Where pop culture meets geek culture and they make out a little.
Posts tagged Goodies!
Save The Monkey Project – Design Blog 02
Jan 18th
Welcome faithful Normalinauts, and newcomers as well (don’t have a clever name for specific followers/supporters of the Save the Monkey Project – someone get to work on that, will ya? Awesome, thanks). Okey doke, diving in to the Design Blog 02. In the first Design Blog the main image was a character study for the story’s title character (different than a lead character, but we’ll cover that later), Monkey. This time around, as the process is refining itself, we have character designs for the four main characters of the series, Monkey, Ras, Hari and Pig (the fifth, Naga, is not pictured here). You may notice that Monkey looks slightly different in this version, which is completely natural. Right now the designs for all of the characters (as viewable above) are pretty finalized, meaning that the basic components and the rough shapes and features that make them them are pretty set in place. However, this isn’t the real final version of any of the characters since they will continue to be polished and refined, until the actual drawing style including the line weights and amount of detail is finished by me… like I said, it is a process, but for the most part, these are finished enough to be recognizable from here on out.
I said originally that this design blog would follow the progress of putting the story from concept to completion, and so it will. However, there is something to clarify, this is not merely just to be a GN, instead the entire project is being planned as both a GN and something else (something moving) which for now, we’ll simply think of as a cartoon. So this blog will actually be the documentation of the design process for both sides of the project concurrently. Believe me, this makes sense, especially because it’s being developed the same way for both end products. So there you go, a little more bang for your buck ^__^. With this in mind, let’s get into the main subject of this entry in the STMP Design Blog 02: Beginning the Process/Story Start.
Basically everystory starts with a script (This is a basic Script Format breakdown), but before that is the outline. The outline covers the basics of the plot events and when things are going to happen without delving into specific dialog or the smaller series of non-plot-moving action.
This is a screen cap of the outline for Monkey3030. Obviously, since the story is not released yet, I can’t show a full readable version of the outline itself (trying to avoid spoilers etc ^__^)

Monkey3030 Plot Outline – GN & Cartoon
There are different ways to do outlines, and everyone does them a bit differently. In my version I tend to write something more akin to what’s known as a Story Bible, but it isn’t nearly as detailed as an actual one. The outline above covers the main characters and a simple run through of their journey throughout the entire first portion of the series (roughly 2 seasons of the cartoon and several GNs, depending). It also lays out some of the important ideas and events that make the world of M3030 the way it is as well as defining the main characters, who they are, how they inter-relate with eachother and what their part is in the overall story and their individual motivations are (their “why’s”).
From the outline the next phase (short of finalizing the outline, which some people do first, while others, like me, tend to do during the next phase… it doesn’t matter how you do it, it’s completely individual) is the rough pass, or first draft of the Script. There, in theory, is a difference between scripts for comics and scripts for film/teley. However, it really doesn’t matter. I think that mine tend to fall somewhere in the middle of the two. While I don’t follow the exact format of a tele-script (where one general rule is that each pg of script = roughly 1 min of film), I do write in a form closer to a film script over a script for comics which traditionally give a panel by panel and page by page breakdown of the story and the action. Below, you can see a screen capture of the pilot script for M3030, in its current state. Even though the series is being developed for both GN and cartoon formats, this pilot script will likely be the basis for the beginning entries in both versions. This is the first pass, or rough version, which means it’s the very first draft of the script. The most important thing, and the thing that Miss April December has been steadfastly and reminding me of, is that it needs to just get banged out and done.
After the first pass is done, the next step is to take that roughed first draft and to do another pass on it. This next pass is when you take a real critical look at the entire script and how it flows and make the first series of changes to help improve it and make it the best version of what it can be. This will include dialog changes, scene shifts and pretty severe editing (if you’re being honest). Not everyone likes to do this themselves, and it’s always a good idea to get another set (or two) of eyes that you trust on it to help you out. And while we’re on the subject of editing and going into the next pass on the initial rough, there is another stage that can also be combined with the first run of editing. We’re talking about Punch Up.

