Friends,

Well, it appears that KJ is not fully healed, yet.  He forgot to finish off some very small points on several images, before posting them.  Not to worry, he has corrected the problem(s), which seem to have gone unnoticed so far (or maybe everyone is being especially polite, this summer?).

Anyway, we suggest beginning with 'The visit - Part 4,' and up through the latest post, if you would like to have the updated images.  Not all of them needed repairs, but listing the ones that did would take up precious time, at this end.  If you are quite content with what you already have, then disregard this message and return to your local beach.

DDM

Friends,

We have been working on several things, including those which sustain our lives, such as gainful employment, but have found time to continue our little story.  One image is holding us up and will be finished in a day or so.  After that, we can post the rest...well, almost the rest of the story.

We also had a recent note asking if we will ever include boys of colour and/or boys of different ethnic backgrounds, to which we responded in writing, with a boisterous 'OUI!'   However, the twist involved with depicting characters of colour is how to do so without presenting them in a stereotypical manner.  A character with dark skin, in a black and white venue, must be shaded in such a way as to convey his/her ethnicity in a positive manner, and not one that would appear slapstick, or cliche.  It is a rather delicate matter, when producing imagery for an international crowd and it is our intent to do so in a manner that applauds the differences and does not portray any character as 'vaudevillian' in concept.  We then have to transfer the character's persona to a colour format, for some of the images, and we want to make certain we can keep the integrity of the character intact, when doing so.  Does this make any sense?  We hope so.  

This is why we are taking our time with the characters of colour and different ethnicity with which we are working.  When we do work out the details we will be sure to introduce these characters into our work.  With just under fifty characters in our story, so far, you may understand the complexity of the undertaking.  No worries, though.  We'll get it done.


Ciao,

KJ & DDM