Last month's Dinosaur Art Contest to celebrate JP-3D blew our minds. Artists from around the world submitted dino sketches, sculptures, puppets, and models, and much of it was just as cool as what Stan and his team created for the Jurassic Park movies. It wasn't easy to pick the Grand and Runner-up Prize winners. But we did it, and we're happy to honor these two world-class artists with this blog feature. Congrats Andrea Leanza and RJ Palmer, from all of us at Stan Winston School!
-Matt Winston
Jump To Section
- A Dinosaur-sized Dream Comes True for Andrea Leanza
- Making the Dilophosaurus
- Commitment to the Craft
- For Love, Not Money
- RJ Palmer Creates a Samurai-themed Dinosaur Project
- Adding an Aerial Element
- Thanks for Your Support
A Dinosaur-sized Dream Comes True for Andrea Leanza
By Andrea Leanza, Dinosaur Art Contest Grand Prize Winner
When I was only 12, I started my dream thanks to Jurassic Park, and I tried my whole life to imitate Stan Winston Studio's works, comparing mine with theirs to always improve. So you can imagine how winning this Dinosaur Art Contest could be important for me...to get noticed from the other side of the ocean and to know that you all know who I am. *_*
(SWSCA Dinosaur Art Contest Grand Prize winner, Andrea Leanza.)
Making the Dilophosaurus
I designed [the dilophosaurus] following a paleontologist’s tips (Simone Maganuco from the Natural History Museum of Milan, Italy). I then sculpted it in polystyrene, covered it with PU resin to strengthen the surface, and sculpted the skin little by little using Apoxie® Sculpt.
(Progress photos of Andrea Leanza’s dilophosaurus.)
Commitment to the Craft
Working with Apoxie Sculpt is quite difficult because you need to pre-visualize the final design in your head and cannot come back as you could with clay. I had to do it that way because it was a very low budget, and there was no money for a mold, so it had to be sculpted and ready to paint and display.
(The final result of the dilophosaurus. Absolutely dino-mite!)
For Love, Not Money
I tried to do my best because I wanted this to be a masterpiece in my portfolio, even if I wasn't paid enough. ^_^
-Andrea Leanza
HERE you can read something about how I started
You can find Dilopho's head work in progress pics HERE.
RJ Palmer Creates a Samurai-themed Dinosaur Project
By RJ Palmer, Dinosaur Art Contest 2nd Prize Winner
This piece started as a simple homework assignment for an illustration class. The only thematic requirement was it had to be samurai-themed. Not being into samurai nearly as much as dinosaurs, I took the opportunity to pit history's most mythic warriors against the world's greatest animal. When I started to sketch a Tyrannosaurus mounted by a samurai, I knew I had something. The picture really just started flowing forth after that.
(Samurai-themed T-Rex sketches from RJ Palmer, Dinosaur Art Contest 2nd Prize Winner.)
Adding an Aerial Element
Not content with just a T. rex, I thought about how to incorporate more prehistoric fauna. I didn't want to evoke Jurassic Park more than I already had with humans and dinosaurs embroiled in conflict, so velociraptors were out. I opted for pterosaurs to bring in an aerial element. Of course, these, too, were mounted with samurai firing arrows, no less.
(RJ Palmer’s incredible artwork depicting the Tyrannosaurus Rex vs. Samurai.)
Thanks for Your Support
Once I completed this, I knew it would be a long while before I topped it, still trying a year later. I am eternally grateful for all the support that I have received for it. Especially from Stan Winston Studio, the guys largely responsible for my eternal dinosaur fascination. Being three years old and seeing the dinosaurs of Jurassic Park on the big screen is not something you ever forget.
-RJ Palmer
Here are some places to find me or my work:
My deviantART: arvalis.deviantart.com
My website: www.RJ-Palmer.com
My blog: grimchild.tumblr.com
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