Get Arty Bug

3D Works in Maya

2011-09-17T22:21:00.000+08:00

Video (quality highly compressed by Youtube):

Modeling and Texturing Exercises:

Playing around with fur:

A Grim Children's Cartoon

2011-09-17T21:49:00.000+08:00

A new pet ostrich was meant to be a birthday gift,

Given to Henry as a form of surprise;

It ran away from the party stealthily and swift

With Henry on its back,

Blindfold still covering his eyes.

My Australia Trip Experience

2011-09-02T23:25:00.000+08:00

My recent trip to Australia was an ultimately refreshing experience, the best vacation I ever had, truly. Despite being only two weeks I covered three of the major cities on the mainland during the first week of my trip with my best bud, Faz. Sydney was our first stop and we stayed there for 2D3N followed by Gold Coast (which is my absolute FAVOURITE PLACE of the whole trip) for 3D3N and the last location I went to with Faz was Melbourne in which we stayed for 2D2N and then we went our separate ways whereby she headed home and I headed over to TASMANIA for a week! In total i took 6 flights within a span of 2 weeks which is pretty crazy! It went like: Singapore - Sydney - Gold Coast - Melbourne - Hobart - Sydney - Singapore. The only time I really loathe flying was when I was returning back to Singapore alone in a 9 hour plus journey, not including a 3 hour transit waiting time at Sydney airport. Other than that I feel that it's just like another public transport, just more protocols to it.

Packing For Winter
It was winter time while I was in Australia from 28 July to 13 August which I like since it's something really different from always being in the sweltering heat back at home. Knowing that temperatures could go down to a chilly 4 degrees Celsius, i wasn't taking any chances and brought along lots of long sleeve tops, knee-high boots, thick jackets, thick shawl, extra-thick leggings and long johns, and also a pack of self-heating packets that just began to slowly heats itself up upon opening of its wrapper. Such a curious little thing but they helped me to stop myself from shivering simply by grabbing onto it-a comforting warm object. All these things took up a lot of space and I went there with an almost full luggage weighing close to 19kg. Kinda paranoid? Yes. Turns out I could do without some of the things like my long johns i bought from Winter Time and they were expensive! My long sleeve top from Uniqlo could do just fine for sleeping in. And the $2 Daiso gloves I bought were useful on a few occasions though when the breeze would just make my exposed hands go numb, though observing the residents there, they would just stick their hands in the front pockets of their jackets to keep them warm and hardly anyone there wears gloves. My Daiso snowcap/beanie turns out to be utterly useless as well. After all, I did some shopping there and certain outlets will have great deals for jackets, some offered luxurious looking or pretty ones. So traveling light is always a good idea- just to make the extra space for purchases made there and to make it easier to carry around the luggage since not all transfer services offer good services like carrying the bags for us while boarding and alighting. I particularly enjoyed the winter there because of the fact that I hardly ever felt sweaty despite walking around so much and it's also less tiring and it makes me motivated to keep on exploring around.

Sydney
We stayed at Wake Up! Backpackers in a 6-bed female dorm. There was no one in the room when we came in but some of the beds appeared to be occupied by belongings and there were bags n luggage on the floor. I felt like an intruder but i guess staying in a backpackers place requires trust that others won't mess about with your stuff. There were also a couple of small lockers in the room for each occupant with a latch to attach your own lock. So you basically pick whatever bed or locker that is not occupied and we were told that upon checking out, we were supposed to bring down the pillowcase we used. My initial thought about bringing down the pillowcase was that the receptionist was trying to pull our legs into doing something embarrassing but he was like "Why are you laughing?" in a really confused manner. We've never experienced or needed to do such things before in other hotels so it sounded pretty odd at that moment. I then realized that this was to help them determine which bed we had occupied for the cleaning up of the bed sheets after we checked out.

Blue Mountains!
Faz managed to source for a great deal for a day of guided tour of the Blue Mountains at $55 per pax. We went trekking through the rainforest starting from the top of the Blue Mountain and worked our way down the rainforest to a Skytrain ($11) point that would take us up back to where we began. Along the route down, we passed by several scenic waterfalls, echo points, well known cliffs such as the three sisters and also an abandoned coal mine. I even caught sight of beautiful wild cockatoos in the trees and also a couple of them flying around. Pretty amazing to see them in their natural habitat and I could spot them even from far away because their whiteness really stands out amongst the greenery and also the distinctive silhouette of their crown. The tour guide we had, Jim, was really informative, sharing his knowledge about the plants such as the yellow bottlebrush whose seeds could only be dispersed after the onset of a forest fire. He said that Australia such such a unique ecosystem in which fire is part of it and that it plays an important role in the sustenance of the yellow bottlebrush. He also showed us some spiky looking leaves of the eucalyptus plant which existed since prehistoric, dinosaur times and how it's form allowed it to survive in harsh conditions til today. Sandwich shop at the top. bought for lunch.

Aroma Festival @ The Rocks!
The next day, via a $2 bus ride, we headed down to this amazing Aroma Festival. Several roads were closed down to make way for stalls mainly selling freshly brewed coffee, and others that offers organic products such as flavored teas, cooking condiments like the peri peri marinating sauce and weirder stuff like chilli raspberry sauce meant for cooking. Anyway it was here that I had the best ever cup of mocha cappuccino- which had a really nice chocolate taste. Danes was recommended by one of the tea sellers to have really good coffee and we bought some from them in which they freshly ground the coffee beans upon request. The place was pretty crowded and lively and amidst the hustle and bustle, but we found a little gem of a shop amongst the rows of shophouses alongside the booths. And it was...

TEA COSY!
It was kind of by chance that we were tired and hungry that we just decided to crash the nearest teahouse that we saw and it turns out to be a nice little hidden haven. Its interior ambience was warm and friendly, decorated with authentic looking vintage/country decor, and had outdoor seating in its quaint backyard which had this fall season kind of ambience with its cool fresh air, brown wooden fence and barrel-color scheme. Even their teapots were covered by cute knitted teapot warmers with faces and character like appearances. We had generous-sized scones with delicious peach jelly, apple jelly and cream which were simply heavenly. Totally love this place! Apparently it is pretty popular as seen by a newspaper article that they had been featured. They had put up on their wall in the backyard. Their staff said that usually they were not so busy on normal days and that it was the Aroma Festival that had brought in so much crowd. As said by Faz, a scone fanatic, it's definitely much better than TWG!

Sydney Opera House
Nearby was the iconic Sydney Opera House which we visited pretty late so there weren't any plays showing that night anymore. But we did drop by its ladies room which turned out to be pretty interesting! It had LOTS of mirrors and each one of them were surrounded by bulbs, like the ones classic vanity mirrors had for actresses in the bygone era. Outside the Sydney Opera House were a few eateries facing the sea. We had some really good food like truffle fries and grilled fish complimented by hot tea. The eatery had a nice outdoor chill out ambience at night with soft cushioned seats by the waterfront (a little like the outside of SG's Esplanade but with cold fresh air, cushioned seats and more laid back pace and peaceful calm atmosphere), dim lighting, lamp fire warmers and a live band playing nearby. The seats are backed by the waterfront's wall which was sloped so you could just lean back on it and stargaze into the night sky. A pretty romantic spot actually.

SES outlets
We then headed back to our hotel's area and stumbled upon a reasonably priced fashion outlet called SES. Although it could be found quite commonly in the other cities I've been to, the outlet in Sydney had the most variety. On average dresses range from $20+ and luxurious looking jackets and trench coats that appeared to cost hundreds of dollars costs about $30+. Apparently the clothes are all made in China and the workers across all the outlets are Korean- just an observation I made.

Paddy's Market
Paddy's Market is somewhat like Bugis Village but it's 'indoors' as in fully sheltered, has more spacious walkway and less crowded. The best deals you could get at Paddy's Market are probably jewelry, accessories and LUGGAGES! Cheap huge luggages are about $30 and considering it could carry around Faz's stuff of 23kg without any problem, I suppose it's of good quality. There were lots of UGG- Australian made shoes as well but I wouldn't be so sure if they were the originals despite still being expensive there. As for apparels, it can't beat Bugis Village in terms of variety and price as seen from the quality of clothes they sell.

Gold Coast
I LOVE GOLD COAST! My first impression of the place while I was in the transfer bus on the way to the hotel was just excitement looking at the endless stretch of beaches with white sands and beautiful blue waters and the bright and sunny weather! It looks like how Miami appears on TV. The weather was not as cold as Sydney and I could afford to walk around wearing fewer layers though the cold breeze would catch me off guard with the sudden chill. Still, it was warm enough in mid afternoon with women sunbathing in their bikinis, people swimming and jogging in their trunks. Though temperatures will start to dip quickly from 4pm onwards as they have an earlier sunset. The best part about Gold Coast was...

Shore Apartments!
I a bit skeptical when our friendly transfer bus driver told us that Shore Apartments was really good but got excited when the receptionist gave us the top floor room on the 14th floor. The moment we stepped in, we just went berserk because the place was simply THAT gorgeous with sunlight streaming in through the large windows of the living room, bedroom and open air balcony, brightening up the entire place naturally. Best of all, was the beautiful vast sea view visible from every window of the apartment and it stretches all the way as far as the eyes can see, putting my mind at ease. It was also a spacious apartment that is well equipped just like a real home. It would really be a dream home of mine to live in such a place as it really feels complete and it's the perfect location at Ocean Avenue, where it is less than a 5 min walk from the beach. It's kitchen provides an electric stove, utensils, pots and pans, dishes, whisking utensils, basically, everything you'd need and sufficient enough to host a house party. It's interior is modern and sleek with a blue colored theme perhaps to complement the colors of the sea and sky with framed stylized paintings of a beach scene on the walls and seashells and sand in a glass vase placed on the sink of it's bathroom. As for the bedroom, it has full length mirrored cupboard doors which is also a plus for us girls. Every morning, warm reddish-orange sunrise would stream into our bedroom and it's a lovely and ethereal sight to wake up to, looking at the sun slowly appearing and rising from behind the sea majestically, in which time just appeared to stand still at that moment. They also provided a fan heater with came in as a need for me as night time proved to be extremely cold that I'd place the heater on my bedside table directed towards my face. After a few hours it will effectively warm up the bedroom such that the moment you open the bedroom door, you could feel the chilly air from outside seeping in. It's really the opposite experience from Singapore whereby you'd stay indoors in a cold air-conditioned room to escape the heat outdoors. It is pretty much a safe and well secured place whereby we were issued with a key to operate the lift and the main entrance door at night. Overall it is a steal to get a room at Shore Apartments at $200+ for 3 nights. From our apartment we walked to Surfer's Paradise to do groceries shopping at Coles and tried their gelatos. Passionfruit flavour was pretty interesting whereby there are crunchy bits of passionfruit seeds.

We purchased a package for entrances to Whitewater World, Dreamworld and SkyPoint. The good thing about going to these places in Winter is that there are not much queus to rides and the weather is still cool and comfortable.

WhiteWater World
The scariest, most thrilling and memorable ride in WhiteWater World has to be the Wedgie. You'd enter a capsule alone and brace yourself in standing position while the ride operator with speak through a microphone to let you hear him counting down as though a rocket is about to be launched. A latch door at the bottom of your feet will then suddenly be released and you'd free fall into a long yellow slide at ridiculous speed, choking on water for a few seconds when you screamed during the suicidal drop, and at the end of the slide, there is a lifeguard watching as you and you can't escape the embarassment of trying to remove your wedgie while exiting the ride. It's just crazy and it's the only time I'd ever experience free falling for the longest time while half naked, without any safety attachments whatsoever. After this ride though, everything else seems less scary.

Dreamworld
It's here that i got to carry a baby koala bear! Once the keeper placed it on my chest it just hung on naturally with my arm supporting its bum like a baby. Soooo terribly cute! Soooo furry! If it weren't for some movements of its claws on my shoulder and arm that clenches and relaxes every once in awhile, it's just like carrying a soft toy. Simply precious, so in love with it! It's part of the theme park's Wildlife Experience and we also got to feed and pet friendly kangaroos and joeys that were just chillin' around all over the place. I was reluctant to touch them at first having the idea in mind that kangaroos could just punch you in the face like pro boxers but they were nothing like that. They were really domesticated, harmless and will just eat food from the palm of your hands. It was a heartwarming to end the day at Dreamworld after the heart-pumping rides like The Claw which swung us around in 360 degrees at high speeds, The Tower of Terror and free-falling 39 storeys (how crazy is that?!) down the Giant Drop whereby we were strapped on seats that fell so fast that limbs would just flail upwards while we were falling down. Being at the very top where it was pitch silent except for the nervous giggling of others, I was filled with a mixed feeling of calm and serenity looking at the scenery of the entire theme park and more at bird's eye view and also with fear of the impending drop. Makes me wonder if this is this how you feel when you know that you're about to die? It's just like surrendering yourself helplessly to whatever that comes. Ultimately it's the best theme park ride ever!

