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Ivan Kay @ivan23.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Repost of the early troodontid Hesperornithoides - from the Late #Jurassic Morrison Formation - catching a mouse-sized mammal, Glirodon. #dinosaur #palaeoart

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Ivan Kay @ivan23.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

Managed to get my old scanner working, here is a higher quality image of Hesperornithoides. This small Late Jurassic #theropod, about a metre long, is the earliest definitive troodontid. I have depicted it catching a mouse-sized mammal, Glirodon. #palaeoart #dinosaur

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Ivan Kay @ivan23.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Repost of the giant, underrated #theropod Yangchuanosaurus shangyouensis. The well known subadult holotype is ~ 7.5 m, about the size of Allosaurus, but the fragmentary adult specimen - depicted here - is about as big as Jurassic theropods got, over 10 m long. #palaeoart

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Ivan Kay @ivan23.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

New drawing of #Nanotyrannus, the gracile, mid-sized #tyrannosaur that lived alongside the giant T. rex in the Lancian West. #dinosaur #palaeoart

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Ivan Kay @ivan23.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

Repost of the giant mid #Cretaceous bichir Bawitius. This 2 - 3 m animal was one of several giant freshwater #fish to live alongside the huge piscivorous theropod #Spinosaurus, and presumably formed part of its diet. The small fish are based on Diplomystus. #palaeoart

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Ivan Kay @ivan23.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

Repost of classic big #theropod #Allosaurus. This drawing is specifically based on the neotype of A. fragilis, an exceptionally well preserved specimen which is on the small side for an adult; about 7.4 m long. #dinosaur #palaeoart

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Ivan Kay @ivan23.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

Another quick book review: The Heron by Giorgio Bassani is, by far, the most depressing book I've ever read. Well written but can't in good conscience recommend, it is MISERABLE. This edition has a great cover though. 2/5

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Ivan Kay @ivan23.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

New drawing of the Late #Jurassic troodontid Hesperornithoides (about 1 m long) catching a mouse-sized mammal, Glirodon. Apologies for photo quality, no scanner access right now! #dinosaur #palaeoart

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Ivan Kay @ivan23.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

Repost of #Megalosaurus. So far, megalosaurs are only known from fragmentary specimens. We have no megalosaur nasal bones, but judging by taxa bracketing them on the theropod tree - e.g. ceratosaurs, spinosaurs, and basal tetanurans like Monolophosaurus - they may well have had a midline crest.

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Ivan Kay @ivan23.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

Repost of #Liopleurodon, a mid-sized #pliosaur (depicted ~ 5.5 m long here) from the Late Jurassic. The #fish shown here are based on fossils contemporaneous with Liopleurodon - Late Jurassic seas were home to large coelacanths, and the two small fish are based on Thrissops. #palaeoart

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Ivan Kay @ivan23.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

Repost of telescope goldfish - one of nicest looking domestic animals I think.

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Ivan Kay @ivan23.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

Repost of the lamniform #shark Cretoxyrhina and the #mosasaur Clidastes. Cretoxyrhina was ~ 6 m long, with a similar build to the white shark. It seems to have had a blunter snout, a larger eye, and perhaps a narrower caudal fin. It also had a much higher number of narrower teeth than a white shark.

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Ivan Kay @ivan23.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

I enjoyed this, it's a traditional King page turner. But god it has some pacing issues. The action is almost all at the end, and there is too little plot to stretch over so many pages. After an excruciatingly slow build, the climax is rushed and falls short. 3 stars, worth it if you like King.

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Ivan Kay @ivan23.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

Raptor Red by Bob Bakker. It was really interesting re-reading this as an adult. Bakker's ideas about animal behaviour and animal minds may sometimes be far-fetched but are genuinely interesting, and his little chapter header drawings are some of my favourite out there. 4 stars, read if into dinos.

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Ivan Kay @ivan23.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

On Writing by Stephen King. Great read. Not only easy to read, something King always gets right, but contains information that I think is insightful and helpful to anyone trying to write. Strangely, King seems to follow very little of this advice in his own novels, but that's another story! 4 stars.

