APE-ril: Thade

APE-ril is over!!!!!!

Oh my GOD!  I did it!   30 apes in 30 days!  Sure, 7 were today... but still... I did it!  Yay!

Anywho, above is a really quick and crude sketch/digital coloring of Thade.  Tim Roth's character from Tim Burton's Planet of the Apes.  I wish I hadn't had to cram so many monkeys into the last days, cuz this one could have been tons better.  Needless to say, I learned how to better prioritize my time... and hopefully will apply that to future artistic projects!

APE-ril: Terk

Disney fun again... TWICE in one day?  WOW!   Anywho... Terk, Tarzan's gorilla sidekick.  Did anybody else think it was odd that this BOY monkey was voiced by Rosie O' Donnel?

APE-ril: Suzanne

Okay, Suzanne never wore Silent Bob's clothes... but I had to get across that it was the orangutang from Jay and Silent Bob, and the quickest way to do that, was to dress Suzanne up as Silent Bob.  I did it, because she has a beard.

APE-ril: Sky Ape

Sky Ape I know nothing about... I just stumbled across him while compiling my list of apes for APE-ril, and I was like "A big badass smoking gorilla with a jet pack and goggles?   DONE!"   So that's how he got on my list...  for more information on Sky Ape, check out the Sky Ape Wikipedia Page. 

APE-ril: Rafiki

This one really helped re-energize me at the zero hour... leave it to Disney to pick you up when you're feeling down...  This ones was fun, loose, and free to draw (with a ballpoint pen, no less!), and it's just kinda... well "free" is the only word that comes to mind.  I really like the way it came out.

APE-ril: Optimus Primal

This is hands-down probably going to be the worst drawing in all of APE-ril.  But at the same time it was important lesson in doing a bit more diligence in one's research before committing to a project/challenge.  While compiling my list of apes/monkeys at the end of March, early April for the APE-ril challenge, I thought doing Optimus Primal from Transformers: Beast Wars would be win on many levels.  One, it'd be an ape.  Two, it'd be a robot (cuz I'd prolly get sick of drawing monkeys).  Three, there's a new Transformers movie coming out, so you might get some visitors due to random Google searches.  And Four, who doesn't want to draw a bad-ass robot?

Well, I was wrong on almost all of those.  I didn't really get into Transformers as a kid, and especially didn't even watch Beast Wars, so fairly unfamiliar with the show/character.  I also had a horrible time finding suitable reference material on the net (which surprised me a little), and then of course... Deadline crunch.  I had/have fallen behind in the APE-ril challenge, so now at the zero hour, I'm busting out the last few quickly, and this one should of had a whole day (at least) to itself to truly make it better.

APE-ril: Mr. Teeny

It's Mr. Teeny, one of Krusty's sidekicks...  a chain smoking monkey (who I've noticed doesn't have a tail?).  I've always been of the mind that all of the lackeys around Krusty are actually smarter than him... Sideshow Bob, Sideshow Mel, this monkey.  That should of been an ongoing B-plot...  Have the monkey try to murder Krusty or something, I could see it.

APE-ril: Mojo Jojo

I never really watched the Powerpuff Girls, despite many people saying I should...  So I'm not at all familiar with this character, other than knowing he's a bad guy on the show.  When I started the APE-ril Challenge, I was kinda looking forward to do this one, and maybe taking a different spin on him... make him look more like a real monkey, and still have the suit, more comic-book'y and less anime'esque.... But, APE-ril ends tomorrow night, and I still have like 8 more monkeys to draw and such... so...  quality is failing to quantity.  However, it's kinda liberating at the same time, because I'm not getting as hung up on how things look... which opens up things I would otherwise not normally do.

Also, my buddy, Stephen Wittmaak took a stab at Mojo Jojo early on APE-ril... you can see his right here.

APE-ril: Marcel

It's Marcel... Ross' pet monkey from the hit NBC sitcom Friends...  I think this is my least favorite entry into drawsiness... I tried to simplify him, like I did jack, but still ended up getting detailed with it... and it just came out kinda weird.  Live and learn.

