Sunflower River Blues
Painting showing a group of Yutyrannus huali stalking a lone Dongbeititan along a hot spring, one chilly winter morning in the early cretaceous of what is now Lianoning Province in China. Inspired by how the original Yutyrannus fossils were found as a trio, which can be extrapolated to indicate some social behavior, and how the sauropod Dongbeititan has a tooth from an unknown theropod, possibly Yutyrannus, embedded in a rib.
Final painting
Color rough- building directly from the value sketch, here I started figuring out how to maintain the grouping and arrangement from the value sketch while using color to reinforce the statement. This overall was a pretty straightforward painting thanks to having taken the time to resolve these steps so clearly before moving to a final illustration.
Initial sketch- for this painting I wanted a strong and clear focal point and to use the theropods and other elements as leading lines for a quick read. I didn’t directly make models for this painting as I wanted a faster finish, but I used an old head sculpt of a T. rex to figure out some details on the Yutyrannus heads in perspective!