#theropod lips

Also ngl after dissecting and cleaning those waterfowl skulls, the more t.rex’s head and mouth anatomy looked and matched more to their mouth anatomy than to a reptiles like a monitor lizard

And of course, a dinosaur that needs no introduction. It shows a reconstruction of extraoral tissues like those of alligator (many paleontologists now consider it less plausible than the now-common version with "lips"). Adobe Photoshop, 2024.

Black ballpoint pen, white pencil and gouache (for minor corrections), 2024.

The portrait of the abelisaurid theropod Abelisaurus comahuensis that I made last year. I tried to work in a style like acrylic paints, but with monochrome. I like some aspects of this work, such as the eye and the keratin around it, but it's clear from the skin folds and facial scales that I have a lot to learn. I hope to do a remake of this in the future, but in a slightly different style. Done in Paint Tool Sai 2.0.

Both drawings are made with black ballpoint pen.

Hi all, it's my first post here! I'll show my drawings with some info on portrayed animals. For first post I have my recent Tyrannosaurus rex portrait. Many of those who read (or will read this blog) are probably already familiar with the Cullen et al. (2023) paper concerning the question of whether theropod dinosaurs (and specifically Tyrannosaurus) had "lips". Having presented several lines of evidence (tooth sizes, tooth enamel thickness on different sides of the tooth, jaw closure tightness, etc.), paleontologists claim that "lips" are the most plausible option for theropod facial tissue reconstruction. Those who have read me on other sites (such as DeviantArt) know that many reconstructions of non-avian theropods that I have made have exposed teeth. I have never been completely against "lipped" reconstructions and I really liked many, at least from an aesthetic point of view. Now I will also draw these more often. Of course, without a fossil specimen with preserved soft tissues, it is difficult to speak confidently in favor of one or another version (because the oral anatomy of theropods has some differences from both lizards and crocodiles). This Tyrannosaurus has a well-developed upper "lip" and a lower one that occupies most of the length of the jaw… except for the tip. The reason for this is the large number of labial openings observed in tyrannosaurs in the tip of dentary bone. It looks more like animals with beaks or tight-fitting facial coverings than lizards. I am not an expert in this matter, so I may be wrong. But I decided to play with this interpretation in the drawing. In addition to this feature, the keratinized maxilla integument above the upper lip catches the eye in the drawing. This is inspired by the unusual osteological correlations of this bone in tyrannosaurs (a surface dotted with small holes, ridges and grooves from blood vessels). Otherwise, this is quite an ordinary reconstruction. Initially, I decided to make feathers on the upper side of the neck, but later abandoned them because I didn't want to spoil the well-drawn scales. What else can I say… I drew a platanus tree in the background. It was harder to draw foliage than to draw scales. Perhaps it's a matter of habit. I decided to blur the background. The result is generally good for the first fully digital work in a long time, but I feel that there is a little lack of contrast. Well, I'll learn my lesson. Done in Paint Tool Sai 2.0.

Lipped T. rex sketch done earlier in this year without references.