Franco Tempesta was born in Milan, Italy. Since he was a child, he loved drawing animals, dinosaurs, and dragons. Specializing in naturalistic illustration, in the last 20 years he has focused his attention on the realization of realistic images of dinosaurs and prehistoric animals.

He’s collaborated with national and foreign publishers, such as National Geographic, Smithsonian Institute, Random House, Readerlink, Firecrest Publishing, Geoworld, Fleurus, Mondadori and other important publishers and advertising agencies in Italy.

He loves his sons, nature (especially the sea), scuba diving, his motorbike, and traveling.

We were very lucky to have Franco Tempesta illustrate our National Geographic Kids book, I Know Dino! He did an amazing job depicting how our understanding of dinosaurs has changed over the past 200 years. We wanted to highlight him and his work, so please read on for an exclusive interview.

You can learn more about Franco Tempesta and his art at francotempesta.eu.

What’s your favorite paleoart you’ve made? (And why?)

My favorite is a black and white illustration, “The Great Battle.” It depicts the attack by a group of adult and sub-adult Allosaurus fragilis against a huge Barosaurus lentus. We are in the Jurassic Morrison formation.

Allosaurus attack

This image was inspired by an incredible diorama seen during one of my visits to the Salt Lake City Natural History Museum in 2016. There were all these skeletons of Allosaurus of different ages surrounding and attacking the skeleton of a huge Barosaurus.

I had just won the Lanzendorf National Geographic Prize for palaeo-art and trying to put that incredible scene seen at the museum into art excited me so much, to the point that I started throwing ideas on paper already during the flight back to Italy.

Speaking of the Lanzendorf prize…Can you tell us about your piece that won the John J. Lanzendorf-National Geographic PaleoArt Prize for 2D Art in 2016, “Tyrannosaurus rex couple vs. Dakotaraptor pack”? What inspired it? How long did it take to create? Is there anything about the process of creating it that stood out?

Tyrannosaurus rex couple vs Dakotaraptor pack

Tyrannosaurus rex were the super predators of the Cretaceous period, at the top of the food chain, like lions on the African savannahs today.

Probably like lions, who often have to defend their hunting booty from hyenas, who try to steal it from them by relying on the strength of a pack, tyrannosaurs could also find themselves in trouble when faced with a large group of fearsome Dakotaraptor: huge, ferocious raptors well-armed with sharp teeth  and claws up to 20 cm long.

I am very attached to this work, not only because of the recognition it received with the Lanzendorf, but also because of the research work and study it involved.

Here is one of the preparatory sketches I made for this work:

Sketch

What is your process for creating paleoart? What sort of research do you do?

Let’s say it depends, whether we are talking about a commission or my own personal research work, at least in terms of finding the subject and the type of scene I want to realise. In the case of a commission for a book, I Know Dino! for example, after reading the brief and the publisher’s indications, I start from a simple rough or sketch on paper… having found the right idea, I carry out research on the internet (when the publisher does not provide me with references directly) to try to get as much information as possible on the species of dinosaurs to be illustrated, both anatomical and evidence of behaviour in life. Once I am convinced of the idea, I carry out a detailed sketch to show to the editorial team, and once approved I proceed with digital colouring on a computer or tablet.

Coahuilaceratops

How many books have you illustrated?

I would say many, in about 20 years dedicated to palaeoart……but at least 50 dedicated to dinosaurs and prehistoric mammals, working for all the world’s major publishers.

We gave a lot of specific requests for the illustrations. How demanding were we compared to other authors you’ve worked with?

It is always stimulating to work with demanding authors I believe, because it pushes an artist to try to surpass himself and step out of his comfort zone, and with you it has happened and I thank you.

Moreover, the real stimulating challenge of this project was to compare old visions and outdated conceptions of dinosaurs with the latest and most accredited reconstructions of these incredible creatures.

Do you have a favorite illustration in our book?

I think I did my best work on this project. On each illustration I tried my best…and I think I have to mention at least two illustrations that I am particularly pleased with: Dilophosaurus and Parasaurolophus.

Dilophosaurus (a different one from the book)

Did any of the details in the before or after descriptions surprise you (like the Therizinosaurus turtle)?

Oh yeah, that was really weird!

But also the Stegosaurus we used for the cover and Megalosaurus old style…closer to a bear than a dinosaur…incredible how much our idea of these animals has changed.

We love the unique perspective for the Stegouros (from directly above). How did you come up with that?

I came to this after I realised that in the first sketches (with side or front view) I had realised the difficulty of showing the peculiarity of the plates arranged on the “club” tail of this animal…hence the idea of showing it from an aerial perspective, just above the animal. I am glad you liked it.

The Yutyrannus looks beautiful. How did you decide on the coloring and pattern of the feathers?

Thank you! Yutyrannus’ “cold” colouring was inspired by the cold and often snowy environment in which he moved and interacted.

This seems to me to be the really interesting thing: the idea of imagining dinosaurs moving in snowy environments is now widely accepted by paleontologists, but it has not always been like this.

Is there any dinosaur that you find yourself wanting to draw over and over again?

T. rex! it is always my favourite one.

Anything else you would like to share about your work?

I hope the passion and enthusiasm that I still find in drawing these incredible creatures of our past comes through In my work.

Ankylosaurus and Kosmoceratops

Where can people find your work, if they want to purchase it?

On my official web site: francotempesta.eu.

Here, in addition to the various galleries, you can see and purchase originals, numbered, and signed fine art prints, and contact me directly at the e-mail address you will find on the site.

On Instagram, if you want to follow me so as not to miss all the latest news on my art, on my page: tempestasaurus_rex.

For art commissions, please contact me directly.

Sea monsters