Time to Saddle up that Gorilla.

Decision made!

Well, more to the point, my time is running out for completion of my Company of Thorin Oakenshield miniature painting exercise, becoming a race as it had between me, The Hobbit's filming progress, and my next- er, current- illustration project.
As it happens the miniature painting was going well - I was about halfway through and not far from another burst that would see me about three-quarters through. Most of the major Dwarves were either painted to completion, or being spruced up from the last pass; the remainder were a couple that needed some remodelling before painting, so they would always be left 'til last, despite me attempting to paint the guys in alphabetical order.

That's all rather academic now anyway. In the mean-time the HD Studio Tour of The Hobbit is online and it looks gorgeous - really impressive screen detail and once again I'm lamenting the multiple decisions and missed opportunities that led me away from a career in production design. Oh well. The future beckons, and it's gorilla-shaped.

Mary's Christmas Gorilla is the next story of David Haywood's vying for publication through Public Address Books. Longer than The Hidden Talent of Albert Otter, and with a likely greater illustration load (over 50% of the book), it's going to be a hefty workload. Best get started properly, the nights are drawing in, the TV is getting a little better for watching, and much of the preliminary sketching is done. I'm getting the hang of gorilla faces - they're tricky things, but offer greater opportunity for expression than your actual aquatic mustelid. It's a fun, sometimes chaotic story, and I'm looking forward to getting a lot of it under my belt.

David and I met briefly in March to discuss the likely look and feel of the book and its images, and there was some good stuff to go on from there. So, time to actually get going!