The Dinosaur Artist

In this 2018 New York Times Notable Book,Paige Williams "does for fossils what Susan Orlean did for orchids" (Book Riot) in her account of one Florida man's attempt to sell a dinosaur skeleton from Mongolia--a story "steeped in natural history, human nature, commerce, crime, science, and politics" (Rebecca Skloot). In 2012, a New York auction catalogue boasted an unusual offering: "a superb Tyrannosaurus skeleton." In fact, Lot 49135 consisted of a nearly complete T. bataar, a close cousin to the most famous animal that ever lived. The fossils now on display in a Manhattan event space had been unearthed in Mongolia, more than 6,000 miles away. At eight-feet high and 24 feet long, the specimen was spectacular, and when the gavel sounded the winning bid was over $1 million. Eric Prokopi, a thirty-eight-year-old Floridian, was the man who had brought this extraordinary skeleton to market. A onetime swimmer who spent his teenage years diving for shark teeth, Prokopi's singular obsession with fossils fueled a thriving business hunting, preparing, and selling specimens, to clients ranging from natural history museums to avid private collectors like actor Leonardo DiCaprio. But there was a problem. This time, facing financial strain, had Prokopi gone too far? As the T. bataar went to auction, a network of paleontologists alerted the government of Mongolia to the eye-catching lot. As an international custody battle ensued, Prokopi watched as his own world unraveled. In the tradition of The Orchid Thief, The Dinosaur Artist is a stunning work of narrative journalism about humans' relationship with natural history and a seemingly intractable conflict between science and commerce. A story that stretches from Florida's Land O' Lakes to the Gobi Desert, The Dinosaur Artist illuminates the history of fossil collecting--a murky, sometimes risky business, populated by eccentrics and obsessives, where the lines between poacher and hunter, collector and smuggler, enthusiast and opportunist, can easily blur. In her first book, Paige Williams has given readers an irresistible story that spans continents, cultures, and millennia as she examines the question of who, ultimately, owns the past.

Following on from Dinosaur Art, this new volume showcases 10 amazing artists whose work represents the cutting edge of paleoart. Many are rising stars in the field; others have embraced digital technology and continue to assert long-standing reputations as leaders in the discipline. This volume also includes state-of-the-art modellers, allowing the reader to explore restoring prehistoric animals in three as well as two dimensions. All accompanied by insights into the cutting of paleontological researcher and the very latest discoveries, with commentaries by respected scientists at the top of their fields.

In this 2018 New York Times Notable Book,Paige Williams "does for fossils what Susan Orlean did for orchids" (Book Riot) in her account of one Florida man's attempt to sell a dinosaur skeleton from Mongolia--a story "steeped in natural history, human nature, commerce, crime, science, and politics" (Rebecca Skloot). In 2012, a New York auction catalogue boasted an unusual offering: "a superb Tyrannosaurus skeleton." In fact, Lot 49135 consisted of a nearly complete T. bataar, a close cousin to the most famous animal that ever lived. The fossils now on display in a Manhattan event space had been unearthed in Mongolia, more than 6,000 miles away. At eight-feet high and 24 feet long, the specimen was spectacular, and when the gavel sounded the winning bid was over $1 million. Eric Prokopi, a thirty-eight-year-old Floridian, was the man who had brought this extraordinary skeleton to market. A onetime swimmer who spent his teenage years diving for shark teeth, Prokopi's singular obsession with fossils fueled a thriving business hunting, preparing, and selling specimens, to clients ranging from natural history museums to avid private collectors like actor Leonardo DiCaprio. But there was a problem. This time, facing financial strain, had Prokopi gone too far? As the T. bataar went to auction, a network of paleontologists alerted the government of Mongolia to the eye-catching lot. As an international custody battle ensued, Prokopi watched as his own world unraveled. In the tradition of The Orchid Thief, The Dinosaur Artist is a stunning work of narrative journalism about humans' relationship with natural history and a seemingly intractable conflict between science and commerce. A story that stretches from Florida's Land O' Lakes to the Gobi Desert, The Dinosaur Artist illuminates the history of fossil collecting--a murky, sometimes risky business, populated by eccentrics and obsessives, where the lines between poacher and hunter, collector and smuggler, enthusiast and opportunist, can easily blur. In her first book, Paige Williams has given readers an irresistible story that spans continents, cultures, and millennia as she examines the question of who, ultimately, owns the past.