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Ivan Kay @ivan23.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

The Lost World by Michael Crichton. I actually prefer this to Jurassic Park; the action is more streamlined and some of the science discussions are more fun (if way off base). A fun page turner. 4 stars, recommended.

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Ivan Kay @ivan23.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton. Fun science fiction. A great premise with variable execution. Much darker than the film, and not as good. Still definitely worth it if you like easy going sci fi novels and dinosaurs. 4 stars, recommended.

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Ivan Kay @ivan23.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

The Long Walk by Stephen King. Read this after seeing the film; both had their pros and cons. Blessedly concise for a King novel but still too long given how little actually happens. An interesting insight into King's early writing. 3 stars, worth it if you like King which I apparently do.

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Ivan Kay @ivan23.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

A thread of books I have read this summer. First, Alone in the Wilderness by Dick Proenneke. The fascinating story of an extremely skilled carpenter living frontier style in Alaska while building his own cabin from scratch. Proenneke's writing is lively and enjoyable. 5 stars, highly recommended.

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Ivan Kay @ivan23.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

Thanks @williambabey.bsky.social for the tag! I'm Ivan and I usually draw palaeoart and art of living animals.

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Ivan Kay @ivan23.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

The small, basal coelurosaur #Compsognathus longipes and the lizard Schoenesmahl dyspepsia. The holotype of Compsognathus was found with Schoenesmahl in its ribcage, eaten shortly before the dinosaur's death. Schoenesmahl dyspepsia means something like: 'beautiful meal that is difficult to digest'.

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Ivan Kay @ivan23.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

Telescope #goldfish! Have wanted to draw something like this for a while - for me, some of the fancy domestic #fish, including various goldfish, koi and arowana, are among the most beautiful animals there are.

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Ivan Kay @ivan23.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

New drawing of two #mosasaurs from the Pierre Shale Formation. Prognathodon overtoni had robust, powerful jaws and may have been able to tackle hard shelled prey like sea turtles. Mosasaurus conodon had a slender skull and may have focused on soft bodied prey like fish and squid. #palaeoart

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Ivan Kay @ivan23.bsky.social · 21/06/2026

Preliminary sketch of the long discovered / newly validated dwarf #tyrannosaur #Nanotyrannus lancensis. #dinosaur #palaeoart

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Ivan Kay @ivan23.bsky.social · 20/06/2026

New drawing of the giant mid Cretaceous bichir Bawitius. This fish from the Bahariya Formation reached 2 - 3 m in length and lived alongside other giant fish including Onchopristis and Mawsonia, as well as the giant theropod Spinosaurus, which seems to have been largely piscivorous. #palaeoart

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Ivan Kay @ivan23.bsky.social · 11/06/2026

A new drawing of the famous Jurassic pliosaur Liopleurodon, based on an old drawing by my late brother - read attached text for context. #palaeoart

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Ivan Kay @ivan23.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

I am pleased to say I will be a vendor at #DinoCon again this year, selling #palaeoart: original ink drawings / prints and postcards of dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals. I hope to see many of you there! #FossilFriday

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Ivan Kay @ivan23.bsky.social · 13/05/2026

New drawing of an Asian arowana. These big Southeast Asian predators grow up to around 90 cm in length. They are facultative air breathers and are protected by huge scales. They have become extremely valuable in the pet trade, and have been bred into a variety of fancy colours. #fish #stippling

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Ivan Kay @ivan23.bsky.social · 15/04/2026

Late #PortfolioDay post - I draw #palaeoart and wildlife art, mostly using stippling.

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Ivan Kay @ivan23.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

Think this is pretty much finished - the big lamniform #shark Cretoxyrhina attacking the #mosasaur Clidastes. This is a scene from the Late #Cretaceous Niobrara Formation. #palaeoart

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Ivan Kay @ivan23.bsky.social · 23/01/2026

New drawing of an oceanic whitetip #shark, easily identified by the large, rounded first dorsal fin and long, paddle-shaped pectoral fins. These fins as well as the pelvic and caudal fins are usually white-tipped, while the small second dorsal and anal fins may be black-tipped in younger sharks.