Melbourne
The moment we reached this city, I could feel its busy, hectic atmosphere with lots of traffic and presence of international people. Though it has its own unique appeal with many magnificent historical buildings, beautiful architecture, for one, The Sebel, where we stayed in. It's those genuinely extravagant, glamorous kind of buildings with high ceilings, huge crystal chandeliers and Victorian-styled everything from furniture to wallpapers to carpeting.

Dinner and Desert
Faz had a friend in Melbourne who kindly drove and treated us to dinner and dessert. He brought us to a restaurant in the only mall which opened til late- the one with the Casino in it. This was where I was lucky to have the best oysters in the world as my first ever oyster experience. Usually I'm turned off by raw meat but i decided to give it a try since they mostly look kinda white, clean and harmless. I didn't expect it to taste really refreshing with little aftertaste especially with lemon juice. Prior to this I thought that oysters would taste like cockles, which i truly hate by the way, but to my surprise these oysters were totally not disgusting and pretty nice though having two would be enough for me. Thankfully they were really good and fresh oysters otherwise I'd avoid oysters for the rest of my life. As for desert we went to Koko Chocolates wich is a lovely place where I had soy hot chocolate and Faz ordered a desert with poached pears and ice cream.

Melbourne International Film Festival- "The Woman"
We booked tickets to watch The Women. It's darkly humorous and pretty much disturbing, raw and it's images lingers in the mind. After the screening there was an informal speech and interview with the director and lead actress who had a challenging role acting as a wild, uncivilized, cannibalistic woman who was captured from the forest and attempted to be tamed by a man who had his family involved in the process. It's an art film that just sticks in your memory and never dies, unfortunately.

Brunetti's
We headed this Italian pastry/bakery/coffee place specifically from an in-flight magazine's feature and recommendation. It had an impressive range, with long rows of choices of pastries, cakes and sweet delights. It's more of a visual treat being there though palate-wise, I expected the pastries to taste better. Or it could just be that we didn't choose the best pastries out of the large variety since we only had 3 different kinds.

The Block Arcade
This is a heritage building with authentic old-charm appeal that was bulit in the 1800s following a Victorian Mannerist style (thank you Wikipedia!). This is where we visited yet another elegant and posh cafe called Hopetoun Tea Rooms for breakfast on our last day in Melbourne. We had scones and tea but were still tempted after looking at their window displays of pretty cakes. Haigh's Chocolates was within the Block Arcade as well which was like a chocolate wonderland with chocolate bunnies, licorice sticks, sauce, gifts, and anything chocolate you'd need and want.. Their staffs were all professionally dressed in white aprons and hats. The cashier who served us was really nice in offering to wrap our purchases in bubble wraps and nice layers of beautiful packaging.

National Gallery of Victoria
Despite the rain and drizzle and few hours remaining before our flights, we managed to brave through the gloomy weather to walk to one of Melbourne's art museum to see the exhibition on Vienna's Art & Design with works by artists such as Klimt, Shiele, Hoffman and Loos. It's a great opportunity that I didn't want to miss to look at the masterpieces up close and see every detail, stroke, texture and the gleam of mediums used that shines differently from every angle. I love the intricate drawings, impressive paintings, even furniture, ornaments and accessories. It is amazing that art could relate so much to a place's changing history and offer so much richness of knowledge and understanding of it's culture. I really wanted to read up more into the works and bought the exhibition's thick and heavy catalogue with colored photographs and write-ups, unfortunately it got left behind in Tasmania and I'll probably only be able to get it back in November. Felt like a part of my heart is left there and I'm anticipating it's return to me so that I could relive and remember my experience of gazing into the works especially since photographs were not allowed to be taken in the exhibition.

Tasmania
When i first exited Hobart's airport clearance and was focused in looking for the conveyor belt that would have my luggage, a tall figure stood in my way directly in front of me. So tall that his face was out of my sight and after being in Australia for awhile, I was used to all the Caucasians towering over me. I didn't realize that it was my boyfriend! So he totally caught me off guard and for awhile I was standing there a bit confused while looking up at him for a few seconds until he hugged me. His hair was longer and he lost a lot of weight and it's also because I didn't expect to see him so soon as I didn't know that the luggage collection area was open to the public, unlike other airports where the luggage were only accessible by passengers, so I expected to only see him only after getting out of there. Nevertheless, it felt like we hadn't been apart at all. It's really ironic... it's not the ultimately euphoric moment I had pictured it to be especially after being apart for so long and considering how I had embarrassingly bawled my eyes out at the airport when he left (yes in front of everyone including his relatives). It was a deeper joy and gladness that he was there and we picked up from where we left off that it felt familiar and complete like I was meant to be there despite me being in a totally foreign place. Probably surreal would be a good way to describe it.

It was drizzling and cold outside while we walked to the airport's carpark and while he was driving, the glass fogged up on the inside. I remembered looking at the intermittent scenery of oceans, hilly terrain and forest we passed by and it was captivating. Tasmania has it's own natural appeal unlike any of the cities I've visited.

When we reached his apartment, one of the first things i noticed was the entirely carpeted flooring, it's fluffy texture and softness like sheep's fur. Something which was really needed for the cold weather. The best thing about his place must be the view, as it's directly facing a sea dock and Yacht Club where all the boats were parked. It's basically just across the road, a distance less than a hundred steps to the dock and I was just thinking that he's so lucky to live there. His living room which has large, wide windows from end to end is a perfect place to paint a scenery of the bay. Even the Casino, the tallest building in Tasmania (though it isn't exactly that tall) could be seen from his living room. It's just a spectacular view. His place is just about 15-20min walk to the Casino and we went there on two nights to get some complimentary hot chocolate drinks, teas and coffee dispensed by a vending machine.

The first night I was there was on Saturday, the 6th of August, 3 days shy of Singapore's actual national day. Singapore Night was celebrated by his school on that Saturday itself, at Grand Chancellor Hotel, by Singaporean and Malaysian students. He was one of the two emcees for the event and he did a really great job despite only being briefed about the sequence of events less than a few hours before starting. I was accompanied by some of his closest friends during the event and also throughout my stay in Tasmania. They were great hosts in showing me around Tasmania, making me feel at home and getting to know the real experience of living and surviving there. I was really well taken care of over in Tasmania because of them as well and is highly appreciative of that. Wanted to leave them some thank you notes before leaving but it was such a rush during the last day but they made it memorable for me as well.

Village cinema
My boyfriend and I watched Captain America in 3D at a Village Cinema. The cinemas there are free seating and you'd have to buy your own 3D glasses at $1. The ticket prices were really expensive so it was probably no surprise that other than us, there was only another group of people watching the movie in the same cinema, so I guess that's why seating arrangements were not required.

Shiploads
My trip in Tasmania were mostly going about daily activities like buying groceries and looking for Halal poultry and meat. While driving around we did discover places with great deals such as a warehouse called 'Shiploads' that sells chocolates ,snacks,home stuff like furniture and cosmetics at great prices. They do not even pack your purchases in plastic bags but reuse cardboard boxes instead to put your products in, should you need one, which is really environmentally friendly. Something which Singapore could probably learn from. I was really attracted to a pink, crocodile-leather textured luggage about 50cm in height and costs about AUD30+. It was very cute but I just had to let it go thinking that I can't handle dragging two luggage home on my own. I won't have any space for it at home anyway.

Iftar at University of Tasmania
I was there during the fasting month of Ramadhan and had the opportunity to experience this event of breaking fast together for Muslims and non-Muslims to join in as well. Funnily enough though, the school was having an official beer festival at the podium and it was such a stark contrast of environments after having to walk through these crowds of people partying and drinking in order to reach the stairs that would lead us to the main hall where the religious Iftar event was held. Food such as delicious Briyani was prepared and served by international students and a section of the hall was dedicated to the men for praying with prayer mats laid out. On every table were plates of dates, fruits and bread as well. Bookmarks and small, pocket-sized Qurans with English translations were also given away complimentarily. I'm happy to see that Islam is practiced there in a manner that is open and welcoming, even to non-muslims, so that people could actually see how it is actually practiced and reduce the kind of misconceptions about Islam brought about by the media, which usually choose to portray it negatively.

MONA
MONA is the Museum of New and Old Art and it's still relatively new, having only opened earlier this year. Entrance to the entire museum is free however they would start charging something this coming October as their operations costs millions to maintain. It had an incredible architecture with underground levels that still retain the naturalness with its walls being the actual rock it had been excavated from. We we given iPods with headphones to accompany us during the journey there whereby it will provide information on the artworks by automatically detecting which artworks are nearest to our position. We could also 'save' our journey whereby it'll detect which artworks we'd already seen and it could then be retrieved form it's website. The iPod also allows you to rate whether you like the artwork or otherwise and would give you a result of how many others liked it as well by relating it quirkily and suggestively in phrases such as "41251 others wanked to this artwork". I guess it's also in line with one of it's popular resident works called "Cunts... and other conversations" by Greg Taylor and friends which are basically rows of 150 porcelain sculptures of actual women's...parts, from real women of diverse backgrounds. Despite having a controversial and vulgar surface, the work deal with deeper social issues such as awareness of women's diversity in sexuality and bodies. Quoted from the MONA website, "All of them want one thing: for young women to be free of growing up with fear, ignorance and loathing of their bodies and sexuality". The iPod also syncs with video installations that require audio to experience and would play it concurrently through the headphones. There are several impressive and fun interactive works such as a vertical human scanner called Touchme by Kousemaker and Olden whereby you could leave an imprint by pressing a button on the large touchscreen. It'll look like someone has squashed themselves against a glass wonder from the other side and it would project humorous images of the scans of others. Other interactive work which I liked was "Shadow 3" by Shilpa Gupta and also "Life Writer" by Mignonneau and Sommerer. There was a queue to enter a particular mysterious place where only 2 people were allowed to enter each time to get the full experience of the artwork. I won't spoil it for you by saying what it is though just in case you're going to visit it.

Salamanca Place
There are several cafes, pubs and eateries here such as Banjo's that had a really rich and sinful Chocolate mudpie and raisin scones that come in a cheap price of AUD6 for half a dozen. Their coffee was good too. Another cafe I tried was Bakehouse which was opened 24hrs and I tried their version of the Chocolate Mudpie. The lady working there was kind enough to reheat my cake when he overheard me saying that I'd prefer it to be warmer which really made it nicer.

We had Cargo's home made ice-cream during one of the cold nights. You might think it's crazy to have ice cream when the weather is freezing but it's good because they give it generously on a cone since it won't melt and cause the discomfort of dripping onto your hands. After finishing the ice cream, the weather doesn't feel as cold anymore as well. However if you just had a warm meal indoors, the moment you step out, you'll shiver. For example I had some really nice and hot Fish and ships indoors at Chipper's and the moment I step out, the cold just overwhelms me and I can't stop shivering. So basically if you wanna acclimatize, don't try to fight it!

Domino's pizza
For supper during my last night there, I treated them to some Domino's takeaway pizza which they love. After ordering it over the phone, we drove over to its outlet to collect it. Apparently it's quite good over there.

Salamanca Market
I visited this market with my boyfriend and his friends just hours before my flight as it is a open air flea market that only opens on Saturdays. They have unique handmade goods, fruits/veggies, second-hand books,ice creams, jewelry and buskers. Managed to grab a couple of small items but the rest were kinda expensive and I didn't have much time to look around. We basically had to rush to the airport fearing that I'd miss the luggage check in. Thankfully the flight was slightly delayed and this was the second time that I had actually benefitted from flight delays. It gave us some time to relax at the airport for awhile.

Goodbyes are never easy but I tried hard not to look back while walking towards the plane.

I'm holding on to these memories tightly by writing from what I could recall from my trip and hopefully, from time to time, i could read it over again and realize that this unbelievable trip actually happened and that I really did have an amazing experience. Lastly, my heartfelt thank you to all those who had been through this trip with me. May we have more wonderful experience together in future. Love you lots.

As for Halim, I'll see you soon again, my dear.

Done Diddly-Doo

2011-08-22T21:08:00.000+08:00

At long last! I'm here again! Just a quick update on a recent work I did for a flyer/banner ad. My friend is part of it's organizing committee so I helped them do up a design for the 'Fun Cycling at Kebun Baru' event. I pretty much like how it turned out. Let's just say, making things simple isn't as easy as it sounds. Well at least for me. Anyway here it is:

Obviously the elongated tail ends of the 'F' and 'C' that makes up the event name is extended to form a pathway for the cyclist. And everything is kept as minimal as possible as it works best that way to convey the simple message.

