[Personal] I had fun!

I know I was MIA for the past few weeks. I initially planned to keep my Christmas project secret until I give out my usual DIY gifts... unfortunately my Christmas Art Attack was big failure. =_= I tried making an army of Minions but it was too tedious to make...

I'm ending the year with this post, I hope I don't go full "emo" though hahaha because I went through several "goodbye's" this December... *sniffs*

Swim Class:

My Swim classes ended on the first week of December... My swim classes was one of the activities that kept me busy this year. It was one of the most fulfilling classes I enrolled in and I know that I didn't just halfheartedly attended my classes. I looked forward to every single session of the swim class and challenged myself to learn. It really felt good that I was able to achieve the goal I set for myself. I also loved that my coach was absolutely sure that I won't sink at the deepest part of the pool even if I tried, true enough, I couldn't reach the floor no matter how I tried. :)

I wish my office had a "Swim Club" that I could join. I want to swim!!

Monday Artwork: Apathy

Initially, I was planning on posting a step by step progress on one digital art project for my Monday Artworks. Unfortunately, I got carried away and it feels like cheating if I still posted my "progress" gradually even though I completed the artwork (with several versions as well).

[Personal] First Impressions and Unexpected Assurance

Out of all the book reports I did for school, Jane Austin's Pride and Prejudice, was the only one I loved and enjoyed... Well, that and Og Mandino's The Gift of Acabar, which was my brother's book report =_= Side note: I just realized that I snatched books from my brother when we were young.. I even stole a book for his report. >_<

I chose the novel for my book report because of the title, "Pride" and "Prejudice" Since I studied in an exclusive school for girls and that school was plagued with "Prejudice" I thought the book would be perfect. I seem to have acquired that judgmental trait... I stayed away from a certain someone because I thought this person was bad news. I was wrong...

[Personal] Here Fishy Fishy Fishy~!

Seriously...I only have myself to blame for being this tired at work... I just finished working and it's effin' 1 AM. Why do I even try? Geez...

Well, I did step out for 3 hours for my swim class. If it weren't for my swim class, I would be feeling really bad... =_= Despite working until 1 AM, I think I was quite productive at work and during swim class. :)

I feel really happy about what the coach made me do, even though I was practically a zombie fish. 10 flutter kick laps, 10 freestyle laps, 10 whip kick laps and 10 Breast stroke laps... If this was a different sport, I would've died during the flutter kick laps. @_@ Being able to survive all those makes me curious if I could do something else or if my stamina increased in someway.

Monday Artwork: Think Happy Thoughts

I drew this in an attempt to cheer myself up... Unfinished doodle...

[Random] Traumatized by Christmas Lights

Driving around during the "Ber" months/Christmas Season with a migraine is the worst possible combo you can do. =_= All those Christmas lights (and Christmas Traffic) will be the death of me. Auras and all, I felt like I was driving home while looking through a poorly made DIY Bokeh lens... =_=

Bokeh (Image Credit), My head's starting to hurt again =_=

Not to mention those inconsiderate drivers putting on their headlights on high and using their fog lights as well... =_= I wanna smash those headlights to bits!!! *ROAD RAGE ACTIVATED*!! ....Road Rage Disarmed! Migraine and Road Rage cannot coexist. =_=

Monday Artwork: Pfft...

Last month, I was so stressed at work I decided to play a prank and vandalize the other team's area. I ended up drawing on all their white boards (even the team lead's white board), because some of them got jealous and requested that I draw on theirs as well, I even got a request from a different team! It made me happy~!

Rain Rain Go Away~!

Unfortunately, they all had to erase my doodles because we had important visitors. I should have taken pictures of my doodles so I could share it here. Anyway, one of my doodles looked like the picture above. ^_^ I've finally learned how to doodle other things. >: )

Monday Artwork: Running Out

I ran out of scheduled posts and I haven't been able to draw/ doodle that much for quite some time because I was busy at work... huhuhuhu! Most of the artworks I have on my sketchpad are unfinished...

This was me when I was busy at work...

I thought she looked funny when I was drawing her... I honestly don't want to finish this sketch though. =_= She look's so out of place in my sketch book but I'm sharing her anyway... Random doodle is random.

