Rachel Nabors
Born 1985 · Age 40
American cartoonist, artist, graphic novelist turned interaction developer and web-animation educator; creator of Manga Punk and Tin Magpie, author of Animation at Work, speaker, and contributor to React docs and developer education.
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Life & Career Timeline
Born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Rachel Nabors was born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Left public school to be homeschooled
Nabors left public school in fifth grade and was homeschooled thereafter.
Started working as a professional cartoonist
At 17 Nabors began receiving a steady income from drawing comics and became a professional cartoonist.
Founded Manga Punk imprint
Began publishing work under the Manga Punk imprint to publish comics aimed at teenage girls.
Self-published 18 Revolutions
Soon after their nineteenth birthday Nabors self-published the graphic novel 18 Revolutions (Manga Punk imprint).
Published mini-comics (A Brief History of Grifonton, Subculture of One)
Self-published multiple mini-comics, including A Brief History of Grifonton and Subculture of One: the Body Issues.
Operated MangaPunk.com and banner exchange
Ran MangaPunk.com and a banner exchange for comics by, for, and about women at exchange.rubifruit.com.
Self-published Crow Princess
Follow-up graphic novel Crow Princess was self-published (Manga Punk / listed 2005).
Weekly comics for Gurl.com (ongoing until 2008)
Created weekly comics for the teen-focused site Gurl.com (continued through March 2008).
Kimberly Yale Award for Best New Talent (Friends of Lulu)
Received the 2007 Kimberly Yale Award for Best New Talent from Friends of Lulu.
Comics hiatus begins; marriage
Stopped producing weekly comics in March 2008 and took a hiatus while addressing a major jaw surgery and got married around this time.
Transitioned careers toward web development
After medical costs and limited financial ability to return to comics, Nabors continued/shifted career into web development full-time.
Underwent jaw surgery with fan support
Had the previously referenced jaw surgery in summer 2010, carried out with assistance and support from fans.
Received $100 startup envelope from WDS organizer
At WDS organizer Chris Guillebeau handed attendees a $100 bill and invited them to turn it into more; Nabors kept the idea and the $100.
Attended World Domination Summit
Attended the World Domination Summit in 2012; the experience propelled a new entrepreneurial attempt.
Published 'Flashless Animation' on 24 Ways
Authored 'Flashless Animation' for the 24 Ways series, discussing web animation without Flash.
Quit job to speak full-time about web animation
Quit a job in 2013 and began speaking full-time at web development conferences, focusing on web animation and interactive storytelling.
Founded Tin Magpie (creative studio)
Started Tin Magpie as a vehicle to produce interactive web storytelling and apps, built with an initial $100 logo design investment.
Tin Magpie: Alice in Videoland and FOWD opening videos
Took on interactive projects such as Alice in Videoland for Adobe and produced opening videos for FOWD, acting as client projects under Tin Magpie.
House in Raleigh ready to sell; decision point
By fall 2013 Nabors and spouse had a house in Raleigh ready to sell and faced a career choice between taking jobs and pursuing Tin Magpie.
Moved to Portland, Oregon
Relocated to Portland in February 2014 to be closer to cartoonists, animators, and collaborators; intended to work full-time on Tin Magpie projects.
Published Quartz essay 'Why "do what you love" is bad career advice'
Published a widely-cited piece in Quartz reflecting on career choices and the realities of creative entrepreneurship (Sep 4, 2014).
Published 'Try, try again' (personal/Medium essay)
Medium essay recounting past Manga Punk entrepreneurship and the creation of Tin Magpie (Sep 19, 2014).
Tin Magpie flagship interactive graphic novel released on Kindle Fire
Tin Magpie's flagship interactive graphic novel (collaboration with Xamag, Black Brick Road creator) was announced for release on Kindle Fire in October (2014).
Published 'Five Ways to Animate Responsibly' on 24 Ways
Published an article for 24 Ways emphasizing the need for necessity and accessibility in web animation.
Interviewed for Motionographer Q&A on web animation
Profile/interview published by Motionographer (Aug 17, 2015) in which Nabors discussed the definition and future of web animation and their work.
Authored and taught web animation courses and workshops
Developed courses (self-hosted and on Frontend Masters) and taught workshop content on CSS and web animation; began packaging developer education material.
Published 'Storytelling on the Shoulders of Giants' (Panel & Frame)
Essay about storytelling practices published on Panel & Frame (Feb 13, 2016).
Published book 'Animation at Work' (A Book Apart)
Consolidated years of experience into the short technical/strategy book Animation at Work, published by A Book Apart (ebook/print).
Worked at Microsoft on Edge (tenure referenced)
References and publications indicate a period of working at Microsoft on the Edge browser prior to 2019.
Authored 'The Ecological Impact of Browser Diversity' (CSS-Tricks)
Published a piece on CSS-Tricks about browser diversity; indicates prior work at agencies and 'later at Microsoft on Edge'.
Relocated residence to London, England
As part of joining the React Core team, Nabors resided in London and worked on React.
Spoke at Codeland and multiple global conferences
Continued global speaking and teaching engagements (Codeland 2019 among others) focused on web animation and UX.
Joined React Core Team in London
Announced joining the React Core team in London (Medium post, April 2019).
Contributed to web animation ecosystem (newsletter, tooling advocacy)
Curated Web Animation Weekly newsletter and advocated for tools like Lottie, Bodymovin, GreenSock and web-animation APIs (ongoing activity).
Led developer education at AWS Amplify (role cited)
Public bios and profiles indicate leadership of developer education programs at AWS Amplify (date approximate).
Helped spearhead new React and React Native docs (react.dev and reactnative.dev)
Credited with spearheading the new React and React Native documentation sites (react.dev and reactnative.dev).
Consulting in developer docs and education; sabbatical from Big Tech
Profile descriptions indicate consulting work on developer documentation and that Nabors was on sabbatical from Big Tech while leading Developer Education & Programs.
Active contributor, speaker and educator in web animation & React ecosystems
Continued speaking internationally, writing, and contributing to developer education and documentation for React and web animation topics.
Public Goodreads/author activity and ongoing publications
Goodreads author profile shows ongoing engagement with books and reading; continues to be listed as author of 18 Revolutions, Crow Princess, and Animation at Work.
Key Achievement Ages
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