Challenge > Draw an Extinct Mammal Challenge Winners

Challenge #11: Draw an Extinct Mammal
NOVEMBER 2020 • CHALLENGE CLOSED

Mammoths, tigers, sloths, oh my! We are so impressed with everyone’s artwork.

John Flynn, Mick Ellison, and Nicole Wong

Museum paleontologist John Flynn and illustrators Mick Ellison and Nicole Wong. © AMNH

We had three special guest judges for this OLogy Challenge! John Flynn is a paleontologist. He travels around the world to study geology and fossils of living and extinct mammals. And Mick Ellison and Nicole Wong are scientific illustrators. They examine fossils, use their imagination and art skills, and work closely with paleontologists to create lifelike drawings of animals that lived long ago.

Hall of Fame Gallery

This Challenge was to use these instructions to draw an extinct mammal of your choice. Here are our judges' top picks!

Christopher T.

Age 11
Nebraska U.S.A.
"A ferocious standoff between a woolly mammoth and a saber-toothed tiger."
Judges' Comments:
A great story! The rugged landscape and dynamic animals convey the drama of two powerful animals—predator and prey—facing off against each other. We also love the shadows and the shading.
Deeptanava R.

Age 9
California, U.S.A.
"The saber-toothed tiger was a carnivorous mammal that lived approximately 23 to 2.6 million years ago. It was a very ferocious feline hunting almost all of the herbivorous animals that lived in its territory. The animal had long 6-inch teeth jutting out of its mouth, from which its name was derived from."
Judges' Comments:
Terrific drawing! Great colors and fur patterning. The pose captures the strength of Smilodon and its dagger-sharp teeth. It’s nice that you included those rocks and that tree.
Lucy G.

Age 7
Surrey, U.K.
"Dimetrodon lived in a hot desert and used its tall sail to keep cool."
Judges' Comments:
Great use of colors to convey the heat of a desert Sun for this Dimetrodon's home. A magical drawing!
Luke N.

Age 11
California, U.S.A.
"The image shows an entelodont (hell pig) roaming the African / American wilderness."
Judges' Comments:
A really dynamic scene! A ferocious entelodont charging something threatening. It’s a tough angle, but well drawn! There’s good use of shading, and we like the tufts of fur on its back.
Gabriella F.

Age 6
New York, U.S.A.
"The Mylodon (Mylodon darwini) was a huge mammal that lived in Patagonia, Chile. It looks like a giant chipmunk or polar bear."
Judges' Comments:
John Flynn has been to Mylodon cave, and he says this brings the animal to life! It captures the rotated feet and giant hand claws of Mylodon. We also think the fur texture is great.
Haru S.

Age 6
New York, U.S.A.
"Dimetrodon. I imagined that he could go into the water because it has a sail like a Spinosaurus."
Judges' Comments:
Clever use of paper montage, nice fine details, and great texture and color. This artist integrates up-to-date knowledge from other fossils to help imagine the environment Dimetrodon lived in. Fantastic!
Lucia V.

Age 9
Minnesota, U.S.A.
"Saber-toothed tiger (lunging). "Roarrrrr!""
Judges' Comments:
Cat species often have spots, like those imagined by this artist. We like the way you drew its cat-like toes, the tricky angle of its face, and its lunging posture. The labels are a nice touch!
Carolina F.

Age 7
New York, U.S.A.
"The quagga (equus quagga quagga) was a species of zebra from South Africa that became extinct around 150 years ago."
Judges' Comments:
Lovely patterning and texture to the color strokes. It reminds us of a cave painting. We also like its cheeky expression! It’s wonderful to see your process of reconstruction.
Cameron H.

Age 5
California, U.S.A.
"This is the Glyptodon clavipes and some of his babies. He can go in his shell so he looks like a rock. I feel sad that it is extinct because I love animals. I think if he were alive he would protect other small animals and ask them if they wanted to go in his shell with him and he would cover them up."
Judges' Comments:
A fun scene of babies looking up to a big, armored adult Glyptodon. We like that you're thinking about how this animal would behave in life!
Maximus W.

Age 11
Pennsylvania, U.S.A.
"Woolly Mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius), Pleistocene / Holocene Periods"
Judges' Comments:
Interesting movement of the head and trunk, and simple pencil lines convey a lot about this mammoth and the plants around it. You captured the pose and got the tusks perfectly. This also has a great layout. Well done!
Ben G.

Age 9
Surrey, U.K.
"Moschops capensis lived in South Africa 260 million years ago. It is camouflaged with dry grassland and sand."
Judges' Comments:
A wonderful landscape composition, capturing dry grasslands in the Sun. It’s a very interesting animal. Nice choice!

Loading gallery, please wait...

Honorable Mention Gallery

Here are more drawings of extinct mammals (and dinosaurs) that inspired us!

Della K.

Age 8
Pennsylvania, U.S.A.
"This is my version of the Dimetrodon."
Judges' Comments:
The color draws your eye to the sail-backed Dimetrodon in this lively drawing. We like the big teeth!
Ashton

Age 7
Iowa, U.S.A.
"Woolly Mammoth"
Judges' Comments:
Very vibrant, bold colors! Your woolly mammoth has quite the personality.
Hannah

Age 9
Iowa, U.S.A.
"Saber-Toothed Tiger"
Judges' Comments:
The eyes indicate an alert predator moving along the edge of the woods. The lifted paw is a great touch!
Mannix H.

Age 9
New Jersey, U.S.A.
"Irish Elk with a Trunk"
Judges' Comments:
Imagination is important for an illustrator, like the trunk imagined for this Irish Elk! The antlers and fur are really nice.
Lois L.