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Ivan Kay @ivan23.bsky.social · 14/01/2026

#PortfolioDay - I do stippled drawings of animals, usually palaeoart, especially #dinosaurs, and fish, especially #sharks.

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Ivan Kay @ivan23.bsky.social · 03/01/2026

Some #shark drawings. White shark, dusky shark, great hammerhead, goblin shark.

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Ivan Kay @ivan23.bsky.social · 30/12/2025

New drawing. Goblin #sharks look strange, but with the jaws in their normal underslung position, the silhouette is not a million miles from other basal lamnoids like sandtigers. Distinctive features include a very long snout, spatula shaped fins and a caudal fin that pretty much lacks a lower lobe.

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Ivan Kay @ivan23.bsky.social · 22/12/2025

The great #hammerhead is easy to ID due to large falcate pelvic fins and a huge, pointed first dorsal fin. The head has a relatively straight anterior margin with a central indentation. This is one of the largest macropredatory #sharks, often 3 - 4 metres long but occasionally exceeding 5 metres.

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Ivan Kay @ivan23.bsky.social · 22/12/2025

A dusky #shark, perhaps the largest carcharhinid. This is a pretty generic looking requiem shark, without features allowing an easy ID. Many photographs show dark tips and edges to the posterior fins, especially the caudal fin. Note the white front edge to the lower lobe of the caudal fin.

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Ivan Kay @ivan23.bsky.social · 06/11/2025

Recent drawings of carnosaurs - Yangchuanosaurus, Allosaurus, Carcharodontosaurus, Megalosaurus. #dinosaurs #palaeoart

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Ivan Kay @ivan23.bsky.social · 05/11/2025

New drawing of one of my favourite #dinosaurs, Yangchuanosaurus shangyouensis. This is a portrayal of the adult specimen rather than the better known subadult, and is huge for a Jurassic theropod, at least 10 m long. There is an homage to a classic piece of #palaeoart here; IYKYK.

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Ivan Kay @ivan23.bsky.social · 05/11/2025

Quick sketch of the new / old / debunked / rebunked dinosaur #Nanotyrannus

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Ivan Kay @ivan23.bsky.social · 14/10/2025

Hi #PortfolioDay, I am a palaeo / wildlife traditional artist and use stippling / pointillism for ink drawings. Here are a few recent drawings: @palaeoart 'dinosaur @fish

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Ivan Kay @ivan23.bsky.social · 07/10/2025

New drawing of Early Jurassic #plesiosaur #Rhomaleosaurus. This was a big predator, around 7 m long (comparable to an orca). Rhomaleosaurs had shorter necks and larger skulls than many plesiosaurs, but were not as big-headed and short-necked as more derived pliosaurids like Kronosaurus. #palaeoart

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Ivan Kay @ivan23.bsky.social · 01/10/2025

New drawing of one of the best known specimens of Allosaurus fragilis. #dinosaur #palaeoart

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Ivan Kay @ivan23.bsky.social · 10/08/2025

Some postcards for #DinoCon. Next week!

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Ivan Kay @ivan23.bsky.social · 05/08/2025

#WIP drawing of the #Allosaurus fragilis neotype, one of the best known individuals of one of the best known #dinosaurs. #palaeoart

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Ivan Kay @ivan23.bsky.social · 01/08/2025

Repost of some recent #palaeoart drawings. I hope I will see some of you from Bluesky at #DinoCon (Table 15 in the vendorhall).I will be selling original drawings and postcards. #dinosaurs

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Ivan Kay @ivan23.bsky.social · 08/07/2025

Recent #dinosaur #palaeoart and wildlife art - Xinjiangtitan, Megalosaurus, Carcharodontosaurus, white shark and swordfish.

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