Mansa the Rex needs an update

Every few years, I like to update this little guy. I first drew him way back in to 2012 and I guess he’s like my Mickey Mouse or Bugs Bunny. This journey I’m on, it all started with Mansa the Rex.

Originally, I think I called him Stega the Rex or something like that. I first created this while grieving the loss of my mothers so it’s a very important piece to me.

Mansa is angry but he can only do so much with this short little arms. He has wings but it’s not enough to catch the birds so he requires a flying apparatus. He’s a T-Rex with Stegosaurus plates so why is he trying to eat birds? Why not just focus on the ground prey?

He is an utterly ridiculous being. A flying contradiction. Supposedly menacing until you realize he’s practically in a wheel chair. I have a neurological disability so my entire life has been a case of too much but not enough. Mansa the Rex is adhd personified. Mansa the Rex is greif and frustration. Mansa the Rex is whatever the hell you want it to be.

I hate to admit it, but I fell for the nft bull so I first updated him for the Tezos blockchain in 2021. https://objkt.com/tokens/hicetnunc/636972 I no longer care about web3 so this is probably the last time I’ll ever mention that.

As I work on Ruction https://shedgfx.com/blog/ruction-enters-stage-left I want to connect my old work with the new stuff so Mansa needs an update.

My son asked me why I called it Mansa the Rex, and I explained to him that Mansa is a Mandinka word for King or Emperor or Sultan. Basically, King and Rex is a Latin word for King… so Mansa the Rex basically means King the King. Like I said, he is a ridiculous being.

When I finish the update I’ll use the new design in Ruction so expect to see much more of Mansa.

Thanks for reading.