Monkey3030 Pilot Script – GN & Cartoon
Punch up is something that is especially needed for scripts that aren’t quite hitting their stride, or their rythem for the intended audience. Most people (like Urban Dictionary dot com) think of Punch Up as merely applying new jokes, one liners and other additions to make a script more appealing for an audience different than was originally intended. This is close, but not entirely accurate, Punch up does include that more times than it should, but it basically means to take an existing script and refine it, usually make it a bit flashier and infuse it with story elements (action, jokes, dialog) that make it mpore exciting, to make it jump… hence “punching” it up. Currently, the pilot script is just over the 20 pg mark, and roughly half-way through the actual plot of the episode. Once it’s finished and we go through to punch it up a bit, where the length will probably be cut down somewhat, and the dialog will likely be altered and edited (added to as well as cut down). Which brings me to the other weird part about my scripts, why they’re so long…
When I write scripts, I’m more than a little paranoid that the action isn’t clear enough, or I have a very particular and specific idea in mind for how something happens on screen (or on the page), which means my prose descriptions tend to be somewhat lengthy. Add to that, the fact that I’m very wordy as a writer (you couldn’t tell yet?) and you can see why the “prose chunks” are big fat portions of the script. In my script format you can tell the prose sections since they’re Left Justified, while all dialog is centered. Look back at the script again (sorry it’s not easier to see, but you should still be able to see the shapes) and you can likely see what I’m talking about.
As I said before, the pictured script will be used for both versions of the story, but there will be some differences in how the final translations happen. This has to do with the different strengths that each format has, for instance in the GN format (much like more regular prose work, ie novels, fiction etc) it’s a lot easier and less jarring to the story to break suddenly into internal monologues and asides, or as is done often in manga and its ilk, to cut to ‘chibi’ stylized snippets allowing the characters to comment on current story situations and dialog in a way that can sometimes break the fourth wall a bit. The teley version of the script will also likely have a bit more dialog, but overall might have less ‘content’ because the delivery of certain lines of dialog may be faster than and take less screen time then the amount of space they take up printed on a page in a word bubble. Add to that, that the GN’s page count restrictions for individual chapters, doesn’t exactly match the more restrictive time constraints of actual film. For better or for worse, the pilot ep of the cartoon will need to be no longer then about 22 min, where the GN’s chapter can be any length I want (genrally accepted as about 20-30 pgs) and the content of the cartoon pilot could be spread over several GN chapters. It makes sense in my head, which is where I guess, it’s most important for that to happen.
The last thing that I want to mention is that even though M3030 is based on The Journey To The West, it isn’t exactly a retelling, a reimagining, or even pure homage… frankly, I’m not sure what term should best describe it. JttW is certainly the original source material, but the themes and point of that story are not the same as M3030… all the same for anyone interested in learning more about the ’source’ of M3030’s story I have some good things to check out:
- Monkey Magic Teley Series (crazy 70’s weirdness and fun – pretty literal translation)
- Journey to the West: Plot Summary (broken down chapter by chapter, in awkward, but very accurate language)
- Journey to the West: Complete Translation (much better and I think, more accurate that the traditionally known Timothy Richard version of the manuscript)
- Monkey: Journey to the West Stage Adaptation website (the official website of the new stage production created by Damon Albam, and Jamie Hewlett, of Gorillaz fame)
Until the nest enrty in the Save the Monkey Project – Design Blog, remember, I love you all,
–Aleister
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Acumen Nation – Rally & Sustain
NR The Holiday Spirit
Dec 7th
Greetings Normalinauts. Lookie, lookie, I finally figured out how to make a post for tyhe actual comic section O_O woo-hoo! You’re all doomed now… >__>
This week’s comic actually was supposed to be number 2 in last week’s line up since the Save the Monkey Project comic went up on an off-date. Unfortunately, things got a bit hectic and we weren’t able to post it when we wanted (and I was a bit late in wrapping it up). But just the same, here it is, ready for your enjoyment.
This comic stems from a conversation between myself and miss April about alternate xmas iconography. So much of this holiday has been anthropomorphically personified by elves, santa, reindeer, moose, penguins and sundry other cold weather animals, beasties and mythological creatures. We thought that there was plenty of room in the beastiery pantheon to add a few new creatures, which begat the first couple of designs shown in the comic and lovingly modeled by the gobos.
