updates

Critter of the Week: Archaeopteryx

| Patricia Bujard

Meet Tango. This bird likes to party, and loves being the center of attention even more!

tango_update

Tango is a pretty good example of when you should check with your neighbors before you choose your pet.  Of course, if you live out in the sticks like I do, then it doesn’t matter so long as you don’t mind going deaf.

Ok, ok, I exaggerate.  But really, unless you like a whole lot of this going on, I’d reconsider a quieter critter.

 

Making progress…

I’ve got profile pictures for all the critters on the critter page!  (I’m super super excited, because that’s the most obvious sign of my progress so far XD )

Speaking of profile pics, notice how Tango got a shiny updated one? (hint hint, nod nod)

Now I’m starting on their official character pages.  You can go to the critter page and click on Tango (or if you’re lazy, just click here 😛 )  It’s pretty basic, and not very shiny yet, but hey, it’s a start. 🙂

I also got Tango’s card done.  One more dinosaur to complete the series, and I’ll open up the official sign up for Postcards From the Shop!

chibi-critters-progress-copy3

 

Coming Next Week…

This guy will chase after anything that moves, or smells good… 😉

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

Critter of the Week: Leedsichthys

| Patricia Bujard

Meet Gulper. He’s the biggest, most easy-going fish in the sea.  All he wants in life is to drift through nice sunny waters.  He’d love it if you joined him for a swim, and you’re welcome to hitch a ride on his fin. 🙂

 

gulper

Gulper has a giant mouth, but don’t worry, all he eats are tiny sea critters called plankton- just like whales. 🙂

Also like whales, this guy is enormous!  Here’s a short video of a whale shark and diver, just to give you a hint on how big they are.

 

As big as the shark is, Gulper is even bigger. 😀

Probably not much bigger, and most reports you’ll find are greatly exaggerated.  But hey- whale shark size is still huge, and anything bigger than that is just about mind blowing!

Just for fun, here’s another clip.  This one is from the TV show River Monsters.  I’m not a fan of the way he talks about these fish as monsters- Gulper is pretty laid back- but it’s still interesting.  Keep in mind the length of the fish is probably exaggerated in the clip. 🙂

 

Making progress…

This week was better for staying on track. 🙂

I rather like having the A&S posts every two weeks, with a shorter sort of preview post in between.  It gives me more time to research on the chosen critter. Good research makes sure the critters are accurate to science, but also lets me know what I can speculate on the details.

So you can look forward to more youtube videos and possibly links to other awesome posts. 🙂

 

Coming Next Week…

He’s a flying ace!  He’ll swoop, dive, and swim anywhere for a shiny fish. 🙂

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

Critter of the Week: Camarasaurus

| Patricia Bujard

Meet Bella. She’s big, she’s loud, and she’s really happy to see you!  She’s happy to see anyone really, except Alfred, but can you blame her?  There’s about a-bazillion years of conflict going on there…

 

Bella.jpg

There she is!  She is the most accommodating of Pete’s very large camarasaurus herd- voted least likely to accidentally trample the equipment.  They can be an excitable bunch, and don’t always pay attention to what they’re bumping into.  I’ll just say that when Pete finally got her separated from the herd there was a tractor, some flags, an air horn, and a rubber chicken involved…

These Camaras are more closely related to the smaller wild species, C. lentus (there are 3 🙂 ), which are only about 49 feet long.  But that’s still a lot of sauropod on the move, especially when you multiply it by 80!

Why so many?

Paleontologists may call Bella the ugliest sauropod, but they’re pretty popular for anyone with plenty of pasture.  Their friendly and calm, cow-like attitude makes them an easier alternative to the larger giants like Elmer.

If only they weren’t so loud!  But some may call Bella’s singing endearing.  It’s lovely to hear their chorus far out to pasture.

 

 

Have the video play in the background while you look at Bella above, I can’t help laughing at the mental picture of 50 or 100 of these fat, happy sauropods calling to each other constantly.  In a herd of such large animals, you don’t really need stealth. 😀

 

Making progress…

The past couple of weeks it’s been tough to keep up.  I need to rethink how I do things, or get better at more efficient use of my time during the day.  One of the two. 😛

I’ve kind of fallen into the bad habit of keeping right on the posts.  It feels a bit like plugging holes in a leaky dam.  As I get one done, then I’m scrambling to get the next one done, half afraid I won’t be able to keep up.

