Storm over Hateg Island 

Thank you so much for all the kind comments everyone! If you're interested, definitely check out this rescore of my animation composed by the talented Fin Nicol-Taylor! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-FvE9iFWdi1g.htmlsi=RMWbXbcIq7i6Mo8t

the sauropods lowering their heads at the sound of thunder was SUCH a cool bit of speculative behavior! it was almost… haunting? watching them do it in sync like that. fantastic work!

I was half expecting some kind of disaster like a land slide or flash flood, I’m happy to see a simple rainy night

I absolutely adore the little beak wipe at 1:45. Birds do it all the time, but I've never seen an animated bird wipe its beak on a branch before. It's such a nice little detail that really helps it feel alive, and this detail that shows that you have watched birds a lot and understand how they act. And so cute, too! I love when they do that.

I won't lie, this genuinely made me cry. Depictions of life on our planet during the Mesozoic like this, free from movie monsters and big battles, just seeing the day-to-day of these animals, is truly absolutely beautiful.

I like the way you animate the Hatzegopteryx walking, he feels heavy, yet controlled.

Seeing a Hatzegopteryx in person would be 107% terrifying.

oh my god the sauropods lowering their heads when they hear thunder... ouugh cretaceous asmr. love this sooo much.

As an Australian, hearing rainbow lorikeets and dainty green tree frogs as I watch this just makes me smile and laugh slightly. Always love seeing your animations, this is gorgeous!

This is perfect! I love the attention to detail; the head bobbing, the eyes on the lizard when it blinks. Especially the bird cleaning its beak. So pretty!

Beautiful 💛 I love how familiar these scenes feel- seeing the bird swipe their beak on the branch is something I see all the time and made me smile. It’s like we still have a connection to the distant past.

The way the Hatzegopteryx fades into the mist over the trees as it flies away really conveys its size in such a clever way. It really sells the sense of depth and space. I had to go back and watch that shot again! This is incredible work that brought a tear to my eye.

0:18 Love the exposure that the ginkgos have been getting in paleomedia as of late

This nails everything so well, atmosphere as well as attention to detail, fluid lifelike movements, probably my favorite detail is how the Hatzgegopteryx used its front limbs to launch itself into the air just like it would in real life. It's abundantly clear that you have a passion for prehistoric life.

I LOVE the way the sauropods lower their heads after hearing thunder. If I had a lightning rod for a neck, I'd duck too haha Your animations are always such a treat too! I adore them!

I simply cannot understand how one can make such smooth, accurate-looking traditional animation. I am awe-struck with every submission you make, absolutely marvelous!

God the movements are so lifelike it's insane

Love the way you animated the way the wing folds on the pterosaur. So cool to think something the size of a Cessna 172 could be so graceful.

Also the bit where the rain started falling was just. PERFECTION.

I want to say that I am an autistic adult who has had a dinosaur special interest ever since I saw the original Jurassic Park. This is unbelievably beautiful. The way you treat these creatures as animals, and showing their routines for a little rain, it’s so wonderful and relaxing. As someone else said, the sauropods lowering their heads in response to thunder and becoming more parallel to the ground is an amazing and thoughtful touch. The designs are wonderful and I can tell a lot of time and love went into this piece. Phenomenal work!!

Your work is one of the purest expressions I've seen of paleo animation portraying the beauty of every day life. It's so peaceful to just watch these animals going about their lives, not to mention the gorgeous music, sounds, colors, and fluid animation itself

Are the sauropods startled by the thunder and lowering their heads to avoid lightning?! This is AMAZING!

Better than Most modern Disney movies.

I've seen this so many times but I think I can articulate why the end bit hits so hard now: It's literally a "show don't tell" of how incredible the huge azhdarchids were. No statistics needed no "as big as a-" needed, that thing went over the clouds, you can feel that moment. We've never seen a flying creature that big before nor since, truly fantastic

OK wow!! This animation style of yours is so perfect! And over 3 minutes! Love how peaceful this is - a great representation of what a normal day on prehistoric Earth probably really looked like

This is by far the best dinosaur 2D animation I've ever seen.

This looks like a Disney movie!!! It's like Bambi with dinosaurs! Absolutely stunning environments and atmosphere!

Dang it almost looks like if a dinosaur documentary was done in an anime art style or something, really good 2d animation

Although the dinosaurs are simplified, the way you animate their behavior and movements makes them feel like real animals. This is an incredible piece of work and weirdly nostalgic in a way, amazing job!

