I will be a guest at the Pacific Nerdwest this coming Saturday. If you are in Bellingham or in the area, check this cool con. I'll be glad to answer all questions and offer all my books and comics for perusing or buying. Official Link
Over the past three weeks, I have shared the film with a few select friends and industry insiders, and the reactions and feedback have gone far beyond what I was expecting. I’m incredibly glad to hear that the film is connecting with those who have seen it in such a powerful and emotional way.
I’m also deeply gratified that all the work I’ve put into strengthening the story over the years has yielded the results I was hoping for. Without a strong and engaging story, The Saga of Rex would be nothing more than an animation showcase—and that would have been a failure on my part.
Years ago, when I first showed the film to people whose opinions I deeply respected, I received a lot of criticism about the story. I had to put my ego aside and take that criticism to heart. I’m very glad I did. Looking back, I can see how much those reactions helped me reshape and strengthen the film.
Today, I feel that I finally have a story I can be truly proud of—one that I hope will not only entertain audiences but move them deeply enough to bring a few tears to their eyes.
Now that The Saga of Rex movie is finally finished (I wrapped up last week), I find myself catching up on many chores and projects I had put on hold forever. After 14 years of dedicated hard work on my movie, I do feel a bit debilitated trying to readjust to normal life.
The first order of the day was to provide some materials for the upcoming release of Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet on various platforms where the game was never available before. A few years ago, we were granted the right from Microsoft to pursue porting the game to any platforms we wished and we gladly took advantage of that situation. Announcement will be forthcoming.
I’m also very excited about the release of Ray Gunn. I’m putting together a reel of some of the effects work I did on the film and hopefully, I’ll be able to share that on my YouTube channel at some point after the film has been released.
Thank you Skydance Animation for the t-shirt. As some of you may know, I was involved with Ray Gunn for 6 months in 2024 and I also worked on the project a few months in 2020 when the film was at Warner Brothers.
I'm glad Brad Bird'sRay Gunn is finally coming out later this year, thanks to Skydance and Netflix. I can't wait to see the finished film! I hope there will be a wrap party so I can meet up with old friends.
Meanwhile, on my end, I've been running the final miles of my 14-year animation marathon. The Saga of Rex is 100% animated (Character and FX) and inbetweened.
I'm putting the final touches in terms of final art direction and compositing. I estimate roughly 4 months of full time work to complete that phase.
I'm essentially getting the film ready for my big screen pro color grading sessions. This will happen later this year after I secure a deal that will allow me to have an original composer, a full orchestra, a choir, as well as professional sound design. I'll make an announcement on that front when I'm allowed.
As some of you may know, I’ve been working on “The Saga of Rex” feature film since August 2012. To be fair, it hasn’t been continuous, as during that time I’ve also been involved in several feature films: “The Iron Giant: Signature Edition”, “My Little Pony: The Movie”, “Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse”, “Space Jam: A New Legacy”, “The Tiger’s Apprentice”, “Piece by Piece” and the upcoming “Ray Gunn”, as well as the video game, “Battleborn”. But all in all, I would estimate that during that span of time I’ve spent upward of eight years of full-time work on “The Saga of Rex” (not counting the time I spent on the graphic novel which became the template for the film).
For years, the end goal seemed out of reach, but now, I’m really starting to see the finish line. I fully expect to be done with Animation and Effects, by the end of the year. Then, another 6 months to do a final color / art direction pass, backgrounds detailing, animation touch-ups, final compositing and render, as well as final music/sound. If everything goes according to plan, the film will be wrapped by mid-2026!
I’ve been toying with posting a few more peeks at the work-in-progress animation but decided instead to keep everything under wrap until the release trailer next year.
Rex has been the most ambitious project I’ve ever undertaken; my humble part in trying to continue the tradition of 2D hand drawn animation. I sincerely hope it will find its audience.
TAAFI was wonderful. My presentation was a big hit, capped with a standing ovation! It was great mingling with old friends and making new ones. Below is a picture of my pal, Ryan Adams who was the moderator at my presentation.
Also got to hang out quite a bit with ex-Disney Director and renown animal artist Aaron Blaise who was presenting his beautiful short, Polar Bear, which won 3 awards, including Best of Show.
I'm glad I had friends who took pictures and sent them to me, as I forgot to take a single photo myself. I need to get better at this. To see the rest of the pictures that were sent to me, you can check them out here. I look forward to attending the conference again in the future.
Thank you Skydance Animation for the t-shirt. As some of you may know, I was involved with Ray Gunn for 6 months in 2024 and I also worked on the project a few months in 2020 when the film was at Warner Brothers. 
