Damn Dirty Apes

Just thought I'd post a little something since, ya know, I haven't posted much of anything in quite a bit.  This is the sketch for a painting that never came to fruition.  It is actually the precursor to my illustration for the Philadelphia Magic GP playmat (the one with the three-headed chicken monster).  This was my first idea but it was deemed not zany, crazy, or whacky enough.

It will probably never become a painting but it was a fun idea that kind of took shape while I drew it.  I started with the vague idea of apes in fantasy regalia.  But when I drew it, I liked the vapid/dejected look of the gibbon so much that I decided that he would be the catalyst.  In his hand is not a banana (as originally drawn) but a banana-like tooth from the water beast on the right.  See the little bloody hole in its gum line? The idea being that the banana-hungry gibbon saw the teeth and just had to have one - much to the discomfort and rage of the water beast.