Fangbone! VR Goggles

In one of the forthcoming episodes of the Fangbone TV show, Fangbone and Bill use these odd Skullbanian Virtual Reality goggles.  This is one of the first things that I drew using the Wacom Cintiq.  At the moment it looks like the show will be hitting Canada in March, and on Disney XD in the US sometime in the fall.

First Fangbone!

Aside from a few doodles, this is really the "first" Fangbone drawing I ever completed.  It's still very rough, and sketchy, but this image nailed down what I was thinking about.  "Bonesword" was the kid barbarian's name for a short while, but was changed to Fangbone very early in the project.

Bill also became bolder, and a more important part of the story.  In this drawing he looks like the just tags along being scared.

I think that original title of the book was "Bonesword and Bill" for a bit as well.  The main reason "Bonesword" was changed is that it was a tough word to read correctly.  It could be read as "Bone-sword" which was correct, but people also read it as "Bone's-word" which was not my inattention at all.

I like this drawing.  When I was first thinking about this idea, it was more of an illustrated chapter book, and not a comic, so this detailed, fussy style might have worked.

Fangbone! TV Pilot Art

Wow!  I have a great big pile of Fangbone! TV pilot art to share with you today.  I've been sitting on this all summer, but was recently given the go-ahead to post it.  All of the below work was drawn by the wonderful people at Mercury Filmworks.  None of it is mine.

This is what Fangbone's cave looks like now.

The kitchen in Bill's house.

 This is a battle dummy that Fangbone uses to develop his barbarian skills.

 Here are the two other Skullbania warriors that will be regulars on the show.

You can nevr have enough trolls.

 Here's a sketch of Drool's throne room.  This was used to determine scale.  That little red guy is Drool.

Action pose of Fangbone.  This was one of the first pieces that was produced to get a sense of what the who would look like.

Fangbone's original name was...

I hand kind of forgotten about this, but “Fangbone” was originally named “Bonesword.” When I pitched the “third grade barbarian” idea to my editor, he really liked it, but said that the name didn’t work.  He was worried that it would read as “Bones Word” as opposed to “Bone Sword.”  He sent me off to come up with another name, and after putting together some words that I liked, “Fangbone” showed up. 

If I remember, I wanted his sword, which was made of bone, to play a part in the narrative, but that didn’t end up going anywhere.  Bill’s name was a no-brainer.  I just needed a simple, one-syllable boys’ name that was very common.

This was one of the very first drawings for this idea that I made, and I like the loose watercolor.  

More Fangbone! TV design sketches

The Fangbone! pilot is flying along.  Early in the summer the all of the voices were recorded, the storyboards are done, designs have been finalized, and right now I am patiently waiting for the first rough edit.

I still can’t show any of he work produced by the great folks at Mercury Filmworks, but I can post sketches that I have done.

While the designers use some of my sketches almost verbatim, others are used as jumping off points.  People have asked me if I have liked working with other artists, and how it feels to have my worked changed.  Personally, I think it’s great.  The people I am working with are insanely talented, and they really understand Fangbone!

In fact, the best part of this project has been the day I spent up at Mercury doodling and laughing with the lead designer.  It made me feel like I was drawing in my parent’s basement with my friends when I was a kid. It reminded me of why I got into drawing and telling stories for a living.

The actual animation is scheduled to start in September.

This is a detailed drawing of Fangbone's cave.

Some ideas for the tents that the barbarian clans would use.

A throne for Drool.  Known as the "Bone Throne."

This is a communication portal that Fangbone uses to talk to the wizard in Skullbania.  I can't show you him, but he's awesome.

This is how Drool watches Fangbone and Bill.  I can't show you what's it's filled with.

Some character work, and a prop.

Drool's Castle

While drawing the Fangbone! books, I never really got to explore the character of Venomous Drool.  Yes, it is his Big Toe of Evil that drives the narrative, but we never get to spend much time with him in the stories.

For the Fangbone! pilot, Drool has become a much more important character.  Right now, he's undergoing a very cool re-design.  In the show, we will also be seeing his castle in Skullbania.

While I am sure the show designers will come up with something great for the castle, I also did a few pieces just to get some concepts laid out.

Here are my two "sketch" ideas for the castle. Enjoy.

Fangbone! T.V. Update

Here are some drawings that will be used in the Fangbone! pitch bible that is being worked on with the wonderful people at Radical Sheep Productions.  There's a development deal in place with Disney XD Canada, and so far, there has been a lot of enthusiasm towards the project.

The pitch bible lays out the show, the characters, the settings, and anything else that someone would need to know about Fangbone!  The bible also contains a few short story ideas, explains how a typical episode would work, and gives examples of the humor that would be an essential part of the concept.  Right now, we are pitching it as a 22 minute show.  While the artwork is close to how I envision the show, I'm sure if this goes further, the designs would be tightened up for animation.

A joke cut from Fangbone #3

One of the hardest things about writing a book like Fangbone is cutting gags that I love. This is one that was taken out at the very last minute because we needed to add some information that was important to the plot. And while I love this bit, I was worried that kids wouldn't know what a boil is, and the the whole joke would flop. Hopefully I can use this bit in the future.

The last few panels are blurry because they are still in the book and I don't want them spoiled.