoceratops
PRONUNCIATION: ah-RHINE-o-sair-a-tops
ORDER: Ornithischia
EXISTED DURING: Late Cretaceous
DISCOVERED: Canada, 1923
FUN FACT: This species was originally thought to have no nose-horn, hence the a-rhino-cerat (“no nose horn”) as its name.


See all the Dino-a-Days HERE

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Evolution: The Story of Life on Earth
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Source: Wikipedia
Pronunciation: DinoDictionary.com

Sunday, November 07, 2010

DINO-A-DAY #38: Pentaceratops

Welcome to Dino-a-Day, where we'll be highlighting one prehistoric beast per day until the release of our graphic novel Evolution: The Story of Life on Earth on January 4, 2011.

Each of the ninety-six creatures we'll be featuring on this blog are taken from a huge 2-page spread in the middle of Evolution. So while you can see each individual creature here, you'll need to grab the book to see them all together!



NAME: Pentaceratops
PRONUNCIATION: PEN-tah-sair-uh-tops
ORDER: Ornithischia
EXISTED DURING: Late Cretaceous
DISCOVERED: New Mexico, 1923
FUN FACT: Pentaceratops’ name means “five-horned face,” which refers to the two horns at the top of its head, one at its snout, and two more located under the eyes.


See all the Dino-a-Days HERE

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Evolution: The Story of Life on Earth
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Source: Wikipedia
Pronunciation: DinoDictionary.com

Saturday, November 06, 2010

DINO-A-DAY #37: Velociraptor

Welcome to Dino-a-Day, where we'll be highlighting one prehistoric beast per day until the release of our graphic novel Evolution: The Story of Life on Earth on January 4, 2011.

Each of the ninety-six creatures we'll be featuring on this blog are taken from a huge 2-page spread in the middle of Evolution. So while you can see each individual creature here, you'll need to grab the book to see them all together!



NAME: Velociraptor
PRONUNCIATION: veh-loss-ih-RAP-tor
ORDER: Saurischia
EXISTED DURING: Late Cretaceous
DISCOVERED: Mongolia, 1922
FUN FACT: Velociraptors had dewclaws on their hind limbs, which are vestigial claws that never touch the ground. Dewclaws can be seen on modern animals as well, such as dogs, pigs, and deer.


See all the Dino-a-Days HERE

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Source: Wikipedia
Pronunciation: DinoDictionary.com

Friday, November 05, 2010

DINO-A-DAY #36: Diplodocus

Welcome to Dino-a-Day, where we'll be highlighting one prehistoric beast per day until the release of our graphic novel Evolution: The Story of Life on Earth on January 4, 2011.

Each of the ninety-six creatures we'll be featuring on this blog are taken from a huge 2-page spread in the middle of Evolution. So while you can see each individual creature here, you'll need to grab the book to see them all together!



NAME: Diplodocus
PRONUNCIATION: dih-PLOD-uh-kus
ORDER: Saurischia
EXISTED DURING: Late Jurassic
DISCOVERED: Colorado, 1877
FUN FACT: Diplodocus was the model for Winsor McCay’s famous cartoon, “Gertie the Dinosaur.”


See all the Dino-a-Days HERE

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Evolution: The Story of Life on Earth
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Source: Wikipedia
Pronunciation: DinoDictionary.com

Thursday, November 04, 2010

Zander's Game Informer Sacred Cow Barbecue Illustration

Game Informer, the best video game magazine out there, has once again sent a gentle whisper out onto the wind saying they need an illustration that has lots of video game related gags in it. And I respond by kicking down their front door and saying I'm the man to do it!




The recurring feature Sacred Cow Barbecue, a no-doubt-very-satisfying opportunity for GI's editors to say bad things about all of the games that people love, is fun in a different way than Game Infarcer (the April Fool's drawing) for a couple reasons. One, it allows me to draw a bunch of characters from a bunch of different games rather than from just one. Two, it goes across two pages, plus little spot illustrations interspersed throughout the rest of the article, so it's more piecemeal, and individual figures or groups are more important than the overall composition. And three, from a technical standpoint, since the illustrations are likely to be in the hands of the production department who have to fit them around all the text, the image has to be delivered in many, many layers so that they don't have to chop it up more than necessary.

The first thing that happens is that I go down to GI and talk with some editors (who I won't name this time so that they don't get hate mail). They give me the list of the games that are going to get a kicking in the article, and I write them down. One thing that I did differently this year is that because the last two Sacred Cows were in picnic environments, with the characters being grilled, skewered, roasted, and otherwise mishandled, I wanted to change from that and show something different. One idea was that the figures would be cows in a field, dressed up as the game characters, but since the games chosen are not as iconic as things like Mario or Halo, we figured that it might not work well as a gag. My other idea, and one that fit in well with the idea of giving the production department the most leeway in their layouts, was all of the characters in a lake of fire. It doesn't have as many opportunities for good gags the way a picnic environment does, but it ends up being kind of fun from a cartooning point of view, focusing on characters' body language and expressions.