So yeah, if you happen to live in Kebun Baru, go ahead and join in the fun! I mean it's only freakin' $2, isn't that a great deal or what. Plus you'll get some free stuff like a tee and towel and a chance to win in a lucky draw. So there's no excuse to be a lazy!

Cheers!

For My Mom

2011-01-20T20:20:00.000+08:00

Mak
25.7cm x 36.4cm
Acrylic & pastels on canvas

Rough color mapping with soft pastels before painting over it.

She thought that I missed her so much and painted her because she was away for a few days. It's actually for her birthday.

Year of the Rabbit

2011-01-15T21:01:00.002+08:00

Dwarf Rabbit
25.7cm x 36.4cm
Acrylic on canvas

This is the first time I tried painting on canvas as I managed to finally get my hands on a few. It was really fun dabbling with thick blobs of paints with a large brush onto the canvas without caring about the mess! Tinier details were added later on with a smaller brush.

Illustrators Drawing Illustrators

2011-01-11T16:13:00.001+08:00

Mara Cespon Portrait(c) Sarah Zainal Abidin
Mara's blog is over at http://mara-louise.tumblr.com. Go check it out!
Mixed Media
A3 Size

This is my entry for Travel Write Draw's 'Illustrators Drawing Illustrators Project' initiated and organised by the beautiful Meagan Morrison.

The portrait is of Mara Cespon, fashion illustrator, who blogs at http://mara-louise.tumblr.com. I tried to capture her interest in Japanese fashion by making it look kawaii with the pose (one of my favourite pictures of her is the one where she was pouting). I'm kinda liking how it turns out. I hope Mara likes it too!

The very talented Veronika Horrocks will illustrate me and I'm so excited to see it. Also can't wait to see what others will come out with! Everyone will post their works on their respective blogs on 11th January, so watch out for their updates.

Thank you Meagan for organising this project!

Edit: This is a repost as I accidentally deleted the original post and the comments are ALL gone too! =(

{Request} Hello Kitty

2010-12-29T17:03:00.000+08:00

Watercolor & Pencils.
A4 size.

A lil' something for a sweet lil' girl who wanted me to draw her a Hello Kitty.

She liked the rabbit I drew for her on her handmade birthday card. It was a pink watercolor rabbit and I attached a real satin ribbon bow around its neck. I was really happy to hear that she pasted it somewhere in her room and that she really treasured it.

I guess she's the inspiration for this work after all- her fascination with Hello Kitty, all the girly-ness and childlike imagination.

Illustrations for School

2010-12-28T02:33:00.001+08:00

Character Designs

Sewing Room

Laundrette Street

The classic fairytale- Hansel & Gretel

Attempt at gradient mesh tool on Gretel's face.

It was a mad rush to create these works nearing their deadlines but it's what I enjoy doing. And honestly I'm thankful to the pressure as it's what makes me work hard- trying to beat the clock and squeezing all my creative juices in my brain and putting my drawing skills to the test, yet still learning new tricks.

It's my holidays now and one of my goals is to just keep drawing! So i have a new blog dedicated to drawing portraits simply using a ball-point pen at http://ballpointpenportraitsbysarah.blogspot.com/. The name's kinda long but it helps me to keep focus on its main purpose.

Anyway check out this cool initiative: http://travelwritedraw.blogspot.com/2010/12/illustrators-drawing-illustrators.html and participate. Deadline's TODAY- end of 28th December! The blog's seriously amazing too.

{New iPhone iPod Game} Marin II

2010-11-09T23:00:00.001+08:00

Marin II Game

Prrriingg!

Check it out! My brother's game is now out for downloads on iTunes store here.

Do give it a try and support him. I'm really impressed with the programming he's done. And the graphics, animation and music by his team mates are great too! Makes for a fun, entertaining casual game to kill boredom. So far there has been over 1200 downloads!

Who knows perhaps one day he can help me develop mine too. He said he'll do it if I have a good idea. Taking his word for it =)

New Layout

2010-11-05T12:51:00.022+08:00

Victorian Feel

Previous Old Layout

Finally updated this blog layout! I've been wanting to for the longest time and I'm happy with the outcome. I learnt so much about HTML these past few weeks while doing up a website for school I decided to apply it to my own blog.

Hopefully this spanky new look will motivate me to blog more often =)

Checkered Men's Vest

2010-10-27T23:36:00.001+08:00

Made this vest for his birthday!

With buckle @ the back.

Made My Own Baju Hari Raya 2010

2010-09-02T01:57:00.007+08:00

Time taken: approx 4 days.
Fabrics: off white satin lining, sparkly blue chiffon.
Cost: $20 fabrics + $3 zipper.

The sparkly glitteriness caught my attention and attracted me to the huge roll of textile which intrigues me and stirs my imagination. I draped one end of it over other nearby fabrics to get an idea of what colors would be great as its inner lining. Thought that the sparkly blue fabric looked dreamy and soft when layered over a light colored base. Above it, pasted on the walls were pricings by metres for the different cloths. The sparkly chiffon was placed in between two price labels i.e. RM16.50 and RM6.30 so it made me deliberate whether it's worth getting it at the higher price if that was the right price. Anyway I know I am short of time to sew a new baju raya since I was there to get material to sew new sofa seat covers in the first place. Turns out the price is the latter cheaper label and my mom was supportive of me sewing a new baju raya which encouraged me even further to get it. She told me to focus on the baju first and that she'll help to sew the sofa covers.

In my mind I wanted something simple and easy to sew so that I can finish it asap. While lying on my bed that afternoon, some ideas went through my mind as to what design would really bring out the best in the fabric. This was the design I aspired to make initially, roughly sketched on the back of an envelope which was the most coveniently placed canvas I got a hold of.

The design process brought me along stages which morphed how the baju should turn out- some changes include abandoning the draping section and changing the entire neckline. Ultimately simplifying the entire piece for easier working process. Most importantly I wanted a perfectly fitted one piece dress. So after trying out the baju, tightening the sides and darts did the trick to get a close fitting silhouette.

Stages: drafting in 1/4 scale in my book, real life drafting on paper, cut fabrics, overlock stitches, etc. Very tiring stuff but well worth it.

Double-Breasted Classic Jacket (Fully Lined)

2010-09-02T01:14:00.001+08:00

Jacket Update: this is the jacket with lining I did in sewing class. Wore it on the 2nd day of school but I didn't tell anyone I sewn it. Whoever knew I did it wanted one- sis, boyfriend, father, etc are interested and I do wanna make it for them probably after hari raya and if I can squeeze in time during the weekends or my no-school Wednesday. School is still my utmost priority even though this is something I'm really into.

For the jacket the fabric is more expensive per metre but thinking how boutiques such as Zara or Mango carry such stuff at close to $200 per jacket, a $20+ worth of materials is well worth the value. Spent more time on the jacket since it was complicated but experiences and the knowledge attained from the teachers are priceless.

One teacher did say sewing is a dying art. But I ironically I find that it is the most practical and worthwhile thing I could do and love doing. And something not everybody has the patience in doing.

My First Sewn Outfit- Vintage Inspired

2010-08-20T13:43:00.002+08:00

One of the holiday's fruit of labour; a set of blouse and pleated skirt sewn from scratch.

Lots of time and effort but it payed off to have something unique and tailored to my own body measurements. The blouse design is Hawaiian collared, cuffed and added quite a number of pleats to make it more fitting.

Took the advice from one of my previous post to sew a pleated skirt since it suits the fabric better. So thanks for the great feedback!

The sewing classes is well-organized by using a step by step approach. And this time I can understand and remember it better. Feeling confident to sew some simple stuff on my own now. Plus the environment is really friendly and warm.

Wore it with this pair of shoes from Jakarta: lace-up leather peep-toe wedges which coincidentally matches the belt.

Next up: Jacket with lining!

Will be learning pockets, working with lined/patterned fabric and LININGGG- the mother of sewing accomplishments! OK not really but really something great to learn cos it's the thing that give clothes the extra luxurious feel.

Taking it slow and easy.

Jakarta: Trip Review

2010-08-09T23:53:00.006+08:00

The trip to Jakarta was an impromptu decision initiated by mom after she watched an Indonesian documentary on TV. Not that she was enlightened by it or anything but it probably just reminded her that we should travel somewhere together after the wedding. The flight deals were good too about $700+ for 5 pax on Air Asia (excluding tax on the return flight- which was an unexpected fee for us like a surprise. Luckily still got cash.) The tickets were booked 2 days before leaving on Thursday morning.

We stayed at Ibis Mangga 2 which is located in North Jakarta. 2 nights and 2 rooms for about $280. It's located near some malls, or rather, Mal as they spell it there. Namely Harcomas, ITC Mangga 2, Pasar Pagi- these three malls are connected to each other via indoor bridges/links on different floors of each mall. Which was unsurprisingly confusing and we took about an hour to figure out a way back to the hotel. The first 'Mal' (one of the three I've mentioned but can't remember which name belongs to which) was somewhat like Sim Lim Towers in Sg- kinda ulu looking stuff. It is then linked to The next mall which is somewhat like Sim Lim Square with all the techy gadget shops and also Yogya which is a supermarket like Cold Storage. The next mall connected is where most of our last minute shopping for apparels were done. Highly advisable to start with the highest floor as that is where all the trendier clothes, shoes and interesting stuff are at, some at wholesale prices. Even beautiful wedding gowns are available for purchase at reasonable prices. However most of the fashion products are from Thailand Bangkok which I've been to and Bangkok is still unbeatable in terms of getting clothes at great deals- easier to bargain in Bangkok and cheaper of course AND Suan Lum night market is still my favorite spot for vintage apparels as the place is full of art-farts.

So if in Jakarta you'll probably get more of your money's worth at SOUTH Jakarta where there are more factory outlets selling original goods and trendier tourist places like pubs. We went to French Toast Premium Factory Store where prices were said to be up to 90% off the original. The products are either over-supplies or have minor defects which did not pass their QC tests. I bought formal shirts for Halim at abt Sgd25 each for brands like Donald Trump that were really great quality material. Other brands were like esprit, H&M, VS, etc. My bro and sis in law bought lots of cool looking thick jackets with furry hoods for wearing in Canada. The shop is located in Kemang 8, an area our hired taxi driver for the day was unfamiliar with. So navigating there required lots of asking around like totally random strangers. He would just wind down the window near any (and almost every) junction and ask a nearby person for directions despite the road being a single lane and the act will hog up drivers behind. But honks are a common thing on roads there, like almost every 5 seconds there will be a motorist honking to alert others of their presence as traffic is madness- a mix of pedestrians, sellers on foot (for random stuff like tiny Indon flags, floats, food), bajaj (tuktuks), push cart sellers (bakso mi). In Sg when someone honks at you it's almost as good as being given the middle finger.

There are also more art gallery shops selling paintings in the South in shop houses between those of furniture shops, bike shops, etc. The shops are simple ones, nothing designer-ish, nothing fancy, non-airconditioned stores. Just pure focus on the works. So it makes me wonder is the support for the arts there stronger there? (I think in Sg selling tissue paper in the street will be easier than selling artworks like really there is no support and I feel sad every time I hear people say that there is no talent in Sg and they go "What Arts?". Just my thoughts, yeah.) Not sure if they can actually make a living from those galleries but it's inspiring- it's not practical but it passion driven. The works are large sized pieces which looks like to took lots of time completing.

Grameda was a huge bookstore we visited specifically for my mom who just love to source out for recipe books. Boring for me except a saw a book titled "Sialan Bekham ternyata Yahudi".

It was raining quite a bit when we were leaving the bookstore and outside there were many barefooted children holding umbrellas offering to shelter people for donations. And the donations were then seen to be passed over to an adult standing nearby. I have no idea if it a syndicate kind of thing or if it was someone caring of the kids but poverty is pretty much a rampant scene there. Very pitiful sight of a thin mother nursing her baby by the roadside with her other small children nearby; a small child carrying a baby- helplessness is in every corner.

And in contrast, the several storied bungalow homes are for the wealthy... very beautiful architecture- with brick or stone wall textures, an envious sight from outside. We passed by the area where Obama went to school before- an area for the wealthy.

The people are extremely helpful it's an eye opener to a different culture. Like after asking for directions and realizing thy our driver needs to make a U turn or get back into a lane of busy traffic, the people will actually play traffic officer to help our driver ease back into the road. It happened not once or twice but almost everytime like probably around 10 times... This is something I am really impressed by- a very polite friendly culture.

