The Art of Damir G. Martin

A few years back I was browsing the Science/Natural History section of the bookstore gravitating toward the books on dinosaurs as I usually tend to...

Suddenly, I was stopped dead in my tracks.  The cover of a particular book seemed to almost jump off the shelf at me, featuring some of the most dynamic and striking dinosaur artwork I had ever encountered!

It turned out that this was the work of none other than Damir G. Martin, a paleoartist and creature designer who excels in the creation of digital models and illustrations.

Damir G. Martin

As a paleoartist - an artist specializing in creating artwork of long-extinct species -  Martin strives to be as scientifically accurate as possible.  Before creating his computer-generated models  of dinosaurs and other prehistoric beasts, Martin researches the animals, analyzing data collected from the fossil record by scientists, reading up on speculation concerning the creatures' anatomy and behavior.

The result of all this effort is some of the most stunning - and lifelike - images of prehistoric fauna ever seen.

While Martin enjoys depicting dinosaurs and other ancient creatures as they actually were, he also delights in imagining creatures that never existed.  His creature design design work brings to life amazing scenes in the realm of science fiction and fantasy.

You can find more of Martin's work on DeviantArt, ArtStation, and his website.

"Blood Brothers"

A breathtakingly beautiful piece of paleoart featuring a pair of tenacious Carnotaurus stalking a herd of massive sauropods.  Click on the image to view in a higher resolution.

Artwork by the supremely talented Damir G. Martin.

Behold: Thesaurus!!!

One Hundredth Post...

This is my one hundredth post on the Cryptic Corridor.  I guess that's significant or something.  Actually, I did think it pretty nifty!

Unfortunately, I couldn't think of anything profound to share to mark the occasion...  So here's a poorly photoshopped image I created of the 16th President of the United States and a Triceratops!

Enjoy.

(And thanks for reading the blog!)

In Memory of Richard Attenborough

(August 29, 1923 - August 24, 2014)

"Creation is an act of sheer will."

- Richard Attenborough as John Hammond in Jurassic Park

Unfortunately, I've been posting way too many of these lately...  So many talented artists leaving us this year.

Rest in peace Mr. Attenborough.

Tyrannosaurs in F-14s!!!

I needed some whimsy.  So glad it's Friday...

If you haven't seen it already there's a great documentary on Calvin and Hobbes' creator Bill Watterson called "Dear Mr. Watterson" currently on Netflix.

Frankenstein's Monster versus... Dinosaurs?!?

I love this image.  Artwork by Alex Horley.

Freaky Factoids: Thagomizer

Did you know that the "business end" of a Stegosaurus' tail had a name?  Apparently, the part of the tail adorned with the rows of sharp spikes (thought to be used as a means of defense against potential prehistoric predators) is called the thagomizer.

It turns out that the term owes its origin to an old Far Side comic by the cartoonist Gary Larson.

I suppose this could be considered one of those situations in which life imitates art...

The Art of Charles Knight

Charles Knight (1874-1953) was a superbly talented painter and sculptor who is most famous for his depictions of prehistoric life.  Despite being legally blind, Knight began his career in illustration primarily focusing on nature.

Knight had a keen interest in natural history and spent much of his time visiting the American Museum of Natural History where he was asked by a curator to do some restoration work.  Being thoroughly pleased with the final product, the museum gave Knight a steady stream of commission work.  others across the nation commissioned Knight to do a number of individual paintings and huge murals depicting prehistoric creatures including ancient mammals, neanderthals, and dinosaurs.

Knight sculpting a Stegosaurus

Knight later in life

Although he had a reputation of viewing his pieces as works of art first and foremost, Knight had a great sense of anatomy which he put to great use depicting creatures that had never been seen by modern eyes.  However, much of his work is considered to be anatomically incorrect by today's paleontological standards.  In spite of this, it is impossible to deny the inspirational legacy of Knight's artwork and the impact it has had on generations of aspiring fossil hunters.

"The Persistence of Memory" - Arthur Adams

A little background:  Back in the 90's there was a magazine called Disney Adventures.  I remember begging my mom for the first issue which I saw on a newsstand in Kroger featuring the Rocketeer, my favorite movie at the time.

A guy with a rocket pack who fights Nazis.  What's cooler than that?

DA was the bee's knees back in the day.  It had articles about nearly everything that could possibly interest a kid, interviews with celebrities, and (most importantly) comics!!!  This publication was vastly superior to Nickelodeon Magazine which was introduced not long afterward.  I had nearly every issue through about 1998.  Sadly, I think the magazine is now out of print.

Now that you're caught up:  The second issue my mom bought for me featured dinosaurs!!!

...and Hulk Hogan?!?

I was already completely obsessed with dinosaurs, but little did I realize what unparalleled awesomeness I was about to encounter within its pages...

The comic was called "The Persistence of Memory" and basically told the story of "Lambert the Sheepish Lion" by way of Mesozoic dinosaurs.  The artwork was amazing and totally changed my perception of dinosaurs.  Tyrannosaurus, who was my favorite dinosaur up to that point, was dethroned by the ferociously sleek Allosaurus featured in the comic.  Reading this story was one of the first times I recall fighting back tears over a piece of fiction.  This comic further solidified my love for dinosaurs and planted the seeds for my future appreciation and subsequent rabid fandom of sequential art.

The Cryptic Corridor presents, for your reading pleasure: