Archaeology Archives | Freelance cartoonist and illustrator

Dinosaur cartoons

Really Nick, more dinosaurs?!

I recently completed a series of 30 (yes, 30!) dinosaur cartoons as part of Jurassic June, an online celebration of all things dinosaur and what better excuse to draw a series of dinosaur cartoons? A little bit of a ‘mammoth’ task, you might say… a new dinosaur every day?!

I wanted to create a set of dinosaurs of all shapes and sizes, and hopefully all recognisable. So we’ve teeth, horns, sails, crests, four-legs, two-legs and everything in between!

I did complete a small run of cartoon dinosaurs last year for Jurassic June and have included a couple of them in this collection too.

Would you like some dinosaur cartoons?

If you’d like some dinosaurs of your own, get in touch with me!

Get yourself some dinosaurs

Ankylosaurus

Baryonyx

Brachiosaurus

Carnotaurus

Cetiosaurus

Chasmosaurus

Dilophosaurus

Euoplocephalus

Gallimimus

Hypsilophodon

Iguanodon

Jeholosaurus

Kentrosaurus

Lambeosaurus

Mamenchisaurus

Megalosaurus

Oviraptor

Pachycephalosaurus

Parasaurolophus

Polacanthus

Procompsognathus

Spinosaurus

Stegosaurus

Styracosaurus

Triceratops

Tyrannosaurus Rex

Udanoceratops

Velociraptor

Wuerhosaurus

Zuniceratops

Would you like some cartoon dinosaurs of your own?

Get in touch with me today and let’s discuss your illustration needs!

Draw me some dinosaurs!

Parasaurolophus cartoon

Parasaurolophus was a large herbivore from the late Cretaceous period and belonged to a group known as the Hadrosaurs.

This particular dinosaur is known for its large, elaborate head crest, which forms a long curved tube projecting upwards and back from the skull.

Parasaurolophus was such a distinctive creature I just had(rosaur) to draw it (did I get away with that awful pun?)

My Parasaurolophus cartoon

When I looked back at the other dinosaur cartoons I’d created in my portfolio, I realised we needed more bipedal characters.

Although not the first dinosaur people think of, It’s the head-crest that really makes him stand out.

I went about creating a pencil sketch initially. Once I had something I liked, I took the sketch and digitised all of the outlines.

In terms of colour, I wanted to use something vivid, yet friendly to convey the gentle nature of this dinosaur.

I went for a nice orange shade in the end and feel this works very well, not only on its own but also when placed next to the others.

What were the Hadrosaurs?

The Hadrosaurs were a group of dinosaurs that lived during the late Cretaceous period. They had a stiff tail (most likely for balance), bumpy skin and hoof-like feet. Ok, maybe my version isn’t scientifically accurate, but hey, it’s a cartoon!

They were also characterised by many of them sporting a distinctive head crest. These head crests would vary in size and shape on each species.

They’d travel in large herds across the plains of North America and would’ve provided a prime food source for hungry predators, such as Tyrannosaurus and Velociraptor!

Additional Hadrosaur cartoons

I’m so pleased with this Parasaurolophus that I think I shall add to the ranks in due time.

Who knows, we could even draw enough of them for a mini Hadrosaur party – what do you think?

Cartoon Brachiosaurus

With his towering neck and mighty shoulders, here’s the next entry for my dinosaur series – a cartoon Brachiosaurus!

A little bit about the Brachiosaurus

Brachiosaurus was a sauropod from the late Jurassic period (155-140 million years ago) and first discovered in 1903.

His name means ‘arm reptile’ due to the oversized front legs, probably to help him graze from taller trees

Why choose a cartoon brachiosaurus?

Ever since a child and seeing him in one of the opening sequences to the wonderful Jurassic Park, I knew I had to create a cartoon Brachiosaurus.

He was another cartoon that began life as a pencil sketch, with emphasis on the large body and small head.

I wanted to add a dopey, yet gentle expression on his face. He’s then topped off with a long neck, but relatively shorter tail.

I chose a subtle blue tone to colour this cartoon dinosaur, as I felt this not only mirrored his personality but also contrasts well with the other dinosaurs.

Being a gentle herbivore, he’ll be quite at home amongst my other cartoon dinosaurs, Stegosaurus and Triceratops.

Cartoon Dinosaurs

I don’t know about you, but I love drawing cartoon dinosaurs (and anything else prehistoric for that matter!)

Whenever I possibly can I’ll break out the sketchbook and create some monstrous beastie from the Mesozoic period!

If you’d like to know more about a particular dinosaur, simply click on the picture.

View a few of my favourites below and if you like them, there are more in my portfolio!

A selection of my cartoon dinosaurs

Cartoon Stegosaurus

Here is one of my favourite dinosaurs, the Stegosaurus. Always been a big fan of this dinosaur, with his array of plates arranged down his back.

Be wary of that tail though! He’s armed with four, three-foot long spikes which would definately make any Tyrannosaur think twice!

Triceratops Cartoon

Next up for your Jurassic celebrations is the mighty Triceratops! With three giant horns on his head and a protective head-frill, this dinosaur would have looked impressive in life.

Luckily for us, my cartoon version is much friendlier and would rather play fetch!

Cartoon Velociraptor

Springing into action is my fierce and lively cartoon Velociraptor!

Armed with sharp claws on his toes and even sharper teeth, he isn’t someone you’d mess with… unless you were Chris Pratt of course!

