Tales from an Illustrator: The Indie Chicks

Hi Everyone!

I've been having some troubles with my laptop getting overheated lately, so not doing as much as I want as I don't want to force it to work. But this aside! I got some fun news to share with you!! I got featured on a very cool site, named The Indie Chicks. *dances*

You know, every now and then I get an e-mail from someone with a request. I don't respond to all, because sometimes you know from the start that it is spam, but there are a few e-mails that are set up in a way that makes you think "Hmm...is it legit??".

So when I got the lovely note from Chiara, one of the founders of the site, I went like "Oh my goodness, how fun!". I didn't want to get tooooo excited, just in case I would be disappointed again. However, after browsing through the site and reading it here and there, I was even more excited. The Indie Chicks is an online magazine for the bad ass independent women. Now how cool does that sound?! Haha. It is founded by two lovely ladies going by the name Chiara Mazzucco and Renee Claybion. You can read more about their mission by clicking this "an Indie mission"

Maybe you're wondering what made me decide to reply back to Chiara? I mean next to the spam thing,  there are many sites scattered around the web where you can display your art. It's easy to get lost or to forget about where you registered on in the first  place. The first thing that I noticed on their website was the following:

"Our Indie Chick has a go-getter, do it yourself, hunger for life. She's strong, confident, and charmingly ambitious. Whether she's an indie artist, a celebrity stylist, or a small business owner, she's making her dreams come true. So what makes an Indie Chick? 

If you're here, reading.. you're probably it." - The Indie Chicks

 

I like to think I'm this indeed haha. Seriously though, and for some this is known, but for the new readers: I embarked on a creative adventure. An adventure where I decided to follow my dreams. Dreams that may seem unrealistic for some, especially since I have no degree in Art. But hey, things are only unrealistic if you think they are. You're never done learning and you have got to work hard in order to make them come true. It can be daunting at times so connecting with like-minded people who are also chasing and capturing what they really want in life, makes it a bit easier. You're definitely not alone.

All those elements like being a go-getter, do it yourself, making your dreams come true...this fitted me as a person and as an artist and that's why I decided to give a "yes" to the super kind Chiara. Maybe some people think "Oh I just want to sign up everywhere and that's that"...this is not really for me. With a lot of sites you do get "forgotten" if you don't stay up to date with it. I do like to be connected to sites that appeal to me and fit me and my own message. You really should just browse their site for yourself. They are just starting out, but are already featuring lovely creatives and displaying a bunch of nice, interesting and fun articles to read. Articles aiming towards DIY, beauty, fashion, Tips & Tricks, advice, you name it and they got it and if they don't have a particular subject yet and you think you can provide them with something, just contact them. They are growing by the day an definitely worth to check out. I'm honored to be a part of it.

If you like what you see and want to stay up to date via other social media you can follow them on Facebook and Twitter as well.

As for my own little update...there are a few originals added and I re-listed a few cards/prints in my Etsy store! Do browse around and use the coupon MAGICCUPCAKE as it will give you a 15% discount on your order. Remember once a original is gone, it is gone ^_^. There will be more originals and prints soon.

Enjoy Your Week.

Ciao!

So...why not Arts?

So are you sitting comfortable? Having something to drink? Today the story shall be told, why I didn't choose an Art study when I was younger. Man! I tweaked a lot in this post, it was waaay too long! I do hope you guys get more insight, otherwise let me know if you still have questions.

'Why not Arts?'. I said it a lot out loud so many times, but all I heard was an echo through my room and the question was bounced back at me again -_-'. Usually I wondered about this when things at school got a bit too frustrated. In my mind, I wanted to have a safety net, a 'society approved' study as back up. Also I still didn’t believe that my drawing skills could get me somewhere.

So what shall I do...

After high school graduation, I choose Human Resources (HR). It did faintly cross my mind to do an Art study, but I heard a lot from my surroundings that it was an study with a high level of job uncertainty, a lot of competition bla bla bla. HR it was. This study didn’t turn out as I really hoped. They inconveniently decided to implement a new study system, with coaching methods, individual development. I really, really disliked reflecting on myself and others in my group. What made it worse is that I had a coach who was really sticking to the system and who gave everyone a hard time with questions like: ‘Why would you do that?”, “What would you do differently?” etc. Now when I look back, it did give me a better insight in a lot of things. But I can assure you it was a pain in the ass to go through.

