PT: Congratulations Julius. How did the US postal service put out the call for the T. rex artwork and what did you do to get the job (besides showing them how extremely talented you are)?
Julius Csotonyi - JS: Thank you very much, Mike! In this case, I was contacted directly by the art director and designer of these stamps, Greg Breeding, who had seen my work elsewhere and who felt that the way that I handled the treatment of foreground versus background in my artwork would translate very well to the appearance of artwork on stamps. Greg and I worked very well together, and through our mutual brainstorming, we hammered out the ideas for the stamp set that has stomped out of the halls of the US Postal Service recently.
PT: What were the specifics they asked for in the artwork and was a paleontologist involved?
JC: This T. rex stamp project began during the time that I was working full steam on the murals for the Smithsonian's Deep Time exhibit, after The Nation's T. rex (or "Wankel rex") (formally MOR 555) had been delivered by FedEx to the National Museum of Natural History and was being mounted in the Deep Time Hall by Peter May's crew, Research Casting International. It was this high profile display, and the upcoming exhibit, that had presented such a great opportunity to the US Postal Service to feature this specimen on a stamp series. I didn't argue with the idea. So of course, we had some great scientific guidance for the project from Dr. Matthew Carrano, Curator of Dinosauria at the Smithsonian's NMNH.
This story is from the Fall 2019 edition of Prehistoric Times.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the Fall 2019 edition of Prehistoric Times.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
What's New in review
Papo of France creates highly detailed prehistoric animal figures (if not always the most scientifically accurate.)
The Thunderbird
Today we have an excellent, new kit based upon a scene from Ray Harryhausen's cowboys vs. dinosaur film, The Valley of Gwangi.
WHAT I DID ON MY LOCKDOWN
A tyrannosaur in the local area? How cool!
The Forgotten Dinosaur Art of Robert T. Bakker
A renaissance marks a shift in the attitudes and behaviours of an entire society.
Sauropelta
A flock of Deinonychus dart from the dense forest they had been moving through across the broad floodplain to the tree line on the far side.
Reminiscing Over Dinosaurus!
“Alive! After 70 million years! Roaring! Walking! Destroying!” (Ad line for Dinosaurus!)
Longisquama
“Determined to travel from the North Pole to the South Pole, Amos Barrett and his team of adventurers have arrived in the Late Triassic to drive the length of Pangea, the only time in the planet’s history when the continents had fused into one giant landmass.
How to Draw Dinosaurs
Putting it all together, the body of Ankylosaurus
Dinosauriana Imagined 13
Dinosauriana Iberiana (A Spain-ful Endeavor)
Paleoracism
With the nation and much of the western world contending with the fallout of the chronic problem of racism, this is as good a time as any to take a look at the issue within the world of vertebrate paleontology.
