Description

Showcases the work of twenty leading paleoartists who expertly bring these extinct animals to life in exquisite detail.

Dinosaurs are endlessly fascinating to people of every age, from the youngest child who enjoys learning the tongue-twisting names to adults who grew up with Jurassic Park and Walking with Dinosaurs. As our knowledge of the prehistoric world continues to evolve and grow, so has the discipline of bringing these ancient worlds to life artistically. Paleoart puts flesh on the bones of long-extinct organisms, and illustrates the world they lived in.

Mesozoic Art presents twenty of the best artists working in this field, representing a broad spectrum of disciplines, from traditional painting to cutting-edge digital technology. Some provide the artwork for new scientific papers that demand high-end paleoart as part of their presentation to the world at large; they also work for the likes of National Geographic and provide art to museums around the world to illustrate their displays. Other artists are the new rising stars of paleoart in an ever-growing, ever-diversifying field.

Arranged by portfolio, this book brings this dramatic art to a wide, contemporary audience. The art is accompanied by text on the animals and their lives, written by palaeontologist Darren Naish. Paleoart is dynamic, fluid and colourful, as were the beasts it portrays, which are displayed in this magnificent book.

Publisher Review

Palaeoart has truly crossed the bridge into the realm of fine wildlife art in both the quality and creative content of the work compiled in this tome. * Julius T. Csotonyi, palaeoartist and mural illustrator for the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History and LA Museum of Natural History, and author of The Paleoart of Julius Csotonyi * A must-have for scientists, scholars and young dino artists! * Creator of Age of Reptiles, concept artist for Jurassic Park III, and character designer for Disney's Dinosaur * This is an ambitious collection of some of the most breath-catching depictions not only of our world in the past, but our world at any time. Sometimes weird, but often startlingly natural, Mesozoic Art helps us see life in the past not as science fiction, but living, breathing fact. * Dr Elsa Panciroli, palaeontologist, author of Beasts Before Us and The Earth: A Biography of Life * This book offers new, fresh, naturalistic and exciting depictions of our favourite creatures. Prehistoric Animals are not monsters and these young artists give them the respect they deserve. No doubt Mesozoic Art will inspire a whole new generation of Palaeoartists! * David Krentz, palaeoartist, designer, concept artist, storyboard artist on Prehistoric Planet, Emmy award-winning concept artist on Primal *