Get a tour of Dinotopia artist's studio

Get a tour of Dinotopia artist's studio

James's studio is a cross between a toy shop, a creature FX lab and a curio cabinet.

I specialise in painting realistic images of things that can’t be photographed. My imagination only takes me so far, so I sculpt 3D reference maquettes.

In the foreground of the photo are a butterfly ornithopter, an elf alien, a BoarCroc and a satyr.

Get a tour of Dinotopia artist's studio

Maquette of Pan, made during the creature design class I offered last summer, where students worked from a live goat, a human model and three ram skulls.

The day starts with a few cups of coffee, or sometimes tea from the pot I found on a research-sketching trip to North Africa in 2008.

Not all of my sketching junkets are so exotic – I also sketch in fast-food parking lots and farmyards. Some of the oil sketches on the back wall are from observation – the cloud study was painted in July, and the two head studies come from a figure-drawing class.

Get a tour of Dinotopia artist's studio

On the slanting drawing table is an oil painting of a gryposaurus for the National Wildlife Federation.

I need music: Bach for perspective, Mozart for figure work, Brahms for skies and Tuva throat music for mixing paint. My pet budgie sings the loudest when I play Verdi.

Get a tour of Dinotopia artist's studio

Playground for my budgie, Mr Kooks, who keeps me company while I work.

Beyond the Aladdin's lamp is a set of dip pens. I used to be a calligrapher, and I still love to write in the copperplate style. Maybe it's a reaction to the blandness of email.

Get a tour of Dinotopia artist's studio

Brushes include bristle filberts, nylon flats and sable watercolour rounds.

The skull on the counter is a drawing aid and a memento mori. Behind it are architectural maquettes made of cardboard and styrofoam.

The hand-painted colour wheels and optical illusions were for my (then) upcoming book called Color and Light: A Guide for the Realist Painter.

Get a tour of Dinotopia artist's studio

Colour charts, colour wheels and optical illusions for my art book.

The dinosaur painting is surrounded by skull photos, sketches and a reference maquette. The premixed strings of oil colours on the freezer paper palette help me control the mixing gamut of the colour scheme I want.

All in all, this studio is a cross between a toy shop, a creature FX lab and a curio cabinet.

Words: James Gurney

James is the creator of Dinotopia and a cosmopolitan seeker of the fantastical. This article originally appeared in ImagineFX issue 57.

Thank you for reading 5 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access

Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription

Join now for unlimited access

Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

The Creative Bloq team is made up of a group of design fans, and has changed and evolved since Creative Bloq began back in 2012. The current website team consists of eight full-time members of staff: Editor Georgia Coggan, Deputy Editor Rosie Hilder, Deals Editor Beren Neale, Senior News Editor Daniel Piper, Digital Arts and Design Editor Ian Dean, Tech Reviews Editor Erlingur Einarsson and Ecommerce Writer Beth Nicholls and Staff Writer Natalie Fear, as well as a roster of freelancers from around the world. The 3D World and ImagineFX magazine teams also pitch in, ensuring that content from 3D World and ImagineFX is represented on Creative Bloq.