Be sure to take cover when you see a Velociraptor… as others aren’t usually far behind!

Cartoon Brachiosaurus

Say hello to a gentle giant of the Jurassic period – the mighty Brachiosaurus

One of the tallest of the dinosaurs, Brachiosaurus could easily look over the top of a three-storey building and weighed as much as twelve elephants!

Cartoon Ankylosaurus

Check out this guy – a walking tank, covered in armoured plating and toting one mighty club on the end of his tail!

Ankylosaurus lived at the end of the Cretaceous period and would’ve used it’s defences against hungry Tyrannosaurs!

Cartoon Pterodactyl

Ok, so not strictly a dinosaur but a family of winged reptiles that ruled the prehistoric skies.

This particular creature is a Pteranodon and had a wingspan equivalent to that of a small light aircraft!

Parasaurolophus cartoon

Another popular dinosaur that I just had to have a go at drawing is Parasaurolophus.

Also known as one of the ‘duck-billed’ dinosaurs, I couldn’t resist the opportunity to add a comical expression to his face.

Topped off with a nice vibrant orange colour-scheme, I think he stands out very well!

Tyrannosaurus cartoon

I’ve saved my favourite for last – the undesputed king of the dinosaurs, Tyrannosaurus Rex!

As with the other cartoon dinosaurs, this one was devised as a pencil sketch before being fully digitised.

He’s now free to roam my portfolio, hunting down his favourite prey…

My cartoon dinosaurs are all available as vinyl stickers!

Head over to my dinostore and bring home some prehistoric beasties of your very own!

Let’s go dino shopping!

Dinosaur magazine cover for The Jester…

As you may remember, I had been asked by the Cartoonists’s Club of Great Britain to illustrate a cartoon dinosaur for the July issue of the Jester magazine?

Well, this morning a rather snazzy copy landed on my doorstep and I must say, I’m pretty impressed with the result! Not only did the printing come out well, but the overall design just really leaps off the front page!

I love the way the type has been used around the main dinosaur and including the various elements of the page a separate files certainly made it easier to make a balanced composition.

It’s really given me some inspiration to do some more dinosaur-themed items for the portfolio and possibly take it further and start adding them to some printed products maybe? I’m thinking maybe some children’s t-shirts and mugs perhaps?

Prehistoric cartoons… Continued!

So the creation of my recent prehistoric Tyrannosaurus cartoon has gone very well and I now have all of the outlines and base colours in place.

The shading is also complete and have managed to add in detail to the caveman loincloth and an extra fuzzy hair and beard.

Luckily for me the deadline for the artwork isn’t until next week, and with a little spare time on my hands it’s time for some additions!

Prehistoric foliage

I’m hoping that there will be enough room on the prehistoric cover to be able to include some jungle foliage.

In my minds eye, I envisioned having a series of ferns or small plants at the bottom of the cover and maybe some small dinosaurs running from the Tyrannosaur!

So sketching away, I came up with a series of different prehistoric plants, mainly with large fronds and leaves – perfect for hiding a couple of terrified cartoon dinosaurs under…

I thought that including these as separate elements would also allow the magazine editor to put together an exciting composition.

Cartoon Pterodactyls

Some time back, I had sketched a series of cartoon Pterodactlys with the intention of adding them to my portfolio at some point.

So digging back through my sketchbooks, I found them once again and thought they’d be ideal!

I picked two of them to use, with similar bodies but very different heads. All that was to do now was to change their expression slightly, from happy to scared!

So, I have a deadline now of only a few days, but that does include the weekend – wish me luck!

A little prehistoric cartoon fun…

Last week was the Cartoonists Club of Great Britain AGM, and as a committee member, I had a little trip to London to attend.

This years AGM was held at the Punch Tavern and what a beautiful little place, adorned with fancy little decorations and an overall illustrative theme.

In discussion with the club secretary, he asked me whether I’d be interested in doing a cartoon illustration for the next issue of Jester magazine… silly question really!

The Jester is a monthly A5 publication that is sent out to all members of The Cartoonists Club of Great Britain.

I was even more excited when he announced that the theme for the month would be dinosaurs and prehistoric animals!

A prehistoric cartoon for Jester magazine

So given completely carte blanche for what would be on the cover, I set about sketching some prehistoric cartoon characters.

I wanted the focus on a central dinosaur, and what better dinosaur to include than the king of them all – Tyrannosaurus Rex!

In addition, I sketched a little cartoon caveman riding on the dinosaur’s back, holding aloft a spear.

Just to keep with a cartoonists theme, I went about replacing the spear with a yellow pencil.

I’ve dressed the caveman in an animal skin loincloth and adorned him with an array of bone and tooth necklaces.

Archaeology cartoons

At a recent networking meeting, I was fortunate to meet a couple who run a local archaeology company.

This archaeology company is aimed at classrooms and workshops for small children to learn about their local history and heritage.

And upon seeing my cartoon work, they were overjoyed at the prospect of me helping them with some quirky archaeological cartoons.

Archaeology ideas and concepts

Upon discussion with the archaeology company, single figures of Stone Age and prehistoric figures would be required.

This would include Romans, Saxons, Vikings and some cave people, which coupled with my usual style should look quite fun.

In time, we hope to be able to create some sing frame ‘gags’ and cartoons, which would be great to share across social media and on their website.

Learning resources

There will also be the scope for learning and educational materials required for the website.

These would include worksheets for the children to complete and colour in and also a Roman soldier, upon which you have to label the various parts of his armour.