Interview: Dinosaur Artist, Jon Rader(March 2008) For about five years, Jon Rader and Rader Studios have been quietly producing some of the best dinosaur kits in the business. His work is researched first hand (he is studying paleontology) and he has even part of digs that have inspired his models . . . and you don't get much closer than that! Jon has also produced commissioned sculptures and dioramas for paleo-museums, done research in Africa, and worked as a nature photographer for many years. All of this ads up to highly desirable kits.
Q1: Tell us something about your background as an artist. When and how did you start sculpting and do you have formal training?
Rader: I have been somewhat of an artist my whole life. Most of what I did was quick sketches, drawings, and the occasional painting. I didn't do much with clay outside of school, as my mom was afraid (maybe rightly so) that I would have destroyed the carpet with it. I got my start with sculpting about eleven years ago when I started volunteering at the Tate Museum here in Casper, Wyoming . I was fourteen at the time. I wanted to be involved in paleo-art, and the museum already had an extremely talented black and white artist by the name of Russell Hawley. He suggested that I should try sculpture. So, I went to the local hobby shop and bought some Sculpey, and taught myself to sculpt. I had some guidance from Russell, and our friend Scott Hartman, as well as from my high school art teacher. Most of my technique, however, has been developed through trial and error.
Q2: What is the first time you remember seeing a dinosaur sculpture (of any sort)? Was that part of your inspiration to render these magnificent creatures?
Rader: My biggest inspiration to sculpt dinosaurs is my interest in paleontology, but I can remember several things that sort of pushed me toward paleo-art. I think the first dinosaur sculpture that I saw was the Safari Velociraptor. It was just a hard rubber injection molded toy, but there was something about it that caught my eye. I had a pretty extensive collection of the Carnegie dinosaurs as well. While working at the Tate, I had the chance to paint a prehistoric shark that Russell had sculpted. That’s when I decided to try sculpting for myself.
Rader Studios' new Albertaceratops.
Q3. Some sculptors can look back at a single piece or period that marks a turning point in one way or another. Is there a sculpt or event that you can recall that took you to the next level or opened a door for you?
Rader: I don’t know that there has been any real turning point in my career. Perhaps a slow evolution would be a better description. I have been working under the philosophy that each sculpture should be better than the one that came before. Sometimes this has worked out, other times not. I think, though, that I have at least achieved this goal.
While I can’t really point to a specific turning point, there is one piece that I think marks the beginning of the period during which I have done what I consider to be my best work to date. That piece is my Tyrannosaurus sculpture. It is also the piece that really cemented my dedication to scientific accuracy. Because there are so many T. rex models available, and so many of them are really quite good, I had to do something to set mine apart. I spent a lot of time researching a specific specimen of T. rex, Stan from the Black Hills Institute, and worked closely with several paleontologists to ensure the accuracy of the sculpture. This piece sort of set the bar for the work that I have done since, and will continue to do.
Q4. When did you make the decision to start making kits? What was your first kit? Can you describe the production of the first kit?
Rader: My sculpting career started off producing sculptures for display in the Tate Museum , and very soon thereafter for sale in the Tate’s gift shop. The decision to mould and cast my pieces was an obvious one, as it’s not feasible to sell original sculptures in a museum gift shop. The first pieces were cast in one piece, right there in the Tate’s lab, and later at the Paleon Museum in Glenrock , Wyoming . I had a couple of good friends that were helping me out with the molding and casting process, and teaching me how to do it myself. I still do my own molding, and my friends Dave Lovelace and Scott Hartman of the Wyoming Dinosaur Center are still helping me with my casting.
It was my friend Russell Hawley that planted the idea to produce kits into my mind. He subscribes to Prehistoric Times magazine, and showed me that there were other people who actually made a living (with varying degrees of success, it turns out) making and selling garage kits of dinosaurs. I didn’t think that it would become as big of a part of my life as is has, but I thought that maybe I could make a few dollars here and there to help finance my hobby. My first kit was a 1/35th scale Camarasaurus, which is still available. Ironically, this first piece is still one of my most popular kits.
Q5: You mention the fact that there are varying degrees of success in dino sculpting. Are you able to be a full time artist? Other than dinosaur kits, how do you make a living?