I’m not saying this to complain of course, just as a way of evaluating where I’m at, in a way that I can look back later and remember where I came from. 🙂  Looking back at earlier posts has been the best way for me to see my progress, slow as it’s been.  It keeps me going by knowing how far I’ve come. 🙂

Speaking of earlier posts, I used to have a list of future posts, and I would update information and write little snippets whenever I could.  I’ve been kinda scrambling ever since I wrote all the posts on the list.

Time to write up another list!  And perhaps have a couple of posts with relevant youtube videos like Monday.  If you like those, I can do it a little more often. 🙂

 

Coming Next Week…

This giant likes to bask in warm, sunny waters.  He’d be super easy to care for if only the tank didn’t need to be the size of the Mediterranean…

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

Designing a Book Cover

| Patricia Bujard

We interrupt our regular Monday program (The Art & Science of Pete’s Paleo Petshop) to give you a bit of quick behind-the-scenes sneak peak.  I’m deep in the heart of picture-book production, and I’m at the point where I want to have the front cover all nice and shiny, so it can be the proverbial carrot at the end of the stick for me.

If I have a clear image of what I’m headed for, then it may be easier to keep heading that direction. 🙂

I would like it very much indeedy if I could have a bit of feedback.  Doesn’t have to be much, just enough to help me steer in the right direction. 🙂

First though, a quick (and brief!) rundown of what’s needed in a picture book cover.

  • Visually appealing- obvious is of course obvious.  What’s your first reaction when you see it?  A resounding yes!  Or…not quite hitting the mark?
  • Gives hints about the story- it makes you want to know what happens.
  • Gives you a “feel” of the story.  Style, general mood, if it’s funny or serious, etc…
  • Text is clear, and can be read from a distance, or at least get you to take a closer look.
  • Would you buy it if you saw it on a shelf?

 

There’s more to designing a book cover, but those are the basics.  So I have a couple of questions for you…

  • What’s your first reaction when you see the picture?
  • Would you pick up the book if you saw it on a library shelf?  Please tell me why or why not. 🙂
  • Are there any questions you have about the characters or the illustration?  Does it make you want to know more, or know the story behind it?

 

With those questions in mind then, here is the sketch.

Cover copy.jpg

 

And here is the colored version as I have it now.  It’s only colored as much as necessary to get an idea of style and general look.  It doesn’t have fine details yet.

 

 

Cover_colored_test.jpg

Thank you for swinging by my little corner of the internet, and thank you for taking the time to chat with me today. 🙂  I think it’s pretty awesome that indie publishing is an option, and that you can be a part of this.

Here are those questions again, and it would be most helpful if you could answer the questions for each image above.  Whichever ones work best for each picture. 🙂

  • What’s your first reaction when you see the picture?
  • Would you pick up the book if you saw it on a library shelf?  Please tell me why or why not. 🙂
  • Are there any questions you have about the characters or the illustration?  Does it make you want to know more, or know the story behind it?

Thank you again for taking the time to help me give you something better. 🙂  I love to read your answers in the comments! 😀

Critter of the Week: Apatosaurus

| Patricia Bujard

Meet Ajax. He’s a gentle giant with a big heart and a big appetite.  He’ll do anything for food and a belly rub.  And when I say anything, I mean anything…

 

ajax update

 

Ajax is big, heavy, and always hungry.  He’s got a knack for sniffing out treats and getting into places he shouldn’t.  He really didn’t think things through when he squeezed into the shed that one time…

I thought it’d be fun to take another look at the older version of this big guy.  I’m not entirely happy with how the light turned out on this one, but what changes I’ve made to it over the past 20 minutes haven’t changed much, so now I know I’m just procrastinating. 😛  Best try again some other time, after I get fresh eyes on the subject. 🙂

It sure is different than the original though. I think I’ve figured out the style for these guys, and now I just need to practice plants and backgrounds more. 😀

ajax

Making progress…

Things are coming along quite nicely, now that I think about it…

  • I’ve been able to keep up with two posts a week for the 3 months Pete’s shop has been officially open.
  • I’ve figured out the style I want to use for the illustrations.
  • I have almost all the critters on the original list complete, and I’ll begin creating their proper pages once the list cycles through again.
  • I’m getting faster at painting the critters each week, and my skills are improving.
  • I’m getting more comfortable with drawing and writing in general.
  • and soon I’ll be able to have a free ebook on Amazon for you. 😀

That’s a longer list than I thought it would be when I started writing it, now that’s awesome. 😀

Hooray for progress!  Isn’t it great when you take the tiny baby steps, trudge along for a while, then realize how far you’ve come when you take a look back?  It may not be much, but it’s a lot more than nothing, which is what I started with.  And that’s good enough. 🙂

