HOME | DD

Description
Reconstruction of the iconic four-winged dromaeosaurid Microraptor zhaoianus. I sort of forget how amazing this animal is, and how mind-blowing of a discovery it is. For those who don't know, Microraptor was a fairly small (crow-sized) dromaeosaurid dinosaur, distantly related to Velociraptor. It lived in what is now Liaoning, northeastern China, during the Early Cretaceous period 120 million years ago. The environment was fairly chilly by Cretaceous standards, and Microraptor was relatively common in the subtropical/temperate forests of conifer and ginkgo trees, where it would have fed on anything it could catch. There is some disagreement over Microraptor's flying ability, with opinions ranging from it being a parachuting-glider to being fully capable of powered, flapping flight. Regardless, it would not have been nearly as at home in the air as modern birds. Microraptor is also a member of that ever-growing club of extinct animals for which we know something about their coloration. It was, according to the latest research, covered in a coat of feathers that were glossy black, iridescent like modern crows and ravens.
Microraptor is such a cool species, and I felt it would be a good way to channel my efforts into effectively rendering iridescence. I felt I had to sacrifice a lot of detail to get the color I wanted in my reconstruction of Caihong , so the goal for this piece was to keep it both convincingly iridescent and detailed. I don't think it's perfect, and I still have a ways to go, but I'm very happy with how this turned out overall. I mainly referenced living corvids like crows and ravens, as they're the most common birds with this color scheme. However, as I've learned there are so many different variations on "black" that no one way is right or wrong.
References:
science.sciencemag.org/content…
www.deviantart.com/dinomaniac/…
www.deviantart.com/qilong/art/…
www.deviantart.com/scotthartma…
archosaurmusings.wordpress.com…
monikazagrobelna.com/2019/08/2…
www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFCgwg…

Description
Reconstruction of the iconic four-winged dromaeosaurid Microraptor zhaoianus. I sort of forget how amazing this animal is, and how mind-blowing of a discovery it is. For those who don't know, Microraptor was a fairly small (crow-sized) dromaeosaurid dinosaur, distantly related to Velociraptor. It lived in what is now Liaoning, northeastern China, during the Early Cretaceous period 120 million years ago. The environment was fairly chilly by Cretaceous standards, and Microraptor was relatively common in the subtropical/temperate forests of conifer and ginkgo trees, where it would have fed on anything it could catch. There is some disagreement over Microraptor's flying ability, with opinions ranging from it being a parachuting-glider to being fully capable of powered, flapping flight. Regardless, it would not have been nearly as at home in the air as modern birds. Microraptor is also a member of that ever-growing club of extinct animals for which we know something about their coloration. It was, according to the latest research, covered in a coat of feathers that were glossy black, iridescent like modern crows and ravens.
Microraptor is such a cool species, and I felt it would be a good way to channel my efforts into effectively rendering iridescence. I felt I had to sacrifice a lot of detail to get the color I wanted in my reconstruction of Caihong , so the goal for this piece was to keep it both convincingly iridescent and detailed. I don't think it's perfect, and I still have a ways to go, but I'm very happy with how this turned out overall. I mainly referenced living corvids like crows and ravens, as they're the most common birds with this color scheme. However, as I've learned there are so many different variations on "black" that no one way is right or wrong.
References:
science.sciencemag.org/content…
www.deviantart.com/dinomaniac/…
www.deviantart.com/qilong/art/…
www.deviantart.com/scotthartma…
archosaurmusings.wordpress.com…
monikazagrobelna.com/2019/08/2…
www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFCgwg…