If We Drew Modern Animals The Way We Draw Dinosaurs, Based On Bones Alone

Baboon

When we see illustrations of dinosaurs done by Paleoartists in books the skeletal reconstructions are what many artists depend on when trying to draw dinosaurs.

But what happens when you try to apply that to modern day animals?

More: C.M. Kosemen, Instagram, Amazon h/t: canyouactually

Hippo

Artist C.M. Kosemen, in his book ‘All Yesterdays: Unique and Speculative Views of Dinosaurs and Other Prehistoric Animals’, illustrated present-day animals based solely on their skeletons.

All Yesterdays is a book about the way we see dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals. Lavishly illustrated with over sixty original artworks, All Yesterdays aims to challenge our notions of how prehistoric animals looked and behaved.

Swans

As a critical exploration of palaeontological art, ‘All Yesterdays’ asks questions about what is probable, what is possible, and what is commonly ignored. Written by palaeozoologist Darren Naish, and palaeontological artists John Conway and C.M. Kosemen, ‘All Yesterdays’ is scientifically rigorous and artistically imaginative in its approach to fossils of the past – and those of the future.

Elephant, Zebra, and Rhino

In an interview with Atlas Obscura, Kosemen said, “We were both dinosaur geeks, but the more we looked at these skeletons, and the more we looked at the pictures, we noticed that most mainstream dinosaur art didn’t look at dinosaurs as real creatures. For example there could plant-eating dinosaurs that had pangolin or armadillo-like armor that wasn’t preserved in the fossil. There could also be dinosaurs with porcupine-type quills.”