But I think we got burned by the driver cos the fees were EXPENSIVE. The hotel security officers brought him to us we we asked for a cab and just went with it out of convenience. RP 700k excluding RP100k of petrol. This is over sgd100 for a day. And another Rp 200k the third day to take us back to the airport. My dad overheard a conversation between the driver and the security officers negotiating how much their cuts should be. Well you see, by right taxis are not allowed into the hotel lobby but I guess they given a chance to do so if they are willing to pay the officers for the access and small portions of the fees for successful referrers. Transiting from the airport to the hotel costs RP 180k when we booked it from the counter in the airport.

As for food we mainly dined in at the hotel for breakfast and dinner. Good to see that McDonald is not the dominant fast food there but A&W is available everywhere. Street food prepared in push carts looks scary so we didn't try any. We tried Tony Jack's at the airport before flying back- the fries was nice and crispy, chicken is kinda like KFC's but with saltier batter and drier meat than our hormones filled chickens in Sg.

Well lots of learning points from this first trip. If I were to go to Indonesia again I'd probably explore South Jakarta or go to Bandung instead. Probably a guided tour will be good as well to get more knowledge and advice.

And it's good to know MALAY for easy conversing there though Bahasa can be quite confusing. Not sure if the sellers speak English but if a buyer (maybe a Singaporean or Malaysian Chinese) could stay, "Bargain like shit still only get 25," loudly within a 10 people radius and the seller is not insulted i suppose they don't.

No pics for this post sorry!

Selling Post! Well sorta...

2010-08-04T21:21:00.001+08:00

Window to the Soul

Pencils on paper

210 x 197 mm.

The image above is watermark protected. Contact me for details if your're interested in a print without the watermark- email me at sarah_za [at] hotmail . com . Support will be greatly appreciated =)

Feel like framing up the original and hanging it up in my living room... to replace this silly drawing of my cat:

LOL. The things I do when bored.

Will be away for a short trip. Be back on Sat.

FYI, I'm going to Jakarta for the first time in my life.

Nervous

scared

excited.

Alright off to pack now.

Cont'd

2010-08-01T14:29:00.000+08:00

[Click pic to enlarge]

Still working on this helmet painting on and off. Never been at a painting this long- started about 2 months ago.

Keep on building it up.

And it also had some 'outfit changes'. The clothes were originally painted in glistening gold- a new acrylic paint I bought in a separate tube. And yesterday I decided to give the helmet a good wipe down with a damp cloth before working on it again. Turns out the gold paint wasn't suitable for this surface despite being 'waterproof'. It came off easily like a rubbery balloon-like pieces.

Thankfully the rest of the painting was resilient and strongly gripping onto the helmet =)

Ocre yellow Trench Coat

2010-07-30T19:25:00.001+08:00

Watercolor and pencils on paper.

Limited myself to 4 colors- Vermilion, yellow ocre, pale orange and brown.

Liking how it turned out =)

Black Leather Pants

2010-07-28T18:17:00.010+08:00

Color pencils & watercolors on paper.

210 x 297mm

Just satisfying the recent drawing thirsts. Not very confident about posting this up... but here it is anyway.

Lolly

2010-07-26T23:08:00.000+08:00

Color pencils on paper.

210 x 297 mm

Vahidha's

2010-07-25T13:47:00.000+08:00

Color pencil & digital edit.

Something for a friend's birthday.

Everyone keep asking me if it's hair or a scarf. It's only her decision that matters.

My Brother's BIG DAY Photos (Image Heavy)

2010-07-19T18:39:00.000+08:00

Photography: Yating Kee
Editing: Sarah ZA

Really love the photos taken by Yating!

My brother's gonna print out over a hundred of them he says.

I enjoy playing with Photoshop to change the colors and lighting. Sooo many effects that can be achieved that I can't decide on one style.

*more pics to come... maybe. lol. *

My Brother's BIG DAY!

2010-07-12T05:45:00.001+08:00

I'm so happy for the both of them *sniff sniff*.

They are such a beautiful couple aren't they? Really love their outfits. The first one is a traditional Malay outfit and after the solemnization they had an outfit change into a Western one which was even more gorgeous and dreamy.

The solemnization ceremony went smoothly at the new Al-Mawaddah Mosque. A pretty good and unique location for a nice small wedding- very convenient facilities and the air-conditioned 'pelamin' room is separated from the dining area by glass which is comfortable for the bride, groom and the guests too. Inside the attention is focused solely on the couple and the ceremony taking place.

They will be leaving for Canada soon. She will be taking a Degree and he will work to support her there too. I think they might be settling down over there if things go well.

May they have a lifetime of wedded bliss filled with joy in their new future together. Amin.

My poor lil' cat will miss him so badly! I know it cos she has a special attachment to him, always being extra affectionate towards him like following him around the house when he just woke up, licking and nibbling him the most amongst all of us and basically he's the only one she's the most obedient and 'talkative' to - maybe because he was the one who lured her home.

I'm looking forward to photos taken by a photographer friend of mine. Since I'm no pro, I mostly entrusted her to take more beautiful shots and those special moments that I missed. Even let her use my favourite 50mm lens. I believe she will make much better use of it than me cos it really captures excellent portraits. *Excited*

Have a great week ahead everyone =)

Skirts: Silhouettes and Cuts

2010-06-27T02:11:00.002+08:00

Gathering ideas for a skirt. And these are some of the design I'm considering to sew for my dressmaking class. Will need to narrow down my choices!

Tulip Skirts.

These are tighter at the hems and more loose around the hips/waist.

Paper Bag Waist.

Pleat folds that extends all the way to the top.

High Waisted Pencil Skirt.

A slim close fitting skirt.

High Waisted Pleated Flare Skirt

Looks cute, fun and casual.

Tiny Pleats,

almost like gathers

Basically I really love high waisted skirts:

And this is a collage I stumbled on while researching.

Fabric I'm going to use is this: turquoise n white polka-dotted fabric.

I thought that it'll be great for something vintage and fun looking.

Also the commonly formal looking pencil skirt can also look cute if it's brightly colored with polka dots like this one from Oprah.com.

Preferably I want

something relatively simple to sew
highwaisted
above the knee hemline

I just can't decide on which design!

Which design do you think is nice / suits the fabric/ suits me?

Dine : Malaysia Trip

2010-06-26T01:51:00.001+08:00

Yumz.

One of the places i ate in KL is Rebung Chef Ismail. I waited quite long for my food to arrive but it was well worth it. They were generous- lots of chicken, prawns, etc in my dish. The celebrity chef is really friendly and came out to greet all the guests too. When i saw him this phrase came to my mind, "Never trust a skinny chef."

Fat happy chef = Good food.

And the food there was GREAT...

Well have a great weekend everyone!

Scenes : Malaysia Trip

2010-06-18T00:27:00.000+08:00

Finding the calm and balance.

Mushroom and Found Treasure

2010-06-09T02:38:00.000+08:00

Interesting things come out of the funniest of places.

At first I thought this looks like a pretty nice shot of my lip color right? But then.. I noticed that my nose appeared a bit strange as though it's an alien-like being forming itself.

I ended up with a cute mushroom cartoon =)

Anyway... What I have been up to recently is trying to fulfill my goal number 11 (in the column on the right).

Good thing about a family that seldom cleans is... treasures pop up every now and then when I do.

Found this in the far corner of the storeroom.

Above: My favorite part- the letters that will be 'punched' onto the ink ribbon which is then imprinted onto the paper when the key is pressed.

(Yes that's my feet. My hand couldn't reach the keys cos I was using prime lens and had to be quite a distance away. No disrespect to the typewriter.)

The mechanisms feels like a musical instrument with the way the hands of the typebars swinging according to the pressure put onto the keys.

It's so precious... so i chuck it back to the far corner of the storeroom again =)

Games Design Illustrations

2010-06-06T01:46:00.000+08:00

Not your usual zombie! This is an Asian themed zombie game inspired by the hilarious movie "Mr Vampire".

OK I don't know why it's not called Vampire Gaga instead but Zombie Gaga sounds catchier right? And no, it has NO relation to Lady Gaga.

"Gaga' is supposed to be representative of one of the verbal commands used to control the zombies, among other sounds. We were actually playing around with Chinese dialect vulgarities and making them less... obvious *cheeky smile*.

I don't know any Hokkien except for their vulgarities anyway.

But over time we became more serious (and matured maybe) so the consonants were altered further to sound less crude.

Really had fun designing the landscapes, characters and the other game elements. My job was to be the illustrator and sound designer, while my group members did the animation and programming.

It was a highly ambitious project to be completed within a semester and sadly some of the designs were not put into use =(

However I am especially proud of my group mate who really did accomplished a lot on the programming side, considering she had no experience making a game in Adobe Flash... Zilch!

So what was accomplished so far was quite impressive... Just to be able to control the character according to a particular key control sequence in-sync with a beat was exciting.

Programming is not my thing but I just wished that it could be a fully functional game because it looks like it has a lot of potential to be really fun and engaging.

Waffle Face

2010-06-05T03:29:00.000+08:00

Colourful

2010-06-03T03:19:00.000+08:00

We had fun.

Peace Offering

2010-06-02T05:49:00.000+08:00

Added some colors today :)

Any suggestions?

Painting On Convex Surface

2010-05-29T03:51:00.000+08:00

Can anyone guess what object it actually is that I painted on?

Painting on a shiny round surface feels different. Quite refreshing actually.

Just that I have to be aware of the optical illusion it causes making the face look rounder... I realised this from the first portrait I drew... which is fine since i have a round face anyway :p

Lines tend to appear curved despite painting them straight and I think it can't be helped- it depends on which angle it is being looked it.

Other challenges is not related to the surface but the medium... acrylics do dry extremely fast. Quite an amount dried up on my palette before it could touch the surface. But a good thing about this is that i do not have to patiently wait for it to dry in fear of smudging the work.

Overall I'm happy with this painting which is a tribute to our relationship, happy with how it's turning out so far.

I've never really succeeded in painting a nice portrait of us before this which doesn't look distorted so this is quite an accomplishment. I remembered I did one in watercolor and when i showed it to him he just burst out laughing.

I mean will you laugh too if you see this?......

Still laughing?

Mean -.-

I had a humble beginning! Lol. Yes i think it does look funny too.

That was done only last year in 2009. And watercolor is not my thing i guess... despite being a nice medium to use :)

Right now it is only my second year being in Arts school and prior to that I took a Diploma in Marketing- an entirely different realm.

Aced it but felt that it was not exactly what I wanted to do or particularly enjoyed.

So jumping into a totally new field was pretty scary knowing that there will be others with 3 years of Art/Design experiences from polytechnics or even those from Junior Colleges who took Art.

I went ahead anyway to take a Degree in an arts school mentally preparing myself for whatever outcome of my performance in the school will be.

Initially I thought that finally doing what I like will be a trade off for my grades thinking i would just fall behind all these other artistic people. I wasn't one of those crazy, expressive, loud personalities tied to being artistically inclined- which is a common stereotype I guess. And me being the totally opposite reclusive introverted person thought that I wouldn't fit in.

But I realised that Art is for everyone, anyone who wishes to express themselves and also appreciate the work of others.

And I'm hanging on fine, doing great actually, more than I expected. Alhamdullilah.

I still don't know what the future holds for me in this field but I won't restrict myself in anyway.

If trying to be a designer/artist won't be able to get food to the table, I'd fall back on my backup, my diploma.

But let's hope that artists do not have to starve anymore :)

Instead may abundance of wealth will befall on all artists like a rain of gold!

Ok wishful thinking this is.

Stop Live Skinning

2010-05-27T04:57:00.000+08:00

I didn't know that it could even be possible that anyone could even think about skinning an animal alive for their fur.

Even more shockingly, from animals we love as pets such as cats, dogs, chinchillas, etc.

A friend even told me that she saw a youtube video of the skinning process- the animal was screaming throughout.

I just wanna raise this awareness on this issue that I myself wasn't aware of before.

It really makes me rethink about the every little product that uses fur... even those tiny little furry keychains makes me wonder about their origins or those fur linings around shoes, toys, etc because I definitely wouldn't want to be a contributer to this cruel practice.

And yes furs from live skinning are being used in these seemingly harmless products!

The message is simple:

If the demand stops, the supply will too. We DON'T need to buy fur products.

Visit Blog-A-Cause: Stop Live Skinning!

You can also put this badge on your blog.

It'll be great if you could spread the message too :) thx!

mini update & reveal

2010-05-27T04:28:00.000+08:00

Hi it's me.

Just wanted to make a short little entry about what's been happening these days.

