Year End/New Year Giveaway!

This event has ended. Everyone who sent in their entry by December 21, provided that the entries were complete with all the information required, will receive a personalized copy of the calendar in the mail. 

It's time for me to give something back to the people who like my work and also to those have been so supportive of me. So here's a small giveaway event. I had designed a tiny calendar and it's my sincere wish to mail one out to everyone, but I only have enough material to print 100 copies before the new year comes.

Event details:

Oh, and here's the aforementioned calendar that may or may not be worth your trouble. :D

Again, I'm really sorry that my budget only allows for mailing to US addresses right now. I'll try to include everyone else the next time!

*Giveaway event ends once 100 responses are received or on December 21, 2013, whichever occurs first.

Fairies are as cruel as children.

Participated in ConceptArt.Org's Character of the Week (CHOW #146) challenge. The competition for this round is like... woah, intense. Be sure to cast your votes for your favorite entry at: [link]. (You need to be registered and logged in to vote.)

This week's topic:
'Queen Titania'
Titania is a very proud creature and as much of a force to contend with as her husband Oberon. Due to an enchantment cast by her husband's henchman Puck, Titania magically falls in love with a rude mechanical (a lower class laborman), Nick Bottom the Weaver, who has been given the head of an donkey by Puck, who feels it is better suited to his character. Full story: [link] (Source: Wikipedia)

On my entry:
I wanted to portray as closely as possible what I felt fairies were like, so here's Queen Titania and Nick Bottom('s head).


Fairies are as cruel as children.

In my imagination, fairies are innocent and whimsical as well as selfish, remorseless and vengeful. They're very much like children. In this painting, I took some liberties with the original story and character from Shakespeare's play, and wanted to create a "fairytale gone wrong" image. I tried to keep her quite childlike and innocent-looking, and I hope I succeeded in making the painting feel little disturbing. (I've always found innocent children in horror movies/ghost stories extremely creepy and scary, and I want to put a bit of that in here.)

I recently acquired the book "FABLES: Covers by James Jean" (present from sister - best art book ever), and his work was on my mind the whole time when I was trying to create this image.

Disclaimer:
Um, I do not promote animal-cruelty.

Tools:
Photoshop CS3, Wacom Graphire4

WIPs & Close-up:

Painting this was an exciting, fun, stressful, excruciating and rewarding experience. On the side note of things, I cut my hair! I've discovered my love for short hair and I can't see myself growing it out anywhere in the near future. Sooo much less hassle and it feels amazing- all nice and breezy. C:



So what else did I do in year 2009? Pretty much nothing. Asdfsfsdfsfsda. I can't believe it's February already. Oh, I updated the look of my website. [link]

It's a new month!

It's the beginning of a new month! We're officially in the second half of the year now. Time for me to make up for my lack of direction and productivity since my graduation from art school; rawr! Allow me to list a few of the goals that I want to achieve (hopefully) by the end of this year... just for the heck of it. Heh, this is what blogs are for I guess. Random declarations.

Let's see, let's see.

The immediate tasks at hand:-

. Creating a totally pwnsome logo for BentoBox Studios. (Whee!!)
. Coming up with an awesome illustration idea for décor purposes at Daddy's workplace. (Eeek!)
. Finishing the book I'm reading- "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy.
. Improving my drawing skills.
. Adopting more consistent styles for my commercial and personal work.
. Doing a collaboration (painting) with my sister.

The "long-term" / ever-on-going tasks:-

. Improving my Chinese.
. Shaping my characters and putting together a plot(s) for my dream (graphic novel) project.
. Improving my English.
. Improving my drawing skills. (Moar.)
. Working my way to becoming the kind of artist I want to be. (And just what kind of artist is that?)

Writing them out like that makes me feel that I should probably be more ambitious, but if I can achieve these things by the end of 2008, I think I'll be awfully proud of myself. And that's enough.

I'm still have "Storm" by Lifehouse on my playlist (and sometimes looping solo) after three weeks. This song puts me in a special mood. I was talking to a friend earlier, and I told him that it'll be nice if I could find someone who can make me feel this way. Loop, loop, loop; again, again and again - feelings unchanging. Hopefully not just for three weeks though. Ha.

How long have I been in this storm?
So overwhelmed by the ocean's shapeless form
Water's getting harder to tread
With these waves crashing over my head

If I could just see you
Everything will be alright
If I'd see you
This darkness will turn to light

And I, will walk on water
And you, will catch me if I fall
And I, will get lost into your eyes
I know everything will be alright
I know everything is alright

I know you didn't bring me out here to drown
So why am I ten feet under and upside down?
Barely surviving has become a purpose
'Cause I'm so used to living underneath the surface

Storm by Lifehouse
(songwriting credit: Jason Wade)

I'm really tempted to put a download link to the song here, but I know I shouldn't.

I finally have a new layout! It isn't spectacular or anything - I'm a total n00b at CSS and it took me forever to get everything working and looking the way I want - but I'm happy with the way it looks now! And using my own art for my layout feels kinda guuuud. :D

First Journal Entry.

I've been an LJ member for quite a while now, but haven't actually gotten around to writing anything here. Basically this account/journal is going to act as my sketchblog (sorta), so I'll be posting my WIPs, sketches and finished illustrations... and maybe an occasional rant or two here every now and then. My website and my deviantART page is where I will upload only my finished works, but if you're interested in looking at my previous works you can find some over there as well.

Noone's listening, but hi everyone! ^^;

I'm working on an illustration for a fantasy magazine, and I was asked to draw a white elf queen. Here's a rough sketch of her.


I showed this to the magazine editor yesterday and he said, "Hmm. All I have to say is that it's.... It's..... PERFECT." Heh, am happy now.