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Extreme Makeover

The project involved the re-evaluation of the famous ‘Age of Reptiles’ mural on display at Yale’s Peabody Museum. The mural is 110’ long and depicts a time line from the Triassic to the end of the Cretaceous. ‘Age of Reptiles’ was painted by acclaimed illustrator Rudolph Zallinger between 1942 & 47.

My brief was to visually re-appraise a section with particular emphasis on the ecology of the environment and the morphologies and behaviours of fauna. My research suggests warm blooded, sprightly & alert dinosaur forms as opposed to the lumbering, cold blooded reptilians previous. My alterations to the design include fewer flowering plants; developing feathery-hairy aspects to the Tyrannosaurus shown with hide-like skin rather than scales; the removal of Brontosaurus (a species now thought to have never existed); the alternative morphologies and gestural representations given for Triceratops, Edmontosaurus, Sauropelta, Apatosaurus, Deinonychus and Stegosaurus. Following the brief, I performed extensive research to maintain the mural’s historical rigour.

http//www.yalealumnimagazine.com/articles/2049?page=1