I'll start off with what I'm working on currently. Please pardon the bad image quality as they are taken straight off my 3mp camera phone.

I honestly did not intend to release these pictures before this work is completed but ... here they are.

What I started working on 3 weeks ago.

I'm not so evil as to leave off his face like that of course.

Already completed his portrait WAY more than this... even an umbrella in the background.

Just that i haven't managed to upload the latest progress shots onto my com yet.

OK now what's holding me back?

I really wanna have a rose border kinda like a floral kind surrounding the portraits but somehow I just have fears of starting on it or some kind of hesitation.

NO IDEA WHY! Driving me nuts sometimes.

And before I start on putting colors on the portraits, I wanna finish the borders in black and white first so that I can get a sense of where and what colors I wanna put.

I have completed so much and he said that it already looks complete to him.

To me however, i still have that idea in my head as to how I want it to look like and til I achieve that, it just feels like something half done.

Need motivation.

Another thing that's holding me back, making me feel down these days... kinda an ironic thing. After getting a taste of having my own comfortable space at dorm, home does not feel homely. I wouldn't elaborate on the current situation now but really... it just makes me know that there is a better place for me out there- my own space.

This blog, unlike my previous ones at livejournal that could make the posts 'friends-only view', is not meant for me to vent out my frustrations so uh... I'll try to keep this short and this blog art/inspiration related. But right now I have minimal self-control. Lol.

Yes back to the painting- either I scrap that floral border idea or I'll just go ahead with the coloring. I'll try to start on the first option tho'.

Wish me.... luck?

Gosh this mini update turned out to be quite long.

Lol thanks for reading, if any of you actually did :)

take me away

2010-05-26T02:29:00.000+08:00

pretty please?

:(

*pouts*

Flapper Style of the 1920s Fashion Era [Image Heavy]

2010-05-22T17:35:00.000+08:00

Scrapbook of fashion research done 4 years ago. The handwriting areas were deliberately stained and the white background had started yellowing naturally.

(Click image to enlarge.)

Also known as the Jazzy era or 'Roaring Twenties' it appears to be a carefree time of dance and the beginning of women being free from the conforms of a traditional society and being 'liberated' in the way they dress and behave.

Main elements of this style:

Shapeless shift dresses
Lots of pearl accessories
The unique cloche hats or bucket hats
T-bar shoes
And also there isn't and emphasis on the bosom, rather flat chest is preferred so that the clothes can hang freely
Definite makeup: strong eyes, brows and red lips.

It's interesting to look back on the fashion of bygone eras and appreciate the origins of where the ideas of today's fashion come from.

Everything that is around now seems to be a recycled idea from the past.

A great and informative fashion website to visit (also the main source of info for my research) is from Fashion-Era.com.

Have a great weekend everyone!

kiki of arty-bug

2010-05-22T05:03:00.000+08:00

i have dreams

but where i'm going is unclear

the chosen path is foggy

i will get there

back from long hiatus

2010-05-09T05:09:00.001+08:00

If you're wondering what killed me the last few weeks... (or was it months?) it was a crazy load of assignments, submissions and exams.

So to 'celebrate' my freedom, cos apparently i have no life, i just decided to try out something new. Since i don't have and have never tried painting using oils, i simulated the experience on Corel Painter -.-

Used a reference photo which is one i took some time ago wearing bunny ears cos i knew i was pretty much happy at that point in time.

Below: Screenshot of working on the details. (u can see a small section of Bouguereau's painting in the back- he's my favourite master artist so far.)

The painting is still incomplete... and kinda creepy lookin.

And somehow the oils' capabilities were not as intuitive with my drawing tablet's pressure sensitivity so i switched to acrylics halfway through.

Below: Before adding the aqua colored highlights.

Just need some opinions... Do you think it looks better with or without the aqua highlights? Like should I just stick to the warm color palette?

turto

2010-04-03T17:53:00.000+08:00

it would be fun to hop on a turtle's back and just float away into a utopian underwater kingdom while passing by hills of abundant coral reefs.

try that in reality and the turtle would say "F U human!" which i can imagine this one below saying:

image via here.

that's some major grump face on a turtle.

be kind! if you wanna ride a turtle do it underwater so that you'll be 'lighter'.

ok just kidding, this is just one of the photos i stumbled upon while looking for references.

quite a cool vintage shot i think.

tragic fairytale in the making

2010-03-30T09:36:00.000+08:00

"... just one look would capture his heart."

Working on adapting a fairytale... which doesn't end like how a fairytale should. *evil grins*

saying it out

2010-03-25T23:10:00.001+08:00

it led me to the realization that i could have taken her for granted. have i? it was hard to remember her features. which part of her had i inherited? i wanted to use my own reflection as an easily accessible reference. after all i am from her. what i remember better is her spirit. my memory of her is beyond her appearance and that is what matters to me at least. indeed there's nothing like a mother's love. her strength, energy shaped a major part of my world and how i view it. yet i see her too as a human- the tribulations that i had seen her endure reveals a strong-willed woman whose energy transcends into my world. that was how i wanted to depict her. i see her colors as beautiful, passionate and cheerful overcoming the dark areas in her life. at times the darkness might engulf her but i always expect her to pull through whatever difficult situation. i was very much influenced by how an indonesian artist popular for his self portraits, affandi, viewed and portrayed himself as a spiritual entity represented by flows of energy.

the theme for drawing class today was "this is my mother" which i felt i had to find a deeper meaning rather than just a simple portrait of her. a mother is way more than her role in society of doing household chores, bearing babies and more than being a mother in itself.

i was peeling away the external layers to really search for the way i feel about her.

and here's a shot of yours truly- greasy back from school look with messed up hair and faded lips. and oooh my gold leaf earrings matches my handphone now!

warning post is about to get girly. retreat before any of you boys puke if you haven't already.

gave this 4 year old baby her third skin change. diy-ed with gold pixels and floral stickers. major attention seeking bling. whenever i whip it out well... you can imagine what people will say.

it's not entirely covered yet but the pink and gold seems to work well for me. disco days, pixel geek, feminine floral, classy gold- all these themes seem to be mixed into one.

price wise i got a really good deal. each patch of gold stickers bought at $2.50 and the floral ones were $1.90. so i've used up less than $6 worth of stickies for this phone. saw the same pixel stickers being sold at $9 per piece at a shop in Jurong Point which is more than 3 times the price of what i got them at.

and don't ask me where i got them. i basically raped the shop of these stickers and have none of the gold ones left i suppose... unless they're restocked- whereby i will selfishly rape them again of these goodies.

yup don't ask. lol.

musical eccentricity on canvas

2010-03-20T00:10:00.000+08:00

Lamps placed lying down on the ground emphasized the highlights and shadows of the objects even more giving them a visibly higher contrast in light and dark areas. This gives the items a more dramatic look. Together with music that greatly influenced our emotions, our inner expressions were translated onto the canvas with swift strokes of charcoal, vivid smudging of poster colors and watercolor paints. Indeed the resulting style is freer, looser and more expressive i feel.

As the music played everyone dibbled and dabbled on the canvas following the rhythmic patterns, tension and changes in climax and lows which is further visually perpetrated by the nude model. He performed and danced emotionally as he lifted objects off the podium with grace, spinning, posing, even pounding a thick long stash of slender rattan sticks. Contemporarily straining and relaxing his muscles alternating between forceful and gentle movements.

The drawing class was quite a liberating experience. For once i got a taste of just letting go and not trying to perfect every line by fading away marks which i thought were mistakes. Mistakes? It's hard or even impossible to say what is a mistake if the intention is just to let loose and be free on the canvas.

Shot after the drawing class.

And oh yes... poladroids and such photo morphing applications are sometimes just means for me to make average pics look interesting and hide their mediocre quality by covering them in a visual blanket of vintage feel. (Gosh i hate trends. Now that everybody doing the same thing it makes something which is initially appealing just becomes annoying.)

Plus you can't really judge how horrible i look from a morphed picture can you?

Anyway... Have a fun weekend everyone!

still life class drawing

2010-03-12T20:35:00.000+08:00

He sells seashells on the seashore.

Finally this week's lesson in advanced drawing workshop is something i could do and particularly liked... using a soft texture or feel in a drawing. What does that mean.. soft texture? I interpreted it as gentle strokes, light shadows and curved lines... AND making it pretty (even boys). Like deliberately feminizing his facial features into ambiguous androgyny.

A silly looking picture taken by my mischievous friend using her i-phone. Speaking of which, i got a good deal for an i-pod touch from my ex-roomie who's interning in Apple. So i won't consider getting an i-phone until they upgrade to a decent camera quality which was always the major turn off for me.

red dot design museum [Image Heavy]

2010-03-07T12:13:00.000+08:00

I like the minimalist looking name on the front set on a loud fire-hydrant bright red color.

A group of artists drawing portraits of a couple. Good practice for the artists they say.

Would you like to be taken away on a soft feathery magic carpet? An installation of perforated plastic sheet spanning across the ceiling diffuses the spotlights. Soft and dreamy.

Kristall Chandelier

Manufacturer: LYX Furniture

In-house design: Jonas Wannfors

Www.lyx.com

"...A Modern and elegant interpretation of a classic form of illumination."

Color changing LED Glass Bricks.

Tupperware installation art.

A cute stall in the museum.

Got to know about this exhibition through a friend who is involved with Gifted Artists Studio.

They exhibited the artworks done by their young students.

Oh a world of blocky headed people riding odd creatures would just be lovely.

War-Air Sea Land

Joanathan Lee 6yrs old

Purdy birdy.

*Updated my playlist to Soap Kills. The singer Yasmine Hamdan is now better known as Y.A.S.

The music is a total impediment to my productivity level.

So 'menghayalkan' but i can't stop listening to their chillout trip hop beats.

I'm addicted.

Painting On Wood

2010-03-02T13:19:00.000+08:00

[Click pics for a sharper, bigger version]

The progress [click to biggify] :

Its a refreshing change to use wood as a medium as compared to working on paper. It presents different challenges as well as advantages like the natural grains which gives it a beautiful texture and warmth.

Just decided to try it out one day while i was at Art Friend and saw these wood planks of different shapes and sizes. Looking the those wood reminds me of the works of one of my favourite artists who paints brilliantly on wood. (Can you guess who it is?)

I used one of my own photo as a reference but exaggerated the eyes to make it bigger cos that's where i'd like the focus to be. I slowly built up on the colors yet allowing the beautiful texture of the wood grain to show through. Thus gradually the portrait will slowly emerge from the wood.

It's enjoyable to work on wood but my expenses are tight these days- especially felt it after the surgery. So who knows when the next one will be...

Oh well at least it helped me to lose weight cos i can only have liquid-ish stuff. Lost about 2-3kg in less than a week. Not that i wanna be thin (like who would want smaller boobs?) but on the bright side, it's a fun way to irritate my bf cos now i can call him Fatty without him throwing it back at me.

Very matured i know.

The Chimerical Castle (Image Heavy)

2010-02-26T23:45:00.000+08:00

I guess now is a good time to finally share these books which i'd been keeping for some time.

Welcome to the dark side of children's book illustrations.

Yep I found these books on a supermarket shelf opposite those of kids' coloring books. Totally puzzled me why they were there in the first place cos they seem a lil to freaky for kids. Well maybe kids these days are more sadistic *shrugs*.

I'm loving the illustrations and doll images. Plus, they were cheap too (bought both books at a total cost of about S$10). If you take a look down at Basheer Bookstore at Bras Basah Complex, illustration books costs more like ridiculously wayyy more.

Anyway, here are some page scans from both books:

This is the illustrator, one of the pioneers of such style in China.

Found some of these pics by googling a URL link given in the books. Did it some time ago so i forgot his name :x But the link's dead anyway but i will update his name when i rediscover it.

Got my roomie to translate some of the Chinese poetry in there and turns out they are somewhat sad and dark. One image shows a pair of free hanging legs probably a doll hung on a tree among other mysterious ones which i didn't scan in.

One thing's definitely missing in his illustrations.... BLOOD. There's no blood.

Oh yeah i forgot they are just dolls.

I've been tasting blood in my mouth almost everyday for the past three days after a surgery. Kinda getting used to the stitches on my gums and inner cheek and it's quite an experience to have the right side of my tongue numb for a day. My lower lip on the right still haven't gotten back all its feeling. Gives a tingle-ish sensationwhen touched. Lolz.

Ok that ends my rant for the day. Have a great weekend everyone!

Doll-like Cubism

2010-02-16T01:51:00.000+08:00

Today's sketch/doodle.

Perfection... is not simply fixing what's broken, it's way beyond that, infinitely.

Perfection is not = happiness.

