Had a few requests for 3D printed marine reptile skulls over the last few months so I’m starting a Mosasaurus.
My orthographic drawing of the M. hoffmannii holotype cranium. Adapted from Street and Caldwell (2017), also reffed Lingham-Soliar (1995) & other misc info thrown in where relevant.
Added the jaw to the orthographic drawing.
Pic removed - see below for update
I’ve adapted these views from what are already good drawings in the papers I mentioned. I prefer to this because I like the details in my top and side views to line up, published specimen drawings and photos don’t always account for perspective. That’s not a criticism in any way, those published images are there to show the anatomy, not be a guide for 3D modellers.
Finally managed to make time to start the 3D. These simple sub_D boxes are the base forms for a template sculpt.
Been picking away at this, bit basic but good enough for a template sculpt. Next stage re-topo for multi-res sculpting.
Quick lightmap UVs then I can texture paint a rough structure for a base mesh (red lines). More a loose guide really, things come together better when I start putting polys down.
Back on with the Mosasaurus skull again, had to break off for a week.
Retopo-ing to make a base model for multi-res sculpting. There’s Blender plugins for this but I get by with a fairly lo-fi approach.
Base mesh traced over the template sculpt, UV map to do.
Might make a few changes, I’ll take another look tomorrow.
Skulls have such absurd toplogies.
For the retopo, you might like the “bridge edge loops” command.
Maybe why I love 'em! 
I use that quite a lot.
Wasn’t quite satisfied with my original mesh so I made some topology modifications. Hopefully a little better for sculpting with an more grid-like area between nasal openings and tooth line. The odd awkward pinch or pole here & there but mostly at out-of-sight or higher density areas, should be OK for my purposes.
Updated the orthographic drawing to correct the position of the foramina on the mandible. Dunno why I had them in the wrong place.
Pretty much there with the sculpting I reckon, been chipping away at it in spare moments.
I’ll leave it alone for a day so I can look at it fresh but pending a few tweaks it’s about ready to 3D-printize.
Made the additional stuff for the 3D print, the jaw hinge (pin & knuckle), jaw stiffener, eye stalks (not shown) and mounting hole.
Got this on order from Shapeways at 1:20 scale, I have to have at least one test print to see if any adjustments are needed. I’ll get a few photos when received.
Pin for jaw hinge (orange cylinders), had to slightly cut into the model to provide clearance for the hinge knuckle (attached to lower jaw).
The box shaped braces are to add some resistance, helping the jaw hold it’s position by means of spring tension (that’s the plan anyway :))).
Got my mosasaurus skull from Shapeways. This particular 3D print is the 1/20th scale version, also doing 1/12th, 1/16th and 1/24th. This isn’t just for the photos, it also doubles as a product test. The hinge parts and jaw stiffeners work but I can make some small improvements, as it is this isn’t far from being ready for sale.
To keep the part count down (multiple parts increases cost), I’ve attached the eye rings to the lower jaw via stumpy sprues. Not sure why I put them on the jaw, for the sale version I’ll just attach them in place to the cranium via a couple of struts.
The eye parts are so small I’m a bit daunted at the prospect of locating and attaching them. I’ve left them in place for now so I don’t lose them. Next I need to get the eye rings attached, paint the model, make and attach a mount and then get a few photos sorted. Maybe get this done later in the week.
It looks too pristine in it’s white unpainted state, can’t wait to grunge it up a bit 
Made some minor mods to the final version, beefed up the jaw stiffener bars and added in-place eye supports.
Putting the model on Shapeways today when I’ve got the product pics prepped and cropped. This is the first photo from the batch I took this week.
Managed to get all 4 scale versions through Shapeways checks, put the model in the shop and started this finished projects topic-
