Fossil Crates 2024 Paleoartist Awards

December 31, 2024

Congratulations to our 2024 Fossil Crates Paleoartist award winners!

Each year Fossil Crates selects from among its many commissioned pieces those that we enjoyed the most in the year. These artists work hard to provide incredibly cool imagery for the Crates products, videos, and social medial posts. We appreciate all of the incredible time and effort each artist puts into their craft. Fossil Crates loves working with the artists, providing photos, videos, and academic papers for them to create the works of scientific art below. Congratulations to our winners!

Best Portrait

Jonathan Metzger

Jonathan is a self-taught artist from the Chicagoland area. He’s always been fascinated with prehistoric life but hadn’t seriously considered scientific illustration as a job until the summer of 2023. Since then, he’s immersed himself in current paleontology literature, art, and media to grow his knowledge and inform his work. He has also spent time volunteering at the Dinosaur Discovery Museum Fossil Prep Lab under Dr. Thomas Carr. Jonathan is grateful for the opportunity to partner with Fossil Crates in educating and inspiring the next generation of paleontologists and artists.

Best Holiday Artwork

Krzysztof Szydlowski

Hi everyone, my name is Krzysztof, I'm from Poland. I'm passionate about everything prehistory, especially dinosaurs, paleoart, fantasy books, movies, and video games. I loved dinosaurs since I was six. From that day, I wanted only dinosaurs, toys, magazines, etc. I searched the TV for all kinds of dinosaur movies and recorded everything on VHS. My dad rented movies and took me to the cinema. I also started drawing them, when I had the time. My professional life didn’t go the paleontology way, but I still love it and try to learn more every time I get it. I still draw as a hobby and post my art online, and if people like it, I’m happy.

Best Group Artwork

Jun Hyeok-Jang

South Korean Paleoentomology student, occasional paleoartist. Main research interest: Mid-Cretaceous fossil true bugs.

Best Scientific Illustration

Gunnar Bivens

25, former US Navy Sailor, aspiring paleontologist & paleoartist, hardcore heavy metal fan. Remember, sauropods are the greatest.

Best Small Theropod

Kevin Zanetti

Kevin Zanetti paleoartist artist dinosaur artist .

I'm twenty-five, my name is Kevin Zanetti and I'm Italian. Since I was a child I have had a passion for animals especially for extinct ones and with this passion has also grown that of drawing and sculpture. This last passion led me to attend the art school which helped me to learn and refine new pictorial and sculptural techniques. But it is in this last year that one of my biggest dreams has come true and this thanks to the message I received a couple of months ago from Dr. Brian Curtice to whom I will always be grateful for the opportunity he gave me. I don't have a website, but I only have my Instagram page @zetakappasauro

Best Large Theropod

Carlos Garcia

My name is Carlos Garcia, I am 26 years old and I am from Venezuela. I am a lifelong self-taught artist and I have been dedicating myself to Paleo Art for four years. I am always willing to illustrate any animal even if I do not have the experience since I focus on learning and getting advice to give the best result. Currently, I am focused on improving as much as possible in Paleo Art, but in the future, I also want to dedicate myself to Concept Art and Creature Design. I love video games and nature. Both things inspire me to be who I am today.

Best Marine Artwork

Gustavo Monroy

Since I was a child, I lived fascinated with these magnificent animals, that fascination transcended time and led me to be the person I am today; each illustration is a small part of me that is kept in a few pixels.

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