Winners of the 12th International Dinosaur Science Contest 2020
The Foundation for the Study of Dinosaurs in Castilla y León together with the Salas de los Infantes Dinosaur Museum jointly organized the 12th International Competition of Scientific Illustrations of Dinosaurs 2020 in the month of March.
The main theme of the contest are illustrations about dinosaurs, which can represent reconstructions of animals in life (locomotion, reproduction, feeding, etc.), behavioral situations (hunting, fighting, family groups, herds and others), in their environment , the original fossils and the ecosystems they occupied. Other groups of illustrated living beings have been turtles, marine reptiles and pterosaurs, in addition to documenting the vegetation and characteristic landscapes of the Mesozoic.
It is the only contest of its kind that is held in Spain. Its quality is based on the jury that evaluates the works presented; this time it was made up of a team of 6 specialists of different nationalities:
- David Bonadonna (Italy), John Sibbick (UK), Robert Nicholls (UK), all paleo-illustrators.
- Juan Ignacio Canale ("Ernesto Bachmann" Paleontological Museum and CONICET researcher) and Elisabete Malafaia (University of Lisbon), paleontologists specialized in dinosaurs.
- Caterine Arias Riesgo, curator of the Salas de los Infantes Dinosaur Museum (Spain).
A total of 72 illustrations by 28 paleo-illustrators from South America (Argentina, Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia, Chile and Brazil), Europe (Germany, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Ukraine and the Netherlands) and Asia have been presented to this twelfth edition. (Iran and Vietnam -the first time that they send us illustrations of this Southeast Asian country-). In total 14 countries and 3 continents. The contest is consolidated as an international reference for artists of paleontology.
In a few days we will post the selected works on the right side of the CyL Dinosaur Foundation Blog with the slogan "Selected works for the XII International Competition of Scientific Illustrations of Dinosaurs 2020".
The awards are financed by the Fundación Dinosaurios CyL and by the company from sale Hernáiz Muelas Construcciones Hercam, S.L. The prizes awarded have been the following:
FIRST PRIZE:"Dinosaurs of the Isle of Wight". Author: Sergey Krasovskiy (Ukraine).
120 million years ago, the territory of modern Europe during the Lower Cretaceous was in a subtropical climate, with an extensive network of rivers and swamps. Polacanthus (foreground) was part of a wide variety of fauna found on what is now the Isle of Wight.
A magnificent illustration that transports us to the Cretaceous environment. A great job both in the resolution of the represented species and in the realization and detail of the flora that was part of that environment.
Technique used: digital (computer painting).
SECOND PRIZE:"Tyrannosaurus attack". Author: Franco Tempesta (Italy).
In the setting of a North American Cretaceous marsh clearing, a large tyrannosaurus attacks a group of triceratops, trying to capture an isolated cub.
Technique used: digital.
THIRD AWARD:"Huntress in the mist." Author: Hugo Salais López (Spain).
This scene is focused on Vallibonavenatrix cani, a new species of spinosurid theropod dinosaur recently described and discovered in the Arcillas de Morella Formation in Castellón1.
The holotype and only known specimen of this species is represented by partial postcranial remains of the axial skeleton and pelvic girdle1. In the scene, a specimen of Vallibonavenatrix can be seen entering the fog, "with its back" to the viewer, so that the posterior region of the body (including the pelvic girdle, best represented in the holotype) is more clearly visible, but the The anterior region and especially the head (absent in the holotype), is progressively blurred in the fog, allowing only to identify a profile with spinosaurid characteristics.
Accompanying Vallibonavenatrix in the scene, a specimen of Eodortoka morellana2 and a crocodile of the genus Bernissartia3 are distinguished, as well as some indeterminate bird soaring in the background. With respect to the flora and the environment, the scene is located in what could be a coastal or fluvial-deltaic zone, as interpreted for the Arcillas de Morella Formation4, with scattered coniferous wood remains and indeterminate arborescent conifers in the background.
Technique used: digital.
ACCESSIT: 4th:
“Tarbosaurus”. Author: Mohamad Haghani (Iran).
An angry Tarbosaurus running after a thieving Tarbosaurus who escapes with a stolen corpse.
Tarbosaurus bataar is a genus of tyrannosaurid theropod dinosaurs that flourished in Asia at the end of the Upper Cretaceous Period. Fossils have been recovered in Mongolia.
Technique: Digital art, a mix of sculpture and photoshop techniques from Zbrush.
All the illustrations chosen by the Jury will be exhibited at the Salas de los Infantes Dinosaur Museum until the end of March 2021. This exhibition will also be offered to different paleontological institutions, museums and exhibition halls, as has been done on previous occasions to the National Museum of Natural Sciences of Madrid, the House of Sciences of Logroño, the Museum of Natural Sciences of the University of Zaragoza, the San Fernando de Henares city council or headquarters of the Interclub-Fundación Caja de Burgos, Secondary Education Institutes, etc.
Finally, we would like to thank all the artists who have participated in this twelfth edition with their wonderful illustrations. We are waiting for you next year!
Also to the company Hernáiz Construcciones Hercam, S.L for collaborating one more edition with the Contest.
Selected works of the 12th International Contest of Scientific Illustrations of Dinosaurs 2020:
https://fundaciondinosaurioscyl.blogspot.com/2020/11/ganadores-de ... o.html
