How we draw a dinosaur

Start with the species

There is no one-size-fits-all dinosaur. A Velociraptor needs feathers, a Triceratops needs horns and a scaly frill, and an Ankylosaurus needs armor and a tail club. We check proportions, posture, skin evidence, and the distinctive features of each animal before designing the graphic.

Separate evidence from interpretation

Fossil bones, skin impressions, and preserved feathers are evidence. Unpreserved soft tissue, patterns, and many colors are reconstructions. Our funny slogans are jokes, not scientific claims.

A few examples behind the collection

• Velociraptor: Quill knobs on a fossil forearm provide direct evidence of substantial feathers. The rust, charcoal, and buff colors in our artwork are artistic choices. Turner and colleagues, Science, 2007.
• Stegosaurus: A well-preserved skeleton supports the plated back and four tail spikes. The exact living surface and colors are not known from that study. Maidment and colleagues, PLOS ONE, 2015.
• Microraptor: Fossils preserve feathers on the forelimbs, hindlimbs, and tail. A 2025 reassessment refined the shape and layering of the hindlimb feathers, so our field art will be rechecked before print production. Chotard and colleagues, BMC Ecology and Evolution, 2025.
• Parasaurolophus: New skull material clarified the anatomy of its distinctive tubular crest. Our colors and exact soft tissue are reconstructed. Gates and colleagues, PeerJ, 2021.
• Triceratops: Preserved ceratopsian skin supports scales, not a generic covering of feathers. Horn sheaths and some surface details still require reconstruction. Bell and colleagues, Communications Biology, 2022.
• Ankylosaurus: Fossil descriptions support its armor and tail club, while exact armor placement and color need care. Arbour and Mallon, FACETS, 2017.

Read our field note: Did Velociraptor have feathers?

No borrowed movie monsters

We do not copy film silhouettes, licensed characters, another artist's composition, or a competitor's slogan. Science-informed art should still be original art.

These sources guide concept art, not a claim of peer review. Species-specific designs still need a final human anatomy and print-file check before they are sold.