"I saved the picture of the official, upcoming scaly velociraptor model on my computer, sketched feathers on it, and then traced a lineart based on the original model + the feathers/plumage I sketched. I also altered the position of the front limbs to be more high-held, to give more space to the wing feathers. Then I just started coloring and having fun with it.

I just wanted to imagine. And also try out picking color schemes and creating markings for a feathered creature that is neither bird nor reptile. I tried making these skins good for camouflage. Also, I didn't want them to be too bird-like, since even though for a dinosaur, a dromaeosaurid is pretty close to birds, I think there still is a long distance between modern birds and velociraptor, so I tried to give my velo skins here an unique look that feels like its own thing (and not like a modern bird rip-off) and somehow makes sense on a feathered body.

Someone recently told me that Velociraptor might not get a feathered version at all (correct me if I'm wrong), and that this was a thing said on a stream.

I respect whatever decision the devs make, since The Isle isn't my artistic creation and I am simply one fan, consumer and a player with opinions here. I understand that it's a sci-fi game that, by some part, wants to re-create the Jurassic Park nostalgy, hence the old-school scaled raptors. I am able to live with this, and I am just going to buy Saurian to get my hands on the most accurate video game dromaeosaurids ever seen if I need to. And also, I just love the upcoming Dakotaraptor model of The Isle, and feel so glad that one of my favorite raptors will be in the game and also have feathers. With feathered Dakota, I can totally live with featherless Velo and Utah, even if I'd personally like them better with feathers.

This art is here for the joy of drawing and coloring feathered dromaeosaurids. It's here to demonstrate the aesthethic potential in feathered Velociraptor, regardless of whether feathered Velo will ever be in the game or not. We can always have art of it, even if it's not going to be a thing.

This is not a...
"PLEASE DO THE GAME LIKE I WANT AND GIEVE US FETHERD VELOS!1111" picture.

But this is just a ....
"Hey, I imagined what would the velociraptor model look like with feathers, and also created some fan-made skin concepts. I did this because I wanted to be able to look at this, and to also share it with others and hear opinions."

I will make it very clear that what I say next, is only my opinion, and how I personally feel about this whole thing. It's not how I think things "should" go, just a thought.

All the dromaeosaurids in the game would look more appealing with feathers, and scaly raptors look sort of naked and out of place, due to the fossil discoveries that proved dromaeosaurids to be feathered. It's very hard for me to understand the fixation with scaly raptors and the prejudice against feathered ones in video games. Why do we want our fantasy about an animal that existed, to represent the actual animal instead of a more accurate version? Unfortunately for me, scaly raptors are the same thing as colorful "sparklewolves" of deviantART; they are an "edgier" version of a real-life animal, to suit some sort of human-made ideal. It just doesn't feel right to me.

In their own time, scaly raptors were the most accurate version, but just not anymore. The knowledge on what were dromaeosaurids like, has moved on from those times. And yes, velociraptor and utahraptor lacking feathers make them significantly less appealing for me as playable dinosaurs. Utahraptor would probably be my "main" if it had feathers, - that's how much I love the species. It just doesn't interest me if it's portrayed as a version that resembles very little what the animal actually looked like. It's like having a game about, say, mammals, and having to pick a Sparklewolf instead of an actual wolf. It doesn't feel the same.

I get that scaly raptors are cool for people who love, and possibly grew up with, Jurassic Park. I too, think that JP raptors are really cool in their own way, and that the creature design is beautiful and visually enjoyable. But as I am a dinosaur-lover who developed my love of dinosaurs from dinosaur books and the toy figures I used to have as kid instead of JP, the look of raptors in a certain movie is... Still just a fantasy, like an imaginary creature to me. To me, it doesn't represent raptors, but a fantasy about them. A fantasy that never held much signifigance for me.

How I choose to deal with things as they are:

I am just one player giving feedback and providing an opinion. <--- That's the value of my opinion, it's a player opinion, and devs are 100% entitled to decide whether this opinion is considered relevant or not. I can express it, but I am also not going to act like a brat and try telling people how to make their game. I can enjoy lots of things even if I don't agree with everything about them, and The Isle is a game I love to play. Scaly-only Utah and Velo disturb me, but it's not the end of the world. As I said, I am simply going to make Dakota my main raptor to play as when it finally comes out, and that's it. Feathered options for Utah and Velo would make them much more playable for me, and even if they're never going to happen, or even if they're just not currently the top priority and will happen somewhere in the far, far future, I think I can forgive it. It's a "I'd like this thing better if..", not a "this thing ruins everything for me".

So, what do you think about these designs? :D Which one is your favorite? Also, any opinions and thoughs on the feathers vs. no feathers matter? Also: PLEASE RESPECT EACH OTHERS' OPINIONS AND DON'T START A ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥, we're talking about a thing that is equivalent to "do you like hamburger or pizza better?", so liking / not liking feathers is not something to be an arsehole about. Be. Polite. And respectful."