Logo designing

Tonight, I spent some time in polishing 3 logo designs for a friend. The requirements were the initials T & S, colours red & black, & a diamond. From my initial sketches, I chose 3 ideas that I wanted to expand on in Adobe Illustrator. As you can see, I did make use of the gradient function to create a jewel effect of the diamond and an illuminating effect in the letters. I hope that my friend likes what I have created so far.

Mini Pet Photo Shoot

As I was getting dressed this morning, my mother's dog took a chance to hop into my bed. I thought "If you're going to play beneath the covers, I might as well snap some pictures for Mom." So what was a bit of playtime for the dog, turned into a bit photo shoot for me. The photos properly won't end up on Getty, but I might find a site that would take these small images.

I can't help myself

I really can't help it if I happen to see my cat, Cinnamon in a cute position. I have to grab my nearest camera and snap a shot. This morning I happened to see her snuggled up in a chair that she had not slept in before. I quickly grabbed my cell phone, snapped a few shots, and took the best one into Instagram for a bit of adjustment. Instagram is a great little app for improving and sharing photos online. I mainly share with my followers on Instagram & Facebook, but you can share your photos on 5 other sites that are easily connected with this app. Below you can see the difference the app has done to my photo of Cinnamon. Not only is it cropped better, but the warm tones have been brought out more.

Fun with movies

On Friday the 17th, I presented & recorded a short play at my toastmasters club meeting. It was part of a project in one of the advanced manuals and was my first attempt at portraying 5 characters. If I had given myself more time, it could have gone better.

In any case, I wanted to start recording my club speeches and make them into mini movies. And what better speech to turn into a movie then my first one-woman play. It took just over 4 hours to arrange with music, transitions, & titles, but I'm happy with the results.

But next project, I'll be much more prepared in both speech and equipment. No more shooting with cell phone.

Just some Fine Tuning

I spent some time working with Photoshop today, just putting together the shield design for a friend's wedding gift. The only change that my friend wanted, was to add the Arabic symbol for her last name onto the Venus symbol that I had designed for her side of the shield. It took a bit of searching, but I eventually found it. Other than a bit of fine tuning, I sort of like how it came out.

Drawing from inspiration

Sometimes, I see artwork from another artist & wonder what it might look like with another central figure. Tonight, I decided to see what fan created vocaloid, Mikuo would look like in a pose inspired by CLAMP's Syaoran from Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle. On the right is the inspiration, on the left is my sketch of Mikuo.

Another creative tool

If you like collecting ideas electronically and want to organize them a little easier, then Pinterest is a great tool for you. I tend to my searching on the go, so I use the Mobil app on my cell phone. At first, I was just playing with it, but now I am using it to plan projects & events.

A bit of a Fan

I have to admit that I love the work of creators of graphic novels. Not only can they create such interesting looking characters, but amazing stories too. One of my favourites is the creator of Detective Conan, Aoyama Gosho. I have even started writing a fan fiction introducing a character based off of me. In fact, it is from this character that I created my profile pic from. Here's a rough draft of a page from the fan fiction comic that I am planning out.

Playing with Symbols

As I looked at a couple of video games, I noticed some symbols that kept appearing in each game. I wondered what it would be like to combine the symbols into one image for each game.

Now I'll let everyone guess which two games that I am depicting.

Video planning

I have been thinking of creating a video to place on YouTube, in order to showcase my artwork for some time. I wanted to create a video that was more than just a slideshow. It had to also tell a story and push my skills to another level. Keeping the story element in mind, I've been going though music that could be played in the background. I found one piece that I really feel that it fits the story that I want to tell. But since it is some else's work, I've taken note of all the people involved in that piece of music and who I might have to ask permission from in order to use it, as well as give credit to.

Nail experiment

I tried a little experiment with my nails this morning. Instead of removing the remaining chipped polish from my nails, I decided to put a semi clear of another colour over the chipped. The effect was quite striking. Similar to what I had seen in different crystals or in a slightly cloudy sky at the break of dawn. 

Shields rough drafts

It was nice to have some time to just sit back & draw. Thanks to my day off, I was able to really plan out not 1, but 2 family shields. One is a belated gift for a couple that tied the knot last month. The other is for a couple that just announced their engagement within the last couple of weeks. I know these shields will be quite something when done. At least for now, I have the plans and the pieces to create them.

Creative partner

I have a little partner who either helps or hinders my projects. She is a great model for my photography, because she is graceful and slowly moves, allowing me to easily capture her. But when it comes to my drawing or sewing projects, she lays right on top, as the case tonight.

New Project Research

Sometimes when I'm planning out a project, especially if it is for a certain reciepant, I like to find inspirations first. These range from styles, meanings, colours and layouts, all which will help me in development of my piece. The images you see currently are for a gift that I'm planning for a dear friend who has a special event in her future.

A little down time...

Well, I had a little down time at my job, so I decided to practice drawing flower petals in ink. These are great to have in stock for my digital collages, especially images that I want to create romantic or dream- like. And they do say Practice Makes Perfect.

New Year plan

On the first day of 2014, I am going start posting anything creative that I am doing each day, no matter how unfinished the project or just raw ideas for future project. I realize that people are just as interested in the process an artist may take as well as the finished piece. I hope that this will bring in more interest in my art and the style that I am developing. Here's a look at the first concept of the year.