Paleo Interview 1: Julio Lacerda

Recently, I sat down (well, on my swivel chair that is) and was able to speak to Julio Lacerda through Deviantart. Lacerda is an aspiring artist, 18 years old, and a self-described "casual paleoartist".

Lacerda's latest piece features Baryonyx (or Suchomimus) tenerensis in a algae-infested pond. 

Wanting to do interviews for my blogs too, I knew I could easily contact Lacerda, as we have spoke before and he is a friendly guy. He answered all my questions rather quickly to my delight (me in bold).

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1. When did you first get interested in dinosaurs?

I've always been interested in all kinds of animals, so when I first heard of dinosaurs as a little kid it was love at first sight. I can't remember if my first contact with them was through school or some documentary, but since then I've been drawing dinosaurs and reading about them as much as I can. The enormous amount of new information we acquired in the last decade only made this interest greater. 

2. Do you ever draw inspiration from real life or other paleoartists in your art?

Although I look at a lot of animal photographs to get idea for colours, shapes, behaviours and the overall 'feeling' of a living creature, I also look at the reconstructions of other paleoartists, especially those that are up-to-date to help me visualize what I'll be doing. Before every illustration I always do some research about the subject. 

3. Who is your favorite paleoartist?

 Looking at the work of various paleoartists helped me find the style that suited me the most. One of the first whose work I knew was John Sibbick, who I think was my favourite during most of my childhood. Then I stumbled upon the Greg Paul dinosaurs; he always showed them as complex animals in a way few paleoartists had done before, all the whille with great artistic skills. But nowadays, I can cite Douglas Henderson and John Conway as some of my favourites, since the work of those two had a major role in making me find out what I like and what I don't like in paleoart. 

4. What is your favorite piece of art you've done?

That's a tough question.. My first image uploaded online, wich I entitled "Diplodocus Parade", though inferior now compared to my newer ones, still has a very special place in my heart. The Gorgosaurus pair I made earlier this month was also very important, for it achieved the biggest response among the public until now. But recently, all my illustrations are kind of favourites in their own right.

 Diplodocus Parade entered my spectrum of favorites and once inspired me to draw something similar.

Lacerda's piece titled "Royal Wedding" features the Arctic Prince, another illustration of his, finding his princess; he said it was based on a photo of Japanese cranes. It was featured recently on popular blog "Love In The Time of Chasmosaurus", an honor some of us dream about.

5. What is your favorite piece of art another paleoartist has done?

I can't think of any specific piece of art from other paleoartist that I can call my favourite, but I'm fascinated by the John Conway's pterosaur illustrations, the environmental scenes of Douglas Henderson, the waterscapes of Andrey Atuchin and many, many others. 

6. Has anyone in your life ever played a role in your art, encouraged you to pursue it, etc?

My mother has always been a very important person to me in this respect. She's also an artist, although her style and interests are very different from mine, and she always encouraged me to follow my artistic 'self'. If I ever become successful doing this, I guess she's the biggest responsible. 

7. What do you think of The Paleo Handbook so far?

I loved the Idea of the Paleo Handbook. Everybody who likes dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures undoubtedly has thought about writing a detailed description of them, just like the many animal profiles on books, encyclopedias, the internet etc. So when I found a place where this was being done, using the latest paleontological discoveries and a healthy dose of speculation, I was definetely happy to join. 

8. How long does it usually take to finish your art?

Many people call me fast, because I finish most of my illustrations usually in less than 12 hours, sometimes less than 6 hours is enough. That's only possible because when I decide to sit down and paint something, I only stop to sleep and eat, otherwise I kind of lose interest in it and the illustrations gets abandoned, half-done in some folder. I have a couple dozens of WIPs that I'll probably never get around to finish, unfortunately.

Lacerda's Quetzalcoatlus looks almost photographic.

9. Anything you would like to say to anyone interested in dinosaurs or art?

I would recommend every young artist to think of dinosaurs as fascinating animals, just like the ones we have around today, instead of monsters that go aroung roaring all the time. There's nothing wrong in liking Godzilla-like theropods and use them in action stories just like Jurassic Park did, but the paleoartistic community is really lacking people who take them seriously. If you want to be recognized as a great paleoartist, I think that is definitely the path you should take.

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And that wraps up a great interview with a great person. I recommend checking out Lacerda's blog:

http://thecasualpaleoartist.blogspot.com/

And his Deviantart page:

http://karkajou1993.deviantart.com/

And the Paleo Handbook, co-run (?) by me:

http://s4.zetaboards.com/The_Paleo_Handbook/index/

Tylosaurus says bye.