As for the last one, well, that came from (as in the comic) a very literal analysis of what the xian version of the winter holidays are all about. And literalism being what it is, I took it to the logical end and you get the “the Crowning of Christ” as seen in the final panel. Yes, it is exactly what it sounds like. It is exactly what it looks like. And yes, if there actually were such a thing as a xian hell, I’m sure that my future table reservation would already be firmly reserved. Luckily, this isn’t the case. But all the same, if someone is offended by this, I would apologize, except I would find it hypocritical to do so, however, it was not my intention to insense anyone or upset them personally. Sorry, religion is funny, life is funny, and NR has been pretty even about leveling its venomous sights on anyone and everyone (as illustrated below).
Salem and Tako are here to represent for NR
Kilian will be resurfacing to the land of the living and cognascent sometime in the very near future. As a matter of fact, he did prepare script for this week’s comic (not shown) which dealt directly with his current experience and degree of fatigue. Funnily enough, I was writing this comic with that in mind as well, and presented him in the fashion/state in which I envision him to currently be. Life immitating are or vice versa as you see fit.
We love you all,
–Aleister
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Aha – Take On Me
Save the Monkey Project
Dec 1st
‘Allo everyone, and welcome to an off-date posting of Normality Restored. Normally, we would be putting this up on Friday, but holidays sometimes screw things up. Kilian will be back later, but for now he has to finish wearing down his nose on the Thesis grind stone.
However(!), there was a comic made, in fact I actually finished before I left for my own holiday journey on Wed. But like I said, despite the best preparations these things can still get lost in the shuffle. It’s no big deal, because lookie, it will be likely that you get 2(!) comics this week, barring that we get lazy after this post.
As for the comic itself, I must admit that this was entirely spurned by my own selfish motivations, and done without the aesthetic help/direction or word-smithing-genius of or own beloved Kilian. I have since received his blessing for this strip even though it is skewing a bit from the norm… or maybe not… I’m not sure that we have a norm yet… do we?
Behold! I come to you from 30 seconds in the future!
Oct 7th
Greetings all!
Sorry once again for the extended absence, needless to say “shit be crazy” lately. I won’t bore you with all the details yet (future post most likely), but I’ve been stretching myself in directions I never thought possible,
I did want to confirm what kilian said earlier, it’s true, I will be doing a signing later this month. It will be in Bellflower I believe, and it will be on or around the 25th. What I do know for sure is that it I will be signing with the lovely Tommy Kovac, and the mysterious Steve Niles. More on that later this week.
Most importantly, I wanted to let all interested parties know that we will be celebrating the lovely Ms April December’s birthday (26 years young she will be!) with pumpkin carving and booze (but NOT in that order!). We will begin with the celebrating around 3ish (pumpkin defacement) and move to drinks and food around 7ish. All will be done at our current abode in Tustin. For those that wish further information and all that good stuff, please feel free to contact me directly ^__^ :
gilgrim at gmail dot com
I will be updating more later, I thik I see a light at the end of the tunnel for a lot of this “being pulled in all directions” thing. I hope everyone is wel, I love you all.
Cheers,
–Aleister
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Misfits – Last Caress
PS
Salem became 6months old officially yesterday… he’s huge, vocalizing like crazy, and getting ready to crawl… life as we know it in the Gilgrim household is soon to be over…
Paypal update
Aug 29th
Somehow, this seems to have slipped through the cracks a bit, but there has been an update to the current Paypal drive for yours truly, with one gracious Normalinaut donating a cool $100 USD to the great casue! And what did we do in honor of this most generous donation? Nothing… yet! But we will, now with renewed vigor as it has been brought to our attention in the first place.
And btw faithful, gracious and giving Normalinaut, we will need a picture of you and the proper name you wish to be identified with to complete our end of the bargain ^__^ feel free to send these to either myself or Kilian when you’re ready.
For all Normalinauts keeping track, this puts us almost exclusively to the halfway mark for our ultimate goal!
