Terrible '90s Dromaeosaur Face-Off: THE WINNER

There can be only one. The 'croco-raptor' certainly had its fans, but our champion ended up attracting over twice as many votes. This may have had something to do with Traumador pointing out that, hey, the croco-raptor wasn't actually that bad for the time, and blowing raspberries at outdated/misguided art is plain mean (which I concede). However, the whole contest is meant to be in the best spirit of fun; of course it's important to realise the context this art was produced in, and far too easy to sneer with the benefit of hindsight ("fun, too"). That said, some of the art was just dreadful, and perhaps our valiant winner fits into that category.

Here's to you, Zombienychus.



Well, that's the end of that. If nothing else, this tournament has surely taught us an important lesson - namely, that a lot can change in 20 years. Perhaps, two decades from now, some young twerp on a holo-blog will be lambasting the ludicrous palaeoart from 2011. On the other hand, will we ever see such a paradigm shift in the depiction of, in particular, maniraptoran dinosaurs again?

Also, it's been a giggle. Maybe, as I rapidly run out of ideas and money, I'll give it another whirl. Or perhaps we could look at terrible tyrannosaurs, diabolical diplodocids or plain offensive oviraptorosaurs? The possibilities for childish mockery are almost endless...I like the idea of examining palaeoart 'memes' too (even if it's been done).

One last thing: Vintage Dinosaur Art will return tomorrow, with another from me next week (updated following David's comment).

Terrible '90s Dromaeosaur Face-Off: THE FINAL

So it's come to this. Let's get on with it, shall we?

In the blue corner: the much loved Neil Lloyd Deinonychus-mummy (or "mutant '80s allosaur") from The Humongous Book of Dinosaurs and the Dinosaurs! magazine series. Perhaps the most remarkable feat achieved by this turd-brown shrivelled aberration in the tournament was seeing off an adorable, orange-hued lookalike in the semi-finals. It's almost certainly down to fond memories of the aforementioned magazine series and, in particular, just how hit-and-miss its illustrations could be.



In the red corner: the croco-Velociraptor from those Dinosaurier trading cards that David discovered. The lively pose and haphazardly assembled body parts have made this Frankenstein's monster of dromaeosaurs a popular contender. But will it be able to hold its own against the powerful nostalgic pull of the prune-o-nychus?



It's all down to you, o readers! Let voting commence! The winner will be announced on the first of November (although Halloween would probably be more appropriate), and I'll make sure I'm suitably inebriated before writing it in order to ensure a fitting send-off for the winning piece of lamentable palaeoart. Hurrah!

Terrible '90s Dromaeosaur Face-Off: Semi-Final 2

It's nearly time - just one more semi-final round, and then it's onwards to the final and the chance to crown our king of the badly-drawn dromaeosaurs.

Before that, though, I can reveal that our first entrant into the final will be the "mutant '80s allosaur" (Hadiaz), the "gnarly, wrinkly dude (David), the one that reminded The Defective Brain of a "dessicated corpse" - or in other words, Deinonychus from The Humongous Book of Dinosaurs/Dinosaurs! magazine. Imhotep! Imhotep!



Time to introduce this week's semi-final contenders. In the blue corner, the deformed croc-faced Velociraptor from the Dinosaurier trading cards:



And in the red corner, the bafflingly wrong Velociraptor from Spotter's Guide to Dinosaurs and other Prehistoric Animals:



This should be a tough one! Ladies and gentlemen, cast your votes! And remember - you needn't vote for the worst one (as such), just your favourite. If it's your favourite 'cos it's the worst, then, fair enough...

Terrible '90s Dromaeosaur Face-Off: Semi-Final 1

The first Terrible '90s Dromaeosaur Face-Off tournament - surely the most exciting contest ever to feature ill-informed, misjudged, and/or lazy palaeoart - has finally entered the semi-final stages.

But first, let us applaud the winner of last week's face-off - yes, it's the awful Wrong-o-raptor from Spotter's Guide to Dinosaurs and other Prehistoric Animals. Expect to see this guy again in the second semi-final! After all, it's "evolving into a dinosauroid" (Tomozaurus), "sleazy looking" (tnthielen) and "an abomination" (The Defective Brain).



On to the first semi-final bout. In the blue corner, Velociraptor from Know the World of Dinosaurs:



And in the red corner, Deinonychus from The Humongous Book of Dinosaurs and Dinosaurs! magazine:



Let voting commence! One last thing: while this tournament may have reached the semi-final stages, rest assured that any suggestions you make for future competitors will be taken into consideration for future tournaments. Because I'm definitely not above flogging a dead horse.

