#michael rex

[unrighteousbooks]

[jadecrusades]

Illustrations by Michael Rex, “Star Wars Insider” Issue #38. June, 1998.

Issue #38 of the “Star Wars Insider” featured an article by Jon Bradley Synder titled “The Top 20 Star Wars Characters,” with accompanying illustrations by Michael Rex. The article listed poll results from a previously administered quiz by the “Star Wars Insider” the year prior. This was right before “The Phantom Menace” was released, which would have added a dozen new characters to the Star Wars pantheon. As it were, Mara Jade landed at #20, and "was the highest-ranked character who did not appear in a Star Wars movie.”

[maneaterwithtail]

Thanks to all the Toonzone Forum Members for submitting questions to the Fangbone! Fan Q&A! Your questions were awesome and so were the creators’...

I was answered TWICE in this Q&A

Helps also put in perspective their production, aims, and the influences

Helps as really unpacking along with @pirateshenani and @cartoonemotion the influence and differences and aims with the adaptation

Thanks to all the Toonzone Forum Members for submitting questions to the Fangbone! Fan Q&A! Your questions were awesome and so were the creators’ answers! We hope you enjoy reading through the answers as much as we did. Participating in the Answers portion of the Fangbone! Q&A were the creator and book series writer, Michael Rex and the tv showrunners Simon Racioppa and Richard Elliott. (Editor’s Note: Questions asked were edited for brevity and clarity.) Will Fangbone! be renewed for Season 2? (superkeegan9100 and SparkleMan) Simon Racioppa and Richard Elliott: By Grom’s bottomless dimples, it shall be so! (we hope) Michael Rex: Fingers crossed! --- Will Fangbone! air on any additional countries, networks and in other languages? (Ryan, RandomMe, NeoplanDan, I.R. Shokew) Simon Racioppa and Richard Elliott: Absolutely. Fangbone! will appear across the world in a multitude of tongues in a multitude of places – that are too numerous for us to list (or remember). Perhaps one of our many traveling salespeople who criss-cross the world with a suitcase full of Fangbone! might chime in here… In all seriousness, Fangbone! Distributor DHX Media, has currently sold the series into Disney XD US, South East Asia, Taiwan, and Latin America. Hope to announce additional countries in the near future. Stay posted. Will the books be translated into other languages? In what other languages/regions can we expect to see the books published? (RandomMe) Michael Rex:Right now, there are no plans for translating the books. I’m hoping as the show starts playing in different countries, the publisher, Putnam, will solicit the books to foreign markets. --- If you could be one of the characters on the show, who would you be? (D-nice is the man) Simon Racioppa: Drool’s giant badger monster. He’s clearly just misunderstood and trying his best every day for an unappreciative master… Richard Elliott: I would definitely be a Shadowstepper – skulking in the shadows and outwitting barbarians sounds like a good time to me. Michael Rex:I’ve always thought of myself as Bill. At the end of 3rd grade, my school closed down, and I was sent to a new school. Literally all of my closest friends went to another school. So, when 4th grade started, I was very lonely and desperate for a best friend. Eventually, a boy named Mark moved into my hometown in New Jersey, and we became great friends. He was fun, and a bit wild, and had long black hair. We’re still friends today. Will Fangbone! have Christmas and Halloween episodes? (Ryan) Simon Racioppa and Richard Elliott: Skullbanians don’t celebrate Christmas or Halloween. But they do have many other holidays – like Troll-smasher’s Eve and The Feast of Stoneback’s Feast. Endless possibilities for fun and adventure as you look at, compare and try to understand how Skullbanian’s celebrate versus how we do things here on Earth. What would Fangbone! think of Halloween? What would a Holiday Tree look like in Skullbania? Stay tuned. --- Does Fangbone! have parents? (Eggy) Simon Racioppa and Richard Elliott: He has the mightiest of parents! But they are away in far off lands on an epic quest. However, those of you with the eyes of a blood-eagle may catch a glimpse of them in an upcoming episode. If you do not have the eyes of a blood-eagle, they nest on sharp mountain peaks. But be careful – they peck! Michael Rex:Yes. They’re on a great quest somewhere in Skullbania. Also, how did Venomous Drool become Fangbone! and Bill's worst enemy? (Eggy) Simon Racioppa and Richard Elliott: If someone was keeping your detached big toe from you and wouldn’t give it back, you probably wouldn’t be pals with them either… Michael Rex:They’ve got his toe, and he needs it back. And, they keep beating him, and they’re only kids. It drives him nuts. --- How do you take an episode from concept to it airing? (martikhoras) Simon Racioppa and Richard Elliott: Let us explain… No, there is too much. Let us sum up. First, five or six NERDS gather in a small room and try to imagine what insanity could happen to Fangbone! this week. They argue and fight and cry and hiss at each other until the showrunners (that’s us!) are satisfied they’ve worked their butts off