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Lucas Petrin

@fossilfracas.com

Associate Editor: Maps and Graphics at NatGeo Magazine. Illustrator, designer and more. Known elsewhere as FossilFracas, or Fracas #Designersaur

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Latest posts by Lucas Petrin @fossilfracas.com

Vector illustration of Miaopatagium furculiferum, a gliding haramiyid from the Jurassic of China. The small mammaliaform is hanging from a branch, climbing along with its long limbs. Its long fluffy tail is curled up above the branch. The animal is dark gray with a reddish face and a light underside. Its long fingers, nose and rounded ears are bare and pink

Vector illustration of Miaopatagium furculiferum, a gliding haramiyid from the Jurassic of China. The small mammaliaform is hanging from a branch, climbing along with its long limbs. Its long fluffy tail is curled up above the branch. The animal is dark gray with a reddish face and a light underside. Its long fingers, nose and rounded ears are bare and pink

#marchofthemammals2026 Day 2: Miaopatagium furculiferum. A top 10 Mesozoic mammal

02.03.2026 17:44 ๐Ÿ‘ 40 ๐Ÿ” 19 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 2 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
A monstrous two-headed Ash Drake, enveloped in a cloud of volcanic ash, circles round a rocky outcrop to ambush a Chaos warband and oh my days, is it not going to go well for them. One of them readies his spear to throw it, one is in a fighting crouch, and one is intent on attacking the tail of the Drake before it spikes them.

A monstrous two-headed Ash Drake, enveloped in a cloud of volcanic ash, circles round a rocky outcrop to ambush a Chaos warband and oh my days, is it not going to go well for them. One of them readies his spear to throw it, one is in a fighting crouch, and one is intent on attacking the tail of the Drake before it spikes them.

HOT FRESH NEW ART! A two-headed Ash Drake confronts a perhaps outmatched little warband, in this illustration from the just-released Champions of Chaos for Age of Sigmar: Soulbound!

24.09.2025 11:45 ๐Ÿ‘ 137 ๐Ÿ” 41 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 8 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

Gonna boost this, and also take the opportunity to repost some related artwork! Sloths are such incredible animals, nothing like what remains in our tropical canopies.

17.11.2025 17:37 ๐Ÿ‘ 2 ๐Ÿ” 0 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

Thanks for the tag! Still proud of this graphic even after the recent publications. Would happily revisit it, one of the major reasons I swapped over to Megatherium for my Nat Geo article was because of the potential for Eremotherium to have been super diverse in appearance!

17.11.2025 17:32 ๐Ÿ‘ 2 ๐Ÿ” 0 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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I feel the need to address some comments that have been popping up here and there regarding the #Eremotherium design for #PrehistoricPlanetIceAge. To people saying that our paper fully refutes a sparse coat of fur in this genus, here is what we actually say:

17.11.2025 17:16 ๐Ÿ‘ 9 ๐Ÿ” 3 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1 ๐Ÿ“Œ 1
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Orctober's coming to a close so soon...

24.10.2025 23:35 ๐Ÿ‘ 3 ๐Ÿ” 1 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
A mournfang, ogor-ridden beasts that thrive in cold environments. They are hoofed predators with long tusks and powerful jaws. Like a bison mixed with a bear, they feature traits of carnivorans and ungulates, almost a throwback to extinct mammals.

A mournfang, ogor-ridden beasts that thrive in cold environments. They are hoofed predators with long tusks and powerful jaws. Like a bison mixed with a bear, they feature traits of carnivorans and ungulates, almost a throwback to extinct mammals.

Warhammer Wednesday! Capping off my night with a mournfang. Iโ€™ve sketched this fellow up to be more ungulate than carnivore.

#warhammerwednesday #ageofsigmar #theoldworld #ogormawtribes #cartoon #mournfang #warhammercommunity

14.08.2025 01:41 ๐Ÿ‘ 6 ๐Ÿ” 1 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
A cartoon Compsognathus in expressive, piebald pigeon colors. To its left stands a previous, lower opacity sketch from which it was refined.

A cartoon Compsognathus in expressive, piebald pigeon colors. To its left stands a previous, lower opacity sketch from which it was refined.

The quest for refinement, resulting in a flamboyant, Fracas-style Compsognathus. Pigeon colors took over, leading to some more stylized feathers and unnatural traits.

22.07.2025 13:10 ๐Ÿ‘ 33 ๐Ÿ” 10 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
Three trolls from a rainforest biome. The Greater honey troll, Common tree troll and Giant fruit troll all occupy different niches that make use of their various proboscis. These beasts are gigantic primates, but have no external nostrils.