At school, this feeling that I just didn’t quite fit, kept lingering around me, but I didn’t had the courage to stop with HR. I’ve always been the youngest in my class and here the gap between me and fellow students seemed a lot bigger. Next to the age difference, a lot already did internships or worked in companies. They had actual work experience. All I had were text book examples and knowledge. The thing was when I choose HR, I was interested in what the study had to offer. But you develop and grow as a person while you study too and I find so many things interesting (really. I can be so tiring towards myself.), so after a while I was getting a bit restless and my interests shifted again. But dropping out of school, was too easy for me and I was already half way, so I decided to finish HR. I kept doodling of course, but I never considered myself to be an artist, even though a lot of people did. Therefore, I was still unsure about an Arts study.

There were signs throughout the years, that pointed me towards Arts. But you always see these signs, when you look back. When they actually happen, you are not aware of them. So, I felt trapped in my own creativity. I wanted to draw, but I was afraid that my love for drawing would disappear, if I took a more serious take with it.

Things happen for a reason and who knows, maybe I wouldn't be drawing in the way like I do now? All I know is, that life is all about making choices and I do think that if you're meant to do something in life, it will cross your path until you realize you have to do something with it.

But you need to have the faith, patience, passion and courage to do what you really want in life. Fear to disappoint myself and disbelief kept me from doing what I want. Nothing is impossible, you can however, make it impossible by thinking it is.

Mission (Im)possible...

Ha! With this I shall conclude my post! Hope you liked it and many thanks if you read it…even though it was kinda long. Just remember it was…longer hehe!

Take care everyone!

Can you give me a new hairdo please?

Hair emergency or not...

Okay wait my hair doesn't really look like that. Perhaps if I brushed it and danced around or something. I always had long hair (not when I was a baby...you guys are just a bunch of smarty pants aren't you? hehe), but the structure has changed over time. When I was younger my hair was very curly and thick. Then when I grew up and the curls slightly went softer and it stayed like that for a while. Then I cut my hair in layers and *POEF* the curls were back again. Now, I keep my hair in layers; shorter in the front and long at the back. Luckily, my hair doesn't need that much maintenance, even though a lot of people think that. The only think is, that it never looks the same. One day it's curly and then the other day it's more straight and then the other day it's somewhere in between? Are you familiar with this?

Random fact about me: It's a funny thing...oh at least I think it's funny, perhaps you guys just look like this o_O. Well let me tell you, I got the question if I had hair extensions hehe...

Well I don't. I just wanted to clarify that ^_^.

Reader Crpitt (DO check out her blog! It's a funny and personal blog! Nicely written as well!) requested to see some hair styles. Well I did have a few sketches laying around and I drew some more. Let me say this, it's not a tutorial or something. I just show you how I draw different hairstyles. I think the most important thing, is that hair is drawn in a fluent motion. and not in straight lines. I can't post all of my sketches...it's a bit too much. But I can show you some examples. Care to join me on a little tour? Here we go!

longer hairstyle

As you can see, I made the lines in a soft 'S' motion. Because hair moves freely (yes it does...unless you have cut it very short of used a huge amount of hairgel hehe).
My drawings aren't detailed enough to make several hair movement lines. But if you look at the highly detailed anime drawings, you see that the hair structure is very flowing, big, colorful and dramatic. This can apply for the girl and boy characters.
Also in my drawing I made the lines more round towards the back of the head (don't know for sure if there's a specific word for this). This is to create depth and the illusion that the drawing is more in 3d style. I mean a head is round (oval shaped, egg shaped...hmm I think those two are almost the same. But you get the picture right ;D?)

Oh I usually draw girls, but perhaps you already noticed this haha. So the hair styles I'm going to show you are all girlie hairdo's ^_^.

To your right we have a more curly hair creation. I uses short, like quick 'C' strokes to create the curls. Below you see the hair in two pigtails and with big bangs.

Oh sorry if the faces freak you out...not every drawing is complete. Remember these are just sketches. sometimes I just draw the eyes to see what kind of hair style I'm going to draw. When I'm focusing on one element. I just draw a couple of basic head shapes and start drawing whatever I'm focusing on. It's an easy way to get to know different drawing techniques.

Come on follow me...I'll show you a few more hair styles.



On your left, you have an 'in between' style. As you can see the upper is more slick and in place, while the bottom is more curly. It's kept in place with a bead of pearls on the side.









On your right, ladies and gents, you see a short bob styled hairdo (I love her eye, don't know why haha.)