Monday Artwork: The Way to Play

This is how I play... *rolls around the bed*

After 3 years, I'm back in the gaming world... A couple of months ago, I impulsively bought a red Nintendo 3DS and discovered "Swapnote" (Swapnote is a messaging app where you can draw or write notes to your 3DS friends)

Monday Artwork: New Way to Practice

Ok, I can never edit videos to save my life so please bear with me. Despite my video editing skills (or lack thereof), I really wanted to share some of the doodles I sent to my friends on swapnote. A couple of doodles might look familiar. ^__^

Swapnote is such a fun app and I was addicted to it for quite sometime. My doodling improved a lot since I would doodle several notes per day.

Unfortunately, Nintendo stopped the sending of swapnotes through Spotpass because some people abused the feature sending lewd notes and stuff... Oh well... Time to start a new digital art project...

Monday Artwork: Attack of the Tantrums

Hmph!

Moody... just plain moody. Could have drawn this better too... =_= jeez...

[Personal] Unhealthy Competition

As much as possible I try to stay away from competitive people... They are so exhausting to be with... Here's a quote-able quote about unhealthy competitions:

There was this underlying competition that got in the way of any real conversation... - Brad Pitt

 He said this about Tom Cruise after working with him for the movie "Interview with the Vampire." It's so perfect... you can't have a "real conversation" with someone who keeps on competing with you. I'd rather read a book than engage in a conversation laced with malicious pleasure.

It's hard to work with or even be friends with people who's obsessed with competing. Besides, you can't really say that you're friends when you're seen as a rival, right? It's better to stay away.

I don't really care who's better, for goodness sake, just let me live my life. I don't need to bring anyone down just to feel confident about myself, how about competing with me in that area?

New Tablet!

I can finally retire my 10 year old graphics tablet~! My Genius MousePen i608x finally worked! I bought it last April and contemplated on how to dispose of it since I couldn't install it on my laptop... I was so disappointed about buying a glorified mouse that I really wanted to just throw it away out of frustration. =_=

Monday Artwork: Under the Weather...

Okay, fine... I misplaced the text...

Migraines... *end of post*

[Random] Fangirl Level 40

Must... prepare... mini... shrine... *wipes drool off face*

"Muwahahahaha.... MUWAHAHAHAHA!"
I have never been so attached to bunch of pixels in my whole life~! Until I started playing Hakuouki: Shinsengumi Kitan on my 3DS...

I love Otome games/girly visual novels but the Hakuouki: Shinsengumi Kitan game is different from all the other visual novels I've played.

Monday Artwork: What I Feel

Work...

WARNING: Rude picture + Rant post...

Monday Artwork: Cats and a Banana

These are some of my first batches of miniatures I made when I started learning how to make polymer clay miniatures. I shamelessly copied the cats from a blog I saw and the banana is the first polymer clay miniature I painted.

Anyway, here's the link of the blog I mentioned: http://smallfire-smallfire.blogspot.com/ It's worth a visit! She made the best Totoro Polymer Clay charm I've seen ^__^

Doodles on Photos

I really like seeing doodles on photos, I dunno what it's called specifically but it's something similar to scrap booking only digital... It's hard to explain but I usually see it in Japanese, Chinese or Korean blogs and sometimes in Korean series (Flower Boy Next Door) and Movies like The Art of Seduction.

Some screenshots of the series Flower Boy Next Door

Most of the Credits in the series look like this >_<

Monday Artwork: Give Me Coffee!

Oh yes, my addiction is back...

I was bragging last time about some progress I made with my sketching... Well, this isn't it. =_= I'm not so pleased with how this sketch turned out but I had fun drawing it because I restarted my coffee ban and this was what I was feeling at the time.

[Random] Random Photo Dump - Animal Crossing New Leaf

I was playing Animal Crossing New Leaf while waiting for my task to complete and then I noticed how quirky my avatar was in the game.

I'm sharing some random screenshots of the game. I was quite addicted to it that I stopped my artsy fartsy activities for a while...

Funky Fashion sense~!

I should  have taken a better picture of my room. My wall is covered with books... I wish I could have my own mini library in real life...

