Look, Monkeys!

It all started with this edition of Shortpacked!

It seemed so innocent at the time. "Look, monkeys!" would be the phrase used to distract from all mistakes or difficult questions. It was the ultimate 'Get Out Of Jail Free' card. But then, for no obvious reason, that idea found itself entwined with the concept of Tribute Bands. Specifically, how could one create a tribute band for Gorillaz who, let's face it, don't really exist. Would the tribute band be real people, or would it be cartoon? If it was cartoon, would it ape (sorry!) Jamie Hewlett's style, or would it be radically different? Would it be characters who looked hopelessly different from Murdoc, 2D, Noodle and Russel, but dressed like them? Many questions... The only certainty was the name they'd adopt: Look, Monkiez!

I had grand hopes for this weekend. For starters, I had to finish some sketches for work - icons for a '12 days of Christmas' thing which have been alternately boring me stupid and frustrating the hell out of me for about a month now - but then, I'd be free to have a go at illustrating Look, Monkiez! for the first time. I have a vague idea of their look... each one will be a not-quite-opposite of their counterpart in Gorillaz, and what they lack in talent, they'll make up for in sheer enthusiasm for paying tribute to their inspiration. I figure the Russel analogue would be extremely skinny, but equally nutty behind the drums, and 'Noodle' would be a chubby girl with a dippy anime name that has -chan thrown on the end for no good reason. She may wear cat-girl ears. 2D's counterpart would most likely mimic the original by wearing extremely heavy eyeliner. The Murdoc equivalent would certainly have a ridiculously oversized pudding-basin haircut. Probably a wig.

As it happened, I was too tired yesterday to do anything, and woke up with a headache this morning. I tried to work on the icons in the morning and after lunch, but didn't do too well.

In the afternoon, I went to see The Prestige. Bonkers film. Utterly bonkers. Full of illusions, misdirection, trickery and hints of what's to come, I'm not sure whether to be very impressed or rather disappointed by the denouement. I enjoyed the film - very well-paced, and the twists were clever enough to avoid being entirely predictable - but it was difficult to find enough sympathy for any of the main characters to feel satisfied with the ending. Maybe I should look up the novel... Before setting out to see it, I wasn't aware that David Bowie was in the film - a fact which might well have put me off. That would have been a mistake - his turn as Nikola Tesla was subtle and well-played... I almost wish he'd had more screen time. In many ways, Bowie's bits of this film reminded me of the anime Steamboy - science so advanced, it's indistinguishable from magic... and Scientists seeking to unlock great secrets.

Once back home, I tried to motivate myself to get back to the Christmas icons for work, but my first attempt at 'neat' versions, which I'd intended to colour by hand, were scrapped. Coloured pencils just ain't my thing. In so many ways, pencils in general are not my thing... but coloured pencils never give me the effect I'm after, as I just end up scribbling with them as I do with any other kind. I have a coloured Partridge in a Pear Tree, and that's it. It looks OK, and yet somehow wrong, and that's not solely due to my piss-poor technique.

The Gold Ring also had a complete overhaul. Originally, I'd drawn just a simple ring, then I added some blobs to make it a more ornate ring. It looked crap, though, and I wanted more than just a ring in the picture, so I redrew the whole thing as a simple ring (with added gold sparkle effect) on a cushion. Looks much better. I suspect I'll add some colour to each one in Photoshop, but it won't be too dramatic. Maybe turn them slightly sepia-toned and try to add a dash of colour to certain parts (my French Hen may have Tricolore tailfeathers). We shall see... Largely, it depends on how much time I have at work. At least I did eventually finish all twelve, and they're still clean enough to scan well when I get to the office.

Someone remind me to politely decline next time anyone asks me to draw something for work. I still cannot work to any kind of deadline, and I couldn't give a stuff if I get any extra money out of it.

Tonight's Torchwood was probably the most impressive so far, in terms of developing an interesting storyline well enough to fit it into an hour of television... And yet still they rely on jarring shouty bits and sudden bouts of emoting a little bit too hard. The special effects were particularly good but the end was a little limp. I am starting to wonder if they've really thought through the character of Captain Jack Harkness... Originally, it seemed that he became immortal in the future, thanks to Rose Tyler/Bad Wolf, but Torchwood appears to be suggesting that it wasn't her temporary foray into Godhood that brought him back to life in the future. This would tend to start one wondering how long he's lived... If he was already immortal back before World War I and, when he met Rose and The Doctor back in World War II, he was from the future where humans had spread out across the galaxy, he's had an incredibly long life... But is the Torchwood Jack the one from the future where Rose destroyed the Daleks (in which case, how did he get back to the present day?), or has he not yet met her or The Doctor? Is Russell T Davis messing with our heads?