ArtVista with Antonio Graziano

June 3, 2026

About the Artist

Name: Antonio Graziano
Cards created: 39 - Chilesaurus diegosuarezi, P3 - Tianyulong confuciusi
Main techniques: Gouache and watercolor
Paleoartistic era: Modern period
Historical era: Late Jurassic

Before “Release the creatures: Dinosaurs!”, were you fascinated by dinosaurs?

Yes, for as long as I can remember, I've been very passionate about dinosaurs. Also, my house has been full of science popularization books since middle school. I've never abandoned this obsession; in fact, I've deepened it over time.

Do you remember when this passion began?

I don't remember an exact moment, but I know that as a child, my favorite animated movies were all dinosaur-themed. I loved "Dinosaur" (the 2000 Disney classic), "The Land Before Time," and "Dinosaur Train." Later, thanks to YouTube, I watched the BBC series "Walking with Dinosaurs" and "Walking with Beasts." Then, over time, I started buying books and even old videotapes of documentaries by Piero Angela... The spark definitely came from there: documentaries and cartoons, which accompanied me through my growth.

This is your first collaboration with Tomodachi Press. When you started your journey, did you expect this?

Yes, it's my first time. It's a company I had been keeping an eye on for a while in my career, and I really wanted to get closer to them. The opportunity arose when Dario Moccia posted a story looking for artists skilled in gouache and watercolor, which are my two main techniques. I sent my portfolio, and it was accepted.

Only later did I find out I would be illustrating "Release the creatures: Dinosaurs!" It was an exhilarating journey. I was a perfect match for the project because dinosaurs are among the things I've drawn the most in my life!

This set was created under the artistic supervision of Dario Moccia, but also, for the first time, under the scientific supervision of Willy Guasti (Zoosparkle). How stimulating was this dual review process?

I loved it; they are both great professionals. The corrections were always precise from both of them. Thanks to Willy, I discovered anatomical details I knew nothing about regarding the two species I illustrated. For example, I took for granted a fold in the wrist of the Chilesaurus diegosuarezi that was actually impossible, and it's precisely these corrections that truly opened my eyes to these "beasts," revealing so many new curiosities!

Can you explain the correction on the Chilesaurus’s wrist in detail?

From the fossils crushed in the ground, it appeared that the wrist was "pronated" (with the palm facing downwards), which is something theropod dinosaurs couldn't do.

Talking to Willy, I understood that the hand could indeed bend backward to rest against the body (as seen in the final illustration), but it did so laterally, along the sides of the ribcage. The palms did not face the ground or the belly but remained turned inward, parallel to the sides. If we were to draw a horizontal line from one hand to the other, the palms would ideally face each other, with the dinosaur's body in between.

Can you tell me some details about the Tianyulong confuciusi promo card?

Certainly! For this illustration, I started from the premise that the animal was found in the Tiaojishan geological formation, dating back to the Late Jurassic. At that time, that area was characterized by an environment of subtropical or temperate forests, and that's exactly the ecosystem I wanted to recreate.
Another interesting detail concerns the nest: the leaves seen inside belong to ginkgo trees. The scientific idea behind this is that they were initially placed by dinosaurs during the courtship phase and then during the padding phase to make the nest softer and more welcoming for the brood. Furthermore, if you look closely at the background of the card, you can see other specimens of Tianyulong climbing on the branches of a Williamsonia, an extinct plant that resembles modern cycads.

Can you tell me some details about the Chilesaurus diegosuarezi card?

This card has a very interesting story related to its compositional choices. The Chilesaurus was found in the Toqui geological formation in South America, specifically in Chile. Studies on this formation tell us that at the time, the environment was a river delta, thus a decidedly swampy context. For the flora in the background, I chose to represent trees from the Araucariaceae group, which are conifers still present today in South America.

The fauna, however, underwent a change during the process. Initially, instead of the turtle, there was supposed to be an archosaur in the foreground. However, I didn't want to include a creature with open jaws and large teeth: due to its size, it would have taken up too much space on the card, stealing the scene. So I opted for a turtle analogous to Kayentachelys, an excellent choice to give more prominence to the dinosaur. As you can see, I captured it in the act of blowing: it feels threatened by the Chilesaurus, which has approached its den too closely to eat the fronds of a fern.

If you could choose a dinosaur and a paleoartist era to interpret, timeshifted style, what would you choose?

I can't name a specific dinosaur, but I would definitely like to change shapes. So far, I've drawn two theropods in the classic "Jurassic Park Velociraptor" pose. I'd like to challenge myself with an herbivore, perhaps an ankylosaurid or, even better, a ceratopsian.

As for style, I would choose the postmodern period, also to update my illustration style. Having worked on the "modern period" for this set, I had to remain very schematic and composed, which accentuates my somewhat "old-fashioned" side in drawing. With postmodernism, I would have experimented much more.

How has your view of the world of dinosaurs changed after this project?

My respect for them has increased even more! Certainly, now I pay much more attention to anatomy when I have to draw a species, precisely thanks to Willy's corrections. Moreover, this project made me realize that dinosaurs are a topic that greatly interests the public, so in the future, I might invest in them for personal or commercial projects.

Is there anything you'd like to leave us with?

Yes, I'd like to send a message to whoever reads this interview:

"Don't sleep on the Triassic (Heroic Period)!"

It's an incredibly underrated geological period. You find the most absurd and strange beasts in evolutionary history there. They are represented in the set, and the illustrations are one more beautiful than the other. Thank you very much!