Rader: Unfortunately, no, I’m no able to work full time at my art. I have been taking classes full time for the last couple of years, working toward my Bachelor’s degree. This occupies the vast majority of my time, between the lecture times themselves, and all of the homework that accompanies them. To keep the bills paid and food on the table, I am currently working as a “technician” for a substance abuse treatment facility. Basically, I am there during the evening hours, while the clinical staff is at home, to make sure that the facility’s clients are following the rules, and to report and document when they don’t. Currently, my dinosaur kits are barely self supporting. I will keep sculpting, though, because it is a relaxing activity for me in the midst of all of the actual work in my life.
Q6: Let's talk about your process a little. What are the first stages in developing a sculpt for a kit?Rader: My sculptures sort of follow my specific scientific interests for any given period of time. When I get it into my head that I want to know more about an animal, or group of animals for that matter, my research is usually accompanied by some sort of sculpting work. I find that the process of researching a sculpture is the best way for me to get a well rounded knowledge base for the animal in question.
The first resource that I seek out when planning a sculpture is usually either a good side profile photo of the skeleton, or even better, a skeletal drawing done by someone who knows how to correct the problem of parallax that is inherent to photos. These function like a blueprint for the construction of the armature. Next, I go about rounding up information about the ecosystem that the animal lived in; what kinds of plants can I show with it, what animals can it be interacting with, what geological setting can I show it in? These all factor into my plan for any sculpture.
Posing a sculpture is a whole different endeavor. The first and foremost question that I ask myself when I design a pose is “Could this animal actually do this?” followed closely by “Would it, and why?”
Q7: What are you trying to accomplish when you create a sculpture? In other words, is there a guiding philosophy?
The whole idea behind my sculptures is to portray dinosaurs as animals, because that’s what they were. I try not to fall into the trap of sensationalizing or “Hollywooding” my dinosaurs. It’s pretty easy to see when an animal is in an unnatural pose; it’s something that all of us intuitively know. No matter how fantastic the sculpting work or detailing may be, if an animal is not posed naturally, you will never hear anyone say “Wow, it looks so real!” Realism is my goal, not only in the form and pose of the animal, but in its action, environment, and overall feel.
Q8: Once you have your subject and your basic idea and research, what goes into creating the creature? In other words, what methods, materials and tools do you use as a sculptor?
I think that my sculpting method is going to sound like a cookie cutter version of just about everyone else’s. First off, I build an armature out of a variety of different wires, and bulk it out with aluminum foil. Then I sculpt the musculature and skin detail over the top of it with Super Sculpey Firm (previously I used Premo). I use a wide variety of texture stamps for my skin detail, combined with multiple techniques of applying them to the sculpture. As for the tools that I use, do my thumbs count? I also have a nice little collection of wooden sculpting tools and dental picks.
I suppose the last thing that I should mention is that I am always trying to find and test new techniques in the attempt to continue to improve the quality of my work. Recently I bought my first kit of Aves Apoxie Sculpt, and I have been playing around with it and mixing it with my Sculpey. So far, the results have been encouraging, and I should have a surprise (resulting from my experiments) for the modeling community in the not too distant future. What more can I say here? I feel like I am simply repeating the methods that countless sculptors before me have described.
Q9. Let's talk about a few of your sculptures. You mentioned that the Camarasaurus was your first kit. Why did you decide to do this creature? Why 1/35th scale? What sort of challenges were involved?Rader: Camarasaurus has, historically, been a greatly underrated animal. I view it as sort of an un-sung hero of the Jurassic, and it happens to be one of my all time favorite dinosaurs. It doesn’t have any sharp teeth, or big claws, nor does it have any spectacular hood ornaments. What it does have, though, is a simple elegance.
Also, the Tate Museum had a cast of a Camarasaurus skull that served as inspiration. I think that the decision to sculpt it at 1/35th scale was pretty much just a decision of convenience. I was still in high school when I sculpted that kit, and didn’t have a whole lot of money to invest in clay or molding. Not only was it cheaper to sculpt it at a smaller scale, but it was easier for me to store, move around, and not risk getting clay on my mom’s carpet. The interesting thing about creating the kit was that I had never built a garage kit of any kind. Sure, I had built model cars, planes, and ships (dozens of them, they still plague my parents), but these are very different types of kits. I didn’t have any idea what a garage kit was supposed to be like. Additionally, I was in the process of trying to develop my own style of sculpting, and find techniques that worked for me. After all, the Camarasaurus was only the fourth sculpture that I had done with polymer clay.