Terrible '90s Dromaeosaur Face-Off: Round 4

It's finally time for the last round before the semi-finals. Last week's runaway rinner was Velociraptor from the Dinosaurier trading cards - described as a "Croco-raptor" (Ryan de Luca), "hideous mutant alligator man" (Tomozaurus) and "bipedal crocodile with ostrich legs" (Henrique Niza). Shine on, you crazy diamond!



Both of this week's entries come courtesy of Vrahno, who was able to provide a double helping of spectacularly bad dromaeosaurs in a single comment. It should be a tough one!

In the blue corner - Velociraptor from Spotter's Guide to Dinosaurs and Other Prehistoric Animals:



And in the red corner - Velociraptor from 100 Things You Should Know About Dinosaurs:



Which one wins? And on what criteria? You decide! The winner will appear in the second semi-final in two weeks' time. Best of luck.

Terrible '90s Dromaeosaur Face-Off: Round 3

After David's rather highbrow post yesterday, dealing with fancy art history and all that jazz, it's time for me to drag standards back down again - from the painterly sublime to the sketchbook ridiculous. Yes, it's time for the third round of the Terrible '90s Dromaeosaur Face-Off™!

First of all, however, I must announce that last week's winner (again, by only a single vote!) was Deinonychus from The Humongous Book of Dinosaurs/Dinosaurs! magazine. Described as "pruney skinned" (David), a "mutant '80s allosaur" (Hadiaz) and possessing a left foot that represents no less than "evolution perfection" (Henrique Niza), may we have a round of applause for our wrinkly brown friend, please.



In the blue corner, this week sees the triumphant return of Know the World of Dinosaurs to the competition. With the book's Velociraptor having already won one round, it'll be interesting to see how its Deinonychus fares. Although similar in many ways, the Deinonychus is notably leaner and its head longer and shallower. Which means they probably arranged their page incorrectly.



In the red corner we have an old Vintage Dinosaur Art favourite - the Velociraptor from those strange Dinosaurier trading cards David unearthed. "Hilariously wrong" it may be, but is it a worthy contender against the anatomical train wreck put forward by Know the World of Dinosaurs? That decision is down to you, oh readers! What japes we have.



Remember, I'm after your suggestions for future nominees as well as your votes. My aim is to have four initial rounds, followed by two semi-finals and a stupendously exciting floppy-handed lizardy-skinned all-out brawl of a finale!

Terrible '90s Dromaeosaur Face-Off: Round 2

The votes are in! The winner in the first round of the Terrible '90s Dromaeosaur Face-Off is:



Velociraptor from Know the World of Dinosaurs! Described as "too plump not to pick" (Ryan DeLuca), looking "remotely...like a fat Deinonychus running downhill from an avalanche" (Nobu Tamura) and "an inflated bipedal Gila monster" (Henrique Niza), this rotund fellow wins by a stunted snout. Congratulations.

Now, let us introduce this week's contenders! In the blue corner, Deinonychus from The Humongous Book of Dinosaurs/Dinosaurs! magazine, courtesy of Trish:



And in the red corner, Velociraptor from 100 Dinosaurs from A to Z, courtesy of tnthielen (which is actually from 1986, but like I said last week, we're allowing the '80s here too):



Vote for your favourite! And remember, 'favourite' doesn't have to mean 'least ridiculous'. In fact, it can mean quite the opposite. That's down to you.

VDA special: Terrible '90s Dromaeosaur Face-Off

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, scientists and nerdy laymen with far too much spare time - welcome one and all to the first ever Terrible 1990s Dromaeosaur Face-Off competition. Inspired by a minor debate between Niroot and myself, and further encouraged by Trish*, in each round two utterly dreadful dromaeosaurs from '90s palaeoart will be presented for your consideration. It is up to you - the readers - to decide your favourite. By way of commenting.

This is definitely not just a way for me to gauge how many readers this blog really has. Oh no.

Reader participation will also be required when it comes to selecting entrants for future rounds (Trish has already provided one contender for next time). The only rules are that it has to be a dromaeosaur, from a serious publication with an educational remit, and from the 1990s. Or from the 1980s, whatever. Close enough.

Here we go then. In the blue corner: Velociraptor from Know the World of Dinosaurs.




In the red corner: Velociraptor from The Concise Illustrated Book of Dinosaurs.



I wonder if David still thinks allowing me to write for this blog was a good idea. Anyway, votes please!

*After splitting my sides reading her blog yesterday, I owe her one.