Meet Picasso.  This quiet softie loves spending time with his special person.  Snuggling under the tree to hear a good story?  That sounds like a lovely way to spend a warm afternoon. 🙂

Picasso looks very happy to see you, and he wonders very much if you like his red crest.  He’s very proud of it, you see, and he’s been strutting around the field like a very large rooster.

He marches up and down the fence line with his chest puffed out and his neck arched like a stallion.  He watches over his patch of yard like the duke of the land, and if something doesn’t look quite right, he’ll stand as tall as he can and show off those blue feathers- just so you know he has things under control.

Oh yes, feathers!  Now we don’t know for sure if this critter had feathers or not, and the whole subject of feathered dinos deserves it’s own series of posts, but there’s a definite possibility. 🙂

If you want to find out more about dinosaurs and feathers, here’s a post on what makes a feather, and here’s a post on figuring out which dinos might’ve had them. 🙂

I’ve given Picasso a coat of feathers similar in texture to an emu’s, which gives him the furry look.  His fingers and feet are feathered too, like a snowy owl, but they have pads on them for walking and grabbing.

If you’ve watched a lot of Jurassic Park, take note that Picasso has awesome grabby hands that are good for hugs.  Not dangly zombie bunny arms.  What good are those for? 😛

 

Making progress…

 

Happy New Year!  I hope you’ve been having a good holiday season.

I have big plans for the new year…Here’s a basic list, kinda in the order I want to accomplish it.

• officially set up Mailchimp so that I can launch Pete’s Postcards from the Shop.
• Finish Dippy vs. Ball so I can publish my first book (ever.)
• Earn my first 99 cents from said book. 😀
• Prep Dippy vs. Ball to make a print version available.
• Create more Critter Cam episodes until I have enough for the anthology, which will also be available in print.

And…

• Publish “Little, Quiet Dinosaur” (working title) by my birthday this year!  We’ll see how realistic a goal that is later, but I’ll try my best to have it at least finished (if not ready to publish on Amazon).

I have a strategy in mind, to make sure this happens.  Once Dippy vs. Ball is published, I’ll then work on an illustration for the picture book.

With an illustration complete, I’ll prep Dippy vs. Ball so that it can be available in print as well.

Then another illustration for the picture book…then I’ll start a second Critter Cam episode…you get the picture. 🙂

This way I hope to have more books out there (and therefore more easily seen, so future readers know I exist) while still making progress on the picture book. 🙂

P.S. – In case you didn’t notice, Picasso got an update!  

• He looks more like most of the other critters now, style-wise
• He’s more balanced over his hips now, and doesn’t look like he’s about to fall on his face
• His head crest is shorter, and more like the latest skeletal drawings
• His body is leaner, since I gave his feathers a slightly shorter, more fur like look.

Here’s the older picture for comparison. 🙂

Coming Next Week…

This big guy is always ready to flash a big, toothy smile, especially at mealtime.

Share your guess in the comments! He’ll be one of the critters over on the critter page. 🙂