Q10. Personally, I am fascinated with the 1/20th scale Supersaurus. It is a stunning 5 feet long. Can you discuss what went into creating this magnificent kit?
Thank you! It’s big… trust me on this. My interest in Supersaurus began when I was allowed to help the Tate excavate the second of two known specimens at a site east of my hometown. Later, because of some complicated museum politics (I hate politics), the Supersaurus specimen (nicknamed Jimbo) was moved to the Wyoming Dinosaur Center, which is where it is today. Eventually, the museum decided that they wanted a model of Supersaurus, and they wanted to investigate a few other business ventures related to dinosaur models, and they commissioned me, sort of unofficially, to make a sculpture in the same pose that they were building their mount in.
The first challenge to the actual sculpting was that I have never seen an oven that was big enough for a sculpture of this size. What I ended up doing was building an armature that could be disassembled into three parts, head and neck, torso, and tail. Each one of these pieces barely fit into an oven. Next, I started buying clay, almost eight pounds of it. The sculpture took me the better part of a year to complete, as I continued researching and altering the piece as I went. It was difficult going, because my sculpture was coming at the same time as much of the original research and description of the species itself was. Therefore, I had to assimilate the information as it became available.
Texture presented another problem with this sculpture. It wasn’t difficult to come up with, but there was a LOT of surface area to cover. Of course, the texture that I devised just happened to be one of the most time consuming textures that I have ever created. That was a lot of very tedious hours of work. I have to confess, though, that I am pretty happy with the results. Mostly, though, I’m happy that the endless texturing is done with!
Q11. What about about Stan, the T-rex? I understand there was a lot of research involved. Can you comment on this . . . and the decision to sculpt feathers?
Rader: Yes, the research that went into the T. rex sculpture was rather intense. I helped to measure each bone of a cast of Stan’s skeleton at the Wyoming Dinosaur Center for the production of the skeletal drawing that I was going to use for reference, except for the skull. Then, I traveled back to my home in Casper and started sculpting. I built the armature, and started to flesh it out. Before I got too far, I decided to sculpt the head to create a good anchor for the neck. So I set out, with my trusty skeletal drawing as a guide, and sculpted the head.
Just before I was finished with the head, I decided to check it against the cast that the Tate museum has. I pulled out a centimeter measuring tape, and measured every major bone of the skull, and the overall dimensions of the head itself. I was horrified. The head of my sculpture was a centimeter too short. This doesn’t seem like much, but when you’re talking about a 1/20th scale model, that is a HUGE difference! I checked it against the skeletal drawing again, and it matched up. I remeasured the skull, and sure enough, it was wrong. So, after a few colorful words, I mashed up the original head and started over. I tell you this story now, after the fact, but the names have been changed to protect the innocent.
Later, after I had already textured the majority of the sculpture with a nice, somewhat small pebbly skin, I visited another museum (which shall remain nameless) and was shown several patches of rock that contained preserved impressions of T. rex skin. That’s all the light that I can shed onto that subject until the specimen has been published. Let’s just say that there is very little conjecture in the texturing of my T. rex. Again, I cursed, and went home and changed my sculpture again; all part of my commitment to bring my audience scientifically reliable paleo-art!
Q12. You have a really nice (and BIG) Triceratops which has an interesting pose. Can you talk about that kit a little? Like many of your kits, it seems to be depicted in a very precise moment in time and implies a kind of surrounding story.
My Triceratops is definitely big! Its size was the greatest challenge in the creation of this piece. When I decided to sculpt this Triceratops, I wanted it to be a big, powerful piece. I debated for a while, and finally settled on 1/10th scale. It was big enough to be impressive, but still a reasonable size to fit into my oven. Then, I spent hours watching videos of rhinos trying to find a worthy pose for such an iconic animal. Finally, while watching the movie “Hatari”, I found my pose. In the scene that inspired the pose, John Wayne and his crew were chasing a rhino, attempting to catch it for a zoo. Just as their vehicle closed in and they were about to make the catch, the rhino, still at a full gallop, threw its head to the side, slamming into the truck. It spun around, stopped, and pointed its nose straight at John Wayne, daring him to try again. That was the attitude that I wanted to express with my Triceratops!
