Christopher Baker (usually known as Chris Baker but also professionally as Fangorn), (born 17 August 1960 in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

) is a cover artist for British and German versions of the ''

Redwall ''Redwall'' is a series of children's fantasy novels by British writer Brian Jacques, published from 1986 to 2011. It is also the title of the first book of the series, published in 1986, as well as the name of the abbey featured in the book, ...

'' books, as well as a storyboard and film conceptual artist, most notably with filmmakers

Stanley Kubrick Stanley Kubrick (; July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and photographer. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, his films, almost all of which are adaptations of nove ...

and

Tim Burton Timothy Walter Burton (born August 25, 1958) is an American filmmaker and animator. He is known for his gothic fantasy and horror films such as ''Beetlejuice'' (1988), ''Edward Scissorhands'' (1990), ''The Nightmare Before Christmas'' (1993), ...

. Baker's pseudonym "

Fangorn Treebeard, or ''Fangorn'' in Sindarin, is a tree-giant character in J. R. R. Tolkien's ''The Lord of the Rings''. He is an Ent and is said by Gandalf to be "the oldest living thing that still walks beneath the Sun upon this Middle-earth.", b ...

" is derived from the name of a forest in

J. R. R. Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, ; 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philology, philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was ...

's ''

The Lord of the Rings ''The Lord of the Rings'' is an epic high-fantasy novel by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, intended to be Earth at some time in the distant past, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's boo ...

'' novel.

Biography

Baker received his education at the Bournville School of Art. In the early 1990s, Fangorn provided art for

Games Workshop Games Workshop Group (often abbreviated as GW) is a British manufacturer of miniature wargames, based in Nottingham, England. Its best-known products are ''Warhammer Age of Sigmar'' and ''Warhammer 40,000''. Founded in 1975 by John Peake (gam ...

, including the covers art of boxed games

Advanced Space Crusade ''Space Crusade'' is an adventure board game produced by Milton Bradley together with Games Workshop and was first made in 1990. It was produced in the UK and available in some other countries including Finland, Ireland, France, Spain, Denmark, ...

, the

Space Hulk ''Space Hulk'' is a board game for two players by Games Workshop. It was released in 1989. The game is set in the fictional universe of ''Warhammer 40,000''. In the game, a "space hulk" is a mass of ancient, derelict space ships, asteroids, and ...

supplements '' Deathwing'' and ''Genestealer'', and

Battle for Armageddon Battle for Armageddon is a strategic boardgame produced by Games Workshop. Unlike the many Games Workshop games that use miniatures, this is a more traditional counter and board game. The game represents the Second War for Armageddon, a war in th ...

, as well as the covers of several issues of ''

White Dwarf A white dwarf is a stellar core remnant composed mostly of electron-degenerate matter. A white dwarf is very dense: its mass is comparable to the Sun's, while its volume is comparable to the Earth's. A white dwarf's faint luminosity comes fro ...

'' magazine. He also worked alongside

Stan Nicholls Stan Nicholls (born 1949) is a British author and journalist, working full-time since 1981. He is the author of many novels and short stories but is best known for the internationally acclaimed '' Orcs: First Blood'' series. Career His journalis ...

creating the art for the

David Gemmell David Andrew Gemmell (; 1 August 1948 – 28 July 2006) was a British author of heroic fantasy, best known for his debut novel, ''Legend''. A former journalist and newspaper editor, Gemmell had his first work of fiction published in 1984. H ...

graphic novels ''Legend'' and ''Waylander''. In addition to his many covers in the

series, Fangorn also contributed artwork to '' Redwall Map & Riddler'' and '' Redwall Friend & Foe''. He won the 2019 BSFA Award for Best Artwork for his cover for ''Wourism and Other Stories'' by

Ian Whates Ian Whates is a British speculative fiction author and editor. In 2006 he launched the independent publishing house NewCon Press. He lives with his partner Helen in Cambridgeshire. As of 2009 Whates is currently a director of both the Science Fict ...

(Luna Press), accessed on 17 May 2020

Bibliography

Graphic novels

*David Gemmell's ''Legend'' *''Wolf in Shadow''

Films

*''

Skyfall ''Skyfall'' is a 2012 spy film and the twenty-third in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions. The film is the third to star Daniel Craig as fictional MI6 agent James Bond and features Javier Bardem as Raoul Silva, the villai ...

'' (2012) — concept design and storyboards* *''

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory ''Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'' is a 1964 children's novel by British author Roald Dahl. The story features the adventures of young Charlie Bucket inside the chocolate factory of eccentric chocolatier Willy Wonka. The story was originally ...

'' (2005) — concept/storyboards (in 2004) *''

Corpse Bride ''Corpse Bride'' (also known as ''Tim Burton's Corpse Bride'') is a 2005 stop-motion animated musical dark fantasy film directed by Mike Johnson and Tim Burton with a screenplay by John August, Caroline Thompson and Pamela Pettler based o ...