Just a bit further you mighty and faithful few, we’re almost home! Current balance $203.01
We love you all,
–Aleister
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Gorillaz – D-Sides
SDCC is one week away
Jul 15th
And since that’s the case, I thought it a good idea to post a slightly narcicistic reminder about the new Cemeterians trade available directly through SLG and finer book buying outfits with actual taste the English speaking world over.
Also SLG has added the book to their online store, with the correct version of the cover art (which isn’t always correct on some of the other sites I’ve seen).
SLG Store – Cemeterians Trade!
I’ll be at SDCC at the SLG table (located, according to the convention website at plot 1815) on Friday and Saturday and will gladly scribble away on anything you have available (napkins, sketchbooks, bags, other peoples’ works, dogs etc) and as I said before, anyone who comes to the table with their own copy of the Cemeterians gets a free sketch of their choosing (no, you don’t have to purchase the book from SLG at the con, just have it on you… but they will be in stock at the booth of course ^__^).
Signing Schedule is as follows:
Fri. 10-12 (table 2B)
Sat. 10-11, 1-2, 4-6 (table 5B)
Both tables are likely a smaller part of the larger cog that is the great and terrible SLG creator’s horseshoe ring of doom filled to the brim with other souls generally more talented, and certainly more prolific than me. I’m not currently sure about the signing schedules for the other artists and creators, but anyone at the booth should be able to tell you when you get there – there are a lot of creators that deserve your attention and a quick thanks for helping to keep the sequential artform alive, fresh and innovative if not simply entertaining.
So see everyone next week, as APril and I trudge down to the geek-prom that is SDCC.
We love you all,
–Aleister
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Aesop Rock – None Shall Pass
Need more sequential goodness?
Jul 7th
It’s been a long time coming, but the original run of the Cemeterians by yours truly, and published by the loving misfits of SLG Comics is now available in a collected trade paperback volume! Yep, all 4 issues in one convenient, almost-fits-in-your-back-pocket, bundle ^__^.
You should be able to find it at any major book retailer – and if they don’t have it they can order it!
Also, if it’s easier, and fits more to your personal shopping disposition, I’ve been able to track it through some regular online retailers as well, such as:
So there it is, Cemeterians Volume One fully collected trade edition all for under $10USD! Come on folks, Normalinauts and other assorted misfits, hooligans and beloved peoples, grab your copy wherever you can!
BONUS! Anyone who has a copy come SDCC 2008, I will gladly create a custom sketch for you at no cost – just come see me at the SLG Booth (Friday or Saturday), and have your copy of Cemeterians Volume 1 in hand (I’ll sign it as well, if you don’t mind me defacing it with my signature)!
I have a kid, the kid is expensive, I’m running out of things in my personal collections to sell to pay for him… I could use the money. And this will help spurn me into completing volume 2 that much faster ^__^ – thanks hugely, to everyone who’s picked up one (or two! or three!!!) already!
We love you all,
–Aleister
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Gnarles Barkley – Odd Couple
New WP Phase One – Tengu!
Jun 20th
Real Quick, here are some new WPs featuring the very first illustrious contributor to NR’s own buy me [Gilgrim] a Waccom tablet (to ensure and promote more active content updates, like webcomics and such): Tengu!
Some explanation might be in order for the copy (that’s “text” for those who don’t have to use these archaic terms on a regular basis) included in the WPs themselves. Much like other films which have been lent to Kilian to further expand his cinematic palette, someone (I don’t remember who exactly) was kind enough to lend him the entire series of Firefly. Now being that Kilian is a watcher of Buffy and the like, it would seem logical that he should fall deeply in love with what is arguably Joss Whedon’s much better property… but it is not so. Not only has Kilian not watched the whole (less than one season) box-set to my knowledge but after watching whatever amount he has (which I wager is less than 3 full ep’s) he’s come away with his decision on the show simply being, “well… meh.” This is a sad thing indeed, but it seems that Browncoat Pride is something that he can’t understand afterall.
As an additional note: these are up in the Gallery Section as well, but for whatever reason, they seem to be automatically resized into the wrong aspect ratios. I might be missing something, but the above thumbnails should allow you to find the correct size and aspect ratios in the way in which they were originally designed.
I love you all,
–Aleister
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Balzac
Because People Asked! Pictures!
