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| Photo:
Mindy McNaugher |
Mark
Anton Klingler is a scientific illustrator
at Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh,
PA. He began his career in scientific illustration
as a work-study while earning his degree in
Graphic Design from Carnegie Mellon University.
After graduation Mark was hired in the Section
of Invertebrate Zoology and worked there for
several years until leaving in 1996 to earn
a certificate in Painting & Design from Pennyslvania
Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia, PA.
Mark returned to CMNH in 1997 to join the Section
of Vertebrate Paleontology.
His
work has appeared in numerous international
publications such as Science, Nature,
and National Geographic, in museum exhibits
at the Bell Museum (MN), the Oakland Museum
(CA), and the Smithsonian Institution, textbooks,
scientific journals, newspapers, and websites
such as CNN and Discovery. He enjoys giving
lectures and workshops on wildlife art and illustration
for local museums, schools, and community groups,
and recently became a part-time instructor at
greater Pittsburgh's Oakbridge Academy of Arts.
In the summer of 2003 he also collaborated on
two dinosaurs for Pittsburgh's DinoMite Days
public art project.
As
a scientific illustrator, Klingler reconstructs
fossil organisms. To reconstruct an entire animal
from so little fossil information, Klingler
must work closely with scientists to compare
the characteristics of a fossil to those of
both modern and primitive animals. In the case
of Hadrocodium wui, Klingler researched
modern insectivores such as shrews and moles
for skeletal information. Related species of
primitive insectivores such as Jeholodens
jenkinsii, another Carnegie Museum discovery,
provide additional information about the animal's
structure.
Mark
will often produce a clay model to better visualize
the animal's mass and body form. This process
provides him with the information he needs to
develop a watercolor image of these once-lost
creatures. His watercolor image is scanned into
a computer, thus digitizing it so that it can
be easily edited and sent to publishers around
the world.
Mark
resides in Lower Burrell, PA with his wife Cathy
and their two cats. He particularly enjoys working
in the garden and taking walks in the woods
to find inspiration for his art.
Affiliations:
Pittsburgh
Society of Illustrators
Guild
of Natural Science Illustrators
Society
of Vertebrate Paleontology
