Ink, then digital.

Work for an upcoming Ironclaw project.

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There are many species known for an impulsive, happy-go-lucky nature - and then there are gorillas, who are anything but. Taciturn, brooding, sombre and serious, the ape is something of a wet blanket. Gorillas are concerned with concrete, practical matters and ways of thinking. In business, a gorilla is all about the bottom line without regard for charity or other soft motives.

They are drawn to professions that make sense of the world in terms of simple transactions, right and wrong, and they often rise to positions of power within those roles; judges, generals, sea captains, inquisitors, gang bosses, madams, sheriffs, scientists, pugilists, and so on. They don't do well taking instruction however, and find compromise distasteful.

Many of the great thinkers have been apes, by no coincidence, as they are able to see patterns on a large social scale. They might not do well as physicians or wet nurses, but they can manage hospitals and orphanages like clockwork. They might be irritable and unhelpful in the confessional, one-on-one, but no one can oversee an inquisition or a holy war like a gorilla. They also have well-considered ideas on economics, public health, philosophy and social theory - not always in agreement, mind you, as you can find treatises on communism, capitalism, existentialism, and reams of theological thought written by gorillas.

The point is that they are always cranking on something deep, and plans within plans. This can lead to too much far-sightedness and a lack of attention to detail at the immediate level; they don't make particularly good technicians. They are architects, and not carpenters; the mob boss, not the pickpocket. Gorillas are concerned with the greater good, or the largest return on investments, instead of smaller affairs.

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[NOTE: Those of you keeping score at home might recognize the painting on the wall as a reconstruction of this older painting I made.]