Imagine, instead of a jeep chasing a rhino, that it’s a T. rex running down an adult Triceratops. Suddenly, the Triceratops wheels around and throws its immense cranial weapons in between the T. rex and its intended target. Game over. Triceratops wins, and T. rex has to find a different meal. My sculpture captures the exact moment when Triceratops is taking control of the situation. She’s supported by one arm, pivoting hard out of a gallop. The story of Stephanie the Triceratops is too long to tell completely here, so I would encourage readers to check out the full story on my website!
Q13. Let's talk about some of your more recent kits, starting with the Abertaceratops. You have named her Mary. I take it this is based on a very specific animal, right?Yes, Mary is based upon one specimen. I based the sculpture upon a mount at the Wyoming Dinosaur Center, although I changed up the pose. I can’t claim to have named her Mary, though. In fact, the specimen was named after the wife of the landowner on whose property the fossil site was found.
Q14. Your Baryonyx kit is shipping this week. What can you tell us about the production of that kit?
The Baryonyx kit was a challenge to produce, to say the least. I finished the sculpture fairly early in 2007, and I ran a pre-order for the kit in September and October. This was the first pre-order that I have ever done, and it was an eye-opening experience! As it turns out, things don’t usually go as planned. I was working on moulding the Baryonyx in my spare time during a 16 credit hour semester, and amid the beginnings of my research work. As if the limitations imposed by school weren’t enough, I essentially had to assemble a moulding and casting lab from scratch. Because I moved to a new town, I no longer had access to the museum labs that I used previously. My new lab: the kitchen table (I have a wonderfully supportive girlfriend!).
After spending far more than I had anticipated, I finally had a functional vacuum chamber, enough Legos to build walls for mould making and two vacuum pumps, one that works, and one that doesn’t. I love Ebay. After I had run this gauntlet, the rest of the job was simple. In fact, the first kits shipped about three weeks later. I would like, if I may, to thank the patient folks who waited for the delivery of their pre-ordered Baryonyx kits, and I hope that they will enjoy them! Also, look for the diorama base that will be sold with the Baryonyx to become available in mid April.
Q15. On your website, you have a number of kits in progress, including one which seems pretty close to production, the Brachylophosaurus goodwinii. What can you tell folks about that animal and about the kit?
Brachylophosaurus is a relatively large hadrosaur from the Judith River formation in Montana. It lived approximately 75 million years ago, making it a contemporary of dinosaurs like Gorgosaurus, Centrosaurus, and Albertaceratops. My model is based upon the specimen called Elvis. These animals were built to be fast runners. That being said, mine isn’t running. Instead, I have attempted to show Elvis cruising along at a comfortable trot. The kit is currently in pre-order, and should be shipping in mid April. The kit will be 9 pieces of solid cast resin, with a sculpted base included.
Q16. I understand that you have an Apatosaurus in the works right now. Could you talk a little about that one? What will the pose be like and when are we likely to see it?
The Apatosaurus is a different sort of project. I will be producing it as a kit, but that’s not its true purpose. It is actually being used in my current research. The goal is to estimate the living mass of Apatosaurus, and to do this, one must measure the volume of the animal’s body. That’s the original purpose for my model. Once it’s finished, I’ll be submerging the model into an aquarium and measuring its displacement. After that’s done, I’ll be using that number to calculate its mass at full size. Therefore, anyone who buys one of the Apatosaurus models is, in fact, supporting scientific research!
