The 2018 Dinosaur Gift Guide

It’s time once again for the Love in the Time of Chasmosaurs holiday gift guide! Every year, we promote independent artists, authors, and small businesses who make quality prehistoric-themed gifts, and I make an effort to include a good mix of familiar and fresh faces. Happy gifting!

Books

Abby Howard’s Ocean Renegades

Following up her beloved Dinosaur Empire, Abby Howard’s Ocean Renegades digs deeper into the fossil record to explore the magic of the Paleozoic era. Buy it here!

Dinosaurs: How They Lived and Evolved second edition by Naish and Barrett

Dinosaurs: How they Lived and Evolved is one of the best recent overviews of the dinosaurs, suitable for folks eager to beef up their general knowledge or diehard enthusiasts. The new edition feautures a fresh cover by Robert Nicholls and updated content inside. Grab a copy or two!

Gareth Monger’s A Disarray of Palaeoart

Gareth Monger’s book collecting his paleoartistic output from the autumn of 2017 is a big hit among the LITC crowd. It’s a great pick for lovers of paleoart who appreciate stylistic diversity and freewheeling speculation. Pick it up at Lulu!

The Palaeoartist’s Handbook by Mark Witton

Have an aspiring dinosaur artist you’d like to encourage? You can do no better than to buy them Mark Witton’s terrific instructional tome, The Paleoartist’s Handbook.

Paleocene by Mike Keesey

Mike Keesey’s Paleocene tells the story of what happened after the asteroid took out the non-avian dinosaurs, when they lived on only in the myths of stem-primates (or do they?). Pick up your copy here.

James Hornsby’s When Dinosaurs Wrestled the Earth

The professional-wrestling-slash-prehistory-geek in your life will be tickled to receive James Hornsby’s hilarious coloring book When Dinosaurs Wrestled the Earth.

Tasha Mukanik’s Marching Band of Dinosaurs

Or maybe a dinosaurs/ marching band mash-up is more your speed? In that case you have to see Tasha Mukanik’s Marching Band of Dinosaurs, in which 20 obscure or unusual species of dinosaur are given an instrument and join a band. Buy it in her shop.

Joschua Knüppe’s Paleostream

Joschua Knüppe frequently holds “paleostreams,” in which he does speedpaints and sketches live for a global audience, explaining his thoughts and answering questions. Many of the resulting illustrations have been published in an attractive new publication available in two formats. Grab the ebook from Studio 252mya or softcover edition!

Art

Richard Morden’s Pangaea Map

Australian illustrator Richard Morden has designed a lovely map of the world during the Triassic, when all was joy and harmony, and the modern contents were united into Pangaea. Buy it at Redbubble.

Albertaceratops at Sunset by David Krentz

David Krentz is well known as a modeler of beautiful dinosaur sculptures, but his 2D work is also magnificent. I love the feel of this Albertaceratops scene. Get a print at Redbubble!

Studio Eem’s Microraptor

Two of my favorite artists, Maija Karala and Ville Sinkonnen, have jointly opened a new online shop: Studio Eem. Their current selections include this beautiful Microraptor print, perfect for those feathered dinosaur fanciers in your life.

Lone Trike Studio’s dinosaur models

Lone Trike studios makes beautiful resin model kits – all they’re waiting for is the color scheme you dream up. Browse the whole selection at Etsy or Dan’s Dinosaurs.

Jeholopterus in Paper

Tiffany Miller Russell’s Wildlife in Paper shop is loaded with beautiful papercraft of animals extant and extinct, like the Jeholopterus above. There’s a lot more in her Etsy shop, so go have a browse.

Wearables

Petrinodon’s Diabloceratops tee

I’ve mentioned at least a few times over the years that I’m a sucker for a simple black tee with a white design on it, and this one seems especially suited for me, as it features one of my favorite dinosaurs, Diabloceratops. Get yours from Redbubble.

Greg Paul’s Camarasaurus tie

The legendary Gregory S. Paul has his own on-line shop at Zazzle, and if you’re preparing for a job interview or other fancy event, you might just need a Camarasaurus tie. Procure one here.

Sharon Wegner-Larsen’s Brachio Grove Dress

There is no way you won’t make a splash walking into a room with Sharon Wegner-Larsen’s awesome sauropods n’ botany design. Buy it from her Redbubble shop!

Flaming Dinosaur Skulls enamel pins

In case you missed it, I produced a set of Flaming Dinosaur Skull enamel pins this year, and well, I think they’d be a nifty present or stocking stuffer. Go to my Etsy page to pick ’em up!

Gabriel Ugueto’s fuzzy tyrannosaurs tee

Gabriel Ugueto’s tee is for the feather fancier in your life. Say it loud and proud! It’s available at his Redbubble.

Other Gifty Stuff

Double-sided charms by Alexandra Salazar

Alexandra, AKA Elevenels, specializes in charismatic dromaeosaurs. One of her unique product lines is a set of double-sided dromaeosaur charms. Pick them up at her Etsy shop.

Paleopals

Paleopals makes accurate toys and pins inspired by the deep cuts of deep time: forsaking T. rex, Triceratops, and other megastars of the fossil record, you get characters like Dusty the Diplocaulus, above, Scooter the Scotoharpes, Tex the Tylosaurus, and more. Check out the whole selection here.

Sean Closson’s Triceraclock

Telling time is a lot more fun with an imposing ceratopsid staring you down. So, here you go: a Triceratops clock by Sean Closson! Grab yours on Redbubble.

Permia Pets

Permia, who has been making handsome apparel for paleontology enthusiasts for a few years, recently unveiled a line of figurines based on their creature designs by Scott Hartman and Diana Hlevnjak. The Permia Pets are polymer clay figurines and they’re really cute. Pick them up here!

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Of course, this list is just a small amount of the cool stuff waiting for a place in your dinosaur-smitten friend’s home. I invite you to look back on previous years’ guides to find even more ideas:

• 2017
• 2016
• 2015
• 2014 parts one, two, and three

Additionally, you can look at my monthly This Mesozoic Month roundups, as I always feature a few cool products in the “Empty Wallets Club” section. Poke around those and you’re sure to find more wonderful ideas.

Thanks for checking out this year’s gift guide! As always, it’s a blast to put together. If you like what we do and want to help us support and promote independent artists and small businesses, make a monthly pledge at Patreon!