On your left again (sorry, if you get neck cramps)
A simple ponytail. But hopefully you see in this drawing, that the lines are made a little upwards, so you create the effect that the hair is pulled back in a ponytail and that is not flat on the head. You see this in every drawing (I hope...). I think you can describe it as making lot's of 'C's or 'S's...or doesn't this make sense at all to you? Haha, you know I try to find a simple way to remember certain techniques so that it's easier for me to memorize it.


Another pair of hairstyles. For this you can just look straight ahead.

Two very elegant hairstyles. Yes, very elegant. The geisha is one that has been seen in an earlier post. If you like, you can have a look after this tour is done.

Another elegant hairdo is this one, to your right. And if you look forward again...

"Excuse me, dude in the back...
"yeah..."
"stop drooling...please."

*A bodyguard came and took the dude away*

Yes, sorry about that. A minor disturbance. Let's continue. Where was I? Oh yeah, if you look forward, you see a soft flowing hairstyle. This leans a tiny bit more to the dramatic hairdo's that anime characters has, just a tiny bit.


Well I really hope you all like this little tour. The refreshments are on its way and stay tuned for some project updates ^_^!

Ciao!!

PS.: aah this post became a bit long haha...hopefully you didn't fall asleep

Mission accomplished: Created a mug

Woohoo it has arrived!

Can you remember, I was telling you guys about a project I was working on right? It is for a close friend of mine from Italy and I thought it would be a nice surprise to create something nice for him...with my own illustrations. We usually have conversations about Elvis the Duck and Cat the Spy, chocolate and missions. So, I thought it would be fun to pick a few of them and to create a illustration and place it on a mug ^_^! What a fun way to start your morning haha (or am I the only one who thinks like this?)

Voila! This is the final result of all the sketches together:

I made the drawings on paper and colored them with watercolor. Then I used technology! The scanner and also used Photoshop to edit it here and there (with the help of little bro of course! cause all the layers confused me...so in the end he did most of the work. But I designed a logo a few days back and I did it all by myself, so I was really happy, because I'm getting better at it haha)

And now let's see how the mug turned out. You might need to enlarge the picture, so you can see it in more detail.



I have to say that I'm very happy that it isn't printed as a picture, but it's really embedded in the mug. So it's seamless! Have to say, it looks quite good haha.

What do you think about it??!

I have to say that due to circumstances, he will receive his present a bit later than planned...but hey to receive a mysterious package from Holland with a Belated Birthday Present can be a lot of fun....if he likes it that is. Okay, I hope my sisters won't read the post now...cause they are really excited about the mug. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy about it, but I always have this thing, this feeling that I can do better -_-''... and everytime I say this to my friends, they look like they just want to slap me. And no I'm not doing this to get compliments...it's just the way it is. Yes I'm very tiring.

Oh I'm still working on a few other small projects. A few are birthday related, and a few 'thank you's' (For example the Bond Lady card). So I'll keep you posted on that! I just have to remind myself, not to send the link of my blog to the receivers before they get their presents! Yes in my enthusiasm I might forget that....

Thanks for stopping by and commenting!

Till next time!


PS: The logo design I mentioned earlier. I will tell you about that in another post! I need to edit it.

PS II: I'll just say it again, just as a reminder (because I already have a note on my blog and the inscription on my drawings). All the photo's and illustrations/drawings are copyrighted by me! So if you are planning do to something with it, just wait & let me know!

Are you eyeing me?

And hello again!

After a few sunny days, the sun decided to hide again and to give the rain a chance to grace the pavements with its drops. Yeah as if the rain doesn't have enough chances during the rest of the year...and I don't like the rain...it makes my hair frizz haha (and I don't know why I'm laughing...it's NOT a pretty sight).

Hey, have you guys been noticing that it is already getting darker around 10pm or something? The fall is approaching! Not that I mind though, my birthday is in the fall and I love the colors of the leaves and the idea of Halloween is also very fun! Okay wait, not that Halloween is a big hype in The Netherlands and I have to say that whatever we in The Netherlands call Halloween...well it's just waay to commercial for me...

But yeah Halloween, I like the image they portray of it in the movies haha. I wonder what I would choose as an outfit (you are never too old to dress up my friends!). Sometimes I think it's just because you have the opportunity to buy lots of orange and black things. It's not that you see lots of dressed up kids walking through the streets, yelling trick or treat at the doors (yes in Dutch we say 'snoep of je leven', freely translated it means 'candy or your life'...yeah that doesn't sound too happy now does it heheheh). And this is also the case with other holidays, like Sinterklaas (Anybody know about this holiday? If not just yell and I shall put on my glasses and explain!) and Christmas.
The products related with these holidays are already on the shelves at the beginning of September! Helloooo people!! Summer isn't really over yet, you need time to adjust to the fact that it soon will be over and the products related with the winter are already hitting your face! Yeah, that's not so funny. You need to make a mental switch from summer (bright and light) to winter (well ehm...cold and dark), rather quickley. So I have the feeling that this is done, just to make some extra profits, because you will get attempted to buy the chocolate goodies or cookies...