Perfection does not exist in this world because we're only humans.

Perfection is only a word to describe an achievable standard.

Perfectionists are the most anal people on earth (gee... sounds like me).

Perfection is prejudiced towards defects.

Perfection is not why life is worth living for.

My rant ends here for tonight.

Feel free to add on.

"In A Grove" Illustrations

2010-02-12T23:29:00.001+08:00

Attempted to depict his death in a beautiful graceful manner as though he's fallen into a deep slumber so that he can forget the tragedy and betrayal that happened. Eternally resting in peace.

The woodcutter is the one who discovered the body in the grove though the account he gave is questionable since he is suspected of stealing the dagger or murder weapon.

The story is from a novel,"In A Grove," by Akutagawa Ryunusuke. Below is the plot summary.

The story opens with the account of a woodcutter who has found a man's body in the woods. The woodcutter reports that man died of a single sword slash to the chest, and that the trampled leaves around the body showed there had been a violent struggle, but otherwise lacked any significant evidence as to what actually happened. There were no weapons nearby, and no horses- only a single piece of rope, a comb and a lot of blood.

The next account is delivered by a traveling Buddhist priest. He says that he met the man, who was accompanied by a woman on horseback, on the road, around noon the day before the murder. The man was carrying a sword, a bow and a black quiver. All of these, along with the woman's horse, a tall, short-maned palomino, were missing when the woodcutter discovered the body.

The next person to testify is a homen (a released prisoner working under contract to the police, similar to a bounty hunter). He has captured an infamous criminal named Tajomaru. Tajomaru was injured when thrown from a horse (a tall, short-maned palomino), and he is carrying a bow and a black quiver, which do not belong to his usual arsenal. This proves, he says, that Tajomaru was the perpetrator. Tajomaru was not carrying the dead man's sword, however.

The next testimony is from an old woman, who identifies herself as the mother of the missing girl. Her daughter is a beautiful, strong-willed 19-year-old named Masago, married to Kanazawa no Takehiro- a 26-year-old samurai from Wakasa. Her daughter, she says, has never been with a man other than Takehiro. She begs the police to find her daughter.

Next, Tajomaru confesses. He says that he met them on the road in the forest, and upon first seeing Masago, decided that was going to rape her. In order to rape Masago unhindered, he separated the couple, luring Takehiro into the woods with the promise of buried treasure. He then stuffed his mouth full of leaves, tied him to a tree and fetched Masago. When Masago saw her husband tied to the tree, she pulled a dagger from her bosom and tried to stab Tajomaru, but he knocked the knife out of her hand, and he had his way with her. Originally, he had no intention of killing the man, he claims, but after the rape, she begged him to either kill her husband or kill himself- she could not live if two men knew her shame. She would leave with the last man standing. Tajomaru did not wish to kill the Takehiro in a cowardly manner, so he untied him and they had a swordfight. During the duel, Masago fled. Tajomaru dispatched the man and took the man's sword, bow, and quiver, as well as the woman's horse. He says that he sold the sword before he was captured by the bounty hunter.

The second-to-last account is that of Masago. According to her, after the rape, Tajomaru fled, and her husband, still tied to the tree, looked at her with great disdain. She was ashamed that she had been raped, and no longer wished to live, but she wanted him to die with her. He agreed, or so she believed- he couldn't actually say anything because his mouth was still stuffed full of leaves and she plunged her dagger into his chest. She then cut the rope that bound Takehiro, and ran into the forest, whereupon she attempted to commit suicide numerous times, she said, but her spirit was too strong to die. Of all of the accounts of the crime, the woman's is arguably the least believable, and in great discordance with the other two. At the end of her confession, she weeps.

The final account comes from Takehiro's ghost, as delivered through a spirit medium. The ghost says that after the rape, Tajomaru persuaded Masago to leave her husband and become his own wife, which she agreed to do under one condition: He would have to kill Takehiro. Tajomaru became enraged at the suggestion, kicked her to the ground, and asked Takehiro if he should kill the dishonorable woman. Hearing this, Masago fled into the forest. Tajomaru then cut Takehiro's bonds and ran away. Takehiro grabbed Masago's fallen dagger and plunged it into his chest. Shortly before he died, he sensed someone creep up to him and steal the dagger from his chest. Throughout, it is obvious that he is furious at his wife.

Via here [also has links to additional readings and interesting info].

Delicate Valentine's Day & Love Pop-Up Cards + 8 yrs Anniversary

2010-02-06T12:55:00.000+08:00

Recently bought some lovely pop up cards! They have intricate designs which are only possible to be cut out vis lazer-cutting and put together by hand.

Photographed these cards outdoors early in the morning and edited them to have a soft romantic feel.

How it opens up:

The front of the cards:

I'll probably visit the booth again sometime next week since my sis wants one too.

Yesterday was my 8 years Anniversary... which coincides with his mother's birthday as well. Nevertheless here was what i wore yesterday:

We've been together since we're like 14 or 15... Hoping to see more great years ahead =)

Philippine Neo-Realist Masterworks Gallery @ SAM

2010-02-02T00:30:00.000+08:00

Fernando Amorsolo (1892-1972)

Portrait of Fernando Zobel as a Teenager, 1945

Oil on wood

39 x 30.5 cm

Ateneo Art Gallery Collection

This is one of the very first few paintings i saw at the museum that day at the Singapore Arts Museum. Was very drawn towards how realistic it looks and how it seems to capture the emotion and character of the person. Even the style of the subject like his hairstyle and clothes can be identified with that particular era.

It's definitely better to look at all these paintings in real life and experience it face to face. How the light falls on the painting illuminating the texture and brushstrokes can really be seen and examined closely. It's really captivating.

Other portraits by Fernando Amorsolo.

In the Eye of Modernity: Philippine Neo-Realist Masterworks from the Ateneo Art Gallery

Hernando R. Ocampo (1911-78)

53-G (Beefsteak)

1953

Oil on canvas

Ateneo Art Gallery Collection

Yup the title is beefsteak. Quirky isn't it?

How "Neo-Realists" artist came about.

Another painting by Hernando R. Ocampo.

Highly textured impasto.

Top:Hernando R. Ocampo

Isda at Mangga (Fish and Mango)

1952

Oil on canvasboard

33.5 x 43 cm

Bottom:Manuel Rodriguez, St. (b,1917)

Still Life with Melon and Papaya

1950

Encaustic on paper mounted on board

29.5 x 37 cm

Another painting by Manuel Rodriguez.

Looks like the cranes and poles of building being constructed.

Jose Joya (1931-95)

Granadean Arabesque

1958

Oil on canvas

118 x 305 cm

"Joya was a leading exponent of Abstract Expressionism in the Philippines. Unlike Jackson Pollock's improvisatory approach to drip painting which translated the nervous syncopated energy of jazz, Joya added texture through thick swipes of impasto and gobs of paint riddled with gravel, rendering a broader, more sweeping gestural style."

Initially it looks like one of those abstract paintings with very expressive brushstrokes which is hard to decipher. However, I found an interpretation of the artwork which is that the colors are "inspired by the colors of summer in Granada, a region in Spain where the artist has visited while studying in Madrid" and Arabesque relating to the "Arabic ornamental design that consists of flowing lines".

After walking through the whole collection i could feel like there is a sense of wanting to break away from the academic way of doing paintings like those by Fernando Amorsolo as seen by the movement away from realism towards more expressive styles (e.g. Hernando R. Ocampo, Manuel Rodriguez, etc). This is probably to break away from their colonized past by the Spanish rule.

These are just a few artworks from the "In the Eye of Modernity: Philippine Neo-Realist Masterworks from the Ateneo Art Gallery".

Will probably update on the other galleries the next time i have the mojo to do so :)

"The notion of limitless knowledge is more illusory than real..."

2010-01-26T23:48:00.000+08:00

Peeking at you =)

Visited the Singapore Art Museum today and saw the "Thrice Upon a Time: A Century of Story in the Art of the Philippines", "In the Eye of Modernity: Philippine Neo-Realist Masterworks from the Ateneo Art Gallery" exhibits and also some contemporary Asian artworks at 8Q. Took a lot of pics and will share some of them here. There was this portrait that I totally fell in love with.

Gonna read up on Philippine history tomorrow I guess... Kinda late now and i gotta get some snooze.... -.-

Scrapped 2010 Calendar Design

2010-01-13T23:14:00.000+08:00

Jan-Apr 2010 Calendar Version 1

This is the first idea that i had... a bottom up progression of the dates whereby there will be 'tabs' which can be pushed up/down along the dates as markers. Decided not to use this design cos I just don't find it special although i spent some time designing it.

I wanted a vintage theme like for example, the first symbol for the month of january represents Mary Poppins, 2nd one is Wizard of Oz (her magical shoes), etc, etc... but oh well, it doesn't seem to turn out as strong as i'd like it to.

A very different design is in progress undergoing production =)

And yes wani u r considered as one of my *ahems* diamonds. Lol.

I'm not gonna reveal the final calendar here just yet.... until i send it out that is.

Self Portrait in Pencil and Ink: Purple Hair

2010-01-10T00:56:00.000+08:00

If I were a superhero, I'd have long flowing purple hair.

Another thing i like about the notebook is that it has curved edges as u can see in the first pic.

Decided to do a sketch of myself as the first drawing in the book... which solidly marks it as my property, my territory... rawr!

Reference image:

A pic taken recently which looks decent.

If you didn't know, I'm back to solid black hair. Couldn't wait for it to grow out all black so i dyed it and i'm happy with how it turns out.

It's been years since i had black hair and i've been getting compliments after the change from those who actually noticed =)

Another reason to truly accept what's naturally been given to me by God and accepting myself. I think i won't go back to dyes anymore... i hope!

Having brown/blond hair has been fun but it gets tacky with the maintenance and damage.

And speaking of the drawbacks of having light colored hair, i had an encounter with someone who was VERY judgmental hinting that i wanna be caucasian or something especially since i used to wear colored contacts as well. Well he just didn't know fashion i guess.

Although it was probably just a passing remark, i wonder if others view me the same way.

However, this is not even a consideration for dying my hair black, it's just that i learnt from his obtuseness not to judge others like how he's shallowly judged me...

Cos being misunderstood, that's one of the most frustrating things that can happen.

I think for 2010, i'd like to keep those friends who has stuck with me through all these years close. I think this time i've come to realise where my real diamonds are at.

My New Notebook from Cat Socrates

2010-01-09T13:44:00.001+08:00

Top left pic: Front cover;

Top right pic: Back cover;

Bottom pic: Inside pages

I like the the pages inside have a brown shade almost like a brown paper bag color giving it an 'aged' look.

Already have some ideas on maximising its pages... filling them with drawings of course.

Current Work-In-Progress: Pencil Sketch, Dandelion

2010-01-06T01:19:00.000+08:00

Full view:

Sketched using 5B pencil on my sketchbook. Was going for a more doll like look hence the large eyes =) And if you know me well you'll know that i'm a fan of hats! Love the vintage looking ones especially. Made the dress real simple to give it a contrast to the more structured hat. And also corkscrew curls for her hair to match.

It's much lighter in real life, had to increase the contrast in photoshop to make it more obvious after scanning it in.

And omg hands are so difficult to draw! Had to keep erasing it several times and finally went to look for reference images of REAL hands holding a dandelion. And most of them with the perfect gesture for my drawing are cropped off. So I had to estimate how the rest of the parts looked like.

You can tell a lot about a person from their drawings... for example their strokes. I'm still working on achieving smooth long strokes which will i will hopefully achieve with practice. Right now if you enlarge the drawings... you can see that they are uneven, feathery, and short in some areas... which means that i'm still not confident in drawing (esp. the hands, the hands!).

Alright.. I'm intending to watercolor it... still have a fear of spoiling it cos I'm not using a watercolor paper and so many things could spoil it like bleeding or warping of the paper when its wet..

Well at least I've already have a soft copy of the original sketch if it turned out to be a miserable fail~

...

On a different note...

My first 'wish' for 2010 came true. I had typed a personal message on my messenger saying "can't school start a-wee-bit later?" thinking that lessons will begin on 4 Jan. And guess what... on 4 Jan i woke up at 5am so that my dad can drop me off at my dorm since it's on his way to work. Reached dorm real early about 7.30am so i took a nap and got up later on for my 9am lesson. Reached school at 9.15am (late) and opened the door to an empty classroom. Started smsing some of my classmates and found out that the semester starts next week.

That was probably the only time that i was embarrassed and happy at the same time.

Lastly, I'd like to wish everyone a wonderful year ahead =)

Favourite Calendar Ideas: Super Unique & Creative!

