So there's this group of artists doing character design challenges. Draw four profiles and do a bunch of other artist stuff to make them look professional. Awesomesauce, I thought, and decided to play the home version.
This week's challenge: monkeys.
Monkeys?
Monkeys.
Cyber-"pencils" draft versionWhat I know about monkeys you could fit in one tiny fist and fling at marauding leopards. So I started reading. These are some of the things I found:
1. Howler Monkeys. (Assorted species of genus Alouatta.) Why does the Howler Monkey howl? The Smithsonian explains why, and why you may want to heed the warning. Howler monkeys achieve their noteworthy vocalizations without the aid of professional lessons. Just like Justin Beiber.
2. White-Handed Gibbons. (Hylobates lar.) Fellow artist Jennifer Rae Kinyak at dailymammal.com had a blog entry that tipped me to just the type of story I was looking for about my models: a BBC article about another singer, song-writer who taught herself. She's starting her career by posting her music on the internet, too. (Yep. That's another Beiber reference.)
3. Proboscis Monkeys. (Nasalis larvatus.) WOW. Just ...wow. Chock full of interesting facts, those Proboscis Monkeys. The reason for the nose appears to be the same reason that most primate males do the seemingly-inadvisable: they think chicks dig it. Jolle Jolles at Mudfooted.com provides an interesting introduction to the species. If there are any similarities between these guys and the Beib, I really don't want to know about it.
4. Golden snub-nosed monkeys. (Rhinopithecus roxellana.) Hauntingly beautiful? A national treasure? Scary beyond all reason (per Carly B at the Featured Creature)? No, I'm done talking about Beiber; I'm talking about the snub-nosed monkey.
And now, all that reading and link-chasing has given me time to ink and color my monkeys. Presto! Thanks for monkeying around with me, I hope you've been as diverted as I have.
Finished monkey profiles. Hooray!
03/21/2011
09:51:47 PM