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I finally completed the reorder of my collection of fossils and minerals. It is a wooden hexagonal display cabinet of several wood/glass shelf; in the pictures attached I only show some of them. I 3D printed more than 20 custom drawer compartments for the smallest specimens. I decided to go for a modular design, so I can adapt every compartment to the specimen. As printing material, I used a "wood PLA" filament 3D printed with 1 mm nozzle on the Alfawise U20 3D printer. LINK I finally added a strip LED inside the cabinet door and powered it via a USB power-bank - so it is fully wireless. In this picture you can see some of my recent purchases: Two Sinosauridae indet. teeth from Kem Kem One Acheroraptor tooth from Hell Creek formation, Powder River Co., Montana Some Mosasaurus teeth from Kem Kem One Pterosaurs tooth from Kem Kem A piece of Rhinocerontidae indet. jaw from South Dakota Some ammonites, shark teeth, a Flexicalymene ouzregui, a couple of echinoids (I found the white one in a brick!); the Velociraptor skull is 3D printed as well. This is the other side. The big sand echinoid was also found by me in a brick! On the right there's a nice fossil coral: I never seen something similar, please let me know if you know it's name. Three fossil fishes and a nice ammonites cluster with some quartz in the background. At the end, some minerals... Now I only have to finish the cataloging of all specimen. I already finished with fossils, now I have to start with minerals - it will be very looong! What do you think? Do you like it? Ciao!

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?

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

Hi everyone! As I have mentioned several times, being a 3D artist I am trying to move into the field of paleoart. Recently I have started modeling Ceratosaurus nasicornis in 3D, and I really want to make it as accurate and plausible as possible. Here is what I have got so far: a basic model done in 3ds Max. After this I am planning to take it to ZBrush and add more muscle definition, sking wrinkles, scales and other fine details. At this stage this is just the base and I would like to share it with you guys in order to receive some feedback from those who know their dinosaur anatomy. Did I get the shape and overall structure right? Constructive criticism is more then welcome, pretty much this is what I am asking for here. 1. Mesh 2. Body 3. Perspective 4. Back 5. Top view 6. Head close-up

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.

Hello everybody, This is my first post and first piece of artwork I would like to share and, hopefully, receive some feedback. I do 3D animation and rendering for living, but paleontology is my life long interest and passion. Here is my 3D reconstruction of Cambrian trilobite Olenoides serratus that was a common member of the famous Burgess Shale biota. I actually live just 250 km apart from the famous Burgess Shale quarry (and 100 km from Albertan Red Deer badlands rich with dinosaur fosslis).

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.

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