Despite the incredible advancements in special effects technology since the film’s release, the dinosaurs in 1993’s Jurassic Park still look just as terrifying today as they did nearly 30 years ago. This has largely been attributed to the fact that the filmmakers wisely decided to use physical models in many of the close-up shots, allowing them to capture the nuances of movement which really helps sell the idea you’re looking at living creatures.
[Esmée Kramer] puts that same principle to work in her incredible articulated dinosaur costume, and by the looks of it, Steven Spielberg could have saved some money if he had his special effects team get their supplies at the Home Depot. Built out of PVC pipes and sheets of foam, her skeletal raptor moves with an unnerving level of realism. In fact, we’re almost relieved to hear she doesn’t currently have plans on skinning the creature; some things are better left to the imagination.
In her write-up on LinkedIn (apparently that’s a thing), [Esmée] explains some of the construction tricks she used to help bring her dinosaur to life, such as heating the pipes and folding them to create rotatable joints. Everything is controlled by way of thin ropes, with all the articulation points of the head mirrored on the “steering wheel” in front of her.
Now to be fair, it takes more than a bundle of PVC pipes to create a convincing dinosaur. Obviously a large part of why this project works so well is the artistry that [Esmée] demonstrates at the controls of her creation. Judging by her performance in the video after the break, we’re going to assume she’s spent a not inconsiderable amount of time stomping around the neighborhood in this contraption to perfect her moves.
In the past we’ve seen the Raspberry Pi used to upgrade life-sized animatronic dinosaurs, but even with the added processing power, those dinos don’t hold a candle to the smooth and organic motion that [Esmée] has achieved here. Just goes to show that sometimes low-tech methods can outperform the latest technological wizardry.
[Thanks to themoreyouknow for the tip.]
Very good!
Wow, Esmée! I’m afraid of that thing!
Absolutely fantastic! Well done.
Clever girl!
Clever line!
absolutely nailed it.
You, sir (or ma’am) win the Internets today.
That is awesome with great puppet-eering too! well Done!
+1, Excellent work..
Nicely done! I have to build one of these.
Moooooom!
Quick!!
A mecharaptor has eaten Esmée!!!
You have a great eye for detail and movement, plus super hacker skills. Well done.
The movement is phenomenal, especially the neck/head, with designs very reminiscent of the strandbeest from a fellow Dutch man.
Wow, that’s amazing, makes this guy look like an idiot!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S656bmAbbX0
Well, ok, this guy is an idiot but Esmée is a real artist.
I love puppetry, especially at this scale!
The dog collar sells it.
It really does. Without the collar, the frame might not convey a sense of the cross-section of the neck. This is really incredible work.
Jim Henson level to sell it. Awesome. Need to work on that kitty animatronic tho. Expecting more articulation and servos on the next one and tape a pi zero to it.
I thought the kitty was going to freak. But I’m just projecting, because if I were a kitty, and I saw that thing walking around MY living room, _I_ sure would have.
Hard to tell exactly. Was a flash through compilation. Having been conditioned by multiple of the spoiled brat creatures it is more likely it was startled by its people yelling”get the hell off my papers you little..derogatory(ies)”. Sound was replaced by music so again not definitive.
Yes. I only realized later that it was just a clever editing trick. The cat probably didn’t react at all, for real.
You’re doing it right! Keep going!
I love it!!!!
Saw this in person during an event last month (Elfia). Movement was very realistic and fluid. One of the best things was that she’d somehow managed to suspend a backpack in the frame behind her.
Reminds me of the work done by this group: https://skeletonics.com/
They started very similarly, with just some PVC tubing.
Honestly, the movements are much more realistic than those of the pre-CGI Jurassic Park creatures