Monday Arwork: Strawberry Shortcakes and Bonus Shots

In my last post, my camera died on me so I wasn't able to take the rest of the photos I wanted. Here's the continuation... ^_^

If the clay wasn't too soft I would have made a square one instead

[Random] Secretly Greatly

I just watched Secretly Greatly. Lee Hyun Woo and Kim Soo Hyun in one movie? Do you even need to think about it? >_< I was totally crushing over Kim Soo Hyun when I was watching Dream High, I even have 2 posts about him on this blog ("fangirl-ing" in 2011). As for Lee Hyun Woo, he was so cute in the series To the Beautiful You, I put him in my watch list... He's actually the reason why I watched the movie...

The reviews I read about the movie were mostly negative, saying that the movie was a total mess. It is, but I liked it... maybe I'm used to messy Korean movies (like Spell bound) or since I've watched movies/series with spies (like King 2 Hearts or Spy Myung Wol) and all, I didn't need an explanation about what was happening in the movie... =_= That's probably it... oh wait...

Monday Artwork: Finished Sweets

I finally finished the cakes and other miniatures for the classes I was supposed to attend last month. I was cramming to finish them because I was too busy at work I hardly had a whole day to finish them. I really thought I wouldn't be able to take pictures of the finished miniatures so I posted a picture of the unbaked gradient cake a couple of weeks ago.

Since the classes were canceled and rescheduled to a later date, I had a chance to take pictures of the items... until my camera battery died after 3 pictures. T__T I only had one more piece to take though but I'll make a separate entry for it instead.

I really tried to plan out what miniatures to make ^__^

Monday Artwork: Nameless

An officemate of mine told me that my artworks "should" have names. I normally name my files with the date I started or something like "Practice #123"

I told my officemate that I would name my artwork as soon as I finished but I still haven't finished this:

She started looking drag queen-ish to me but I did improve in doing the hair and the eyes. Actually, I could say that this is the completed artwork but I still see several things to fix.

1. I want a good background
2. She looks too pouty
3. She looks like a drag queen T_T

I still don't know what/how to fix these flaws, I wish someone could point it out for me.

Nendoroid: Hoshikuzu Witch Meruru

Mee~ru merumeru meru meru meru me~!

She finally arrived! I waited for her for so long and it's totally worth it! I actually got her last week but was too busy so I only got to open her today. >_<

Kirino is waiting!

Monday Artwork: Gradient Cakes and Textures

Last year, I made gradient cakes for my Christmas presents to my officemates. After Christmas, I don't think I've touched my stash of polymer clay despite my hoarding every now and then.

I enrolled in another class again and for this class I have to make at least 10 polymer clay items to exchange with my other classmates. I'll talk about the class in detail in a separate post.

I was contemplating whether to make rose pendants or cakes. Roses are easy to make but really common at the moment so I made cakes instead. Without considering how much effort it takes to make miniature cakes...

Dainty Photo Dump

Such a waste not to post. I edited these pictures for this post but decided not to include them. Since I felt like practicing my editing skills =_= I tried to make them more presentable at least. 

Handmade earrings, dunno what stone though

Monday Artwork: Parted Lips

In traditional pen and paper, I absolutely suck at drawing lips. Even if I'm just doodling my chibi characters. However when I started playing around with SAI, drawing lips is one of the fastest features I can finish and the nose being the 2nd fastest feature I can finish. I WAS supposed to do a walk-through on how I draw the lips on SAI but I got carried away and stopped taking screenshots. =_=;

Monday Artwork: Messy Hair WIP

I suck at drawing hair

I still hate doing hair on my digital artworks! I tried to check if I improved after weeks of practicing on pen and paper. Huhuhu.. I don't think I improved drastically but I think my realism practice helped me draw better eyes... unfortunately, I didn't get the effect I wanted. I probably need to lighten the "eye make-up" a bit to match the contrast of the whole image =_=

Monday Artwork: My Realism Attempt on Sai

Creepy Eye~

Since I usually draw anime/manga inspired art, I thought I should practice a traditional style once in a while. Although realism is not my forte, it's good practice for shading my art works.

Wednesday's Color is Blue

Okay, cheesy blog title... Sorry. I was trying to think of a good blog title so I checked what blue meant. Apparently it's the color choice of  conservative people, specifically dark blue and it's the color of Wednesday. ^__^

Here's another attempt at making a collage... It still looks dull and lifeless to me rather than the light and airy look I was going for.

