Triceratops

I've been fascinated with Triceratops since I was about 6 years old, like many kids.  There are so many great dinosaurs, but the massive heads and horns on Triceratops makes them a favorite.

Here is a paper maquette I made from a photo of a beautifully prepared Triceratops skeleton.  I enjoyed the time observing and then creating the bones and their relationships. The thing is, once you have a maquette, and all the parts can be rearranged, you can let your imagination run a bit.  Fetch with your friendly Triceratops?

I made the maquette in July 2017.  The sketch below was done in Greensboro in 2011.  When you look closely, to sketch or reproduce as paper cut-outs, you notice how irregular the ribs are.  I am guessing paleontologists have two somewhat competing goals in mind when they prepare a fossil.  You could try to make it as much like it was in life, or you can show how it looked when it was discovered, and what physics and chemistry did to it over the years.  The ribs, I suspect, show the most damage and change from life.  Maybe this is the best that can be done with the actual fossil pieces, or maybe there is a natural beauty in the pick-up-sticks mild disarray of the ribs in the rock.  Either way, I love it.