Apr 25th
Here is your incredible and overflowing dose of cuteness featuring our son Salem Ezra Grey, the ever-lovely miss APrilhead, and my ever- ragged-self. Thanks also to all of the lovely Tricksters who have been chatting it up and giving their congrats on the MyTrix Forums! ♥
Ok, see you all on Monday! Take care!
–Aleister
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Blaqk Audio – Stiff Kittens
Venture Bros Season 3 Updated Video!
Apr 24th
The video above is the official and *clean* version, not the regular handheld panel discussion version of the new bits and pieces of promo goodness for the upcoming Venture Bros Season 3, as released by one young Jackson Publick on his official LJ blog.
–Aleister

The Adicts – Two Two Two-Timing Me
Venture Bros! Season 3 Preview!
Apr 23rd
Venture Bros Season 3 is finally coming, as this exclusive preview from the recent NYCC demonstrates!
–Aleister

The Adicts – I Want To Marry A Lighthouse Keeper
I wear my sunglasses at night~!
Feb 15th
Yep Absinthe bar, masks, and art… all in one place ^__^
–Aleister
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The Misfits – Last Caress
And for fun, here’s an interview with ONRPG for my company’s new game, Grand Chase ^__^ it’s me!!!
A little experiment… sorta
Jan 5th
Happy Saturday Normalinauts!
I have found a ‘Threadless-like’ company that has come up and is trying to do something very similar it seems. It’s V2W (Vote 2 Wear, I believe), and with a format seemingly identical to the NakedNoMore trend setter before them, it should be a home for artists and designers to show their stuff, and to have it considered for final production. And how do the pieces get considered for printing (on shirts usually) ? By the power of voting!
Now isn’t that a novel idea? I mean, especially in light of our recent surge of seriousness here at the NR, where we’ve been scrambling to decipher what options our vote will have in the upcoming elections in less then a yea, and figuring out which candidates are best, or at least the most likely nominees… but for those decisions, since we’re in a Republic, we don’t actually get direct say all the time. So everyone scrambling for Obama, Clinton, Kerri, Huckabee, and Ron Paul to make it through the party primers and primaries, really are sitting on their hands. Oddly enough this country is touted in the public eye (ask most people on the street) as a Democracy, which we’re not, we’re a Republic, slight difference and it was done on purpose.
But if you really want a taste of Democracy, just like you had it in High School when you were voting for class leaders or for Prom themes, then here’s your chance to do just that!
Currently, I have 2 designs up on V2W that have been ‘approved’. The contest sections that they were submitted for haven’t opened up yet, but just the same, here’s the picks:
Now Like I said, I don’t think these are up and running just yet. But there’s a good chance that they will be in a week or so, as for now they are ‘approved’ and no longer ‘pending approval’… I think the ‘Battle’-ing as it is coined on the V2W website, will begin on our around January 16th. It really does cost nothing to vote or sign-up and since I’ve joined the site, I haven’t had any Spam or Junk (yet) so hopefully they’ll keep that up. But remember the best part, you get to decide what stuff gets made and what stuff doesn’t — that direct sort of voice being heard isn’t too common these days ^__^ so let’s go experience it together shall we! And besides, should my designs win, I get some money, and right now I need money. . . thank you!
–Aleister
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Atreyu – Bleeding Mascara
An End of a Year : An End of an Era
Dec 31st
This was completed last Thursday, and seems to have finally gone up today… all in all I was surprised by the cancellation of the series, but the reasons for the cancellation are, well, not evident at this time. However, I was lucky enough to be able to put together one final strip in order to say goodbye to all of the wonderful readers who stuck it out and came back week after week for the 30+ installments. To all that have been reading the series and allowed me, April, Wednesday and even our son, Salem, to be a part of your lives – and to all of those who enjoyed the strips, thank you, very, very much.
So here it is, the final installment of Megalo Life – for Trickster Online Revolution.
And so 2007 closes today, and with it this weekly webcomic serial. Thank you again to everyone who showed their support, if you would like to leave comments for the series itself, please do so in the actual comments section for the Megalo Life series at the bottom of the URL link as I will be reading them there.
See you all next year!
–Aleister
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