RU-vid recommendations has located an underrated animatior

Is like going back in time and seeing snippets of what it was like back then, fantastic work of art.

So fine! Very life-like, smooth, soothing animations. I loved the detail of the bird wiping its beak on the branch. Perfect sounds!

This is very moody. I loved the contrast between above and down the clouds.

Instantly recognized this animation as the same style from the quetzal trying to eat that triceratops and i'm so happy i found the guy who made it. Its all so realistic, even putting the time to have a bird doing that beak wiping thing.

As a pterosaur lover and young animator (stop motion) I gladly approve this documentary

I keep catching myself replaying this beautiful animation, it's a literal comfort. I absolutely adore the ambiance and the representation of a living ecosystem

The way that the bird after the sauropods jumped up looked exactly like what a real bird would do and the way it’s body moved was perfect! Well done 👍

dude. something so simple that has obviously taken much mastery to create and is so satisfying to watch

I LOVE everything about this… one little thing for example; how the green lizard got weary when it saw the Hatzegopteryx. So very subtle, yet extremely expressive

probably 90% of the comments say this, but the animation is absolutely exquisite. it bears to mind studio ghibli

You're a goddamn legend. The backgrounds, the sounds, everything! So beautiful. Somehow a 2D animation immerses me more into the prehistoric era than most dino documentaries and games I've seen and played. I love how chonky you draw the quetzal, it's oddly cute, but seeing that in real life would petrify me. The bird at 1:30, JEEZ that movement is so realistic, I imagine you had a video reference for that? It's incredible either way. Astounding work, thank you so much for making this.

Should make an 8 hour loop of this video so I can sleep to it because I’ve never heard such balanced nature sounds before

I adore how beautifully hand-drawin this is with the subtle movements of 3D really spicing up this piece. it's stuff so well-done like this that really inspire me to get back into animation, and I can guarantee I'm not alone in feeling that 💜

Finally some animation that understands the way animals actually MOVE. I love this. The weight shifting, the micro movements, everything.

I keep coming back to watch this. There's something truly magical in it, it every frame of it. The rainy, moody atmosphere, the stellar lifelike animation, the droning soundtrack - so much to love, and such a felling it leaves you with...

This gives me a somber sense of peace, knowing I'll never see this in real life, will never truly know what they were doing on this planet millions of years ago

As I was watching this, at the moment the rain started in the video it began raining in my city as well. EXACTLY at the same time and pace. Crazy coincidence

Yo Cenospire, you know me from Common Descent and might remember I work at a dinosaur museum, so hopefully this will have some weight. I think you might be my very favourite paleoartist. The style might be on the cartoony end, but your capture of a whole ecosystem, just everyday mundane life, is gorgeously realistic. I love it (and imo you should share these to the CD Discord more often)

This feels so immersive. It gives the prehistoric world a sense of familiarity, yet so alien at the same time

I half expected the Hatzegopteryx to get struck by lightning

Beautiful! More paleomedia has to be like this. Quiet and contemplative looks at a world moving at its own pace in the cycles of nature

goddamn NAILED that spring feeling.. especially when you just ate a dandelion flower

This guy is absolutely a time traveler. No one could get anatomy to look this good without even seeing the animal in person

You really nailed all the minor movements that animals make that makes this all feel so lifelike

I love that it went above the clouds, away from the storm below. That’s so cool and creative!

I love how you animate the dinosaurs like normal animals instead of perpetually bloodthirsty monsters, really makes it feel like a believable ecosystem, I love folk who like to capture more than the hunting and rather focus on their place in nature, really beautiful!

This was beautiful. so many dinosaur stories feature violence, and certainly that was part of creature’s lives, but there is also peace, escape and freedom.

This is so beautiful. It's beautiful animation. It's beautiful conceptualization. It's beautiful cinema. It's beautiful sound. It's beautiful colour. It's beautiful science. It may be one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen, and I'm stone cold sober right now.

Magnificent. The manner in which you allow everything to breathe in this collection of intimate moments and images showed commendable restraint and reflection. Poetic, fragile, and touching.

the amount of passion that went into this is overwhelming, youve created a jewel of animation and paleoart ❤

So easy to get lost in the beautiful atmospheres of your animations, and I really really like how the sound design complements this one. Just makes me appreciate the beauty of life lol. And as a side note, that quarter turn at 2:20 was so clean! Good luck out there :D

even back then animals are still animals, earth is still earth. such a wonderful familiar feeling!