Three trolls from a rainforest biome. The Greater honey troll, Common tree troll and Giant fruit troll all occupy different niches that make use of their various proboscis. These beasts are gigantic primates, but have no external nostrils.

A freak mutation, an island population, a rainforest destination? Trolls inhabiting the Western Rainforests speciated into some of the wackiest, most diverse creatures of the jungles, eating everything from leaves to honey.

16.06.2025 00:52 ๐Ÿ‘ 17 ๐Ÿ” 3 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

Big thanks to Michael and Dr. Butcher for helping out on this one, and so happy to see it out in the wild! Sloths first, the world nextโ€ฆ look out for a post later diving into this graphic a bit more.

21.04.2025 23:38 ๐Ÿ‘ 27 ๐Ÿ” 5 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
Vector illustration of Nimbadon lavarackorum, a sheep sized arboreal diprotodontid from the middle Miocene Riversleigh Fossil Site. The animal looks like a large wombat or koala, with long arms and large claws. It is climbing up the trunk of a tree, reaching out for an adjacent branch. It is colored grey with a gradient of orange and dark brown, with irregular grey and white spots along its back

Vector illustration of Nimbadon lavarackorum, a sheep sized arboreal diprotodontid from the middle Miocene Riversleigh Fossil Site. The animal looks like a large wombat or koala, with long arms and large claws. It is climbing up the trunk of a tree, reaching out for an adjacent branch. It is colored grey with a gradient of orange and dark brown, with irregular grey and white spots along its back

The arboreal diprotodontid Nimbadon lavarackorum for day 17 of #marchofthemammals2025. A real wierdo!

#paleoart #sciart

20.03.2025 20:24 ๐Ÿ‘ 60 ๐Ÿ” 8 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 2 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
Mirebrute troggoths are hulking, scaled humanoids with large tusks and ears. They spend most of their time marinating in the swamp, eating carcasses and thickening their hide. When captured by the greenskinned orruks, they become mounts for the most bully riders. Despite being harnessed and driven forwards, they hold onto their weapons freely, swinging at anything they feel compelled to.

Mirebrute troggoths are hulking, scaled humanoids with large tusks and ears. They spend most of their time marinating in the swamp, eating carcasses and thickening their hide. When captured by the greenskinned orruks, they become mounts for the most bully riders. Despite being harnessed and driven forwards, they hold onto their weapons freely, swinging at anything they feel compelled to.

Itโ€™s #WarhammerWednesday with a Mirebrute Troggoth! These swamp-dwelling beasts can fully regenerate from horrific injury, recovering from lost limbs and โ€œcertainโ€ death. Painfully stupid, they are given massive clubs and ridden into battle by the tribes of swamp orruks.

#warhammer #ageofsigmar

19.03.2025 21:37 ๐Ÿ‘ 14 ๐Ÿ” 3 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
The stonehorn is a massive, hooves monster that blindly charges headfirst into anything that upsets it. With brown fur, and sprawling, twisted horns, a stonehorn shears its flesh off with every collision, revealing the calcified and granite skeleton within. Usually, only the face and skin around its weapons are lost.

The stonehorn is a massive, hooves monster that blindly charges headfirst into anything that upsets it. With brown fur, and sprawling, twisted horns, a stonehorn shears its flesh off with every collision, revealing the calcified and granite skeleton within. Usually, only the face and skin around its weapons are lost.

This mean, rocky monster-truck demolished my poor Kruleboyz in my last game of Age of Sigmar. Give it up for the stonehorn!

#warhammer #ageofsigmar #warhammercommunity

10.03.2025 21:58 ๐Ÿ‘ 12 ๐Ÿ” 1 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
Tylosaurus grabs a smaller mosasaur, Platecarpus from the ocean surface

Tylosaurus grabs a smaller mosasaur, Platecarpus from the ocean surface

A Tylosaurus chomping a smaller mosasaur (platecarpus) for Bluesky! ๐Ÿฅ‚

23.11.2024 17:30 ๐Ÿ‘ 943 ๐Ÿ” 231 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 17 ๐Ÿ“Œ 1
Drawing of a skarmory who has built a huge nest on top of and electric pole and also has babies there. Thereโ€™s a city worker in a hard hat on a crane trying to reason with the skarmory. Neither party is pleased.

