Another for the ‘weirdos’ category - an orchid mantis! Mantids as a whole are weird in the best ways, and orchids are among the most unique. They come in so many color varieties and subtle ombres!
I’d love to own one, but I think I have to stay away from mantids because of their short lifespan…jumping spiders too…maybe one day but its so SAD
What a crazy creature! I freaking love the way you’ve presented it, too. Nature is just so cool.
Thank you!! Mantids are amazing little aliens!
I hope everyone had an amazing Thanksgiving (if you celebrate)!
Here are some dino/reptile sketches I did over break that I will turn into designs in the near future 
Here’s the plateosaurus (very VERY early dinosaur) from above in its final form, based on a Cherry Country locality milksnake
Here is a tapejara from the sketches above - this is a pterosaur with a very unique head crest! Pterosaur anatomy is INSANE, and I always love working on them in various positions. I’m tickled pink with how this turned out!
The coloration is based on a rhinoceros hornbill, and the pose is actually based on a new scientific study that put vampire bats on a treadmill (yes, you read that right, it was to measure how they get enough energy from a blood-only diet), since weirdly enough, vampire bats are the only living creatures that move in any way similar to the way flying reptiles used to
That’s so wild! I wonder who came up with bat treadmill concept?
Someone with way more scientific creativity than me, that’s for sure! They caught wild bats, fed them with specially tagged blood, and then measured the CO2 they breathed out to see what parts of the blood were digested and exhaled first. What a crazy unique method!
This isn’t a reptile, but I wanted to show how much 5 months of practice can change things!
I drew this Hellpig in July and HATED it, and I finally redrew it today and I’m so much more pleased
I’ll probably redraw one of my earlier dinosaurs at some point!
It’s giving me wild pumbaa vibes 
This pumba is the size of a car so you better Hakuna Matatah yourself far away!!
Here’s some art for a video I’m making about poisonous v. venomous
A (very simplified) Diamondback rattlesnake and a poison dart frog (Ranitomeya imitator varadero)
There you go again, being useful for the students I no longer have. I miss doing stuff like that. Insane record keeping, cell phone policing, certain other things, not so much. But I do miss the kids. I guess teaching can sometimes seem poisonous, but it’s rarely venomous. Lol
Just don’t let the kids bite ya, and you’re all set! 
Yeah the whole ‘is that snake poisonous?’ makes my eyes roll back into my head because you know they don’t mean the few types of actually poisonous snake…and are probably talking about something like a BP in the first place
For today, a Kumimanu, a giant 300lb+ penguin as tall as a person that lived after the dinosaurs (based on a King Peguin)
And for my extinction series, the beloved axolotl, who has wild populations in pretty much only ONE lake in the whole world (wild type morph)
And here is a piece for my next part of Jurassic Park - Dr. Grant has found a juvenile velociraptor skeleton, but is suddenly pulled away to visit Hammond’s mysterious island retreat near Costa Rica…
So sorry for all the art these last few days, I’m taking a break for a few weeks soon and working to get a buffer made 
Not a reptile, but MM has aquatics now soooo
Cuttlefish!
And here’s the famous archeopteryx skeleton with and without feather imprints, since I’ll make a video on the rare process of fossilization eventually
Oh my goodness, cuttlefish are among my very favorite creatures! Quite apart from their insanely complex ability to blend in with virtually any pattern and color combo, they are insanely smart. They use their tentacles’ position for communication with other cuttlefish. There was a study done by the Marine Science Institute at the University of Texas showing that they are among the few animals who will watch others of their kind on tv, respond, and even learn. They are very responsive to humans. Super cool creatures, highly underrated. I’m glad to see them here! 
I LOVE knowing they like watching TV of each other, that’s AMAZING - I demand we put cuttlefish on facetime with one another ASAP
