Blankenship-osaurus

I love ultra realistic drawings and paintings of Dinosaurs. Having drawn cartoons most of my life though, my sense of proportion is very definately skewed, and so it's tough for me to draw these amazing creatures with anything close to the majesty that they must have really possessed. Generally they come out looking more like Flintstones dinosaurs. However, my friend and follower Brian Blankenship does some amazing dinosaur illustrations, and they inspired me to draw one. Mind you this is nothing like the way he does his, but the effect he captures so well was inspiring nonetheless. I especially like this one and this one. Actually, mine isn't based on any actual dinosaur, so much as just the whole bird/dinosaur connection. It's heavily inspired by a trip to the LA Zoo near dusk a few years ago. Just as I approached the pen, a cassowary came charging out from some foliage and ran past where I stood at the fence. Watching this giant bird lope by I was instantly reminded of the Gallimimus' in Jurassic Park. I've always thought birds were a bit creepy, with their vacant staring eyes and scaly legs. It's not hard to imagine that they are an offshoot of the dinosaurs.