SKETCH

After going back to the studio, I worked up this sketch for GI, which basically laid out the characters, their expressions, their placement, and where I thought the text (introducing the article) could go. I also went ahead and did a title treatment because why not.

The idea here, in terms of delivering the image, was that the characters were all independent of each other and the perspective the illustration takes didn't limit where they could be placed (though you want characters to be facing inward for the most part, and asymmetrical characters like Kratos can't be flipped, so there are some parameters here). I was trying to make the drawing as flexible as possible for the layout people.

PENCILS


Once that was settled on (and I figured out which World of Warcraft character I'd put in there), I worked up the pencil stage. I was really trying to have variable sizes of all the characters, such as the rock with HK-47 on it and the devil cow, on down to the concerned-looking Bastila in the upper right corner and Darth Malak in the lower right. I tried to throw in some sight gags as well, such as Kratos praying for mercy (not a likely scenario in God of War), Leon Kennedy pushing Ashley into the lava (she's a real pain in the neck in Resident Evil 4), and Luis looking like he's getting awfully cozy with Ada Wong (no reason, just thought it was funny). Also, it's pretty satisfying to draw Pokemon with big teary eyes as they burn. Sorry, Pokemans.

INKS


Next come the inks, and while this is a single image, all of the characters were inked separately-- I blew up the pencils on the computer and printed out several sections in non-photo blue, then inked them all so none of them were touching each other. You can tell this by some of the flames intersecting each other here. If you look closely, you'll see that I did something pretty lazy, too: the rock on the very bottom of the image is the same as the one on the left, just flipped left-to-right. Man, I saved myself like 90 seconds there.

COLORS


The colors here were pretty straightforward from an aesthetic point of view. I made a color sketch at a low resolution just to get the feel of things.

From this, I knew the overall color was going to be a lava orange, and that that color was going to affect every other color on there. So then what I basically did was color every character their normal color, as if they were in neutral, full-spectrum light, but lit from below, then put a yellowish-orange low-opacity layer over them so that every color shifts toward that. Beyond how warm that makes the drawing look, it also unifies everything and makes it so you don't even really notice. Greens still look green, but if you saw that color by itself, with no orange-yellow around it, it might not look green at all.

I also quickly whipped up some cooled lava in the upper left corner to pop out the logo, which I inverted. If I had thought of it earlier, I might have put in more of that dark lava to give the drawing a darker, more ominous look, but I felt like it worked well, and I still wanted to keep the drawing adjustable.

GLOWY EYES


I also did something that I like to do every once in a great while. I usually like to keep the color mostly flat and cartoony (and simple to do), but sometimes there's someone that just needs to have glowing eyes. So without having to make it a big hairy deal, I have this quick, 4 step process:


1. Once everything's colored, go to the line art layer and select the inside of the area you want to glow. It shouldn't go under the black lines at all, just right up to them.

2. Make two new layers above the line art layer. They should be the top two layers. Call one "Blur" and one "Glow". With the area still selected, color it white on the "Glow" layer and orange or whatever color the glowing thing is on the "Blur" layer. Deselect.


3. On the Blur layer, do not select anything, but go to Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur... you can move the slider to see how many pixels you want to blur it. It all depends on your resolution.
4. Voila! You have a glowing eye or thing. The white looks just like it's an ultra-bright orange when it has that orange glow around it.

ADDITIONAL SPOT ILLUSTRATIONS


Last time I did a drawing for Sacred Cow Barbecue, the layout guys reshuffled my layout quite a bit and sampled illustrations from the main spread to use throughout the article. I liked that idea, but I wanted to make sure there were enough original illustrations that we didn't end up using things twice. So I drew up a number of single spots that could work anywhere on a lava background and colored them, providing them as individual Photoshop files for the production department.

ALL THIS PLANNING...DID IT WORK?


Kind of. Here's how the two-page splash looked in the magazine. I was starting to worry as I got close to the deadline that my layout was not leaving a lot of room for text. I mean, it left some, but they were going to have to keep it pretty short if it was going to fit in there. I figured that something like that was going to happen.

Obviously I'm open to reshuffling the details in an illustration; I built the concept of this drawing around it. Unfortunately, two things which I didn't foresee happened. One is that they enlarged the devil cow by quite a bit. That sort of thing is fine when you're dealing with painted images or photographs, provided that they are high enough resolution. But the problem with cartoons drawn with pen or brush is that the line weight and quality is a dead giveaway for scale. So when you blow up a drawing, even if the lines are still crisp, you can tell that it was not originally that size because all of the lines are thicker than everything around it.

