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.

New Illustration Ideas #3

Here's another shot at combining a previously drawn sketch of a chair, with solid color.  The solid colors are Canson papers that I scanned in, and then layered onto the sketch.  The pattern on the chair was drawn in photoshop.  This one doesn't do much for me.  I like the colors, and the slight texture the papers have, but that's about it.  It's important to make some pieces that you don't like, so that it's easier to find what you do like.

New illustration Ideas #2

Here's another piece that uses some new ideas.  These two soldier guys were drawn during the fall.  They were created with pencil in a Moleskine sketchbook.  The paper is cream colored, and I scanned it as a color image.  This way, there was no white in the image.  I then added color in photoshop, which is my usual technique, but this time the color of the paper was mixed in to create a somewhat muted look. I like the messiness and textures in it.  Again, I would like to try this with children's book imagery.

New Illustration Ideas #1

One of the things about having so much contracted work to do, is that there is little time to try new things. I've been thinking about combining solid line drawings with painted textures.  I came across this camera drawing in an old sketchbook, and thought it would be perfect to experiment with.  The background was painted on wood with acrylics.  I combined them in photoshop.  I like the look of this, and next I want to try a piece that looks a little more like children's book illustration.

"Space is the Place!"

A few years ago, while in Grad school, I attempted to make an "Early Reader" comic.  My idea was to create something simple and action packed like "Go, Dog, Go!" but to use traditional comic techniques.  I think it's pretty successful, and it makes me laugh.  While I think all of the word choices are fine, I think that there are too many different words.  The art was done with markers and colored pencils, and the only work done digitally were the word balloons.  Clicking on them will make them big enough to read, then you should be able to move from one page to the next. Enjoy!

Happy New Year, 2013!

Happy New Year!  2013 is looking to be very exciting. Random House is launching my new series, "Icky Ricky" in May.  So far, two books are done, the third is being worked on, and 4, 5, and 6 have been contracted.  I'm really excited about these, as I think they will real fill a need in the market.  Like the excellent "Bad Kitty" books, or the classic "Captain Underpants" books, Icky Ricky is a chapter book that has illustrations on every page.  The first two "Icky Ricky: The Toiler Paper Mummy" and "Icky Ricky: The End of the World" will both be out in May.

Fangbone is moving ahead, this time as a cartoon.  A wonderful company is Canada called Radical Sheep has optioned it, and we have a development deal with Disney Canada.  Writers have been hired, a pitch bible and sample script are in the works, and in February we will have our next big sit-down with the Mouse.

Soon, I am going to begin posting some very short Fangbone! stories.  Actually, they're more like skits.  I'll be putting them under the title "Fangbone! 4 Free."

Have a great new year!---MIke