My Apatosaurus model is also going to be used in a museum diorama in the University of Wyoming Geological Museum. It will be accompanied by as many as five Allosaurus models (the final number hasn’t been worked out yet!). The scene is based upon a tourist video that I once saw. The video was shot from the open roof of a tourist van somewhere in the savannahs of Africa, looking down on a sleeping pride of lions. Suddenly, the camera pans up to the horizon, showing a large grey dot moving swiftly through the grass. A few seconds pass, and the dot gains definition; it’s a large bull elephant charging directly toward the unsuspecting lions. Not more than 20 seconds later, the elephant is thundering right into the middle of the pride. The rudely awakened lions explode into the air, scattering from certain trampling. The elephant stops right where the lions were lying seconds before, standing triumphantly on his new parcel of land. I picture Apatosaurus as being the big, angry loner of the Jurassic sauropods; the kind of animal that would revel in its ability to strike fear into the hearts of predators. My Apatosaurus is posed with two limbs off the ground, in a full charge. Its Allosaurus accompaniment will be in various phases of launching themselves out of their peaceful naps. The Apatosaurus kit will have 9 or 10 pieces, including a base, and should be available sometime late in April or early in May.
Q17. What else do you have on the horizon kit wise?
I am really trying to develop a good catalog of kits this year, and have a bunch of kits planned. I just released the Baryonyx, and we’ve already talked about the Apatosaurus and Brachylophosaurus. I also have a small Abelisaur called Aucasaurus coming out soon. It’s just a little guy of maybe 10 inches in length, but its part of a small diorama scene that will make up the kit. Again, the Aucasaurus will be shipping in early May. I am also working on a 1/20th scale Tsingtaosurus. The Allosaurus models that I am creating for the UW will also be produced as kits, but don’t expect to see them before the late summer. I do have a couple of other kits in the planning phase (and one almost finished), but I’m not going to disclose those just yet. I have to keep some suspense, right? Keep checking back with my website, there will be some big and cool things happening this year!
Q18. What sort of goals do you have for this year? I hear you are going to Wonderfest, for one thing.
2008 is going to be kind of a make-or-break year for RaderStudios. At the end of the spring semester of 2009, I will be graduating with my Bachelor’s degree, and will be heading off to graduate school the following fall. If the dinosaur kit producing gig isn’t going to be the way to put myself through school, then I’m going to be forced to put it on hold while I concentrate on my education. That’s not saying that I won’t pick it up again later, but this business takes a large investment of time that could compete with school. For 2008, however, I am committed to doing everything that I can to make it work. I am doing some serious advertising, like you said, I’ll be at Wonderfest, and I’m releasing a bunch of new kits.
Q19. Switching gears a little, you are also working as a photographer and have a cool project planned for the summer, right?
Yes I do. Well, I think it’s a cool project, anyway! The plan is to travel around Wyoming camping, hiking, and photographing reptiles, especially rattlesnakes. With the photos that I take, and the observations that I make of their behavior and habitats, I intend to put together a website attached to RaderStudios.com to present information about Wyoming’s reptiles, and sell prints of the photos. I am also hoping to write and publish a book. I am also considering expanding the project to include the rest of the Rocky Mountain region, though that would take a lot more time and a larger budget. I have submitted a grant proposal to fund the project, but if it’s not approved, then I will be bankrolling the project myself. That will seriously limit how far I can travel, given the current gas prices. Regardless, I think it’s going to be a good project, and I’m hoping that it will help to change some of the negative opinions about rattlesnakes and other reptiles that abound here in Wyoming.
Q20. Finally, everyone gets the same basic question in the end, which is to write your own question. What is it you want to talk about that we have not gotten to?
Well, I think that I would just like to reiterate that my primary goal with my work is bring these animals to life as accurately and realistically as possible. I want to be able to say that my sculptures are the most accurate on the market, and I work very hard toward that goal. Also, I would like to mention that I produce kits simply because I love this hobby. Even if I wasn’t selling kits, I would still be sculpting for museums, because I love seeing an animal take shape again after millions of years of existence as a fossil. That being said, I hope that I can continue producing kit and help keep the hobby alive and diverse.Oh, one last thing that I should mention is that I am always open to new ideas for sculptures and kits. If someone has an animal in mind that they would like to see sculpted, I would tell them to contact me. I will bend over backward to find a way to produce a sculpture for anyone who asks me to, and to make it work on their budget. I feel that by doing so allows me to really connect with my audience, and determine what kind of kits people are actually interested in seeing and building.
Finally, thank you for this opportunity! It has been a lot of fun chatting with you, and I hope that we can do it again in the future!
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