The second thing is that the Lich King (center) is rotated about 5 degrees. Eh. Weird.

What they did right was that this is an excellent layout. It's asymmetrical, it has a lot of weight opposite the logo, and it moves your eyes around, not to mention leaves room for text. If I had thought more about that, my version and theirs might not have been so different.


They ended up moving a lot of characters from the first spread to the second and creating shapes there to move the text around, which is a fine idea; perhaps cramming 16 characters on one page was a bit much.

And boy did they get their money's worth on that rock. It's there twice--that's four times in four pages!

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THE ARTICLE?

This was a funny article, though they've pretty well run through the classic games by now and are beating on games that are 3 years old. I actually loved 2/3 of these games: Resident Evil 4, God of War series, Knights of the Old Republic, and Braid are some of my favorite games ever. World of Warcraft and Pokemon could drop off the face of the Earth and I'd never notice.

Basically, I like drawing video game characters and if they're burning in a pit of fire, so much the better! Thanks again, GI!


DINO-A-DAY #35: Dilophosaurus

Welcome to Dino-a-Day, where we'll be highlighting one prehistoric beast per day until the release of our graphic novel Evolution: The Story of Life on Earth on January 4, 2011.

Each of the ninety-six creatures we'll be featuring on this blog are taken from a huge 2-page spread in the middle of Evolution. So while you can see each individual creature here, you'll need to grab the book to see them all together!



NAME: Dilophosaurus
PRONUNCIATION: dye-LO-fuh-SAWR-us
ORDER: Saurischia
EXISTED DURING: Early Jurassic
DISCOVERED: Arizona, 1942
FUN FACT: Dilophosaurus is another veteran of Jurassic Park, although its depiction in the film as having a neck frill and the ability to spit venom is not supported by science.


See all the Dino-a-Days HERE

Purchase
Evolution: The Story of Life on Earth
on Amazon


Source: Wikipedia
Pronunciation: DinoDictionary.com

Wednesday, November 03, 2010

DINO-A-DAY #34: Acrocanthosaurus

Welcome to Dino-a-Day, where we'll be highlighting one prehistoric beast per day until the release of our graphic novel Evolution: The Story of Life on Earth on January 4, 2011.

Each of the ninety-six creatures we'll be featuring on this blog are taken from a huge 2-page spread in the middle of Evolution. So while you can see each individual creature here, you'll need to grab the book to see them all together!



NAME: Acrocanthosaurus
PRONUNCIATION:ak-ro-KANTH-uh-SAWR-us
ORDER: Saurischia
EXISTED DURING: Early Cretaceous
DISCOVERED: Oklahoma, 1950
FUN FACT: Acroncathosaurus was likely an apex predator, meaning it lived on the top of the food chain and had no predators of its own.


See all the Dino-a-Days HERE

Purchase
Evolution: The Story of Life on Earth
on Amazon


Source: Wikipedia
Pronunciation: DinoDictionary.com

Tuesday, November 02, 2010

DINO-A-DAY #33: Tyrannosaurus

Welcome to Dino-a-Day, where we'll be highlighting one prehistoric beast per day until the release of our graphic novel Evolution: The Story of Life on Earth on January 4, 2011.

Each of the ninety-six creatures we'll be featuring on this blog are taken from a huge 2-page spread in the middle of Evolution. So while you can see each individual creature here, you'll need to grab the book to see them all together!



NAME: Tyrannosaurus
PRONUNCIATION: tye-RAN-uh-SAWR-us
ORDER: Saurischia
EXISTED DURING: Late Cretaceous
DISCOVERED: North America, 1896
FUN FACT: Tyrannosaurus has been featured in more films than any other dinosaur.


See all the Dino-a-Days HERE

Purchase
Evolution: The Story of Life on Earth
on Amazon


Source: Wikipedia
Pronunciation: DinoDictionary.com

Monday, November 01, 2010

DINO-A-DAY #32: Tarbosaurus

Welcome to Dino-a-Day, where we'll be highlighting one prehistoric beast per day until the release of our graphic novel Evolution: The Story of Life on Earth on January 4, 2011.

Each of the ninety-six creatures we'll be featuring on this blog are taken from a huge 2-page spread in the middle of Evolution. So while you can see each individual creature here, you'll need to grab the book to see them all together!



NAME: Tarbosaurus
PRONUNCIATION: TAR-bow-SOR-us
ORDER: Saurischia
EXISTED DURING: Late Cretaceous
DISCOVERED: Mongolia, 1946
FUN FACT: Due to sideways-facing eyes and enlarged olfactory bulbs, Tarbosaurus is believed to have relied more on sense of smell than sense of sight.


See all the Dino-a-Days HERE

Purchase
Evolution: The Story of Life on Earth
on Amazon


Source: Wikipedia
Pronunciation: DinoChecker.com