APE-ril: Magilla Gorilla

This APE-ril challenge has been kinda fun... I've revisited a lot of my childhood memories of television and what not...  Sadly, I've forgotten more than I remember, usually just what the monkeys look like, and snippets of other memory.  Magilla here is no exception... I don't remember a whole heck of a lot about him.  I know he was in a pet store, and was for sale.  The owner of the pet store looked like Spacely Sprocket from the Jetsons... and there were hijinks that occurred.  Good times.

APE-ril: King Louie

There are two "Kings" in this APE-ril challenge of mine... Yesterday we saw King Kong, today we see King Louie... King Louie always kinda reminded me of Steven Tyler... both crazy looking monkeys... In hindsight, mayhaps I should have drawn King Louie as a judge on American Idol.

APE-ril: King Kong

Can't do an entire month of monkey/ape drawings... and leave out this guy!  King Kong!  Quite possibly one of the most famous apes ever....  and again an interesting challenge to draw...


I started more traditionally with him atop the Empire State Building, and was gonna be kinda cute about it and have him puckering up for a kiss from the blonde lady, but it was just looking weird.  I also didn't want to mess up the Empire State Building, and then the drawing was becoming more and more about the building instead of the ape, which is what this month's challenge is all about.  So I took them out of New York, and back to Skull Island, for a romantic, "Sixteen Candles"'esque  moment with King Kong and the blonde...  It might be cheesy, but it's nowhere near as bad as the ice-skating portion from the Peter Jackson film... am I right?

APE-ril: Jack

Everybody's favorite undead monkey!  JACK!  A lot of people think it was Johnny Depp that made the "Pirates" films so successful... nope, it was Jack the monkey!

I had some trouble drawing Jack.  I think that's because I was trying too hard to go for "Realism" initially, when I boiled him down and simplified the character in a cartoony fashion I think better captured this little monkey rascal.

APE-ril: Grape Ape

I really don't remember a lot about Grape Ape... I know he's from the Hanna-Barbera school of characters, and he was a giant bumbling purple gorilla... but beyond that.. I don't recall a lot...

APE-ril: Gleek

I like this drawing for a simple reason...  it totally captures my understanding of the character.  In my internet research I know that Gleek is the pet space monkey of the Wonder Twins, who you may remember from the Super Friends.  I believe his tale can change size and shape (like it can be used for a lasso, or a rope etc.).

I rarely watched Super Friends.  I vaguely remember the Wonder Twins, and I didn't remember a pet space monkey named Gleek.  I just stumbled across him while researching what monkeys I wanted to draw for "APE-ril", and thought he could be fun to draw... that and he's named "Gleek", and with the popularity of the show "Glee", it might be possible somebody Google'ing the word "Gleek" might stumble across my art blog.  See, I'm smart like that.

I think the way I drew him, that he looks a bit like Adam Goldberg.

APE-ril: Four-Assed Monkey

Dr. Alphonse Mephesto wanted to make the world a better place in the land of South Park... and what better way to do that.. .than with... a Four-Assed Monkey!

This was an interesting one to draw up... because I wanted to stick to my artistic strengths, and keep it more "my style".  South Park, has it's own artistic style... so I decided to kinda meet half way... I drew it to look like South Park, but how I'd draw it.  After coloring, I Photoshop'd a texture to the colors, to give it that "construction paper" feel that South Park has...  Was an interesting experiment...

APE-ril: Flying Monkey

I've always had a certain, unexplainable, affinity for the Wizard of Oz.  I don't know why, just have.  I love it... Everything about it.  The books, the movie, the mythos, the legend.  Possibly like it even more so than Batman...  Maybe.

So I was excited to draw the Flying Monkey from it... It was kinda nice because there have been MANY interpretations of the Oz characters and world, so I wasn't stuck to a particular look or style like some of the other Apes this month, I was allowed some breathing room.  I stuck kinda close to the 1930's film version of the flying monkeys, but I think I gave it a bit of my own spin....  So I like that.  I think I might revisit the flying monkey (or other Oz characters) in the future... because it'd be nice to give it my own spin entirely, drawing very little from other adaptations and sticking to my own perception of the original work of L. Frank Baum.

