Where does the time go?
It goes to working. And to loafing. Quite a bit of loafing, really. I make no apologies.
Okay, I make some apologies, but decidedly unheartfelt ones.
So what's going on?
Kung Fu Monkeyface, that's what.
If you follow along on the Monkeybunnyüberblog or over at the Untrue Tales site, well maybe you noticed that we just wrapped up Kung Fu Monkeyface Book One. 71 glorious pages of monkey mayhem. And not unlike our short, furry protagonist, we've come to a crossroads of sorts.
My partner in monkeybiz, Gabe Ostley, is moving on to bigger and better things. We had a grand old time working together and I'm pleased as punch at the results thus far. So take a bow, Gabe, and soak up the applause from the peanut gallery. Thanks for a job well done.
But the thing is ... it's not really done. I've got this whole dang monkey epic plotted out and I really kinda like it. And I have a big problem with leaving things dangling. I've got a few other projects left twisting in the wind, and they still nag at me. I wish I had the time to just buckle down and finish 'em all. I just hate to let an idea die on the vine.
So, this time, I'm not gonna.
From here on out, I'm plowing on with the monkey to the bitter banana-flavored end. All by my lonesome. I'm a little ways in, and so far so fun. I'm trying a different tack on this one and trying to continue in the loose cartoony style that Gabe's established for Book One. I'm hoping the artistic changes won't be too jarring. Luckily, I feel like we've established a pretty distinctive tone with the full-color flashbacks and the more sketchy grayscale present-day pages, and that will hopefully help to keep the whole thing cohesive.
If you're a reader of Untrue Tales, I guess you've noticed that my big thing is realism and obsessive attention to detail and reference and whatnot. For Monkeyface, I'm doing my best to cast off some of those self-imposed artistic shackles and just fly by the seat of my pants. No rulers, no ref, no restrictions – just unholstering that ol' number two and letting the lead fly. I'm pretty happy with the results so far and I hope anybody still reading this thing will be happy with it too. If you are, let me know. If not, shut up.
Nah, I'm kidding, any and all feedback is welcome. My goal is to keep chipping away at this thing with a new page every Sunday until we get to the ever-lovin' end. Can't promise I won't slip on a banana peel or two along the way, but my intentions are good.
Anywho, here's a look at the construction of the Book Two cover:
Book Two starts here. Page one coming this Sunday.
Off we go!
