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Saber-Tooth Cat

Sabertooth Cat line art illustration (click image to enlarge)

Sabertooth Cat full color illustration (click image to enlarge)

Artist's notes:

The aardvark was completed on 6.18.2010. This was the second extinct mammal I had drawn, the first being a mastodon. It can be challenge when I don't have base sketches or photos to work from on an animal. However, with the help of my mentor Carl Buell - who created the foundational sketch - I was able to illustration this very impressive extinct big cat. While there's no consensus on what the outside of the mouth looks like in regards to the outside of the mouth. I decided the 'open' flaps where the tooth would snuggly fit.

Information about the Saber-Tooth Cat:

The Saber-Toothed or Sabre-Toothed cat is an extinct massively built carnivore that was native to North and South America during the early Pleistocene through Lujanian stage of the Pleistocene epoch (2.5 mya—10,000 years ago). Their name comes from the prominent length of their maxillary canines. Smilodons were among the largest cats to ever to live on the planet, growing to weight between 120 to 1,000 pounds (55 to 455 kg) The color and patterns of the fur of the animal is under much debate, because the fossil so far has provided no clues. Some believe the Smilodon had spots like a leopard or stripes like a tiger, but the most common representation shows them with a simple beige colored coat like a modern mountain lion. The Smilodon is the official state fossil of the state California.