#theropod lips

[datgreenmonstah]

Posting my notes that I had done over 5yrs of research with for that journal post I made. This started back in 2018 before and after that lip paper came out, which just added onto my own research. If I had more time and less of an issue with writing proper papers I’d publish it, but this is the best I can do.

Anyway I thought I’d share these, also don’t get at me for what I wrote as I was putting down my thoughts as I went and like I said this was 5 yrs of research so things shift and change.

I also don’t have the money or rescources to be able to see specimens in person so this is what I got with candle lighting dead duck and goose bills before I could get a hold of the internal structure of duck bills to solidify what I found. Even have a thing in there on cheek anatomy.

Here’s what all that research went into writing,

Reblog by @datgreenmonstah · 2 images

💬 2  🔁 128  ❤️ 242 · Another Andrey Atuchin work where he uses a similar mouth reconstruction. Love his work. He seems to have had a simila

Also ngl after dissecting and cleaning those waterfowl skulls, the more t.rex’s head and mouth anatomy looked and matched more to their mouth anatomy than to a reptiles like a monitor lizard

[ildarotyrannus]

One day last year, I decided to draw dinosaurs from memory and at the same time experiment with brushes in Photoshop. I wanted to see how well I remember the distinctive features of animals. The result was these four sketches.

Dilophosaurus wetherilli portrait. It was a large and relatively primitive predatory dinosaur from the Early Jurassic of the USA. It is well known for the two thin crests on its head that served for demonstrations. It was probably a versatile hunter, capable of picking up small prey like fish with a hook on its upper jaw, as well as killing other dinosaurs with its blade-like serrated teeth.

Allosaurus fragilis portrait. I tried other brush here. I liked how the wrinkles and creases of the skin appear when using it. Note the soft tissues of mouth corner, exoparia paper was not published yet then.

Triceratops horridus portrait. It was a bit more complicated than the theropods because of the frill. In addition, it took much more time to draw large scales. But in the end it turned out quite well. Triceratops was the most widespread herbivore in North America at the end of the Cretaceous and one of the largest ceratopsians. It was part of the classic dinosaur fauna, among which were such "stars" as Tyrannosaurus and Edmontosaurus. Triceratops is known for its large number of skulls and skeletons of varying preservation. It famous three horns and frill were used to protect it from predators and in battles with its kindred.

And of course, a dinosaur that needs no introduction. It shows a reconstruction of extraoral tissues like those of alligator (many paleontologists now consider it less plausible than the now-common version with "lips"). Adobe Photoshop, 2024.

[ildarotyrannus]

The sketches in sketchbook with toned paper. :) It's baryonychine (speculative reconstruction with "lips") and Spinosaurus, both done without references. In the process, I used a white pencil (I have hardly used it so far) for the light parts, it turned out to be a very good volume.

Black ballpoint pen, white pencil and gouache (for minor corrections), 2024.

[ildarotyrannus]

The portrait of the abelisaurid theropod Abelisaurus comahuensis that I made last year. I tried to work in a style like acrylic paints, but with monochrome. I like some aspects of this work, such as the eye and the keratin around it, but it's clear from the skin folds and facial scales that I have a lot to learn. I hope to do a remake of this in the future, but in a slightly different style. Done in Paint Tool Sai 2.0.

[ildarotyrannus]

An experiment with pen.

Last year I decided to conduct an experiment. Its essence was to draw an animal based on a reference, but using only a pen when creating a sketch. As a result, I made these two drawings.

It is a rhamphorhynchid pterosaur Bellubrunnus rothgaengeri from the Late Jurassic of Southern Germany. It is known for a small individual less than a year old. Its characteristic feature is the forward-curving terminal phalanges of the fourth finger which supports a patagium. In the process of creating the drawing, I encountered difficulties in conveying the position of the left wing in space. I had to use white gouache and make corrections so that the drawing didn't look too distorted.

The second drawing is a megalosaurid theropod Dubreuillosaurus valesdunensis from the Middle Jurassic of France. There were much fewer problems with transferring the shape of the skull to paper, because I am more familiar with theropods as an object of drawing than with pterosaurs. In the previous case, the result was not bad, but I like this portrait more. :) Dubreuillosaurus is known from the incomplete skeleton of a 5 meters long immature individual. At first it was described as a species of the genus Poekilopleuron, but in 2005 it was separated as an independent genus.

Both drawings are made with black ballpoint pen.

[ildarotyrannus]

Hi all, it's my first post here! I'll show my drawings with some info on portrayed animals. For first post I have my recent Tyrannosaurus rex portrait. Many of those who read (or will read this blog) are probably already familiar with the Cullen et al. (2023) paper concerning the question of whether theropod dinosaurs (and specifically Tyrannosaurus) had "lips". Having presented several lines of evidence (tooth sizes, tooth enamel thickness on different sides of the tooth, jaw closure tightness, etc.), paleontologists claim that "lips" are the most plausible option for theropod facial tissue reconstruction. Those who have read me on other sites (such as DeviantArt) know that many reconstructions of non-avian theropods that I have made have exposed teeth. I have never been completely against "lipped" reconstructions and I really liked many, at least from an aesthetic point of view. Now I will also draw these more often. Of course, without a fossil specimen with preserved soft tissues, it is difficult to speak confidently in favor of one or another version (because the oral anatomy of theropods has some differences from both lizards and crocodiles). This Tyrannosaurus has a well-developed upper "lip" and a lower one that occupies most of the length of the jaw… except for the tip. The reason for this is the large number of labial openings observed in tyrannosaurs in the tip of dentary bone. It looks more like animals with beaks or tight-fitting facial coverings than lizards. I am not an expert in this matter, so I may be wrong. But I decided to play with this interpretation in the drawing. In addition to this feature, the keratinized maxilla integument above the upper lip catches the eye in the drawing. This is inspired by the unusual osteological correlations of this bone in tyrannosaurs (a surface dotted with small holes, ridges and grooves from blood vessels). Otherwise, this is quite an ordinary reconstruction. Initially, I decided to make feathers on the upper side of the neck, but later abandoned them because I didn't want to spoil the well-drawn scales. What else can I say… I drew a platanus tree in the background. It was harder to draw foliage than to draw scales. Perhaps it's a matter of habit. I decided to blur the background. The result is generally good for the first fully digital work in a long time, but I feel that there is a little lack of contrast. Well, I'll learn my lesson. Done in Paint Tool Sai 2.0.

[ildarotyrannus]

Lipped T. rex sketch done earlier in this year without references.