Paleoartist Andrey Atuchin: "It's better to draw even dinosaurs outside of Russia!"
Andrey Atuchin — a representative of a unique profession. There are only a few people like him in the world. Andrey professionally depicts the world that existed millions of years ago. How he came to paleoart, how this profession is connected to paleontology, and why he left Russia—NeMoskva spoke with Andrey about these topics.
The British debut of a Kemerovo student
Specialty Andrey Atuchin There's no precise definition. There's the term "paleoart." Some call this profession a paleoartist, others a paleoillustrator. Andrey himself prefers the term "scientific paleoillustrator."
Term paleoart was introduced in the late 1980s by an American artist Mark Hallett to denote art that, in accordance with the level of achieved scientific knowledge, depicts those studied by paleontologists - extinct prehistoric animals.
"I recreate images of ancient plants and animals based on modern scientific understanding, consulting with paleontologists. Essentially, I reconstruct the appearance of, for example, dinosaurs based on the remains that modern researchers have discovered during numerous excavations. So, it's not really a 'drawing,' but rather a reconstruction of the authentic appearance of ancient animals. This is, of course, in accordance with the viewpoint of modern science, which may change over time." Andrey Atuchin.
All Amurosaurus fossils were found in a bone layer within the city of Blagoveshchensk. It dates back to the Maastrichtian epoch of the Cretaceous Period, approximately 66 million years ago. An adult Amurosaurus reached a length of approximately 10-12 meters and weighed up to 4-5 tons. Scientists believe it fed on plant matter.
As an example of such changes, he cites the story of iguanodonIdeas about the appearance of this dinosaur, extinct for millions of years, have changed since the 18th century, when its first remains were discovered. Initially, scientists assumed that the Iguanodon resembled a lizard. Then, they assumed it resembled a kangaroo, meaning it had short forelimbs and walked exclusively on its hind legs. However, as more scientific evidence accumulated, paleontologists later concluded that the Iguanodon's forelimbs were perfectly adapted for locomotion. Consequently, depictions of the dinosaur itself have undergone significant changes.
Paleoillustration is a rather specialized field. There are no more than 10 people in the world who practice it full-time, that is, professionally. So our specialty is arguably the rarest. I found myself in it partly by accident, and partly quite naturally. You see, I started drawing dinosaurs as a teenager, when I lived in the mining town of Prokopyevsk in the Kemerovo region. And even after finishing school and entering Kemerovo University, I continued drawing. The internet had already entered our lives. One day, I discovered a website where people were posting their dinosaur drawings. So, I decided to share my work with the public. They were noticed by London-based Anness Publishing and offered a collaboration. That's how my drawings first appeared on the pages of two books about dinosaurs by a renowned paleontologist. Dougal Dixon: “The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs” and “The illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Creatures”, recalls Andrey Atuchin.
Giant pliosaurs reached 10-11 meters in length and were the largest predators in the Cretaceous seas. Their remains were discovered in Cenomanian sediments dating from 100,5 to 93,9 million years ago.
The first attempts to depict fossilized animals were made in Europe in the 15th and 16th centuries. One such attempt is a statue of a lindworm, a mythical dragon-like beast, by Ulrich Vogelsang, dating from 1590. This statue can still be seen by anyone visiting Klagenfurt, Austria. It is believed that the skull of a fossil woolly rhinoceros, found in a mine near Klagenfurt in the 14th century, served as the basis for the lindworm's head. It doesn't look much like it, of course, but it's a resemblance nonetheless.
As Andrey says, working on a single image can take quite a long time—several months or even years. When he first began drawing the paleoworld as a teenager, he had to study the anatomy of various animals, including bone structure, muscle structure, and body proportions. The same applies to depicting plants.
After the artist's debut in 2005, the Kuzbass region artist gained recognition in the international professional community. From that moment on, he began pursuing his passion full-time. His portfolio includes collaborative projects with major museums, universities, and researchers around the world, including those from South and North America, Australia, and, of course, Europe. But things didn't take off in Russia...
"For Faith in Beavers"
"It may seem surprising now, but I realized almost 20 years ago that working in Russia would soon become impossible. Even then, everything in the country was somehow strange. And I saw this from the perspective of my work, which seemed to relate to a bygone reality—to something that happened millions of years ago. And even this type of work turned out to be dependent on the police boot, under which my country, including my dinosaurs, is under." Andrey Atuchin.