Ah well, you can't control everything now, can we ^_^?


One feature that I draw a lot are eyes...just to practice and to keep myself busy.

The eyes *please imagine a mysterious background tune* can instantly brighten up a drawing or make it more expressive...but to draw these can also be a huge pain in the 'you know what'' area (please excuse me for the dramatic twist)!! For me it's because I can't seem to get two identical eyes. Okay it's not that that eyes in general are always the same (because one can a bit bigger than the other and so on...just take a look in the mirror), but I mean you do have a general pattern to follow right? Usually, I draw the eyes as last in my drawings.

But sometimes I just don't get the right vibe or feeling from a sketch and I draw the eyes a bit sooner. I think, it can help you to determine how the character should stand/pose (remember the Bond Lady...her eyes had a soft expression, while I was going for a bold sassy lady...yeah I drew the eyes first here...). Anyway, when I'm somewhere waiting or sitting in the library, during lessons (hehehe) or in the subway I draw...you guys get the picture right? It can be almost anywhere ^_^!



Oh the next pair of eyes, I made with a Nintendo DS, with a program named Colors! A nice program, I don't use it anymore though, but I made this on a first attempt. Whahaha I impressed myself when I did that *applauds for herself*.




The eyes I make are in an anime style. Whaha my whole drawing technique is based on anime. I never tried drawing realistic though. But at the moment I feel more comfortable when I draw in this style. So I stick to this for now ^_^! But the features I really need to take a look at and start practicing are the....hands!! I just can't draw normal fingers and it annoys me sometimes! Luckily with chibi's you don't have this problem, but yeah, I need to take a look at this soon!

To the reader who draws as well, do you have a feature you usually draw?

To all the other readers: is there something you would like to see drawn or something you want to know about me? I think I will post a 'random facts about me' soon.

Well, I'm off to make some pancakes!!

Cyaa later!

One sheep, two sheeps, one elephant, three lions....

I can't sleep =_=''............................................................................



And here in the Netherlands it's almost 2 am in the morning...so yeah...I'm a vampire tonight. I think it's because I was sick the last couple days, so I messed up my normal routine hehehe. Don't worry, I'm feeling much better again! Hurraay for all the vitamins and juices and tea and cookies ^_^!!

Well I guess you guys are also familiar with the occasional insomnia. There are a few tips my mom gave me when I was younger, to make sure I could sleep. First of all, to drink a cup of warm milk....yeah I'm not a big fan of warm milk. Hot chocolate...well that's another story!! But wasn't allowed -_-...
No noise, enough space, no napping during the day are a few other tips that can help you sleep better at night. Also going to bed at a fixed time can help, well in my case, my days can be so filled up with the things I need to do, that I find it difficult to say 'Okay! It's 10pm now. Im going to stop working now, put on my pj's, brush my teeth (very important people) and go to bed'...yes this just doesn't work for me.

Another one and this is the one where my post is about and that is counting sheep. I never really thought of the origine of this story. So I looked it up (You gotta love the internet!). Okay I clicked on the first link I saw and that was Wikipedia. And yes I know, that there are people out there that may consider this source not so reliable...gimme a break here...I'm searching information about counting sheep at 2 am in the morning. I'm not able to do a analytic research about this subject at the moment....

And this is what I found:

Yan Tan Tethera is a rhyme used by shepherds to count sheep in many parts of England and in southern Scotland. Until the Industrial Revolution, the use of traditional number systems was common among shepherds, especially in the dales of the Lake District.

The Yan Tan Tethera system was also used for counting stitches in knitting. Though most of these number systems fell out of use by 1910, many are still in use and the word yan continues to mean "one" in some northern English dialects. The monotonous and repetitive nature of the rhyme may also have given rise to the notion of counting sheep to lull oneself to sleep.[1]

Source: Wikipedia.

Interesting huh? Well, I have another story about counting sheep. I told my story about counting sheep to a few friends of mine (some laughed...some saw the seriousness in it and we had great discussions about it, some simply agreed) and tonight I wanted to share it with you (In case you were wondering; the drawings were made in a flash! and I didn't use much watercolor....so I kept it simple haha)

Well whenever I was younger and I couldn't sleep...I started counting the sheep. No harm here. You just imagine a wooden fence and some sheep. Well, let me tell you...here is where it went wrong...

