markwitton

@markwitton@sauropods.win

Mastodon home of Dr. Mark Witton, palaeoartist and palaeontologist. More info: www.markwitton.co.uk; view and support my work at https://www.patreon.com/markwitton.

This profile is from a federated server and may be incomplete. Browse more on the original instance.

markwitton, to random

For #FossilFriday, the concepts and final versions of the 2018 PR #paleoart for the then-new Tanzanian sauropod, Mnyamawamtuka. I can't remember why the first two ideas didn't make the cut, but we probably ended up using the best of the three. #sciart #dinosaurs

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markwitton, to random

New art and essay at #Patreon: were fossil elephant skulls the source behind the Greek cyclops myth? I explore the evidence and conclude "probably not". Still, it's a good excuse to draw a Greek-accurate Polyphemus. See the high-res version at https://www.patreon.com/posts/97434332.

markwitton, to random

New #paleoart at #Patreon: a tyrannical triptych, showing all the habitats once occupied by Tyrannosaurus. Far from just inhabiting humid coastal plains and forests, you could also find T. rex in cool northern regions and among mountains. More info here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/tyrannotourists-92005235 #sciart #dinosaurs

markwitton, to random

More new #paleoart at #Patreon: an attempt to show a realistic take on #dinosaur copulation. A lot of what's said about dinosaur mating is pretty ridiculous so, in an essay accompanying the hi-res version of this image, I try to cut to the sensible stuff. www.patreon.com/posts/89965576 #sciart #dinosaurs #paleontology

markwitton, to random

New #paleoart at #Patreon: Tyrannosaurus face bites. Thanks to large numbers of injured tyrannosaurid skulls, we know a lot about this behaviour. The main take-home? They weren't very nice to one another. High-res art and discussion at: https://www.patreon.com/posts/were-going-to-t-89921811 #fossil #sciart #dinosaurs

markwitton, to random

of giant fossil penguins, Kumimanu, for . Penguin diversity exploded in the Palaeogene and human-sized, spear-beaked Kumimanu were just one of many lineages. Their feathers weren't precisely like those of modern penguins yet, and some had reddish colouration.

mike, to random
@mike@sauropods.win avatar

As Twitter self-immolates, I am seeing people I know setting up on Bluesky.

I find this perplexing. Can people really not learn the lesson that a social network owned by a capitalist is a social network they don't control?

You can argue about whether Bluesky or Mastodon has the better technology, but what's 100% clear is that Mastodon is run BY users FOR users. And that difference is the only one that matters in the end.

markwitton,

@mike For folks who rely on social media as a marketplace and promotional venue - such as myself - having all these accounts feels like the only way forward at the moment. No microblogging sites are giving us the reach we've come to rely on from Twitter, so we're having to do all we can to compensate. Ethics are clearly important, but so is paying the bills!

markwitton,

@AmyIsCoolz @mike I can only speak from experience as I don't understand a lot of the tech stuff. Broadly, it seems that it's a lot more challenging to build a following and get engagement here. My Twitter account grows pretty constantly, but I've apparently hit a ceiling at 1.7K on Mastodon. And pre-prioritisation of blue ticks at Twitter, I was getting hundreds or thousands of likes on my art posts; here, I get a few dozen on a good day.

markwitton,

@AmyIsCoolz @mike @codefolio I suspect the lack of an algorithm is a major factor. Twitter used to be very creator-friendly, keeping posts bobbing up in a feed for a good while. Here, posts sink far quicker, giving them less time to do their work.

markwitton, to random

For #FossilFriday, speculative Cenozoic #tyrannosaur art at #Patreon: a species adapted for grasslands (the "stilt tyrant") and high-latitude, cold environments ("tundra tyrant"). Fluffy as it is, please don't stroke the latter.
Hi-res and discussion at https://www.patreon.com/posts/children-of-re-x-88561232

#dinosaurs #paleoart #paleontology #speczoo

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markwitton,

@grb090423 It's not meant to be very big! Maybe the size of a maned wolf? I'm sure you'd be fine. They might even make good pets.