As my special treat for you, here’s a sneak peak at my “super secret project” 😉  Spoiler alert, if you can interpret my scribbles. 🙂

Ajax vs. box.jpg

 

Coming Next Week…

The oft-proclaimed smallest dinosaur in the world is!…not as small as you might think. 🙂

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

Critter of the Week: Dryosaurus

| Patricia Bujard

Meet Rosie. She’s a bit shy, and might need a little encouragement to come closer.  A few treats should do the trick.  Before you know it she’ll be perfectly content to snuggle close and put her head on your lap. 🙂

 

Rosie.jpg

Rosie is smaller than your average dinosaur, about the size of a deer.  Like a deer, she can be a bit jumpy, and she feels much better if she has friends to keep her company and watch out for troublesome, over-exuberant types like Opie.  He’s far too excitable, and that makes her nervous.  She’d much rather curl up under the shade of spiky cycad fronds for a little siesta.

Much safer there.  And Rosie always wins at hide-and-seek. 😉

If you take the time to give her treats and coax her out of the thicket, then she’ll get to know you rather quickly.  Then she’ll be your friend forever, and come running when you call. 🙂  I hope you don’t mind having a second shadow…

 

 

Making progress…

I’m working on something super top-secret at the moment.  Well, not really super top-secret, since I told my family about it- but anyway, I want to mention it here too.

Since it may be a while before the picture book is finished, I want to work on a smaller, short term project so that you have something sooner.

In short, I want to create a collection of shortstories, mini-comics, illustrations, what-have-you.  My question is about what topic to cover…

  • Letters to Pete- Frustrated paleo pet owners send letters to Pete with their questions.  What do you do when Big Al keeps tearing up the furniture?
  • Critter cam- So what do dinosaurs do when you’re not looking?  Find out what happens if you give Dippy a giant ball.
  • The Paleo Pet handbook- a small book with all the basics of the care and feeding of your paleo pets.

Please let me know what looks the most interesting in the comments! Thank you for sharing a little of your time with me here on the site, you guys are awesome, and I want to do whatever I can to make your stay better than great. 🙂

 

Coming Next Week…

Food is the first (and just about only) thing in mind for this gentle giant. 🙂

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

The Art & Science of Pete’s Paleo Petshop

| Patricia Bujard

So there’s a long and a short way to go about this.  I do something really tedious and boring, and pull out the scientific papers, fossils, diagrams, anatomy jargon, and articles written by people much smarter and more knowledgeable than me in all things paleontology…

 

OR

I can save you the big snore (because the technical stuff is tough to read, and I like this sort of thing!) and have an excuse to draw yet more cute critters, while sneaking in a few quick fossil facts in a bite-size post or convenient picture. 🙂

Why am I doing this?

The truth is that I got a little frustrated.  All the dinosaur books for kids fall into one of two categories-

Super cute story and dinosaurs, but no science.  For example, “Pteradactyls” lumped in with the dinosaurs, and dinos stuck with the appearance of rubber toys from the 80s.

OR

“Educational”, but tough to read.  Because after reading a list of names like Tyrannosaurus rex, Euplocephalosaurus, and Parasaurolophus 20 nights in a row, I know that book is going to put aside for “some other time”.  Plus the computer graphics always look a bit unpleasant to me.

Pete’s Paleo Petshop is the best of both worlds.  A cute story with illustrations based on the latest scientific research I can find.  But I also want to make clear what part of the illustration is something we actually know as fact, or really just an educated guess.  Speculation.  A hypothesis. 🙂

So this is the start of a new series called The Art & Science of Pete’s Paleo Petshop. That’s super long though, so I’ll have to shorten it somehow. 🙂

For your convenience, I’ll keep a list of all posts in the series here on this page, and I’ll update the list with links as we go along.  I’ll begin with the main cast, and we’ll see where we go from there. 🙂

 

chibi critters color.jpg

Main Cast:

 

Bonus Question: Any special requests?  I’ll be going over these critters in no particular order, so if there’s one you really want to see first, let me know.  First one to answer in the comments gets first pick! 🙂

Critter of the Week: Ornitholestes

| Patricia Bujard

Meet Opie. He’s a happy little fella who loves to curl up in your lap, so it’s a good thing he’s about the size of a big dog!