to come up with the best of all possible stories in the universe and beyond. They’re sent away to dank dark holes to write their scripts, which are then torn apart by the rest of the nerds and reassembled until they’re so full of adventure and comedy that they leak all over the floor. Then trumpets are sounded and ACTORS assembled in a recording studio – where they ACT with such passion it drives everyone to tears (of joy). At the same time, ARTISTS design all the new locations, characters, and props that the writers say they desperately need (liars!) to make their script work. Then trumpets are sounded again and the finished script, designs, and recorded actors are handed over to a story-bored artist… Sorry, story BOARD artist – who listens to the writers explain how amazing their script is, then drinks enormous amounts of coffee and draws PANELS from the script one by one, matching the recorded actors and making that ‘amazing’ ‘script’ and ‘amazing’ ‘acting’ even better. Those panels go to the DIRECTOR, who along with an EDITOR, assemble it into an animated and voiced storyboard that we call a LEICA on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, and an ANIMATIC on Tuesdays, Fridays, and the weekend. When the animatic/leica makes everyone giddy with excitement, it moves onto ANIMATION, where thousands (twenty-five) animators fight each other to animate the most exiting scenes – matching the animatic as closely as possible. The episode gets a few more passes to make it even better (fix all the mistakes) and then moves on to the real stars of the show – sound effects and music – who make everything approximately one million and a half times better. Then it’s a final pass for last minute mistakes and TA-DA! One finished Fangbone! episode ready for people to share for free on the Internet (please don’t share it for free on the Internet). What are your favorite parts of the show’s creative process? (Harley) Simon Racioppa and Richard Elliott: Seeing a goofy idea that started in the writers’ room as a “what if…” become a real finished episode. Also, the creative process of deciding what to order for lunch. Then the creative process of regretting what we ordered for lunch. --- As a fan of the tv show, how familiar will jumping into the book series feel? (jfoley85) Simon Racioppa and Richard Elliott: As familiar as traveling to an alternate reality where everything’s kinda the same but your parents are snakes. So mostly familiar with some specific differences. Michael Rex:They’re actually pretty close. One of the things that I am most happy with about the show is that it IS the books. While the stories in the books are a bit more involved than an 11-minute episode, the entirety of season 1 goes much deeper than the books. On the down side, the books don’t have a cool song at the beginning. Every adaptation is a challenge from visuals, to performers depictions, and direction and framing. I'm noticing some changes from the two GNs (1st and 3rd) I've read to the episodes I've seen (pretty much up to Back of Stone). What would you say has been added, changed, or dropped and what is the purpose of these changes? (martikhoras) Simon Racioppa and Richard Elliott:While the books are wonderful gateways into imagination, there’s only three of them. The television series is a hungry monster that requires more. Always more... MORE characters. MORE stories. MORE episodes. MORE human sacrifices to GROM! Michael Rex:Everything that has been added was done to open up the show, and allow for more varied stories. Skullbania doesn’t get much time in the books, but the creative team felt that it needed to be a big part of the show. Twinklestick was created as a way for Fangbone! to stay a bit more connected to his home world. Drool was greatly expanded on as well. He only lurks in the background in the books. Even though his actions are constantly felt, he doesn’t really get to do much. --- What did you read and watch as a kid? What were the inspirations for Fangbone! and Skullbania?(martikhoras) Michael Rex:Growing up the early 70’s, “Planet of the Apes” was everywhere. 5 movies, a TV show, and an action figure line made it easy to get wrapped up in. “Star Wars” came out in 1977 and it affected me deeply. Like many others in my generation, it felt like my 9 year-old imagination had been transported directly to the screen. I started reading about movie making, and I tried to understand the mythology Lucas was using in his films. (As a 10 year old, Joseph Campbell was a tough slog, but I tried.) Fangbone! is directly inspired by the 1982 film, “Conan The Barbarian,” which I saw in 8th grade. It was funny, gritty, violent, and exciting and I just loved it. Conan had always been around when I was younger, I’d see his comics and cheap paperbacks in drugstores, but I didn’t know much about him until the film came out. When I was older, I eventually got around to reading the Conan books by Robert E. Howard. As I was gearing up to write the first Fangbone! book, I devoured a huge pile of Marvel’s “Savage Sword of Conan.” Oddly, now that I think about it, Skullbania’s vast deserts and rocky vistas are probably inspired by “Planet of the Apes.” It’s hard to escape those early influences.

