ST. GEORGE — Alex Chamberlain’s 12-year-old dreams evolved when he stepped out of a dark theater showing of “Jurassic Park” in 1993. 

Standing in the blazing St. George sun, young Chamberlain wondered, “How can I create visuals that like to communicate what’s in my head?”

Now, almost 30 years later, Chamberlain is the chair of the Art Department at Utah Tech University. As a professor, he teaches 3D animation and photography, and he regularly creates, donates and sells dinosaur art, both digital and physical. Chamberlain recounted the arduous journey he traveled to get to where he is now.

Computer animation was in its infancy in 1993, making education in the field extremely difficult and expensive. Chamberlain said the computer he’d have liked at the time to even dip his toes in computer animation cost over $3,000, and that had a 210 MB hard drive. And even that rig wouldn’t have given him the tools he really needed.

Scrounging for resources and building connections with professionals, adolescent Chamberlain found flexible ways to develop his computer animation skills.

“A local TV studio let me edit on their linear editing machines at night, which I did until 4:30 a.m.,” Chamberlain said. “A friend’s older brother had a job at ‘the college’ and would take us into Ron Woodland’s computer graphics lab at night to play video games. Instead, I would start up StrataVision 3D and poke and prod until I figured out how to do something exciting.

“Does all of this smell a little obsessive? It wasn’t. It was more – it was desperation.”

Over time, that desperation help fuse his creativity with the latest technology.

“Today, I use free, open-source 3D modeling and animation creation tools that outperform the cinematic creation tools of 1993 by ridiculous margins. It’s an amazing time to be creative,” he said.

Chamberlain’s love for dinosaurs influences more than his art and hobbies — it inspires his perception of life itself.

“I’m drawn to things that remind me of how small I am and how fleeting life is,” he said. “I think that’s why I photograph the Milky Way at night. I love the sensation of looking out and seeing there’s a larger, deeper universe than I could ever understand.

“Dinosaurs do something like that for me. A lot of them are big, powerful beasts that I’ll never be able to see in real life. They existed so long ago that, to me, it gives the same sensation. As important as I may think I am, I’m just one drop in the bucket.”

Chamberlain said his artistic goal in reconstructing dinosaurs has changed. He used to create what he thought “looked cool.” Now he seeks to create accurate and up-to-date models of what the dinosaurs likely looked like.

Chamberlain grew up in Tocqueville, Utah. He’s lived in Utah for most of his life. He received a bachelor’s degree in history from Southern Utah University, and he earned his MFA in media design from Full Sail University. Chamberlain began teaching full-time at Utah Tech University — formerly Dixie State University — in January 2013. 

Last semester, Chamberlain joined forces with a biology professor and an integrated arts and sciences professor to teach a paleoart class, a mix of paleontology and art. This art class allowed students to create pieces that drew on sciences like paleontology and biology to inform and inspire new artistic products.

“Students had to come up with research ideas, give a scientific research proposal, present research and present art,” Chamberlain said.

These paleoart projects took many forms, including 3D animations, traditional-styled drawings, paintings, illustrated posters and sculptures.

Leading such a class was a dream come true for Chamberlain. He recommends the textbook he used for the class to any who are interested in paleoart: “The Paleoartist’s Handbook: Recreating Prehistoric Animals in Art,” by Mark Witton.

“That’s probably the most up-to-date paleoart bible right now,” Chamberlain said. “It’s interesting to read, it’s not dry and it lets you know what you don’t know and what questions you need to ask in order to get started.”

Chamberlain’s main source of income is teaching at Utah Tech University, but he also has significant income from night sky and landscape photography, selling pieces in photo galleries and on his website. He spends the rest of his artistic time creating his own paleoart.

Recently, Chamberlain completed a life-sized replica sculpture of a Tyrannosaurus rex skull. He crafted the skull with multiple textures and media, like Styrofoam and drywall mud. Chamberlain donated the skull to St. George Dinosaur Discovery Site at Johnson Farm.

“The scale of a T-Rex skull compared to you is so overwhelming,” Chamberlain said. “Everyone needs that experience, to remind us we aren’t quite as important as we think we are.”

He’s currently working on a paid commission of a Utahraptor. 

“I’m a one-stop man for my clients,” he said. “I render, I animate, I do lightning — I do it all myself.”

Due to his solo-working habits, Chamberlain admitted his abilities count him out from working on large-scale 3D dinosaur projects, like documentaries that have entire teams devoted to specific aspects of digital graphics.

Chamberlain enthusiastically gave advice for those interested in 3D animation and paleoart. He said people ought to recognize phones are incredible creative tools, and we should use them to deliberately create art from scratch, rather than simply consuming media or creating according to pre-made social media structures like TikTok videos and Instagram reels. 

“You have to be very deliberate about everything. You have to add creative control,” he said. “You have to find accuracy in every detail, like understanding a T-Rex didn’t have kneecaps. Do your reading.” 

He also advised dinosaur lovers and artists alike to contact academic dinosaur experts.

“Reach out to paleontologists and ask them your questions. They’re experts, not celebrities. Most I’ve met are very generous with their time and give me tips on how to improve my paleoart. They’re willing to engage and give a helping hand.”

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