2009-12-31T02:35:00.000+08:00

It's time to look towards 2010! Just one more day!

Today I was looking for meaningful gift ideas and thought that a calendar would be great to give someone at this time to jump-start their 2010. So i did some research and came across several incredibly creative calendars.

My favourite finds:

Calendar & Flowerpot by NOTHING dESIGN GROUP.

It doubles up as a flowerpot where real flowers can be slot into it. Especially love the butterfly detail. And it has such a clean and simple look!

Ink Calendar by Oscar Diaz.

There is a different ink color bottle for each month based on the perception of the weather like a "color temperature scale". The ink will reveal a number daily when absorbed. I think it's highly meaningful that this artistic calendar literally shows the passing of time.

Printable Cube Calendar by MilkBun.

Simply print, cut, glue & fold! Other cute designs such as bear, monkey, toki =) So adorable. The dates are meant for 2009 so you'll have to edit it a bit. These creatures will add some fun to any desktop.

4. A list of other cool calendar designs here such as a bubble wrap dates, matchstick calendars, shredder calendar, etc.

As to what I'll be making for some of my friends, I'm really drawn to the first design as it seems really doable. But I'll most probably add something like a post-it pad so that they can write stuff on it just to make it a lil' more functional and useful ;)

Blue Girl Watercolor & Ink: Progression

2009-12-14T23:53:00.001+08:00

I didn't manage to scan the final piece so I just photographed it instead and tried to edit the colors but it looks patchier than the original.

Below shows the stages of working.

Click to Biggify =)

I decided to leave her hair 'half-done' cos while i was filling it in halfway, i took a step back and looked at it, thinking that it appears interesting that way with some ink lines visibly left. Lol... so that's it.

If I were to work at it I think I'll never stop.

Updated Links

2009-12-12T02:26:00.000+08:00

A few more webbies added to my 'Favorite Links' list today <3

Tim Walker: Photography

Paper Fashion: Illustration Blog

Fancy Ephemera: Paper Doll Fashion

Eveline Tarunadjaja: Illustrations

Sometimes I'll post inspiring images cos they are such beautiful eye-candies.

I'm at home these days and my scanner is left in my dorm room in school. So when i get a chance, I'll upload a recent artwork of mine =)

'Living Tableau' My Last Presentation/Exhibition for the Semester

2009-12-10T03:49:00.000+08:00

My semester had officially ended on the 8 of November which was also the exhibition day for my Anthropomorphism and Behaviors in Machines module (such a mouthful and intimidating sounding module i know =x).

So this is a poster of my work:

Printed on A2 size with mounting.

And a video showing my work and some of the others on display.

What 'Living Tableau' is about?

It's based on an interactive storybook I've made earlier in my foundation year titled "A Marionette Story of Annie and Greg"... you can read about it somewhere in my past entries.

I wanted it to come alive on its own so I chose a page which has a scene with one of the most complicated mechanisms from the book and turn it into a movable picture in a frame by rigging it to a servo motor. The scene is about a boy who is using Greg, the marionette to somehow taunt or play with a cat.

I added a LED light to the lamp and made the door swing open as well so viewers can peep through the 'other side' of the room setting. I must say it's quite a challenge and i was fixing it to the last minute before the presentation since the connections went haywire due to the shaking and rough handling during transportation from home. Thank God it worked! And I'm happy with how it turned out especially looking at how people were anticipating the door to swing open and their reactions after that.

I especially love the last work in the video as well... reminds me of a glass animal enclosure like those in the zoo.

Some of the other works:

'Eating Child' -Dominic

'Locomotor Mortis'- Sufyan & Junyi

'Progression' - Parimala

'Jellyfish' - Zhong Hong

Lastly a tip for those who wanna do printing in Singapore...

The best service and reasonably priced print shop I've been to is Gt Copy & Print Services. (Address is 35 Selegie Road #01-26 Parklane Shopping Mall Singapore 188307, Tel 63361983 or 63339097. Website http://www.gtnprint.bravehost.com .) Plus, they have student discount!

I'm sharing this cos I've had a terrible experience trying to rush a client work before and Gt was my savior. Point to note: Bras Basah Complex might be one place where it has a cluster of print shops and art supplies but don't be fooled by thinking that since this is the case the shops will be competitive and offer gd quality/prices. I've been there asking around but NONE of them could offer something reasonable for their price. So I had to rush down to Dhoby Ghaut to go to Gt Print.

And how good could it get? They reprinted all 10 copies of the brochures i needed cos they were misaligned, AND, they used a proper glossy brochure paper as well... with no additional costs! I was recommended by a friend to a shop and now I'm recommending it to others =)

Btw this tiny green backpack is my current fav bag I got from Thailand for about SGD 10. Too cute haha.

I'd also like to thank those who had recently commented on my posts or 'follow' my blog. I really appreciate them and i visit your blogs too just that I haven't cultivated the habit of commenting back or replying. Lol! But thks anyways =)

Development of Poladroids Pictures!

2009-12-02T02:53:00.000+08:00

Above: I made a Poladroid of a kawaii image i found today of Popteen magazine model Nana Suzuki.

I think i havent't posted pics of myself in ages because i dun have a reason to... Well now i do!

Poladroid is a cool application which turns your JPEG images into genuine looking polaroid effects. So you don't have to painstakingly to try and edit your normal pics using Photoshop by changing the contrast, brightness, saturation, yada yada yada... which in the end might not turn out looking like a polaroid in the end (trust me i've seen failed attempts by bloggers =p ).

Anyway check out the 3 sets of pictures below in the midst of processing. Yup the fascinating part of it is that u can actually save it while it's 'developing' and slowly see the image seeping through.

First set:

Me goofing around with my keychain taken by my MacBook's webcam.

Above: Not the final image but i like the effect here... just nice.

Second set:

Kinda emo-ing with my webcam. I usually find a coin when I'm having a bad day.

Above: Final development.

Last set: Me with pinky hair. I did try to shake the pics as it said that it'll make it develop faster. I think it works.

I think it does have a nice genuine vintage feel.

The application can definitely be explored further with other pics to give it an artistic feel.

Makes it so easy doesn't it?

Link to the free download: http://www.poladroid.net.

Completed Art- Orchid Watercolor Painting and Ink on Paper

2009-12-01T00:34:00.000+08:00

Finished painting them and the purple shade seems to make the flowers pop out more which is great.

Close ups:

I started drawing these days as an escape from certain pressing matters such as school (procrastinating) and also when I was feeling blue. And I can't stop myself since.

What's funny is I have lots and lots of images in my head and things i wanna illustrate. I hope that with time i can put them out there in the way i want them to turn out.

Today's Art- Watercolor Painting & Ink Sketches

2009-11-30T23:27:00.000+08:00

Junior

Watercolor and ink on paper

A5 size

I spent the day trying to put to paper an image I had in my mind when I just woke up this morning. A thought or probably a dream. It's a little boy... who will mean a lot to me. The weather was chilly like it was about to rain thus the mood. And his back is faced towards us deliberately because I wouldn't know how his face will look like. The important thing is... I don't want him to be lonely.

Orchids on a Table

Ink sketch on paper

I'll probably add some subtle watercolor to the flowers. It's drawn in my bf's lovely home.

Sidenote: Black is in! Gonna stop bleaching my hair and let it grow out. It's because I could feel it growing out silky and dark which feels so much nicer to the touch as compared to damaged lighter colored hair.

Watercolor Art Portrait of a Mysterious Youtuber

2009-11-28T13:55:00.000+08:00

Pencil sketch on paper.

Pencil, watercolor on paper.

150 mm x 210 mm.

(C) Sarah ZA

Ten points for whoever can guess who this is =)

This is sketched then painted from a still image in one of her recent videos with her most popular video reaching a million hits.

Hints:

She's a pro in hair tutorials
Japanese
Seldom shows her face thus 'mysterious'

I liked how she looked so sophisticated and classic at that moment and i could get a glimpse of how her face looks like and i wanted to capture that particular look.

Despite being pretty, I think that she's focused on sharing her hair styling skills rather than self-promoting since her identity is relatively kept secret by not showing her face.

Interactive Media Project- Liquid Motion

2009-11-19T18:31:00.001+08:00

CD Cover Design: Liquid Motion is the title of our Interactive Media Project based on the Reactable and also by using the Processing sketch. The simple 'liquid' type is designed by me.

Some images of our work:

Markers used to trigger a change in color flow when it is detected by a webcam. We made markers in 7 different colors as well as markers to trigger a pause in the program and another to change the direction of flow.

The computer screen (left) and a larger projected image (background). The projecting screen is propped up on an easel for a 'painterly' and artistic set up. Like an art painting in motion ;)

The images formed will change indefinitely as the lines flow around like lava. Sometimes it will resemble a geographic typography with the lines looking like contours of hills and terrains.

Paper Art and Others

2009-11-13T13:53:00.001+08:00

Paper cutting by Bovey Lee

Silver foil on blue paper – by Marian Bantjes . (Love her site! <3)

Paper and wire sculpture by Polly Verity

Japanese Mythology- Amaterasu Omikami

2009-11-08T15:06:00.001+08:00

Utagawa Kunisada (1786-1865). Amaterasu Emerges from the Light.

Amaterasu Omikami is the sun goddess in Japanese tales and legends. She was born to two of the youngest and fairest gods of the High Plains of Heaven- Izanagi and Izanami.

They were filled with joy to have a beautiful daughter whose skin gleamed and shone with splendid lustre such that wherever she went, she filled the darkest air with "light and brilliance."-from the book of Japanese Tales and Legends by Helen & William McAlpine.

Amaterasu had two siblings: a Moon god whose light was described as "mellow and pale" named Tsukiyomi; and also the storm deity named Susanoo.

One day in a drunken rampage, Susanoo...

"...trampled Amaterasu Omikami's rice fields, filled all of her irrigation ditches and threw excrement into her palace and her shrines. The Omikami asked her brother to stop but he ignored her and even went so far as to throw the corpse of a skinned horse at her hand-maidens who were weaving at the time. The women were killed by the splintered wood from the looms piercing their bodies (in the Kojiki i.e. The Records of Ancient Matters it was their reproductive organs that were pierced)." -via wikipedia.com.

Upset and angered by his actions, she shut herself in a cave.

Without light from Amaterasu, all of Earth's rice and crops began to wither and die in darkness.

Other Kami (gods) devised a plan to lure her out.

They prepared and set up a large mirror outside her cave across the entrance and began making lots of noise...

" ...Ame-no-Uzume, the voluptuous goddess of merriment turned over a wash-tub and began a sensual dance, tapping the beat on the tub. She exposed her breasts and lifted her skirts as she danced. All of the gods made a great noise of yelling and cheering and laughing. Amaterasu peeked out to see what the noise was about. She asked the nearest god what was going on and he replied that there was a new goddess. When Amaterasu asked where she was, he pointed to the mirror.

The Omikami had never seen herself before and when she caught her reflection, she stared at the radiance of her own form. She was so surprised she said "omo-shiroi", which means both "white face", which the Omikami had, and "fascinating". When she was out of the way, Tajikara-O shut the rock behind her. Having lured her out of the cave, the gods convinced her to go back into the Celestial Plain and all life began to grow again and become strong in her light."-via wikipedia.com.

In order to protect herself from future rampages by Susanoo, Amaterasu constantly armed herself with a bow and quiver by her side.

The Japanese imperial family is believed to be the decendents of Amaterasu and Shintoism (translated:way of Gods) is the indigenous religion in Japan.

Image credit to Bigberto via Flickr.

Above: The Ise Shrine, erected 1st century C.E., Mie Prefecture, Japan, ritually rebuilt of cypress wood some 60 times since, last rebuilt in 1993.

The Ise Shrine is dedicated to Amaterasu and is known as the shrine of the imperial family and nation.

Make Up For A Friend

2009-10-09T19:55:00.001+08:00

First time doing make up on her for a short filming:

2nd time for her job interview:

Lend her my ribbon hair bun and styled her hair to look more professional:

I really had fun doing makeup for her. Well she's actually my ex-roomie back in Uni Year 1 and we're kinda close. Seeing her happy makes me happy too =)

My favorite part of the look has to be the baby pink lips. And I the love overall softness and femininity- well blended eye-liner, shadows and natural brows.

Shooting a nice portrait is a great way to capture all these memories.

A Genius' Sketches & Studies- Leonardo Da Vinci

2009-10-09T18:28:00.000+08:00

"What the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve" -Napoleon Hill.

"Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci , April 15, 1452 – May 2, 1519) was an Italian polymath, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor,anatomist, painter, sculptor, architect, botanist, musician and writer" -via Wikipedia.com.

