Photo © C. Gudanowski

Carolina Gudanowski brings ancient fossils and new technology together to bring Nigersaurus back to life. Carolina was born in Arlington Heights, Illinois. As a kid, she was always drawing and watching tons of Nickelodeon. She became interested in dinosaurs in fourth grade, when her teacher had her class do a mock expedition complete with pretend money, containers filled with sand, and museum-loaned fossils.

See The Movie Movie © C. Gudanowski, courtesy Project Exploration 300 x 400 3.5 mb (Quicktime file)

Carolina is now pursuing a career in medical illustration. Recently, Carolina graduated from the University of Illinois at Chicago in their Biomedical Visualization program. Creating a virtual dinosaur was her research project for her master's degree.

Q: How did you first come up with the idea to create a virtual model of Nigersaurus?
A: Doctors are using computed tomography (CT) scans to create virtual models to study and practice navigating difficult surgeries. Why not use CT scans of dinosaur bones to study delicate fossils? I was taking classes in 3D digital modeling and virtual reality programming, so I decided to create a virtual model of Nigersaurus as my research project for my Masters.

Q: Of all the dinosaurs to choose from, why did you choose Nigersaurus?
A: Nigersaurus is such a fascinating specimen. The skull bones are particularly fragile and hard to work with so creating a virtual model would be an effective tool to share this data with scientists and students without damaging the original fossil.

Image © C. Gudanowski
Nigersaurus skull with muscle tissue.

Q: How did you actually do the project?
A: After receiving Paul's permission and obtaining the CT data of the Nigersaurus skull, I still had a lot of work ahead of me. Even thought Paul had complete scans of the individual bones of the skull and a plan for piecing the skull together, the skull needed texture. I needed to build the flesh, eyes, and teeth, and I needed to create a virtual environment using computer programming language. I was challenged with keeping the model accurate, yet maintaining a small file size so it can run smoothly in the virtual reality environment. I used 3D modeling applications and special software including 3D Studio Max, Zbrush, and Mimics to create and modify the digital dinosaur.

Q: What’s next?
A: I loved combining my two passions of paleontology and art into a research project. I hope the model fascinates and educates the viewer of this impressive dinosaur, and I hope to use my new skills to create more virtual dinosaurs.