APE-ril: Dr. Zais

Dr. Zaius made the list of apes for APE-ril, because I decided to pick 2 from each era of Apes... the classic Apes, and the Tim Burton apes.  I did Cornelius earlier this month, so my other "classic" PotA character had to be Dr. Zaius.  This was easy to pick because... he's different.

Seriously, go watch the original Planet of the Apes.  Almost every other ape in that film looks a like, like they were made from a cookie cutter.  Dr. Zaius... different.  More of an orangutan, when the rest were... gorilla?   They're all black, he's orange.  He stands out.  So since he stood out, he made for a more eclectic choice in drawing.  So I drew him.  True story.

On a side note, my art buddy and friend, Stephen Wittmaak also drew up a Dr. Zaius yesterday, so for the sake of comparison, you can check his out right here.

APE-ril: Donkey Kong

Can't do an APE-themed drawing month, and draw Diddy Kong, without drawing DONKEY KONG!  Nintendo's main ape!  When I was first introduced to Mario Kart, way back on the SNES, I always found it amusing that such a big ape was all cramped up on a tiny kart...  It was funny to me.  I tried to recreate that humor with this drawing... so, here we have an annoyed Donkey Kong driving a tiny go-kart.  Just brings back awesome childhood memories.

NOTE:  This is the first time that I've done "Drawsiness" THREE times in a single day!  (I have to make up for the weekend).

APE-ril: Diddy Kong

I really don't know anything at all about Diddy Kong.  I assume he's related someway to Donkey Kong.  Son perhaps?  I dunno.  But i figured he's a fun loving little ape, so I drew him swinging on a vine, that seems fun.  Apes like swinging on stuff...

APE-ril: Cymbal Monkey

Who invented the Cymbal Monkey? and why?   More importantly why is it so damn creepy?  he was even creepy in Toy Story 3!  Why would you make such a creepy creepy thing?   It's sooo creepy!  But anytime I think of a Cymbal Monkey... I think of this scene from EuroTrip.

NOTE:  The scene from EuroTrip contains adult content and nudity, parental discretion is advised.

APE-ril: Cy-gor

Part gorilla, part man, part cyborg....  ALL KILLER!


Cy-Gor is a genetically altered man and gorilla from the "Spawn" universe.  I think i could have amped this one up a bit more... but I think I still captured the power of the character...  but yes, if I ever draw him again, I will definitely go a bit more dynamic and "in-your-face" with it.

APE-ril: Curious George

I had a crazy fun filled, exciting weekend... and was unable to keep up with the APE-ril theme... But the weekend is over, so back to draw monkeys and apes!  Here is everybody's favorite little scamp of a monkey, Curious George.

I started drawing this with no real plan...  I was just like, okay, draw the monkey... make him look "curious".  What's he curious about?  I dunno... Uhm... draw the yellow hat...  Okay... he's curious about the yellow hat?  Why is he curious about the hat?  I dunno, uhm.. it kinda looks like a traffic cone... sweet, draw a traffic cone!  Uhm... what?

And that was my creative process on this one... Curious George, the yellow hat, and a traffic cone... did the Man in the Yellow Hat get killed in a traffic accident?  I don't know!!!  Stop asking me!!!!!

APE-ril: Cornelius

Cornelius sure does look angry.... maybe that's because the "classic" Planet of the Apes franchise gets all the love for Charlton Heston.  Yet it was Cornelius, or more importantly, Roddy McDowall's performance of Cornelius (and later Caesar) that really carried that series along for as long as it did (and make it viable remake fodder, i.e., Tim Burton's "re-imagining" and the upcoming "Rise" with James Franco).  If not for Cornelius and Mr. McDowall, the Apes franchise would likely be much smaller and not what we remember.

