source: nbc

Sign of the times: quality 3D printing with resin (as opposed to plastic beading technologies) is becoming affordable, now thanks to a kickstarter project in the range of 3000 US dollars. Form1 is a sign of things to come, and even though some are uncertain about the solidity of the kickstarter financing model the goals have been dramatically overachieved. Perfect for printing handy organic shapes like skeletons. Me wants.

I was playing with the fantastic transparent ostrich head at the Witmer lab and wanted to figure out how the surface corresponded to what I was seeing. So I searched around for photos of ostriches in profile, eventually coming across some that more or less fit the juvenile skull in this image, taken from the 3d pdf. I then drew the elements I found in the live ostriches over the skeletal.

Things I find interesting?

- position of the ear tucked up against the  quadrate and squamosal (no, I ain’t that booksmart – the names are in the pdf – also, I assume I drew the ear too high – it’s difficult to tell precise bank rotation from the photos)
- position of the nostril midway along the airway
- much of the internal structure is smoothed over, but the nasolacrimal duct really bulges into an eye sac
- the jaw’s point of rotation just below the ear compared to the corner of the mouth just under the eye
- the gap between the tip of the beak… I presume beak growth. The bone is much rougher here than along the rest of the jaw

Need to do this more often, in greater detail.

Showing size relationships is notoriously difficult in still media such as print. Magnifying the Universe by Number Sleuth – Information-is-Beautiful award-winner – is a great example of how well interactive illustration can do just this – show size relationships. Hit full-screen and zoom into the hydrogen atom’s proton nucleus, then out to the observed universe… a great way to illustrate and navigate abstractions of the vast, such as space or deep time.

Ever get that itch of oncoming raptor outbreak? Check out this historical footage of the flip-wristed Velociraptor suits from Jurassic Park. Analog can be so cool!

Twas fantastic!

Of the numerous dinosaur-related films coming out soon, this seems to have gotten the jump. I’ve never heard of it before and it seems… a bit flat.

Michal Sporn is a great mind in analyzing animation, and I regularly frequent his blog. I had to double-check that it was his blog however, when I opened it up and found a full-sequence photo-log of this hawk playing with a snack. I love it when my various interests double-up like this.