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I'm 3D printing this Velociraptor's skull - https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2736627 Details are very realistic, but I didn't found any real Raptor's skull image to compare. Internet is full of replicas... Anyway, if you're going to 3D print it, consider that it is a very pain. It is badly split, and it is not very easy to 3D print: more than half of the pegs will break and some of the pieces have mesh issues. Also, I suggest to print teeth flat on the 3D printing bed, and not as the original STL. I will update the post with new images as I glue and paint it. Regards, Adriano

This forum did so well last year on the Stigmaria fossil I had, I thought it was worth trying another one. This is both sides of a fish in sandstone. The origin is unknown, but I think it comes from the same formation where many fish fossils in sandstone come from (the little plates that are available at any fossil dealer). To me, because of the scales and the shape of the head, it looks like a modern Gar. The head (best seen on the bottom of the right side) looks like it may have an armored plate on the forehead. Any ideas?

Hello to everyone! My name is Oleg, I live in Calgary in Canadian province of Alberta. I am a 3D artist by occupation, but recently I have decided to try myself in paleoart, as I have been interested in paleontology, fossils and prehistoric animals since my childhood. I cannot say that I am an experienced fossil collector, but I do enjoy fossil-hunting as I live in the unique place: you drive for one hour east and find yourself in the Dinosaur Country of Red Deer badlands; you go west - and you find yourself on the bottom of Cambrian see in the middle of Canadian Rockies. I hope to meet new people that share common interest in paleontology, also would be looking for critique and advice regarding my paleoart I am going to post here.

Hi everyone. I'm a 3D artist and freelancer with lots of interests in paleontology. And for 6 years I have made dozens of models, many of which are of prehistoric model. I always try to make the model as accurate as possible. Here is a small figurine of the Psittacosaurus , with it's skin flaps and beak and coloration and everything (with the exception of the quills, due to 3D printing restriction). Besides this model, here are more pictures.

Hello everyone. Im Bill from Vietnam, and I am a paleontology enthusiast since I was first introduced to the concept in the 9th grade. And this was also the time when I found my interest in 3D graphic, using my new found hobby, I've made dozens of models and many of which are of prehistoric animals. I wont bore you to death with my background story, but as of this moment, I have been learning 3D for 6 years and work as a freelancer. My interest in paleontology may have been interupted slightly due to the nature of my busy work life. But still, prehistory will always be in my heart, just learning about the magnificent creatures that used to roam this planet gives shiver down my spine. If you'd like, here is my portfolio. I hope to be kept up to date to the newest paleontology news thanks to this forum.

I recently got a copy of the Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs and decided to attempt to model a Velociraptor skeleton, maybe 3d print it once its done. Unfortunately the book doesn't include any front or back views of the skeleton so I would love some anatomical feedback. In addition, I could use a little help identifying the bones in red in this image: They aren't visible in the top view I have, so I don't know how they are supposed to connect with the rest of the rib cage.

Hey guys and gals, I believe some time back I saw a forum member that was doing 3D printing of skulls. Anyone remember seeing this? my searches were fruitless. I would be very grateful if someone could point me in the right direction. I am looking for about a 1/4 scale model of an Allosaurus skull to place in a donation box so customers can "Feed the Dino"

Not sure if this is old news or not but it's a pretty good resource I only recently discovered... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3eWcjXxVns https://umorf.ummp.lsa.umich.edu/wp/ Darrow

At the very beginning of the 1960s, a South African palaeontologist embarked on a series of ambitious works. Dr A.S. Brink wanted to better understand the anatomy and evolution of humans’ pre-mammalian ancestors, the therapsids. Brink worked with therapsid skulls found in South Africa’s Karoo region. He ground the skulls at thin and regular intervals to assess their internal cranial anatomy. The technique, known as serial grinding, was commonly used at the time. As he neared the end of the process on one of the skulls Brink realised that he had uncovered a unique specimen. The skull represented a holotype, which is the single specimen used in the definition of any new species. But by then it was too late. More than 50 years later, we were among a group of scientists who followed in Brink’s footsteps. Our task was to recreate this unique specimen. Technology has moved on enormously in the last half century, so we were able to use 3D renderings and 3D printing – and one of our mammalian ancestors was reborn. Historical techniques South Africa was a good place for Brink’s work. The country’s Karoo region is home to a wealth of therapsid fossils, making it an important place to study the ancestry of mammals. Brink was not the first palaeontologist to use serial grinding. The technique emerged at the beginning of the 20th century. Before then scholars had to wait for the discovery of naturally preserved casts of internal structures, like the mold of the “fossil brain” of the Taung Child, Australopithecus africanus. Or they had to break fossils open. With its introduction, serial grinding became the only fully controlled way to access the “interior” of fossils. Because of their abundance, South African therapsids were among the first fossils to be studied using this new, revolutionary approach. Sadly, their abundance turned out to be a curse. Accidental destruction In 1961, Dr Brink started the serial grinding study of a well preserved skull. At this stage, he thought the specimen belonged to a common form of therapsid. But during the process, the sections revealed anatomical structures that suggested the specimen may actually represent a new species of fossil therapsid previously unknown to science. By then it was too late to save the fossil: it had already been mostly ground down. Brink tried to compensate by making a very thorough and accurate description and drawings of the specimen. He named it Scalopocynodon gracilis. As in zoology, the designation of type specimens is the most critical step when naming a new species in palaeontology. This type specimen, called a holotype, is meant to serve as an anatomical reference for future comparative works. A new species can’t be recorded without a holotype. So this ground specimen was particularly important: it constituted the holotype of Scalopocynodon gracilis. Sadly this valuable and irreplaceable piece of South Africa’s heritage and evidence of the evolution of pre-mammalian therapsids was lost. The irony is that it was destroyed by the very author of the species. Scalopocynodon was considered dead and forgotten – until 2016. Recreating our ancestor in 3D Evolutionary Studies Institute, Wits University It’s then that a team from the Evolutionary Studies Institute at Johannesburg’s University of the Witwatersrand retrieved some of Dr Brink’s drawings of the Scalopocynodon gracilisfrom 1961. These drawings represent each thin section ground by Brink. Their detail presented us with an unprecedented opportunity to virtually reconstruct the long lost specimen of Scalopocynodon gracilis. The drawings were digitised. Then, using cutting edge software and innovative computer-based technology, every slice was digitally reassembled in a single stack. This allowed us to reconstruct a 3D model of the original skull. Afterwards a physical model ofScalopocynodon was printed in 3D so we could recreate a life-sized reconstruction of this specimen. To our knowledge, this is the first time 3D technology has been used to recreate and print in 3D a serially ground fossil vertebrate (though it is quite often used in invertebrates palaeontology). This is a great initiative for South African heritage conservation. These techniques can be used on other fossils lost through serial grinding. Breathing new life Recreating a fossil using 3D technology is painstaking work. The 3D printed skull, serving as a holotype, could also help to breathe new life into this mysterious specimen. Taxonomists can now study it and one day might be able to say definitively that Brink was right: Scalopocynodon gracilis was indeed different from any other therapsid. http://theconversation.com/3d-technology-brings-a-lost-mammalian-ancestor-back-to-life-64059