About the artist
Name: Letizia Rizzo
Cards created: 98 - Einiosaurus Procurvicornis
Techniques used: Digital drawing and coloring
Paleo-artistic era: Postmodern
Historical period: Late Cretaceous
This is your first time collaborating with Tomodachi Press. How did you first get in touch?
“Actually, Dario had contacted me previously about collaborating on other projects, but it had never worked out.
When he wrote to me again to create an illustration for a mysterious card set, I couldn’t let the opportunity pass me by!”
Release the creatures: Dinosaurs! was created under the artistic supervision of Dario Moccia, as well as the scientific supervision of Zoosparkle. How inspiring was this dual review process?
“They were both very patient: it was necessary for my dinosaur to be anatomically accurate, whereas until then I had only illustrated very fanciful little dinosaurs for a very young audience.
They provided me with lots of material to use as the basis for my sketches, along with meticulous corrections, and I think we managed to achieve a good result. It was definitely a complex, but very stimulating process.”
The card you created is number 98, depicting an Einiosaurus Procurvicornis that seems almost integrated into its surroundings, so much so that the other animals around it are watching it closely. It reminds me a little of Snow White when she is surrounded by animals in the forest, both because of the pose and because of the dinosaur’s colors, which recall her clothes. Could this have been the inspiration for creating this scene?
“At the time, Dario told me he had thought of me to illustrate the Einiosaurus because he was convinced I would be able to do justice to the imposing nose of this big lizard. And in fact, I love the Einiosaurus’s features!
The idea was to depict it chilling out while cooling off in a nearly dried-up pool, at the expense of a group of little raptors who would rather be drinking. I wanted to convey its calmness and laziness as it prioritized relaxation, while drought was spreading all around it.
I think the fact that I am an illustrator who mainly works on books for children and young people helped make everything vaguely fairy-tale-like; and if we also add that blue and yellow are my favorite color combination, the picture is complete!”
If you could choose another dinosaur and a paleo-artistic era to reinterpret for a new card in the timeshifted style, which would you choose?
“I belong to the category of people who grew up watching the famous Don Bluth film The Land Before Time. And that film made me particularly fond of the character Littlefoot.
I know that, aesthetically speaking, I wouldn’t stray too far from the Einiosaurus, but I would absolutely love to reinterpret a Triceratops!”
How has your perspective on the world of dinosaurs evolved after this project?
“I approached this project knowing next to nothing about the subject, I admit it. To this day, I still know very little, but I have been thoroughly captivated by it.
Dinosaurs were incredibly fascinating creatures, and it seems almost surreal to think that they inhabited a planet that, although it is the same one we live on today, looked very different. For example, I had never thought about the fact that dinosaurs never knew the grass in our meadows, something that seems almost mundane to us!”
Before we say goodbye, is there a thought you would like to leave with the collectors reading this?
“I feel I should say that this card set was created with the utmost care and attention, along with a great deal of fun. All my colleagues did an incredible job.
So don’t miss out on it—it’s a feast for the eyes!”
Letizia Rizzo’s favorites
- Layout: Classical Period
- Paleo-artistic era: Future
- Historical period: Late Cretaceous
- Favorite card in the set: Maiasaura Peeblesorum by Stefano Martinuz
- Artists: Stefano Martinuz, Giakus, Agnese Innocente, Lorenzo Colangeli
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