Danielle Dufault

Danielle Dufault (born 1988 or 1989)[1] is a Canadian paleoartist and biological illustrator based in Toronto, Ontario.

Danielle Dufault
Born1988 or 1989 (age 34–35)
NationalityCanadian
EducationGraduate degree
Alma materSheridan College
Known forPaleoart, biological illustration, Animalogic (YouTube channel)
Websitewww.ddufault.com

She is the in-house paleontological illustrator with the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM). She is also the illustrator and main host of the zoological YouTube channel Animalogic.

Career
Wendiceratops by Danielle Dufault
Wendiceratops by Danielle Dufault

Paleontological illustration

Dufault's interest in paleoart started when she visited Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto at eight years old and saw the dinosaur skeletons on display.[1][2] In addition to drawing and sketching, she enjoyed exploring nature as a child, spending hours outdoors, digging up worms and collecting insects.[1][2] She also read books on paleontology and had an interest in scientific news.[2]

Dufault enrolled in the Technical and Scientific Illustration degree program at Sheridan College in the Greater Toronto Area and during her third year she was awarded a co-op placement at the ROM.[2] After graduating with a degree in 2012, she did some contract work for the ROM, eventually finding full time employment.[2] She is now the in-house paleontological illustrator for the ROM and works closely with the researchers in the ROM's Evans lab.[1][3]

Dufault uses both traditional and digital resources to create art and scientific diagrams.[3] Dufault's process involves consulting with paleontologists about the subject to be illustrated.[2][4] She then gathers information about what is known about the subject's habitat; what other creatures from the same area looked like; and how the subject's role as a predator or prey might have affected the patterns and coloration of their exteriors.[1][2] She also examines fossils and consults other sketches and technical drawings.[4]

Her work has been published in many scientific journals and is used to illustrate newly named dinosaur genera and species. Some of her work includes illustrating the Wendiceratops and the Zaraapelta nomadis, two newly-discovered dinosaurs.[5] She illustrated the a 500-million-year-old worm-like creature called the Ovatiovermis cribratus for Assisting Associate Professor Jean-Bernard Caron of the University of Toronto.[4] She assisted University of Toronto undergrad Joseph Moysiuk in creating an animation of a paleozoic marine creature known as a hyolith, which evolved more than 530 million years ago.[4]

Animalogic

Since its inception in 2014, Dufault has served as host of the zoological YouTube series Animalogic.[3]

References
  1. Noik, Sherry (March 5, 2017). "Sketching science: Meet the fossil artist who reconstructs 'lost worlds'". CBC News. Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Archived from the original on August 31, 2023. Retrieved February 12, 2022.
  2. "Alumni Profile: Danielle Dufault". sheridancollege.ca. Sheridan College. Archived from the original on August 31, 2023. Retrieved February 12, 2022.
  3. "Illustrations that Bring the Past Back to Life!". rom.on.ca. Royal Ontario Museum. February 23, 2017. Archived from the original on August 31, 2023. Retrieved February 12, 2022.
  4. Dolski, Megan (February 28, 2017). "Toronto artist brings to life extinct species from ancient times". Toronto Star. Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Archived from the original on August 31, 2023. Retrieved February 12, 2022.
  5. "Dinosaur species discovered in 2000 named 'Zaraapelta'". CTV News. The Canadian Press. October 28, 2014. Archived from the original on August 31, 2023. Retrieved February 12, 2022.
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