The animal is approximately 80 million years old. Lythronax is the oldest known tyrannosaurid. It was a large, moderately built, bipedal predator that could grow up to 7,4 meters in length and weigh up to 2,5 tons.
He says he's always strived for freedom—both in life and at work. That's why he finally made his decision more than 10 years ago, when the reshuffle between then-President Dmitry Medvedev and Vladimir Putin, who returned to the post "by agreement," took place.
"This deeply outraged me—and not just me. I remember my feelings very well. What do you mean, 'Dmitry Anatolyevich and I agreed, we decided,'" Putin said then. How was it even possible that these two, or rather, this single Putin, 'decided'? Then my family and I made a clear decision: we do not want and will not live in this country, where one person decides everything. And we began preparing to leave," Atuchin recalls.
The first paleontological illustrations based on scientific data appeared in the 19th century, when paleontology emerged as a distinct branch of scientific knowledge. In 1800, Johann Hermann, a Strasbourg professor and naturalist and member of the Paris Academy of Sciences, attempted to depict a pterosaur as a fur-covered flying animal using a fossilized skeleton.
In Russia, the founder of paleoart is considered to be Roman Boltunov, a merchant from Yakutsk. While trying to sell the mammoth tusks he had found in 1805, he even drew a picture of the fossilized giant as he imagined it.
Ten years passed between the decision and his departure. Andrey, his wife, and their son moved from Russia to Canada just before the war in Ukraine. Here's how he recalls the final months before leaving: "I was sure the war was about to start, Russia would become a pariah worldwide, the proverbial curtain would fall again. I was terrified I wouldn't be able to leave the country, so I hurried."
According to Andrey, his profession allowed him to better understand how people live around the world and compare it with life within the country. And the comparison was not favorable to Russia.
Thalassotitan is a genus of gigantic mosasaurs that inhabited Morocco during the late Maastrichtian, 66 million years ago. Thalassotitan preyed on other marine reptiles, including plesiosaurs, sea turtles, and other mosasaurs. Mosasaurs are enormous marine lizards up to 12 meters in length. They were distant relatives of modern iguanas and monitor lizards.
One day, the Kemerovo Museum of Local History approached him. They had a small exhibit dedicated to dinosaurs. These were partly discoveries made, oddly enough, by local coal miners, who were constantly unearthing mammoth tusks in their quarries. On the other hand, regional authorities had just begun to promote the local Shestakovo paleontological complex, where the tusks had been discovered. Remains of Psittacosaurus sibirica.
"The Shestakovsky complex is actually a good thing from a scientific perspective. I'm not sure how useful what the Kuzbass authorities are doing with it is. They're trying to turn everything into a show. They've organized an annual festival and invited celebrities. To put it simply, it's just another place for mass drinking and trading. There's science in Shestakovsky now. I'd really like to see the money allocated specifically for excavations. As for working with the local history museum, its representatives actually approached me for help. Admittedly, it was purely on a charitable basis. I thought about it and decided I'd help. And as a result—apparently, instead of some kind of payment for my work—I was awarded the medal 'For Faith and Goodness' by the then Kuzbass governor, Aman Tuleyev. The funniest thing is that many of my friends referred to it as 'for faith in beavers.' Well, at least they thanked me somehow," Atuchin recalls with a smile.
— Even if you just compare how people in my professional field work. All over the world, these are fairly large projects. Museums put on large exhibitions, major universities and renowned paleontologists publish books—it's all clear and transparent. In Russia, I once tried to work with an oceanarium in Vladivostok—alas, nothing came of it except trouble. In fact, the museum staff approached me themselves with an offer to help them design a new exhibition. I worked there for quite a while: ancient plants and animals, that sort of thing. But then it all suddenly ended.
Caecilians are a group of vertebrate amphibians that are very similar in appearance to worms and eels, but unlike them, they lack a skeleton and gills. Their estimated age is approximately 220 million years.
It turned out that law enforcement had opened a criminal case in connection with some alleged embezzlement at the aquarium—or so I think. I ended up being questioned as a witness. And even the fact that I was being questioned was a huge shock to me, as someone with no connection to law enforcement. After that, I swore off working with Russian organizations. Although I did manage to do some interesting work at the aquarium itself," Andrey says. In short, even a tangential encounter with Russian law enforcement was enough for him to choose a place on the globe farther away from them.