I have been listening to this on repeat while working every day.

I'm in awe of not only how smooth the motion is, but also of all the little minutiae and quirks of movement you've captured here. It all looks so alive. The aesthetics and the soundscape combined impart a tremendous sense of atmosphere.

Everything about this animation is breathtaking! The sauropods lowering their heads, the little bird wiping its beak on the branch, the Hatzegopteryx's stern but daunty walk up the hill... its like stepping out of a time machine and being smack dab in the middle of a bygone era!

This makes me feel at peace with the world.

Incredible work. You can really feel the reality of their world in this in a way not often depicted. Peaceful days, serene moments, infinite life. All gone, lost to the eons. Makes you feel a bit small. Who will wonder what 3 minutes of my life was like?

This almost gives land before time vibes, but MUCH better AND more scientifically accurate to boot!!

I like how you depict the Hatzegopteryx, being a primarily land dwelling Pterosaur with a most robust body plan. It feels so smooth and elegant, yet heavy and wonky. The only thing I can see which could make the Hatzgopteryx more accurate is it's wingtips as Hatzegopteryx and all other Pterosaurs have broad circular wingtips, and not pointy triangular wingtips. Still an amazing animation!

Archaeopteryx's animation was superb!

everything is animated so fluidly and genuinely feels realistic!

This is beautiful beyond words. The sense of tranquility and fulfillment i felt after watching this breathtaking and brilliant work of art is unmatched by anything else Ive seen recently. I have been touched and inspired on a spiritual level. Thank you for creating this and sharing it with us ❤

Absolutely beautiful. The movements, the painterly style, the atmosphere of the whole piece - it made me think of Fantasia for the modern day, with a dash of Ghibli at the end.

This feels like home to me, like some sort of primal memories of days just like this one lie buried within my mind

I like this so much. Not great mythical monsters. Just animals of Earth. You make them more real.

Ooooh I could watch this forever! So many subtle touches to everything’s behaviour and movement this is really special

Excellent work ! Love the way that pterosaur lifted itslef into the air

I LOVE DINOSAURS AND I LOVE THIS ANIMATION!!!!

I enjoy seeing the accurate representation of plant life. With the Ginko trees and ferns

this is so absurdly cozy and yet so melancholy and pretty, i’m speechless

Its insane just how natural the small birds movements are wtf absolutely fantastic job

This is a very atmospheric animation. Love paleo media like this.

I absolutely love it mate! Just the way the bird moves make me feel like it’s real life then, the calming rain sounds with the background music picking up as the pterosaur flies above the clouds also love it how the hatzeg fades in the rain at storm, foggy storms always calm me,

This is so beautiful I can't describe it 😭

Still terrifying to see a 300 lbs animal the height of a giraffe fly is majestic but also downright terrifying

If you make a follow-up animation, you could add Kallokibotion, these plate-sized "turtles" dominate the island's population by number, as it has been the most common fossil found on Hateg, Romania. Imagine you are on an island and bam, there are little periturtles everywhere.

Fantastic! Very lifelike, you capture the essence of wild animals' movements perfectly!

This is just crazy, literally feels so alive

a full movie of this, no dialogue or narration just dinosaurs in their natural habitat

this feels almost rotoscoped, the way the animals move feels so real

this is the most goated animation of this year for sure

I feel how your animations breathes life. Great job!

Absolutely stunning! I loved every second of this! Wonderful work!

the first raindrops hitting the leaves was a really cool detail. Really enjoyed this

Hoooly, this is such a mood! Honestly you have such an eye for narrative story telling through probably one of the hardest (imo) mediums and that being wildlife cinematics, like there is LOADS of character and emotional detail here being shown off. LOVE IT!

As somebody that lives in romania, it really surprised me to find about this video :) its funny that about 2 weeks ago i went to a dinosaur park near Hateg, and ive found out about these dinosaurs, heh Didnt expect someone to actually aknowledge some discoveries from this country!

I really liked the bird wiping its beak on the branch, and the way the branch bounced back when it jumped off was really neat!

I love how minimalistic the art is, yet so incredibly detailed the mannerisms and movements are. It brings a lot of life into your work. Great job.

Powerful people: "I'm above the law!" Hatzegopteryx: "I'm above the weather!" I love this. Great work!

This is one of the most beautiful videos I've seen for months