[onestarpicturebooks]

It should have been noted that this is a kids book! I just wasted my time and $, too bad!

WALTER P. LESER reviews With Any Luck I’ll Drive a Truck

[thebookishaustin]

Picture Book Update

Images from my Goodreads shelf 

The world is all weird and crazy right now, I know, but I’m trying to stay positive and keep looking for the good in all the bad. A lot of stuff is out of our control right now BUT we do have a lot in our control and we have to keep doing what we CAN do right now. For me? That’s continuing to reach for my reading goals! Here’s an update from the past two weeks of my favorite picture books! 

Perfectly Norman by Tom Percival: If you’ve been following my picture book posts, you’ll notice that Percival has made it into my favorites every time! He’s definitely one of my favorite authors at this point. I can’t wait to delve more into his work. This one is about embracing the perfectly, quirky, wonderful things that make you unique! 

Facts vs. Opinions vs. Robots by Michael Rex: My goodness! This book is so important for children when learning about facts and opinions. Rex makes this book interactive and fun to learn the difference and why it’s so important to know that difference. 

That’s Life! By Ame Dyckman (Author) & Cori Doerrfeld (Illustrator): This is another positive book to help children understand how life is fun, amazing, scary, terrible, and all sorts of other adjectives. The artwork is adorable and provides  a great visual for children. 

The Seed of Compassion: Lessons from the Life and Teachings of His Holiness the Dalai Lama by Dalai Lama (Author) & Bao Luu (Illustrator): This book was recently published and I loved how the message was so honest and uplifting. This is somewhat autobiographical of the Dalai Lama but it is also a strong message of building compassion through small acts. Truly a wonderful story for people of all ages. 

Have you read any interesting picture books during your quarantine? I’d love to hear about them if you are willing to share. Message me here on Tumblr, on my Instagram, or on Goodreads! Hope to hear from you soon and be safe out there readers. <3

[maneaterwithtail]

Michael Rex shouting out to fanart

https://t.co/rt9BGufWec porque amé a Bill y al gatito, pasé 2 días haciendo este dibujo y mi tarea xD ¿valio la pena? #fangbone #draw #drawing #dibujos #fanart #gatos #cats #cartoonart pic.twitter.com/hKbooaXItq

— Blackido Bad-kun (@BadBlackido) June 18, 2018

[maneaterwithtail]

Check out Michael Rex on Twitter. Bestselling children's book author/illustrator and creator of Fangbone!, (now on Netflix) Goodnight Goon and Worm-The Mullet Warrior. Michael Rex is part of a small well likely large by now group of creators and Twitter users who is speaking out against the harassment that is happened to Marie Kelly Tran. Particularly how some of the fandom has made hating on both the character and the actress associated in effigy absolutely terrible and even calling out certain women speakers as well. I'm not sure whether I agree with him or not but I do appreciate the fact that he's emphasizing a message of togetherness while at the same time being a positive encouragement to those who are in the fandom. @tinstarbby recent piece with fangbone cloaking bill got a shout out and compliment I myself have received encouragement and likes for my project from him. I don't know exactly what kind of man he is but the way he acts on Twitter is something to be commended. So I just wanted to speak positively about positive Creator behavior and positive relationship with the fans and the Creator

[maneaterwithtail]

More Michael Art

#sketch #sketchbook #exploretocreate #exploretheglobe #explore #travel #adventuretravel #adventureawaits #river #riverjourney #journey #journeys #artistsoninstagram #artofvisuals #artoftheday #childrenswritersguild #childrensbookillustration #kidlitart #kidlit #comics #cartoon #copicmarkers #copic #temple #worship #discovery #illustration #illustrationoftheday #illustratorsoninstagram

A post shared by Michael Rex (@fangbone_rex) on Jan 16, 2018 at 7:04pm PST