Drawing of a skarmory who has built a huge nest on top of and electric pole and also has babies there. Thereโ€™s a city worker in a hard hat on a crane trying to reason with the skarmory. Neither party is pleased.

excuse me maโ€™am, you canโ€™t build your nest there

#pokemon #skarmory #fanart

16.11.2024 19:32 ๐Ÿ‘ 3175 ๐Ÿ” 1340 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 21 ๐Ÿ“Œ 5
A portrait of a young female megalosaurus enjoying her snack under some dead trees. Though what (or who) she's eating isn't visible, she has some blood in her mouth, and some flies are flying around. Her skin is a contrast of a large white spot from her eye to the neck, everything else is brown with a subtle tint of green.

A portrait of a young female megalosaurus enjoying her snack under some dead trees. Though what (or who) she's eating isn't visible, she has some blood in her mouth, and some flies are flying around. Her skin is a contrast of a large white spot from her eye to the neck, everything else is brown with a subtle tint of green.

Two juveniles unwindia are sitting on a tree, enjoying their snack - they found a dead tupuxuara, that possibly got stuck between the tree and it's branch and died not a long time ago.

Two juveniles unwindia are sitting on a tree, enjoying their snack - they found a dead tupuxuara, that possibly got stuck between the tree and it's branch and died not a long time ago.

A few colored sketches on one page: ammonicrinus attached on the rocks, albino benggwigwishingasuchus standing on the tree being silly and looking at their reflection in the water, simosuchus hiding from the rain under large roots, and a flock of propterodactylus surfing on a rising airflow

A few colored sketches on one page: ammonicrinus attached on the rocks, albino benggwigwishingasuchus standing on the tree being silly and looking at their reflection in the water, simosuchus hiding from the rain under large roots, and a flock of propterodactylus surfing on a rising airflow

A ghost of Iberodactylus flying by the water surface in the night. It's right wing is touching the sea, creating a little wave and the water there glows from it's touch.

A ghost of Iberodactylus flying by the water surface in the night. It's right wing is touching the sea, creating a little wave and the water there glows from it's touch.

helloo bsky! i'm here now :) hoping to find a new place to post my works and meet some cool people as well!
i'm a director/art director in animation field, doing mostly paleoart in my free time, but also fanart and field sketches. i'll appreciate any support and will be happy to chat!<3

#paleoart

23.10.2024 16:03 ๐Ÿ‘ 444 ๐Ÿ” 110 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 16 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

The VHS release for this was so good, they really knew how to make a movie back then.

11.11.2024 21:25 ๐Ÿ‘ 4 ๐Ÿ” 0 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Wait I don't remember this classic animated film

11.11.2024 20:33 ๐Ÿ‘ 1348 ๐Ÿ” 265 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 21 ๐Ÿ“Œ 5
A black dragon perched atop a treasure hoard in a damp cave. In the background we see waterfalls pouring down onto the treasure piles, moss covers the stone ruins that hint at long gone civilization. The dragon has a pale face that makes it look skeletal, while her body is covered in black spiky plates, and her back ridged with tall spines. She has an almost serpentine look with a slender body and an enormously long tail curling back around to her front.

A black dragon perched atop a treasure hoard in a damp cave. In the background we see waterfalls pouring down onto the treasure piles, moss covers the stone ruins that hint at long gone civilization. The dragon has a pale face that makes it look skeletal, while her body is covered in black spiky plates, and her back ridged with tall spines. She has an almost serpentine look with a slender body and an enormously long tail curling back around to her front.

"Onyx"

The black dragon Onyx guarding her treasure hoard in the ruins of Xak Tsaroth. Painted in acrylics for the D&D 2024 Dungeon Master's Guide!

11.11.2024 16:54 ๐Ÿ‘ 7613 ๐Ÿ” 1930 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 170 ๐Ÿ“Œ 18
Fears Nothing, a dreadnoughtus pale ale, bears a large yellow and orange sauropod on its can. The beast turns to face the horizon as radiating spirals from the coming asteroid impact begin to project themselves across the sky.

Fears Nothing, a dreadnoughtus pale ale, bears a large yellow and orange sauropod on its can. The beast turns to face the horizon as radiating spirals from the coming asteroid impact begin to project themselves across the sky.

Before I moved to the DC area I had the pleasure of designing the art for The Edelman Fossil Parkโ€™s first beer can.

(2022)

05.07.2023 14:37 ๐Ÿ‘ 7 ๐Ÿ” 1 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

Hell yeah, much appreciated!

08.11.2024 05:57 ๐Ÿ‘ 1 ๐Ÿ” 0 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
Hadrosaurus posed in front of a large NJ label. The state dinosaur of New Jersey, these large animals had dainty forelimbs and thick beaks. They could likely move on their hindlimbs only to some degree.