Chaotic collage

Monday Artwork: Bakabuta?

=_= I see harsh edges... argh...

Could this little piggy pass of as my own "Bakabuta" mascot? Meh The nameless pig looks more like a "baka buta" that this naked pig... =_=

Monday Artwork: Profile

I focused on her eyes...

Just a quick profile sketch, I'm planning to ink her on SAI soon. That's why I didn't bother with the other details on her face and hair...

What should I try next?

Random: Unknown Visitor

Just got the scare of my life... I saw a baby snake in our dining room. I spotted the odd moving worm near the dining table.

At first, I thought it was just an earthworm but it was unusually longer than the typical earthworm, it was moving sideways and was moving too fast. I was starting to freak out but my dad was out and the rest of the people at home were sound asleep. I had to make sure if it was really a baby snake or just a hyper earthworm before screaming like a sissy.

Googles: Difference between worm and snake movement... "Snakes move in the s pattern" just great... *freaks out more*

Even though a snake that size could possibly be as harmless as a worm, I wasn't sure and I was alone. T_T Whatever happened to the fearless me? I'm not really scared of snakes but it shouldn't be in the house.

Unfortunately, I had no choice but to get rid of it and it took me 30 minutes to just muster enough courage to do the job. I was shaking like crazy the whole time. I was scared and sorry at the same time. I didn't want to kill it but I wasn't sure it was harmless. : (

I was able to get a closer look at my unidentified visitor afterwards... it had scales. I didn't take pictures and I don't want to post pictures of snakes that resemble what I had to deal with today because I'm still freaked out T_T

Ugh... I don't think I'll be able to sleep tonight..

Practice: Basic Beading and A Failed Attempt

Last week, I went to a magical place called "Divisoria" to buy some beads and jewelry components for my new found hobby, resin casting. Though I didn't find everything I needed, I still got a lot of interesting things which, unfortunately are not for resin jewelry. =_=

Bought a whole lot of faux pearls

Monday Artwork: I Don't Trip

I do random gravity checks

Just a simple doodle inspired by the gravity check quote and Pony Brown art using Sakura Micron Pens and Copic Markers...

I'll try to be more original when I get the hang of the style, for now... I'm just a shameless copycat. :(

Monday Artwork: If You're Looking For a Sign...

THIS IS IT!

Monday Artwork: To Ink Or Not To Ink

I'm serious...

I tried a different approach in filling in the eye details and I'm not sure if I should ink or not... Or maybe I should turn her into a digital art project.

Monday Artwork: A Dabbler

And another blog series attempt.. I will "try" to start each week with a new artwork... Emphasis on try, you know me. I planned to do this series several weeks ago due to my Pony Brown obsession. I was just sidetracked a bit because of my resin class.

Anyway, for my first post I tried practicing what I learned in a watercolor class I took last year. I'm not quite satisfied with the results and I think I wasn't able to stretch my paper well. However, compared to my previous watercolor attempt, this is a HUGE improvement.

Must feather out some harsh edges....

On a different note, An online friend called me a dabbler (one not deeply engaged in or concerned with something.. source) recently and that I haven't been doing anything seriously for the longest time. Well, he may be right.

"Learning the basics of many arts but mastering none." - (Source)

It's true, I haven't mastered any art or craft from the long list of hobbies I tried. I didn't have anything to say when I was called a dabbler. Until recently I used to consider myself more of a "crafter" than an artist. Now I seriously think I'm more of a dabbler than an artist or a crafter =_= (See post for difference between a crafter and an artist).

Finished Product - Resin Workshop Day 2

I feel sad that the workshop is over! I felt at home being with "my kind" of people! Even though I was only at the CraftMNL workshop for less than 24 hours, I will miss the place. >_<

Until next time :)

This Thursday, I was finally able to see the results of all our hard work on day 1 and everything looked so pretty!!!

Curiosity Satisfied - Resin Workshop Day 1

I was finally able to try out making resin jewelry!! Early last year, I mentioned in a post that I was interested in trying resin as a new craft medium. I can't believe that it took me a year to finally try it out. Well, finding art supplies in the Philippines is so difficult.