As for the art, much like the Bubbles post 2 days ago, this was drawn as a pencil sketch first, and then some touch ups here and there in Photoshop. The difference is bubbles I went straight black and white, this one I went with some color (albeit, muted).  But I like the watercolor type feel to it, and still retain it's sketchyness.

APE-ril: Chim-Chim

Go Speed Racer... Go Speed Racer... Go Speed Racer GOOOOOOO!!

Yeah, I really don't have anything to say about Chim-Chim other than he was the monkey from Speed Racer...  Okay, bye.

APE-ril: Bubbles

I'm not sure why Bubbles looks confused...  I always give "unintentional" expressions to animals when I draw them, it's weird.   So yeah, Bubbles is confused.

This drawing was kinda interesting how it came about.  Originally I was gonna do full color like I have done many times in the past, but I got to thinking that something more "sketchy" would be cool.  So I opted to go that road, and started sketching with graphite.  After I had sketched about as much as I thought I could, I scanned the picture.  My scanner hates sketches for some reason, they always come out looking weird.  So I took to Photoshop, and did some more shading in the digital realm, which was kinda nifty.  I really enjoyed the back and forth between hand drawn and digital shading... it was interesting  Might experiment with it more in future Drawsiness.

APE-ril: Blip

It's Blip!  From Space Ghost.

I'll be honest, I haven't seen a lot of Space Ghost.  I used to watch when Cartoon Network started up, cuz he was a superhero and he kinda looked like the 90s Batman animated series, so I watched.  But I don't remember Blip.  Like at all.  Mayhaps he was purged from my memory... I don't know.

Also, in the first APE-ril blog, I mentioned I'm stealing this month's theme from Stephen Wittmaak, and I posted a link to some of his work, however, what I didn't do was post to where he's posting HIS Ape-ril work... so just for the sake of comparison, who you can see his spin with the Ape-ril theme at his Tumblr

APE-ril: Ari

APE-ril continues with Ari.

You don't remember Ari?  She was the human supporter in the Tim Burton "re-imagining" of Planet of the Apes?  No?  You don't remember Marky-Mark fighting monkeys?  No?

Okay, I kid.  But it is APE-ril, and how can I do a month dedicated to APES and not acknowledge the PLANET?  There are 4 apes from the films who made my list, 2 from the original Planet, and 2 from the remake.  As I'm going alphabetically, Ari came up first.

It was interesting, cuz they are apes, but really they're humans in make up... so it became difficult to draw it ape'ish, because it kept looking too human.  This will be a fun challenge going towards the other 3 I have planned.  We shall see.

Fun fact, it was on Burton's remake that he met Helena Bonham Carter, his main squeeze ever since...  what kinda freaky stuff is he into that monkey girl got his engine going?

Abu and "Ape" Welcome you to APE-ril

My buddy and art-peer, Stephen Wittmaak (whose work can be found at PORTCITY UNDERGROUND) is doing an "Ape a day" drawing challenge for the month of April, thus making it "APE-ril" (get it?).  Anywho, I was thinking about it and thought, that's not a bad idea... so... in the words of Barney Stinson, "Challenge Accepted!"  I sat down for about 2 hours and made a list of apes (and monkeys, PLEASE don't debate me on the difference of monkeys and Apes, let's just let bygones be bygones) that I wanted to draw.  That list goes to 30 (one for each day).  As I was at Disneyland all day yesterday, I did not have time to doodle an ape yesterday, so today is TWO apes.  I really want to do all 30 in the month of APE-ril.

First up is Abu, everybody's favorite little rascal monkey from Disney's Aladdin.  See the connection to yesterday's Disneyland trip?  Or is it just cuz his name comes first on the list of monkeys?  It's technically, both!  Ha-HA!

Second up is, "Ape Named Ape" from the ORIGINAL (not the lame animated remake or the gawd-awful Brendan Fraser film) George of the Jungle.  My mental image of Ape differs a lot from what I found when I was looking up reference material for this drawing.  I really don't remember him looking anything like this at all.  But apparently he did.  Kinda weird how my mind remembers something else.  But I'll take it.