This piece from “Dino Babies” was a modification of the purported original cover with added members of the family… it was originally going to be Velociraptor (as you can see for the colours), but at the end I finished it off as Deinonychus… and boisterous. virtually winged babies (reconstruction of the jumping baby is based on a real 3D skeleton)!
Luis V. Rey Blog 
“a real 3D skeleton”
Is that the AMNH one?
Hi Mike… no it is not the AMNH one, in fact it is based on a very accurate 1/10 Kaiyodo model skeleton (now discontinued). I used it as model and constrained the proportions to resemble a juvenile. I needed the right proportions so it is always better to do 3D research… and there’s nothing like having a model you can manipulate at will!
I love the baby on the right, its like, “Momma, watch what I can do!” Great work.
I really like this piece, partly b/c it looks so good, but also b/c it reminds me of the following quote from 1 of my favorite books.
BTW, is the female feeding her chicks or playing w/them the way raptors play w/their chicks (“As the young develop, the parents begin to hunt and drop live prey for the chicks to chase and catch”: http://www.sandiegozoo.org/animalbytes/t-red_tailed_hawk.html )? Many thanks in advance.
Quoting Gardom & Milner ( http://www.amazon.com/Natural-History-Museum-Book-Dinosaurs/dp/184442183X/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1342649640&sr=1-4 ): “As mentioned in Chapter 4, the first find of the fossils of the meat-eater Deinonychus suggested that they might have been hunting in a pack to bring down a Tenontosaurus. How many were there in the group, and what hunting techniques did they use? It is easy to imagine several of them gripping on to Tenontosaurus’ tail to slow it down while the pack leader climbed up to deliver slashing bites to the flank and stomach. Or did Deinonychus hunt in smaller, family-based groups?
Modern African hunting dogs give an indication of how effective such cooperative hunting can be. The degree of communication required to hunt together often extends into the complex social interaction between pack hunters. Before each hunt a highly ritualized series of sounds and movements binds the African hunting dog pack together, reinforces its social order and sends it on its way. They also share the spoils of the hunt with their young pups as well as old and sick members not able to join the chase. Pups old enough to run with the hunt are allowed to eat their fill before the adults finish off the carcass.
The social life of Deinonychus makes a tantalizing case study. There is just about enough evidence to place them as pack hunters. It is reasonable to assume that co-operative hunting was reflected in some form of co- operative lifestyle that encompassed mating, rearing young, migration and movement as well as just attacking prey.”
Reblogged this on Palpatine's Literary Library and commented:
This’s Really very good quality work he’s done here!
This’s really extremely outstandingly high quality work and ideas you’ve got here, Sir; please do keep them coming!
Thank you for the appraisal.
You are most welcome; as you deserve it to the max for this really high-quality domestic scene you’ve manufactured. Excellent work.