I enrolled in a 2 day resin jewelry making workshop offered by Craft MNL. I wanted to enroll since March but I had to cancel my registration because of work. Thankfully, Craft MNL opened another session. Nikki, the instructor told me I was the first on to sign up for the class.. wahahaha~!

Warning: This Organism is Extremely Giddy...

Thank you Nelli for the "pampalubag loob"

Coffee, art materials, Peppero and Jo Jung Suk = a very giddy blogger. 

Today is such a spaz fest! I have been craving for McDonald's Iced coffee for at least 2 weeks now. I'm still on my coffee ban but today I finally gave in. Coffee~!

While drinking my coffee and watching Jo Jung Suk's new drama, the art materials I ordered online arrived! Apparently, I'd drop everything (even my current rom-com crush) for my art materials~!

I finally got the rubber stamps I wanted! >_< I can't wait for Christmas~! I've been looking for rubber stamps since last year but most of the stamps I saw were WAY too expensive. I got my alphabet stamps for 450 Pesos from Patrick Lovebird. Though I was looking for the chibi character stamps for my journal (yes, aside from my blog I do keep a journal), the alphabet stamps are more practical, right?

[Personal] I Need Space...

For my books.. >: ) Bwahahaha!

[Random] A Little Shorter...

A bob? Hmm... maybe not? =_=

It wasn't a good idea to draw when my eyes and hands are tired (Messed up her legs..) =_=

Haller Baler - Surf

This sedentary being went surfing once again~! My colleagues and I went on a surfing adventure in Aurora, Baler. We stayed at the Bay's Inn, the same resort my close friends and I stayed in last 2009, and I actually got the same room I had before. Either our contact remembered and put us there or it was just a coincidence, either way.. it was... interesting.

I'll be posting the pictures in parts instead of one, laziness got the best of me. This tired catatonic organism is in dire need of some rest (and a little inspiration motivation).

Also, I did not take these pictures. My bag was getting too heavy for me and I decided to leave my camera at home. All photo credits go to my friend Hei. >: ) Hei, thank you for letting me post your pictures on my blog~!

I finally have a picture of me standing!

She was the first one to stand~!

[Random] Hello World;

Today, I was supposed to post about a recent trip I made with a few colleagues early this month but I found myself too tired (khhh~) must (khhh~) postpone (khhh~)... =__=

I'm exhausted

Anyway, I felt like I've been neglecting my blog lately but I have a lot of things to post including the trip, a few artworks and a mall rage moment. Must.. force... brain... to think... =_=

I don't know how developers do it... My brain is starting to turn into mush because of my task at work. @_@ I remember N posting this on plurk:

There are people who like testing. I sure am not one of them. K, Ekai, how do you do it?

Right back at you... =_=

Again, just wanted to say "I'm temporarily brain-dead but still alive~"

/Insert more brain static here:
khhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh~

[Random] Beanie Baboy (Piggies)

I wanted to replace my Facebook cover with something that I drew and I came up with these piggies. I really don't know what made me put them in tea cups =_= I was being as random as usual. Bean shaped pigs in tea cups, yay... =_=

Not sure if anyone has noticed but I have been drawing a lot recently... I needed a distraction from some overwhelming stuff, mostly petty issues though. I'm currently looking for a different outlet as I have exhausted my creative juices.

A Lighter Color Palette and a Year's Worth of Random Posts

I completed her~! I'm quite happy with how she turned out. I based my color palette on the Copic Markers Color Guide. It's easier to work with a lighter color palette, so easy it makes me want to draw more~!!

[Personal]: Roller Coaster Week

*Cue RHCP song*
Your love is like a roller coaster baby, baby I wanna ride~!

Oh... I got carried away.... =__=  I am so disappointed at myself today, which is why I am double posting at least to overdose on some positive stuff... OR NOT, I need to rant a bit... (Warning, this is long post.)

Monday - Tuesday:
I started my week with a fever because I strained myself from my swim class the day before. I had too much fun in class, hahaha!

Wednesday:
I'd say this was the happiest day of my week. As soon as I got to my desk in the morning I saw this:

It's the unnamed pig!