Opie.jpg

Yes, Opie seems to think he’s a big lapdog, and he loves it when you stroke his feathers.  Where is he off to now?  It looks like he’s going to show you his favorite toy…Opie carries Teddy around everywhere.  He’s gone through quite a few “surgeries” to poke the stuffing back in after Opie nibbled on him.

Opie's bed copy.jpg

Oh! That’s Miss Kitty peaking around the corner.  She’s a little shy after Opie tried playing a game of snatch with her.  He’s just a big softie though, and he only wants to play.  He’ll get a little droopy when Miss Kitty doesn’t understand.  So he’ll curl up in his bed to snuggle with Teddy, and he’ll chirp happy chirps when he snuggles.  He sounds a lot like this…

 

Speaking of soft and cuddly, those feathers are rather like those on an emu or kiwi.  Looks a lot like fur, doesn’t it? 🙂

3431551945_36359b2e90_z.jpg
Emu feathers.  Photo courtesy of Amanda Slater (2009)

 

Making progress…

My biggest discovery this week is Pinterest!  Not a lot to do or say about it just yet, since I’m just in the learning phase…but let’s just say that for a website heavy on illustrations like this one, it sounds like an image-centric site like Pinterest will be a great way to spread the love. 😀

Coming Next Week…

This small plant-eater is a bit shy, but she’ll snuggle for treats. 🙂

Share your guess in the comments! She’s one of the critters over on the critter page. 🙂

Critter of the Week: Brachiosaurus

| Patricia Bujard

Meet Elmer. He’s a little shy, and likes staying in his comfort zone, but he’ll be your best giant friend if you give him some greens and a big hug.

 

Elmer.png

The best way to a dino’s heart is through his stomach, as they say.  Well, that’s not really the phrase, but I’m sure it’s just as true, especially when it comes to these long-necked sauropods. 🙂  I think the rough estimate is a solid cube- 5ft x 5ft – of vegetation in a single day to feed one of these guys.

Speaking of feeding longnecks…it reminds me of that scene in Jurassic Park.  The one where Dr. Grant and the kids are enjoying a few moments not running away from hungry Rexy, and they get a chance to pat the brachiosaurus (totally my inspiration for paleo pets, by the way).

If you’ve ever watched Jurassic Park, you may notice that Elmer’s head looks a little strange…that’s because the longneck in Jurassic Park is an African cousin of this guy (and until recently the critter with more complete fossils).  There’s a few differences between the two even a novice dino enthusiast like me can easily recognize…

  • Completely different head.  The African cousin (Giraffatitan) has a head like the one in Jurassic Park.  The American Brachiosaurus (Elmer here) has a much gentler slope to his forehead, and longer snout.
  • Body shape is different. The African Giraffatitan has a shorter torso and overall more stocky build.  While Elmer the Brachiosaurus has a longer body, and generally is a bit more slender.  Not skinny, just not as stocky as his African cousin.
  • They live on entirely different continents.  The Atlantic ocean was already forming in the Jurassic period, so Brachiosaurus and Giraffatitan were separated by a lot of water. 🙂  That leads to the same sort of thing that makes a mountain lion (cougar, puma, etc…) in the Americas different from a lion in Africa.

 

Also on the subject of greenery, I tried experimenting with something different this time.  All these critter profiles are an experiment in style really, as I practice how I want to illustrate the pictures in the book.

This time I really focused on making my shadows dark and my highlights light.  It sounds obvious and hard to mess up, I know, but you’d be surprised how hard it is!  Especially working with color, it gets really easy to let the color do all the work, and not see how dull and gray everything is.   So I changed the whole picture to grayscale, so I could see how it looked in black, white, and gray tones.

It all looked about the same shade of gray.  Not good.  I like it much better now after I added more light and shadow. 🙂 So I’ll do that test from now on.

Another experiment is the vague hint of background.  I don’t generally paint backgrounds, so this is me dipping my toes in the river to see how cold the water is.  I like to ease my way into things.  Baby steps. 😀

Do you like the profile pictures better this way, or are they better with simple painted color?  Let me know in the comments! 🙂

 

Making progress…

I’m having fun experimenting with new artsy techniques.  As an artist, it’s always a joy and a challenge to improve my work.  Plus it’s an important bonus that I can give you something better and better each time you stop by. 🙂

On a related sidenote, I think I’m getting into the swing of these little profile pictures.  I think I’m getting a little faster at it, or at least not as many starts-&-stops as before. 🙂

 

Coming Next Week…

Look up to see this critter, before he nabs that sandwich out of your hand! 🙂

Share your guess in the comments! She’s one of the critters over on the critter page. 🙂