MUJI Simply Simplicity + Block Tee Rants

2009-10-08T01:07:00.000+08:00

Looking at these sketches makes me feel like drawing! But I don't have the time for such self-engrossing activities these days =(

Anyway i had to redesign my block's t-shirt cos it turns out looking like crap after they printed it out on a dryfit shirt.

Looks so wrong in so many ways~!

Not only was the base colour a hideous shade of boring dark blue which doesn't go well with white print, the image was printed tooooo huge and details look like errors on a real life- scale.

And for once i felt the drawbacks of being a designer in this kind of simulated client-designer situation. And could really relate to videos such as this hilarious youtube one and also this cute one.

Don't let the cute-looking robot characters fool you in the first vid, it's peppered with vulgarities =) *smiles*

Came up with a new design within the same night since the deadline was the next day.

Followed a superhero theme... here's part of it:

Hand drew the 'superhero', scanned it in and cleaned up the lines. Kinda covered by the 'seventy-one' words but there's 'HALL' vertically down the superhero's costume. Here's holding up a '15' and the abstract black shapes behind were meant to be '71' for my block number.

I hope it turns out fine... well it better be since it's the final submission and they'll be printing it out in bulk already =x

I'm kinda pissed that it has to be so last minute cos i didn't get to put in my best effort and it was kind of a mish-mash-here-you-go sorta thing.

* Despite how annoyed I sound, don't get the wrong idea. I still do love designing and working on works of art and would even do it for free (which i do) for the right people and reasons. It is something i enjoy doing and these are the kind challenges i welcome to push myself. Gaining experience is important to me and i can see myself learning from all these and it'll constantly improve my skills =) *

Butterfly T-Shirt Design for Hall 15

2009-09-10T21:31:00.000+08:00

Above: More detailed 3D rendition of the 'butterfly' from the T-shirt design.

I painstakingly created the C-shaped lattices following the Hall 15 block structure to create a block of interlinked chains signifying a close-knit community of the residents.

The butterfly plays around the notion of being sociable, friendly, outgoing i.e. experimenting with the metaphor 'social butterfly'.

I'm not sure if the design will be finalized or I'd still have to make changes according to the block representative's opinions- like the colors, meaning , etc.

However several self-taught skills were attained while doing this such as learning how to use Adobe Illustrator (like finally~ took me forever to get the basics).

A superb tutorial for beginners in Adobe Illustrator is from Illustration Dan's Youtube Channel.

Through many experimentations of different techniques, I also discovered how warping latices together with the burn and dodge tool could give images a more 3D effect.

The reason i took up this challenge is because...

I'd love to see my design on a tee and see many people wearing it around Hall =)

That'll give me a great amount of satisfaction.

Vintage Toy Patents

2009-09-08T23:38:00.000+08:00

I find these vintage toy patent illustrations particularly charming (circa 1920s to 1950s).

Cristiano Siqueira- Vector Art

2009-09-04T10:12:00.000+08:00

Entirely in vectors... so amazing how smooth the blending of light and shadows are.

Elegant.

Images via Cristiano Siqueira at Behance.net.

Adrian Van Delzel- Inspiring Coloring Technique

2009-09-04T09:40:00.000+08:00

Mix of gradation of colors and vectors makes it look unique. And the colours look 'flowy' instead of blocky which is always the case when vectors are used.

Pics via Adrian Van Delzel at Behance.net.

Kandinsky Painting In Processing Application

2009-08-25T00:12:00.000+08:00

Painting by Kandinsky.

And I'm supposed to use codes in Processing application to make up a section of this painting (free download of the application at http://www.processing.org/download if you're interested in checking it out).

Basically it requires some knowledge of graphs from Elementary Maths like the x and y coordinates to draw lines and shapes. Also has codes for filling in of colors, animating objects, etc...

So challenging yet I love it since I'm learning something totally new to me... this is the start to PROGRAMMING!

Something I'd only learn in school.. which is the reason why i chose Interactive Media over other majors like Photography and VisCom - which could be pretty much self-taught to a certain extent.

Juicebox Camera!

2009-08-22T14:47:00.000+08:00

These's must be the most adorable camera designs ever!

The idea is that people'll never know that you're holding a camera cos it looks just like a pack of fruitjuice. So awesome.

SGD68 each... Which is alright for something so cute i guess.

And you can supplement its use with a Solaris Film of ISO400 and above which will result in pictures with a different color tone.

However, my favourite Solaris gallery is from ISO100, for example, this gallery... which looks just like polaroids shots.

All the stuff are from Cat Socrates Shop. Though I can't be sure of how to order via online it since it looks like a relatively new website and even its 'About' section is not updated yet.

It's physical shop is at:

ADDRESS

#03-39b Bras Basah Complex

231 Bain Street

Singapore 180231

SHOP OPEN HOURS

12:00 pm - 8:00 pm daily

Interactive Media Homework + Sch

2009-08-21T17:35:00.000+08:00

I've got a new blog to share stuff stuff that are inspiring which is part of my Interactive Media Workshop I homework. Link.

We were supposed to upload 2 entries per week to share stuff related to the subject.

So this particular tumblr blog of mine is more towards digital, high-techy stuff.

Maybe I'll upload robotic stuff for my other subject, Anthropomorphism & Behaviors in Machines there as well.

Interesting module which I'll have to create a 'robot' for grading.

Hardly any limitations set by the teacher so... I'll need to search and decide on a particular interest to base my robot on.

School's been slack so far, not much important assignments since we are still in the intro stage.

As for Game's Design Workshop, it is fun since we get to play Wii in the 2nd lesson though i wished the pace would be faster. Less theory more hands-on practice!

And we also have to come up with our own ideas for a platform game.

I'm taking up Marketing as an elective again~ seems easy enough since I've done it before.

Now I'll leave you with a non-naturalistic 'Priest King' sculpture from Asian Art History.

'Priest King' sculpture, Indus Valley Civilisation, Mohenjo-Daro, ca. 2500BC.

Image stolen without permission but duly credited from here.

How do you tell he is of royal importance?

his trefoil robe- royalty wear
headband- royal accessory
downcast eyes- reflective, noble state
armband- royal accessory

*I wished the lecture would be more interesting*

Heart Shaped Bokeh

2009-08-17T22:48:00.001+08:00

Heart Bokeh, originally uploaded by Arty Bug.

The hearts in the pic is a photography trick. *Winks!*

Not photoshopped!

Anyway it's a picture of the Singapore Flyer and all the light sources are turned into hearts.

Can only be done with a SLR/DSLR camera using a lens with high depth of field.

How to do it?

Firstly check this out and then thank me for sharing. Lol! Cos I'm simply thankful to my lovely friend who shared this with me.

And i dedicated the best, most romantic-looking heart-shaped bokeh to her for mentioning to me about this technique (although I had to do some research myself to find out how it's done).

It's some funky effect that you'll just love.

Painting by Mark Ryden

2009-08-17T22:06:00.001+08:00

Girl In a Fur Skirt by Mark Ryden via here.

And you know how i just love such paintings. In case you haven't heard... I blogged this (post containing similar surreal illustrations) some time ago.

Check out his website ... I'm in love with the set, "The Snow Yak Show".

So beautiful.

My New Hall Room

2009-08-12T20:04:00.000+08:00

This is where I am currently. New wall paintwork, wooden flooring, and furniture were installed to prepare for the very first Youth Olympic Games in 2010.

Still adapting to a new hall... just need time.

As for class today....

Playing monopoly for the first lesson of Game Design Workshop I is fun and helped my group to bond, but I'm hoping that it'll progress into something more practical and useful in future.

And there has to be a better system than having to 'bid' for the modules we'd like to have. It's stressful to do so and people miss out on lessons. We'd also have to settle for subjects we're not interested in to fill up the credit units for this semester since there are no more vacancies for highly sought after modules- like Website Design and Development (which i am awaiting the outcome of my appeal).

Wondering why can't everything be settled and finalised before school actually starts.

And my only friend from previous' semesters who was supposed to go into the same major as me had withdrawn from school =( She hasn't revealed the reason why tho'.

I'm off to a bumpy start and thinking that it could only get better.

Another Cycle

2009-08-11T01:49:00.001+08:00

Singapore Flyer, originally uploaded by Arty Bug.

The long weekend was spent taking photos of the national day fireworks, trying out shaped bokehs (which turned out interesting enough!) and filming some of it.

Hope to squeeze in some time to post up the fireworks pics/vids I took cos I expect myself to be busy with school.

I've just moved into a new hall and is starting school... again~ Room furniture are new in purple matches my bedsheets-will take pics when i'm done unpacking. And the building is still undergoing renovations which will hopefully be completed soon. So currently my block doesn't have a pantry yet.

Nevertheless, seems like a nice place to live. My new roomie is nice too =)

I feel so lucky.

And another discovery of a great place to buy resources in Malaysia- Nilai 3 the wholesale place. For wedding gifts (hantaran), furnitures even in the marie antoinette style, chandeliers, carpets, grandfather clocks, etc.

The con: 3 hr ride from Singapore if traffic is good to ya. But it's worth the trip if you're buying lots of home decor.

*My dream home will have all white/ creamy pastel coloured walls and furniture with a few color accents from folk art detailing and flowers. <3*

Converting Jpeg image to vectors.

2009-08-08T03:14:00.000+08:00

Doing this for the boyfriend to custom make a sticker for his new motorbike.

*Pukes blood* it's such a tedious process! And it's not even finished yet.

Using reference from this photograph of his Lazer Vertigo Samourai helmet:

Hot design ain't it?

I'm off to bed... Eyes are tired~

Pretty vintage pin-up illustration

2009-08-07T03:56:00.000+08:00

Guess where I found this pretty pin-up illustration around the home? (Very vintage looking item which i stumbled upon.)

Click here for the answer.

Completed... Lens flare photoshop effect with added bokeh.

2009-08-05T16:38:00.001+08:00

L- is for the way you Look at me...., originally uploaded by Arty Bug.

Added bokeh to the background and used a sweet purplish pink overall color tone. Didn't use liquify tool to change my face shape this time.

A lil' romantic isn't it? =)

Original pic in my previous entry.

*Edit: And i made into an advert for my sales blog. Just a simple one...

Will be updating on the others or making more hats when i have the time... starting school next week and i have to prepare my stuff for moving into a new hall.

Anyway, I found a great variety of masquerade masks with lotsa feathers, glitters and other decor at a gift shop in Golden Landmark.

I was considering to buy it as a prop for fun since it was reasonably priced- less than $10 (just imagine a few pieces of feathers like that from spotlight costs more than the masks)... could just pluck the feathers from the masks and use them instead.

The river was a mirror for the sun.

2009-08-04T02:20:00.000+08:00

The river was literally aquamarine... beautiful. Thus exploring the place was simply a natural instinct and I was filled with curiosity with this little eden-like housing estate around the river.

I could only imagine how it looks like in the sunset.

Wani if you're reading this, yes it was the day i visited your home last week =)

And also to those who read my entries, even though my blog is like a secluded little space, I do appreciate every sweet comment and visits. Thks!

Work in progress... Photoshop lens flare effect.

2009-08-03T02:06:00.000+08:00

After:

Before:

Lol! Check out my instant hair growth.

Things done: Hair, background, lens flare, saturation...

To do: More background tweaking, skin smoothing, burn tool, colour adjustments.

Why: I pretty much hate flash photography especially in the original pic because of the harsh shadow cast in the background. 'Straight on' flash just doesn't look good. So I'm trying to salvage a pic which I look decent in.

Was hoping that after photoshop, there seems to be something going on in the background as if i'm being lit from the back by car headlights or something. I think it'll be better than the obvious blank wall background in the original pic.

Oh yeah, I might as well just reveal it now that I've been making those tiny top hats, the strawberry-cupcake-coloured one I'm wearing in the pic. Lol! I have those in blue and black as well.... And I can't stop myself from making more in other colours and designs =)

They're so fun to look at and I try to design them according to the outfits that I have so they'll match better as a whole look!

And I'm planning to sell them at my old sales blog after having 'photoshoots' with them and see if anyone's interested.

Wish me luck!

*Please pardon my poor English if you see any mistakes. I'm really too tired to make it proper now. [yawnz]!*

EDIT: Final work can be seen here... http://arty-bug.blogspot.com/2009/08/completed-lens-flare-photoshop-effect_4738.html .

Corel Painter Essentials 3 quickie

2009-08-01T02:49:00.000+08:00

Just messing around.

Furball

2009-07-31T17:27:00.000+08:00

I can almost smell her looking at these <3

BTW she's all black except for a triangular patch of white fur on her lower belly.

Like she's wearing panties.