I found this book strolling down the non-fiction aisle pulling out titles that were interesting. I know, not the best way to select a book. When I sat down and opened this book I was absolutely amazed by the illustrations and the topic of the book. Catherine Thimmesh's Scaly Spotted Feathered Frilled book examines the methods that paleoartists use to recreate the images of dinosaurs. In a description of the book on her website, Thimmesh invites the reader to "follow a paleoartist through the scientific process of ascertaining the appearance of various dinosaurs from millions of years ago to learn how science, art, and imagination combine to bring us face-to-face with the past." I was blown away at the concept of a paleo-artist reconstructing the image of dinosaurs by analyzing evidence. Many times these paleo-artist are scientists as well.
The book not only talks about the process that paleo-artists go through in order to interpret the appearance of a dinosaur, but the difficulties in trying to make these pictures. One interesting problem is determining color. As it is impossible for paleo-artists to determine this, any colors they use are purely speculative. In another example, Stephen and Sylvia Czerka's discussed how their life-sized reconstruction of the dinosaur Deinoychus was incorrect as a model for the raptors in Jurassic Park. Although the constructed they dinosaurs with scales, it was later discovered that there is strong evidence these dinosaurs were feathered.
In addition to it's interesting information, Scaly Spotted Feathered Frilled has full bleed images that are a feast for the eyes. This is to be expected as the book is about artists. The end of the book features a list of the artists used, their credentials, and addresses for their websites.
The following links are provided for those who are interested in reading this book:
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