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Sample Book Insights: #1 The last day of his old life, the dinosaur hunter went to the beach. He was 38 years old. His daughter was three years old. He had never been a drinker, but now he needed the dulling effect of at least one vodka cocktail before he could sleep. #2 Amanda could look out the window of their house and see Eric working late into the night in his workshop. He was a fossil dealer, and he sold fossils by email blast and on eBay. He also hosted a sales booth at the world’s largest natural history shows. #3 The most popular collectibles were the ones you could put on a shelf as a conversation piece, like meteorites and mammal skulls. Dinosaurs transcended everything, though. They were far more successful than humans, and they dominated Earth for 166 million years. #4 The skeleton of Tarbosaurus bataar, an Asian cousin of Tyrannosaurus rex, was sold at auction for $950,000 to $1. 5 million. It had been advertised and featured in the news for weeks.

Elaborate dinosaur art by contemporary Paleoartists. These astonishing images will overturn our conventional ideas about dinosaurs.

In this 2018 New York Times Notable Book, Paige Williams "does for fossils what Susan Orlean did for orchids" (Book Riot) in her account of one Florida man's reckless attempt to sell a dinosaur skeleton from Mongolia--a story "steeped in natural history, human nature, commerce, crime, science, and politics" (Rebecca Skloot). In 2012, a New York auction catalogue boasted an unusual offering: "a superb Tyrannosaurus skeleton." In fact, Lot 49135 consisted of a nearly complete T. bataar, a close cousin to the most famous animal that ever lived. The fossils now on display in a Manhattan event space had been unearthed in Mongolia, more than 6,000 miles away. At eight-feet high and twenty-four feet long, the specimen was spectacular, and when the gavel sounded, the winning bid was over $1 million. Eric Prokopi, a thirty-eight-year-old Floridian, was the man who had brought this extraordinary skeleton to market. A onetime collegiate-level swimmer who spent his teenage years diving for shark teeth, Prokopi's singular obsession with fossils fueled a thriving business hunting, preparing, and selling specimens, to clients ranging from natural history museums to avid private collectors like actors Leonardo DiCaprio and Nicolas Cage. But there was a problem. This time, facing financial strain, had Prokopi gone too far? As the T. bataar went to auction, a network of paleontologists alerted the government of Mongolia to the eye-catching lot. An international custody battle ensued, and Prokopi watched his own world unravel. In the tradition of The Orchid Thief, The Dinosaur Artist is a stunning work of narrative journalism about humans' relationship with natural history and a seemingly intractable conflict between science and commerce. A story that stretches from Florida's Land O' Lakes to the Gobi Desert, The Dinosaur Artist illuminates the history of fossil collecting--a murky, sometimes risky business, populated by eccentrics and obsessives, where the lines between poacher and hunter, collector and smuggler, enthusiast and opportunist, can easily blur. In her first book, Paige Williams has given readers an irresistible story that spans continents, cultures, and millennia as she examines the question of who, ultimately, owns the past.

On a visit to the workshop of Stephen and Sylvia Czerkas, where a life-size dinosaur model is being constructed, the reader learns what dinosaurs really looked like, how we know how big they were, how they moved, and what color skin they may have had.

Science and Imagination Collide! Inspired by a trip with his young daughter to view the famous dinosaur exhibit of New York City's Museum of Natural History, top fantasy illustrator William O'Connor has delved deep into the sciences of paleontology and paleoecology to deliver his interpretation of some of the largest beasts to ever roam the planet. The Great Hall of Dinosaurs is an illustrated guide not limited to the contemporary science of modern paleoart. By combining the science of the dinosaurs with our own imaginations, we can dream of worlds and scenes that may have existed millions of years ago, and of animals never seen before, using nothing more than a simple no. 2 pencil and some paper. What you'll find inside: • Learn the basics of scene setting. Create believable natural dioramas with depth, dinosaurs and detailed Mesozoic ecosystems in which your creatures could live and hunt, such as mountains, forests, deserts and seashores. • 16 complete step-by-step demonstrations. Build your drawings from initial composition and thumbnail sketching to completed piece through color concepting, underpainting, texture development and more with both digital and traditional painting techniques. • Learn the basics of dino morphology. Each demonstration offers a description, history, biological diagram and skeletal composition of the most popular dinosaurs, including personality traits, diet and dates of fossil discovery. • Glossary of prehistoric terms, and double-sided poster of the dinosaurs within. • Interpretations of the following creatures: anklosaurus, aptosaursus, archaeopteryx, carnotaurus, dimetrodon, gallimimus, kronosaurus, pachycephalosaurus, parasaurolophus, plateosaurus, protoceratops, pteranodon, stegosaurus, triceratops, tyrranosaurus, velociraptor.