***** A remarkably diverse collection of the very best of current palaeoart
Comic book editor, writer, and artist Steve White and palaeozoologist Darren Naish team up once again to bring you another lavish, large-format art book with the very best of current palaeoart. If you bought the previous volume, I am pleased to say that this book is more of the same, which is the best possible outcome one could hope for. It is also *more* of the same, as the book is bigger than its predecessor, featuring 25 artists that together span the full gamut from upcoming talent to seasoned veterans, and from cartoonish to photorealistic illustrations. Mesozoic Art II provides a balanced cross-section of jaw-dropping artwork that portrays not just dinosaurs, but also numerous other organisms that are less often depicted. If ever you needed proof that the palaeoart community has matured and is taking its craft seriously, this book is your ticket.
Before even cracking open the book, take a moment to appreciate the object. Remove that dust jacket to marvel at Rebecca Dart’s gorgeous illustration of the sauropod Qijianglong by moonlight. Next, check out the beautiful endpaper illustrations by Gaëlle Seguillon. This book leaves no opportunity unused to impress. Also important: Mesozoic Art II is the same physical dimensions (31×28cm) as Mesozoic Art; and, for that matter, its spiritual predecessors Dinosaur Art and Dinosaur Art II.
For the second instalment, White & Naish have stuck to the same formula, giving each artist, no matter their fame, ten pages each to show off their very best. The page count has grown from 208 to 256 pages, allowing for more artists to be featured: 25 instead of 20. Also nice, it is a completely new crop: none of these featured in Mesozoic Art. The mix of nationalities is heavily weighted towards North America (nine artists) and Europe (twelve), with the remaining three hailing from Asia (two) and Australia (one).
In his foreword, naturalist Chris Packham praises the artwork for both its stylistic diversity and scientific accuracy. As White & Naish explain in their introduction, neither is coincidental. Next to producing a beautiful book, their aims are twofold. First, to show that scientific accuracy need not come at the expense of artistic expressiveness. Second, to continue to adjust preconceptions and correct misconceptions, old and new, as to what dinosaurs looked like and how they behaved. The result is a panorama of today’s palaeoart that is remarkably varied on several fronts.
Thus, the contributors range from non-vocational artists to established professionals. Haider Jaffri might be new to the scene and training to become a dentist, but he already produces some remarkable artwork. Similarly, freelance artist Simone Giovanardi specialises in depicting extinct penguins, which is simply delightful. At the other end of the spectrum, you have professionals such as Beth Zaiken who, alongside other work, has produced large murals for museums. I will never tire of poring over the kinds of grand panoramas she produces. Gaëlle Seguillon has, among other things, worked on the documentary Prehistoric Planet, and her artwork is incredibly atmospheric.
Most artists work exclusively digitally, and only a few turn to traditional tools such as pencils, markers, graphite, acrylics, watercolours, etc. Lest this be mistaken as a judgemental comment, let me repeat what Tom Björklund wrote in Dinosaur Art II: “Painting with a computer isn’t about pushing buttons […] the artist’s hand still holds a pen or a brush and the craftsmanship required is pretty much the same” (p. 134 therein). Not being an artist myself, if it were not for the figure legends, I would not be able to tell the difference, and the choice of medium does not get in the way of style.
Indeed, the variety of styles on display is dazzling, fully meeting the editors’ stated first aim. There is plenty of (photo)realistic work, but about a third of artists make more cartoonish artwork. Possibly the most divisive inclusion of what the editors call “‘palaeontologically themed’ art” (p. 3) is comic book artist Lewis LaRosa. There are a mech-suit battling Tyrannosaurus rex, panels from his comic Savage that have a human-fighting dinosaurs and pterosaurs, but also some of his anatomical sketches and studies, as he makes conventional palaeoart too.
This kaleidoscope of styles does not get in the way of scientific accuracy. I think White & Naish have succeeded in curating a selection that shows how all these artists take their craft seriously and incorporate recent scientific developments. Soft-tissue reconstruction has been fully embraced, and there are lips, flaps, folds, fluff, and feathers galore. Several of the drawings have been specifically made to accompany research. There are many more organisms beyond dinosaurs, pterosaurs, and marine reptiles; Naish has always been clear that the “Mesozoic” in the title should be taken loosely. Invertebrates and vertebrates from both before and after this era feature, including stem-whales, early reptiles, protomammals, and others.
The final aspect worth highlighting is the naturalistic realism. The full range of animal behaviour is on display here. Yes, there are scenes of violence, but they are an appropriate minority given what the time budget of most animals is spent on. Also, did I mention the skies? Good grief! More so than in Mesozoic Art, I felt that numerous artists have embraced cloudy, rainy, stormy, or otherwise moody skies, playing with colour, light, time of day, and atmosphere to produce incredibly memorable pictures.
By now, these four art portfolios are becoming a remarkable collection of snapshots of palaeoart over the last two decades. Examining the dates of the artwork featured here, and given that Mesozoic Art II was published “only” three years after Mesozoic Art, only five artists exclusively feature artwork from 2022 to 2024, while 17 artists feature artwork going back to 2017 and later (i.e. the period also covered by Mesozoic Art). This overlap in time means that both Mesozoic Art volumes capture similar ideas and fashions. That said, I am tempted to speculate that future art historians could tease out trends in the evolution of palaeoart by comparing the four portfolios. However, you do not have to be an art historian to enjoy this stunning production. If you love dinosaur artwork and palaeoart more generally, get it now, add it to your wishlist, or give it to that special palaeo-person in your life. This is another stunner you will not want to miss. Here’s to Mesozoic Art III!