Meet the Artist

Keen readers (and there are a few of you left, I know) will remember a post last month in which I shared artist Niroot Puttapipat's interpretation of a number of unlikely 'dinosaur battle' scenarios that David wanted to see. Niroot also illustrated Giraffatitan winning a fight through the power of sheer awesomeness, which sauropod luminary Mike Taylor (for it is he) lauded as "the single greatest work of art ever perpetrated" and reblogged under the headline 'The most awesome piece of art EVER'. Meanwhile, the appreciation was also shared at io9.

Well, here's the man himself, looking absolutely delighted to have his photo taken in front of (or rather, behind) the Natural History Museum's Diplodocus carnegii cast, 'Dippy'. Ain't he handsome?



The 'Godly Giraffatitan' piece was completed over a period of two days (not of continuous work, obviously, rather in-between other things), and Niroot was genuinely thrilled with the praise it attracted in the dino-nerd-o-blog-o-sphere. Although an illustrator by trade (currently working on Kipling's Just So Stories, a task he is naturally relishing), Niroot is yet to draw dinosaurs in a professional capacity, and tends to err towards silliness due to time constraints.

Nevertheless, while the animals in his dinosaur 'cartoons' tend to have slightly anthropomorphised facial expressions, he also takes great care to make them as anatomically correct as possible. I was fortunate enough to receive a birthday card from him last year that could also be 'conservatively described' as the BEST EVER - check it out.

I can't help but feel - and I know I'm not alone in this - that Niroot's stunning style, extreme attention to detail at often tiny scales, and genuine passion for the subject matter would make him perfect for any dinosaur book. Publishers - ditch your shoddy CG art and commission this guy, quick!