Hadrosaurus posed in front of a large NJ label. The state dinosaur of New Jersey, these large animals had dainty forelimbs and thick beaks. They could likely move on their hindlimbs only to some degree.

Thank you! Sloths are definitely an under-represented group, itโ€™s crazy just how many species are unknown to the public.

Recently Iโ€™ve been a bit slow on the paleoart, definitely something I need to pick back up. Very proud of my beer can labels however. Hereโ€™s a hadrosaurus!

08.11.2024 05:35 ๐Ÿ‘ 2 ๐Ÿ” 0 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

I wanted to create a list of artists with less than 1000 followers, but as I can't remove myself, it is less than 3000
There is some variety
Creatures, paleoart, TTRPG, Fantasy, OC's etc etc
go.bsky.app/SkzK7g6

08.11.2024 03:09 ๐Ÿ‘ 191 ๐Ÿ” 79 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 32 ๐Ÿ“Œ 2

Adorable troggy feller

07.11.2024 18:35 ๐Ÿ‘ 1 ๐Ÿ” 0 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
A Designersaur is a dinosaur that has been customized for a particular patron. These curious beasts are all the rage amongst the wealthy. Pictured here: a Tyrannosaurus with baked in koi features and dragonesque touches.

A Designersaur is a dinosaur that has been customized for a particular patron. These curious beasts are all the rage amongst the wealthy. Pictured here: a Tyrannosaurus with baked in koi features and dragonesque touches.

Looking to show off your exorbitant wealth? Buy a Designersaurยฎ!

Cooked in a lab, the aptly named โ€œDragonโ€ DNA adds a flair only few can afford. A viral process allows features to be altered from vat-grown Stemplatesยฎ at will!

#Designersaur

22.10.2024 16:15 ๐Ÿ‘ 32 ๐Ÿ” 12 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

Those were based on Eremotherium, a close relative!

07.11.2024 12:31 ๐Ÿ‘ 0 ๐Ÿ” 0 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
Image of the team behind Your Dinosaurs Are Wrong. Steven, the Host, writer, and animator. Elizabeth, the Director, Editor, and writer. And Bertrand, the show's mascot.

Image of the team behind Your Dinosaurs Are Wrong. Steven, the Host, writer, and animator. Elizabeth, the Director, Editor, and writer. And Bertrand, the show's mascot.

Saw people were doing intros, so we're getting in on the fun. We're Steven and Elizabeth, two people who really want to tell you stuff about dinosaurs using old toys and animation. Our stuff can be found on Youtube (link in bio).

We hope you like it!

19.10.2024 19:36 ๐Ÿ‘ 433 ๐Ÿ” 60 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 18 ๐Ÿ“Œ 3
Three swamp trolls. Scaly, slimy and made with hints of fish.

Three swamp trolls. Scaly, slimy and made with hints of fish.

Three rock trolls. Calcified, blue skinned and happy to hurl boulders.

Three rock trolls. Calcified, blue skinned and happy to hurl boulders.

Boy did I make a lot of these guys in 2021.

10.08.2023 19:37 ๐Ÿ‘ 4 ๐Ÿ” 1 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
Page one of โ€œThe Confrontationโ€, in which a black bear happily chewing on blueberries unintentionally attracts the attention of a hormonal male mastodon. The mastodon drives the bear up a tree and begins to eat from the bush.

Page one of โ€œThe Confrontationโ€, in which a black bear happily chewing on blueberries unintentionally attracts the attention of a hormonal male mastodon. The mastodon drives the bear up a tree and begins to eat from the bush.

The bear unwittingly cracks a branch in the second page, enraging the mastodon, which attempts to knock the bear from the tree.

The bear unwittingly cracks a branch in the second page, enraging the mastodon, which attempts to knock the bear from the tree.

What happens when a mastodon in musth meets a black bear?

#paleoart

29.07.2023 00:46 ๐Ÿ‘ 26 ๐Ÿ” 8 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 3 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
Dolbins are much like dolphins, but retain their hind limbs to some degree. They are alternative evolutionary forms sprinkled with a dash of fantasy.

Dolbins are much like dolphins, but retain their hind limbs to some degree. They are alternative evolutionary forms sprinkled with a dash of fantasy.

A humpbacked polar dolbin, with mandibular tusk.

14.08.2023 15:53 ๐Ÿ‘ 19 ๐Ÿ” 5 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0