'' (2005) — concept design (in 2003) *''

Big Fish ''Big Fish'' is a 2003 American fantasy comedy-drama film directed by Tim Burton, and based on the 1998 novel of the same name by Daniel Wallace. The film stars Ewan McGregor, Albert Finney, Billy Crudup, Jessica Lange, Helena Bonham Carter, ...

'' (2003) — storyboards (in 2002) *''

Road to Perdition ''Road to Perdition'' is a 2002 American crime drama film directed by Sam Mendes. The screenplay was adapted by David Self from the graphic novel of the same name written by Max Allan Collins and illustrated by Richard Piers Rayner. The film s ...

'' (2002) — storyboards (in 2000) *''

The Time Machine ''The Time Machine'' is a science fiction novella by H. G. Wells, published in 1895. The work is generally credited with the popularization of the concept of time travel by using a vehicle or device to travel purposely and selectively for ...

'' (2002) — concept/storyboard artist (uncredited) (in 2000) *'' Artificial Intelligence: A.I.'' (2001) — concept/storyboard artist (in 1999) *''

Eyes Wide Shut ''Eyes Wide Shut'' is a 1999 erotic mystery psychological drama film directed, produced, and co-written by Stanley Kubrick. It is based on the 1926 novella '' Traumnovelle'' (''Dream Story'') by Arthur Schnitzler, transferring the story's sett ...

'' (1999) — concept artist (in 1996)

Book covers

*'' Redwall Calendar 1995'' *'' Redwall Diary 1996'' *'' Redwall Tenth Anniversary Edition'' *''

Mossflower ''Mossflower'' is a fantasy novel by Brian Jacques, published in 1988. It is the second book published and third chronologically in the '' Redwall'' series. Plot summary The story begins in the Mossflower Wood, where a community of animals ...

'' *''

Mattimeo ''Mattimeo'' is a fantasy novel by Brian Jacques, published in 1989. It is the third book in the ''Redwall'' series. It is also one of the three ''Redwall'' novels to be made into a television series, alongside its self-titled novel (Season 1) ...

'' *''

Mariel of Redwall Mariel may refer to: * Mariel (given name) * Mariel, Cuba, a municipality and city * Mariel boatlift, a 1980 exodus of Cubans to the United States * '' Mariel of Redwall'', a book in the Redwall series by Brian Jacques * Mari-El, an autonomous re ...

'' *''

Salamandastron ''Salamandastron'' is a fantasy novel by Brian Jacques, published in 1992. It is the fifth book published and eighth chronologically in the ''Redwall'' series. Plot introduction Ferahgo the Assassin, a terrible weasel warlord, and his son Kli ...

'' *''

Martin the Warrior ''Martin the Warrior'' is a fantasy novel by Brian Jacques, published in 1993. It is the sixth book in the ''Redwall'' series. It is also one of the three ''Redwall'' novels to be made into a television series, alongside the self-titled novel ...

'' *''

The Bellmaker ''The Bellmaker'' is a fantasy novel by Brian Jacques, published in 1994. It is chronologically the seventh book in the '' Redwall'' series. Plot summary Far away, from the northern sea, the Foxwolf Urgan Nagru and his wife Silvamord arrive i ...

'' *'' Outcast of Redwall'' *''

The Pearls of Lutra ''The Pearls of Lutra'' (published as ''Pearls of Lutra'' in the US) is a fantasy novel by Brian Jacques, published in 1996. It is the ninth book published and eleventh chronologically in the ''Redwall'' series. Plot summary When gathering he ...

'' *''

The Long Patrol ''The Long Patrol'' is a fantasy novel by Brian Jacques, published in 1997. It is the tenth book published and the twelfth chronologically in the ''Redwall'' series, and it was a The New York Times Best Seller list, ''New York Times'' bestsell ...

'' *'' Marlfox'' (cover and illustrations) *''

The Legend of Luke ''The Legend of Luke'' is a fantasy novel by Brian Jacques, published in 1999. It is the 12th book and fourth chronologically in the ''Redwall'' series. Plot summary The book begins during the construction of Redwall Abbey, when a roving fema ...

'' (cover and illustrations) *''

Lord Brocktree ''Lord Brocktree'' is a fantasy novel by Brian Jacques, published in 2000. It is the 13th book in the ''Redwall'' series to be published. It is the earliest chronological installment in the series, and the last prequel written by Jacques. Synop ...

'' (cover and illustrations) *''

The Taggerung ''The Taggerung'' is a fantasy novel by Brian Jacques, published in 2001. It is the 14th book in the ''Redwall'' series. Plot summary His birth was a long-awaited legend full of mystery and promise, among the outlaw Juska tribes along the wes ...

References

External links

*
Chris Baker at IMDBChris Baker's page at UK Screen
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Baker, Chris English illustrators British speculative fiction artists Fantasy artists Science fiction artists Artists from Birmingham, West Midlands Living people 1960 births Black British artists British storyboard artists