Dinosaurs in 3D
Andrey says he initially wanted to emigrate to Australia. He was attracted both by the country itself and by the fact that one of his long-standing partners was the Australian Museum in Queensland. However, moving to Australia became more complicated each year, and the requirements became increasingly difficult to meet. Then Atuchin turned his attention to Canada, which, he says, has proven much more welcoming to immigrants.
"I consider ourselves very lucky. We moved to Calgary. The climate here is somewhat similar to the Siberian one I've grown accustomed to since childhood—except without the long, bitterly cold winters. But the main thing is that I can work here peacefully, implementing projects for museums all over the world and participating in the preparation of books that are published in various countries. I dread to think that if I hadn't been able to leave before the war, I would have risked losing my job altogether. After all, all my work connections are with foreign companies. And contact with them from Russia is now 'undesirable' and simply impossible. And not just financially, but also scientifically. It's impossible to get a visa or fly direct to other countries," says Andrey Atuchin.
Sometimes he personally participates in excavations. Atuchin's first such experience came in 2015, when he traveled to the United States at the invitation of colleagues from the Denver Museum.
"It's very important to see firsthand how excavations are conducted, how dinosaur bones are extracted, and how paleontologists work. And, of course, interacting with professionals helps me see my own work differently. This includes working more closely with scientists on illustrations. There's a lot of interdependence here. For example, sometimes we collaborate with paleontologists on how to accurately depict certain nuances of a particular dinosaur. They sometimes suggest things to me, and I sometimes suggest others. In any case, I'm confident that we're achieving the most accurate reconstruction of the appearance of ancient animals. At least from the perspective of modern paleontology," says Andrey Atuchin.
For Atuchin, excavations and other "outings" are the exception rather than the rule. He spends most of his time working at the computer, using which he creates his projects. These include not only the familiar two-dimensional ones, but also three-dimensional 3D sculptures. He approaches this work with particular fervor.
"The image itself is, of course, very important, and it reveals a lot. But when you make 3D sculptures, it's a completely different matter. It's a three-dimensional image. You have to work on literally every element, even the most seemingly inconspicuous ones, every unevenness. I'm very meticulous about this—right down to the nuances of the colors that appear on the finished models. For example, I made an ancient frog for a museum in Queensland. I think it turned out well. Personally, I was pleased. Generally, I'm always critical of my work, but sometimes it's successful. You know, when it turns out exactly how you wanted it, exactly how you saw it in your head," says Atuchin.
Andrey has been professionally depicting dinosaurs for almost 20 years. And he still loves his craft as much as he did when he first started. No burnout! Partly because each new project is unique. Each time, he has to work his way from the first bone discovered by scientists to a complete reconstruction of the skeleton, then the muscular structure of the animals, and finally their appearance.
Sahonachelys lived on Earth during the late Cretaceous period: 72-66 million years ago.
The extinct species was unique in that its members ingested prey by sucking it in. The species was named Sahonachelys mailakavava, meaning "swift-footed frog-turtle."
Atuchin's work is in demand. Projects are booked in advance. He has regular clients who receive priority attention. Furthermore, there's a waiting list of those who want Atuchin to design their next museum exhibition or book.
Despite his busy schedule, Andrey Atuchin finds time to continue working – this time simply as a fan of his craft – with a long-time collaborator from Russia. Anton NelikhovTheir books "Ancient Monsters of Russia," "History of the Earth," "When the Volga Was a Sea: Leviathans and Pilgrims," and "Dinosaurs of Russia" have become scientific bestsellers.
Working with Nelikhov is perhaps Atuchin's only and last connection to Russia. He "definitely doesn't want to return to his homeland." Here's why:
"I don't believe anything can fundamentally change in Russia. Everything is under attack there. And the war in Ukraine is, unfortunately, a completely natural result of the fascism with which the authorities have permeated society over the past decades. I'll say it again: I had no doubt that Putin would end it with war. It was, unfortunately, natural, expected. You know, something like having a neighbor in your building who constantly runs around with a knife, scaring everyone. And then one day your doorbell rings. You open it and see this crazy neighbor, with blood dripping from his knife. It's terrible, but it's entirely predictable. I definitely don't want to end up in this crazy world of this neighbor again!"
