Pop Paleoさんのイラストまとめ

I remember—years ago—reading on the Dinosaur Mailing List a suggestion that he had stopped doing paleoart as it wasn't lucrative enough. Recently, though, I read his lack of output was because of health reasons. Regardless, a wealth of wonderful artwork exists because he did.

And he could really paint skies.

I liked his work a great deal. You could see the weave of the canvas under many of his paintings, which I felt was a nice little "admission of structure" as a former art professor called it. It seemed as much a part of his art as his signature.

The "A Sound of Thunder" episode of "Ray Bradbury Theater" was underwhelming. I never did see the movie. Or play the video game (!).

Rao only did a series of color plates for Sattler's dictionary. (not pictured: The illios that accompanied the book's entries were done by Pamela Carroll. One color plate was by Christopher Santoro, who would illustrate his own dinosaur books later in the decade.)

He provided illustrations for 2 dinosaur books written by Helen Roney Sattler, "Dinosaurs of North America" & "The Illustrated Dinosaur Dictionary" from '81 & '82, respectively.

If you're unfamiliar, "The Carnival of the Animals" is a 14 movement musical suite, each movement representing a group of animals, e.g. kangaroos, fish, an elephant. It's a humorous collection of tunes, playful, with a fair share of musical references & jokes.

Perhaps I shouldn't be, but considering the range of 19th & 20th century orchestral music, I am surprised that so few composers have taken paleontology for inspiration. If Holst could do "The Planets" why couldn't someone compose "The Eras"?

"Seeds of Life" (1st pub in Amazing Stories Quarterly, Fall 1931) also deals with forced evolution. A scientist figures out how to push animals back and forth through evolution, with the hope that one might push humans "forward" and escape extinction. Or cause it.

(ill: Wesso)

However, the expedition realizes none of the creatures they've discovered match any known fossil—they seem a mishmash of beasts. Evolution is going crazy in the valley. In a "Mountains of Madness" turn, they uncover ancient ruins which seem linked to the monsters...