Dinosaur book

[bladespark]

I'm considering shelling out a little bit on a really good Dinosaur reference book. Unfortunately it's proving very hard to find what I want, mostly because there are too many books out there, and without seeing one in person and leafing through I can't usually tell if it has what I really want.

What I want, first and foremost, is illustrations that show the skeleton, then the muscles, and then the whole animal. I feel as though such pictures have to exist somewhere, given how much of paleontology is looking at bones and figuring out how muscles attach to them. So illustrations like that of more than one different animal, are what I really want.

Other things that would be bonuses:

-Good art quality. A lot of dino artists aren't really all that great, frankly. If every single drawing is a static side shot... that's pretty boring.
-Wide species variety. It doesn't have to be just dinosauria, I'm interested in other prehistoric critters as well, but all dinos or not, I'd like lots of different species.
-Up to date. I know this one is tough, especially if you're going to have good art, but at least showing things like the feathers on Velociraptor would be really great.

Anybody have any suggestions, or know where I should be looking to find a good reference book?

Comments

[candychic125.livejournal.com]

Have you looked at zoo books? You know, that publication for young readers. It actually has a lot of in depth illustrations on musculature and skeleton structure. We used to use them in art class

[bladespark.livejournal.com]

Well... I'm looking for a BIG book. I suppose there would probably be some of what I'm after in a Zoo dino book, but what I'm really after is something more in the 200+ page range.

[candychic125.livejournal.com]

Oic. Best place to find those is Barnes and Noble in the art section. I've seen similar books there for horses and domestic animals where it's nothing but pictures of the structures

[bladespark.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I've seen those too. Never seen a dinosaur one, but I guess it couldn't hurt to look.

[bladespark.livejournal.com]

I did find one dinosaur drawing book that had a few good skeleton/muscle reference pics. If it had been a little cheaper I might have got it, but it was pretty short, and pretty expensive for how short it was, so I gave it a pass. I may pick it up later if I don't find anything better though.

[komickrazi.livejournal.com]

They aren't really reference, but personal favorites as far as dinosaur art goes: the Dinotopia series by James Gurney
http://www.amazon.com/Dinotopia-James-Gurney/dp/0060530642
He used to be an artist for National Georgraphic. His Dinotopia books are beautiful and fanciful reads.

All my dinosaur books are so old, they aren't in print anymore (let alone have accurate and up-to date information T_T)
This one is okay, but limited only to flying dinosaurs: http://www.amazon.com/Flying-Dinosaurs-Illustrated-Evolution-Flight/dp/0889950784/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1233701119&sr=1-8

[bladespark.livejournal.com]

I've read the Dinotopia books. They are terrific. :) But not really references, no.

[harliquinnraver.livejournal.com]

a bit like this?
http://www.dinosaursinart.com/sinosaur3s.htm
http://www.dinosaursinart.com/velociraptor.htm

id kill to find something bigger/more detailed/in depth.

[bladespark.livejournal.com]

Yeah, a lot like that. *nodnods*

[dawnstar-au.livejournal.com]

--> http://www.dinoart.com/index.html <--

[bladespark.livejournal.com]

That's some lovely art, but it's still not what I'm looking for.

[nambroth.livejournal.com]

If such a thing exists, I have yet to find it and I've been looking for years :/

I think that the thing is, the only ones that can make real educated guesses and decisions about where the musculature.. or hell even the SKELETONS of some of these guys (we have way more incomplete fossils than complete ones for most species) are the paleontologists that can study the fossils up close and personal. It's not like living creatures today where anyone with skill can dissect a specimen and create accurate drawings/photographs of anatomy, musculature, skeleton.

The reason that paleo art is so highly scrutinized is that it is usually only drawn by those that study the fossil/skeletal record of any specific creature at length and is probably a bit of a paleontologist themselves.

[silveradept]

Have you looked at the DK line of publishing? DK books often does things with that kind of style to them. I don't know if they'd have them layered on in nice clear bits, one on top of another, but I do know that they're really good about good illustrations and art - especially their children's books. Might be worth pursuing.

[candychic125.livejournal.com]

I was looking for a picture of a dinosaur in particular when I stumbled across this and thought of your similar quest for dinousaurs. http://www.amazon.com/Encyclopedia-Dinosaurs-Prehistoric-Carey-Scott/dp/0756638364 If you can locate one in a store near you, I'd recommend flipping through the pages. I haven't looked in it myself yet