I knew from the moment I saw him... HE'D BE MINE! Hahahaha! No, seriously.. I wrote about him before:

This pig is an unnamed pig. I haven't adopted him yet.. but I have already taken him as hostage from an unwilling officemate. He gets panic attacks often... (See link for reference. >: ) Thanks J!! Hihihi! Now, give me chocolates.)

Artwork Update and Lemming for a New Art Medium

Well... I decided to post another update on what I have been working on for the past few days, which I have mentioned in my last entry (link).

Random: Yet Another Work In Progress

I made another random sketch today as I ran out of things to watch =_= I've been very particular about the things I watch lately. I found myself staying away from really heavy drama or when the plot gets too heavy, I stop watching. I think my tolerance for stress is really low at the moment.

Someday, I'll finish this sketch

And before I turn this into a rant post, I didn't plan on drawing this. I wanted to draw a drowning chibi... well.. erm... to represent what happened to me today. Well, I didn't drown or anything! *sigh* If I had my photograph taken while I was practicing, I would probably look like I was drowning... I think...

*Flails arms like a crazy lady*

Need to Escape... A Work In Progress

Recently, I feel like I'm on the verge of a mental breakdown and the weather is so uncooperative. Just trying to get my mind off some things, so I randomly drew something.

I wanted it to be a little more... gloomy... =_=

I've been seeing pictures of forests and stuff all over FB, YT and the blogs I frequent so I wanted to try drawing something like this as well. It isn't as good as the posts I see though... but I'm satisfied for now, a least I know what to do.

Random: Reflections of a Socially Awkward Girl...

The awkward girl strikes back! Just another random thought I wanted to share...

I hate that I'm such a dork like 99.9% of the time. My friends are so used to it that they say "it's part of my charm" (so to speak) =_= but most importantly, it's a form of entertainment, especially when I do my random gravity checks on extremely smooth surfaces. =__=

They love seeing me all flustered and deer-in-headlights-frozen-in-fear. Just like what happened this afternoon, when my teammates started to tease me about a certain person just because I had his number on my phone. I got so flustered that when he was right behind me, I kept on smiling like a dork and was unable to speak coherently. @_@

On the other hand, I sincerely think that the teasing is somehow a form of affection and sort of a sign that they have accepted me no matter how dorky or awkward I am, right?

A Not-So-Figure-Shoot

Last month, I met up with Bryan (Thought Bubbles) and John (Pixel Barrage) for a figure shoot. Unfortunately, no pictures of Nendoroids, Figmas or Scale figures can be found in this post. I was distracted by Bryan's macro lens. Bryan brought it (for me to try) as a gift for my birthday. So I ended up looking for creepy crawlies and some flowers... and then I met Skull...

He.. She... =_= Well... What is it?! A grasshopper? A grasshopper with Punisher's symbol on its head! Hahaha I love Skull~! Isn't he cute?

Skull is not your average creepy crawly...

Quick Update: Staycation

Posting a quick update of my Holy Week "Staycation." Holiday work was canceled and I wasn't able to plan anything because of it so I had a lot of free time ^__^. 

I didn't do much though, the heat made me catatonic and my PMS was making me eat everything in sight. =_= Worst combination ever... Anyway...

Art Attack:

I experimented with my new molds and the new clay blocks I bought last week. Premo's Raw Sienna is such a perfect chocolate color! I almost didn't buy it because I looked brown with green undertones at the store, I should have bought more!

They look real, don't they? >: )

Photo practice at Watami

Once again, Madz of pigoutsessions.com, and myself went out to eat. We were supposed to eat at a different place so she can review one of our favorite Japanese restaurants (and for me to practice taking pictures) but the line was too long and we both were lacking sleep and I was getting grumpy... Although were were already third in line, we still decided to give our spot away to a colleague and went to off to look for a different place to eat at. We ended up at Watami (@SM Mall of Asia)~!

I did say I was planning to practice my photography but I got lazy and left SLR in the car. =_= If I knew that we'd change locations, I would've brought it with me! I was only able to take pictures using my phone camera... T_T No photography practice this week... BUT! I was still able to play around with Photoshop for a bit...

Salmon and Flying Fish Roe Stone Pot

Tonpeiyaki

O_o I have two food related blog posts this week... Oh no.. there goes my diet!