3D Art and Palaeontology

Accurate 3D models of palaeobiological specimens could be classified as a form of science communication. The ability to digest scientific papers, diagrams and 3D scans of extinct species and to produce a 3D model that expresses the animal’s anatomy accurately, allows for intuitive viewing and interpretation.

Bob Nicholls, a master palaeoartist who creates paintings and sculptures, described that audiences tend to have a surprisingly strong reaction to his 3D sculptures. Some part of us more intuitively understands and realtes to another animal when it is physically present in front of us. Nicholls and researchers from the University of Bristol created what has been described as the most accurate model of a dinosaur.

In a talk on Maxon, 3D artist Sian Warren describes a collabration with a scientist where she was able to demonstrate evolution of a species through the use of blendshapes. Her work has been published in a scientific journal. Using blendshapes, Warren and Sumida were able to accurately generate a known species by interpolating between two evolutionary stages.

Sian Warren and Dr Stuart Sumida.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aahgpWR2ycw

Sources

https://www.sciencefocus.com/nature/scientists-team-up-with-artist-to-make-the-most-realistic-dinosaur-model-ever

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aahgpWR2ycw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5tkbtWA8tM