markwitton, to random

Over on Twitter, I've been running a 48hr poll to see where the Twitter palaeo community is migrating to. According to this, most palaeo folks will stay on Twitter, but a similar number will be moving to BlueSky. Only a few see Mastodon and Threads as the future of the community. Obviously BlueSky, Mastodon and Threads should talk to one another eventually and might be seen as one network but, for now, is BlueSky the place to be for palaeos if you don't want to use Twitter?

markwitton,

@mike Well, it was asking Twitter users specifically (given that the palaeo community seems to still be fairly big there) about moving their social media presence, so surely that's not biased? I'm sure we'd get more support for Mastodon if we ran a similar poll here, but plenty of Mastodon users still have Twitter accounts and had a chance to vote too. I'd re-run the poll elsewhere but, outside of Twitter, I don't get enough engagement to curate a decent sample size.

markwitton,

@mike That's what I was going for. Twitter remains the big beast for palaeo social media and thus the biggest source of potential users for other sites. As someone reliant on following the herd for my income, knowing where to pitch my tent is important.

markwitton,

@mike Interesting, I'm not seeing that reflected in my feed. I'm sure it's a curatorial issue from my lack of use, but finding interesting people to follow seems more intuitive and rapid on Twitter. In my experience, and in line with a common complaint, Mastodon is more work/complex/reliant on user knowledge than Twitter.

markwitton,

@TheDinosaurDave @mike @AdamStuartSmith I take your point, but websites like FB, Twitter etc. seem much more intuitive. I didn't work to build a following there, or work to curate an interesting feed, it just happened by using the site. Mastodon doesn't seem to give the same return, or expects you to interact in a different way that I've not cracked yet.

markwitton, to random

New #paleoart and essay at #Patreon: what was the end-Cretaceous extinction experience like for #dinosaurs living a few thousand kilometres away? A deep-dive with text, graphics and art. SPOILERS: It didn't go well for them. Join the misery for just $1! https://www.patreon.com/posts/88445271

markwitton, to random

@john, over in the Historic Palaeoart group on FB, Richard Hing thought this would be of interest: this is Hans Emmenegger's "Jurassic Period" from (1895). According to Richard, Emmenegger was one of the most important Swiss artists of his generation, making him a rare example of a fine artist getting into #paleoart.

markwitton,

@TKSivgin @john I've never thought of John Martin in this context but yes, of course, he would qualify. I suppose his contributions are so early on, and so fanciful, that they didn't click with John (Conway's) broader point about mainline artists not jumping on the palaeoart train.

markwitton, to random

Thanks to an injured arm I've not been able to paint much recently, so instead I've been reading and writing a lot about the K/Pg extinction for a book project. I want to paint a new scene of it soon, but in the meantime here's an effort from 2019. #paleoart

markwitton, to random

Listening to a podcast about the yeti today, and Gigantopithecus keeps being mentioned. It needs to be more widely appreciated that our sole Giganto. fossils are teeth and a couple of lower jaws - that's it. Suggestions of size, proportions and lifestyle are largely speculative.

markwitton, to random

New #paleoart at #Patreon for #FossilFriday: Early Cretaceous iguanodont Owenodon hoggii at sunset. Commissioned by @jurassic_coast and @DorsetCouncilUK, it's now on display in Corfe Castle Museum. See the high-res version and its development here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/86438876

#dinosaurs

markwitton, to random

WIP #paleoart of adult Dilophosaurus racing across a Kayenta salt flat to cannibalise a younger conspecific. One of the last @PalaeoGames images I'm working on (46 in total, 4 to go, including this one).

#dinosaurs

markwitton,

@john Or just misunderstood? So long as they're not yours, those juveniles are good eatin'!

markwitton,

@john Changing the server to defamation.win now, are we?

markwitton,

@john I move for a bad court thingy. That's why you're the judge, and I'm the law...talking... guy.

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