Triceratops at Peartree bridge in Milton Keynes - 2010

Triceratops in 1980 © Inter-Action MK

Triceratops in 1981 © 2010 Megashorts

Milton Keynes Triceratops

The Triceratops at Peartree Bridge in Milton Keynes was created by local artist Bill Billings in 1979. To celebrate it’s thirtieth birthday the iconic dinosaur received a makeover which was unveiled on the 25th May 2009. The design was chosen from over 200 colourful ideas which were put forward for a dinosaur design competition, people were then asked to vote for their favourite. The winning entry was submitted anonymously into the competition. The dinosaur was then painted by Inter Action MK; a community arts group which is based in a building nearby the Triceratops.

The artist Bill Billings initially had the idea to build the Triceratops in Linford Wood in the north of Milton Keynes but the city would not give him permission; however he was awarded £250 for his project. Bill made the sculpture from concrete and chicken wire and it’s rumoured that he slept in the belly of the dinosaur during its construction. Bill sadly didn’t live to see the thirtieth anniversary as he passed away in December 2007.

Having grown up in Milton Keynes it was one of the first mascots I became aware of and no doubt had an influence on my interest in art and 3D characters. I’ve included a few photos of the triceratops documenting a few of it’s many makeovers. Milton Keynes is a city perhaps more famous for another sculpture; ‘The Concrete Cows’. However, the triceratops is by far my favourite mascot, landmark and sculpture from my home town.

Tokyo Park Animals

When it came to editing Idle Idol we ended up removing a whole section called Park attendants. They didn’t quite fit in with the rest of the mascots but it was really hard to get rid of such great characters from the book.

All over Japan these creatures brighten up small parks with slides made into elephants, wobbly seat pandas and some animals just there to brighten up a small corner of fun.