Age 8
China
Judges' Comments:
The pen strokes nicely convey the shaggy fur and smooth tusks of this mammoth. We really like the expression on its face!
Ava N.

Age 10
Minnesota, U.S.A.
"This is my drawing of a woolly mammoth."
Judges' Comments:
We like the Sun behind the proudly standing mammoth. There is a great sense of space in this drawing.
Reann N.

Age 9
Israel
"Saber-toothed tigers lived in the ice age. They ate large herbivores like bison, woolly mammoths, and woolly rhinos. Their canine teeth were either long or short, but they were both like daggers. Scientists think that they hunted by ambush. When their prey stopped to graze, they leaped out and slashed the underside of their prey's throat. The prey then had blood loss leading to death, leaving a tasty lunch. Scientists think saber-toothed tigers went extinct because of climate change or lack of food due to extinction of large herbivores."
Judges' Comments:
We can feel the fierce determination as this powerful, striped, saber-toothed cat goes on the prowl for food. And those slashes—ouch! We love the research that went into this.
Oscar H.

Age 11
New Jersey, U.S.A.
"Saber-toothed cat as if I had never seen one before and was just guessing by its skeleton"
Judges' Comments:
Very cool and a creative new look!
Nicolas P.

5th Grade
New Jersey, U.S.A.
"Dimetrodon"
Judges' Comments:
We immediately noticed the distinctive teeth in the open mouth of this Dimetrodon. It has a great classic pose. We love the Moon too!
José Tomás H.

Age 6
Santiago, Chile
"Moschops capensis"
Judges' Comments:
This nicely captures the high arms and big head of Moschops.
Uzayr J.

Age 9
California, U.S.A.
"Dimetrodon grandis lived during the Permian period, which was between 260 mya to 248 mya, It had spines sticking out of its back with a sail at the bottom."
Judges' Comments:
Showing extinct animals, like this group of Dimetrodon, in their ancient environments helps bring the past to life. We like seeing them drawn in different angles. Impressive!
Emma W.

Pennsylvania, U.S.A.
"This is my woolly mammoth. I included some water in the background. The woolly mammoth is trying to keep up with its family so they can get to their feeding grounds, because every year they migrate there. It is an adult taking on the responsibility to be in the back to make sure nobody gets left behind. They have been walking for a while so they are very tired."
Judges' Comments:
The color and landscape conveys this mammoth slowly migrating across the open plains. We can feel how tired this brave adult is.
Simon B.

New York, U.S.A.
"Saber-Toothed Tiger"
Judges' Comments:
We love this artist’s attention to detail in labeling the back nails, and important features like the fangs. This saber-tooth is very fierce looking!
Oliver B.

Age 11
New Jersey, U.S.A.
"Woolly Mammoth"
Judges' Comments:
It's important for an artist to pay attention to all the details of an animal's body, like in this picture!
Sophie S.

Age 10
California, U.S.A.
"This is a Megatherium americanum"
Judges' Comments:
This is a cool animal to pick! It has good proportions and details. We also like the mix of different kinds of plants.
Stella G.

Age 5
California, U.S.A.
"I chose the wooly mammoth because it is easy to draw. I like that it has horns. I think if it was still alive today it would make a sound like an elephant."
Judges' Comments:
This has great shapes and colors. We like that you're thinking about how this animal sounds!
José Tomás H.

Age 6
Santiago, Chile
"Saber-Toothed Cat"
Judges' Comments:
The pose captures the giant sabers and stalking movements of this big cat!
Andrew M.

Age 6
New York, U.S.A.
"My drawing is a woolly mammoth, Smilodon, and a hidden Glyptodon at night."
Judges' Comments:
Creative scene with THREE extinct mammals! We love the hidden Glyptodon, and the interesting choice to set this as a nighttime scene.
Desi H.

Age 4
New Jersey, U.S.A.
"Dimetrodon on the beach"
Judges' Comments:
This is wonderful and cute! Great color choices.
Josie

Age 6
New York, U.S.A.
"A Smilodon sneaks up on its prey."
Judges' Comments:
Look out—it's a hungry Smilodon!
Logan M.

Age 6
New York, U.S.A.
"Eocene Mammals: Eohippus and Brontotherium"
Judges' Comments:
This is a fun drawing of a day in the Eocene. Mick says he’s happy you drew some of his favorite animals!
Niky W.

Age 5
California, U.S.A.
"This is a saber-toothed tiger. I chose it because I like its big teeth. I am happy that the saber-toothed tiger is extinct because I don't want it to kill any more animals. I would be happy if it was still alive today because the tiger could eat animals that are trying to eat even smaller animals."
Judges' Comments:
This has great colors and attention to detail about the bones inside this saber-tooth's body. Very creative!
Bayly

"Hi my name is Bayly I drew a woolly mammoth"
Judges' Comments:
Simple pencil lines nicely capture the essence of this woolly mammoth!
Sergio R.

Age 14
New York, U.S.A.
"This is an Allosaurus next to a river with a lot of rocks, trees and bushes, the Sun is also out."
Judges' Comments:
Interesting landscape for this running, scale-covered dinosaur. It has great texture and careful shading. Nice!
Matthew S.

Age 15
Michigan, U.S.A.
"The Triceratops is easily recognizable by its three horns. The Triceratops used its horns to defend itself against dinosaurs such as the Tyrannosaurus rex."
Judges' Comments:
Good line work and color to define features on this dinosaur. We like the roaring expression, its yellow horns, and red tongue. It pops!
Alexander S.

Age 5
New York, U.S.A.
"T. rex"
Judges' Comments:
We like that we can see through to the skeleton of this dinosaur. Excellent addition of feathers!