Yes, it starts out very innocent. Trying to find a solution to sleep

You see, I always had to laugh first. I mean, come one, a wooden fence in a large grassy area and suddenly out of the corner of your eye....you see a sheep.

Oh cute sheepy!! Come on...Jump!

After a while it I thought it was a bit scary...I mean...you are trying to sleep...but in your head you see only this fence and what soon would become like a thousand of sheep just hopping over it...no music...or dancing just sheep :|...I mean it's just like Silence of the Sheep (whahaha how lame is this...)

It's getting a bit crowded here...

....and what if one sheep trips and all the other sheep are falling down behind it and you just have to start all over again...

The sheep aren't jumping...what are they doing?!!

Okay, you see at this point, that is just simply stressing!




















Instead of falling asleep you are trying hard to save the hopping sheep so that you can count...to fall asleep....You see! That doesn't sound right at all!! With this scary image in my head I will leave you now...


Oh yeah! If you have some strange stories about counting sheep as well...I would love to hear them ^_^.

A wave from Holland!

Say CHEEEEEEEESE

So yeah, this post is a bit random haha. I'm still working a few sketches and I've read a lot for my thesis (I'm sooo tired...really my brains are exhausted!!). I participated on a few Blogcatalog dicussion (whahah really funny & cool people there! and it's addictive!!). So not to keep you all waiting for a new post I thought I post a random sketched moment in my household hehe.

It's picture time for the sisters and brother of the Lubrano Family!! The photographer is Ancilla, Little bro, his Japanese name is Tousuke, he usually doesn't want to go on a picture and Ilaya and TJ (yeah I'm talking in the third person here...) are usually... well they don't really care haha (as long it doesn't get published...)

So everybody is here? Let's begin!!

The one where the picture is about to be taken


*FLASH*

The one where everyone is acting silly....

Well yeah. Let's try again shall we?

Breath in, Breath out.


*FLASH*

The one where everyone is well...You got to be kidding me!!

Soo yeah, this is a normal way for us to make a picture haha. Oh no wait! I'm lying! My little brother usually has a facial expression like this -_-''...I should have drawn a picture of him looking like that! Next time I'll post one! (he's soooo gonna slap me! He told me today that he read a few of my blog posts. I tried to get him to read a few posts, but he didn't want to and today he told me he did o_O....so now I don't know when or which one he reads...I need to prepare!)

Cyaa!!

Ms. Bond, strike a pose

~ Cover your self in Bond no. 9 ~

What are your thoughts on perfume? Yeah this question is also for the guys...not only girls use perfume, although when a question like that is asked...only girls will respond I think hahaha. Well I like perfume, it's not high on my 'beauty to buy list', but it's nice to have a few scents laying around that you can spritz on while dancing to music....okay probably you'll see this only movies and in real life you stand still while you spritz on perfume...but hey it was a fun image though haha.

I use at the moment Yria, from Yves Rocher. This is a soft oriental-flowery scent with (let's get a bit more technical here...):


Top notes are coriander, mandarin orange and bergamot;

Middle notes are magnolia, gardenia, jasmine, lily-of-the-valley and rose;

Base notes are sandalwood, tonka bean, amber, patchouli and vanilla.




Are you guys visualizing it? or I mean smelling it...hmm not sure if you guys have an idea how it smells like...but I think most people would wear this in the evening, cause it can smell a bit on the heavy side; I don't, I just wear it whenever I like it. Oh yeah, I have a lot of samples of Hugo Boss, Chanel, Givenchy and ehm...shoot I can't recall the other names...and I'm too lazy to get up and look hehe.

More recently I added Bond No.9 to my sample box. Yeah my taste in perfume varies a lot, but up till now I always come back to Yria. So until I find a perfume that makes me go like "OMG!"...I'll stick to Yria and use samples to see how it smells on me. Because we all know (at least I think it's a common fact...) that one perfume can have a very different smell on each individual.

The brand Bond No. 9, is quite exclusive and well it really is a high end brand. One bottle costs $ 195,- and contains 100 ml ( I know right...I was like o_O oh my...). The designs of the bottles are very colorful and artistic and expresses its own story. On the website they describe it as a specific scent for each neighborhood in New York. I think the concept is really cool! I'm not sure if they capture the specific scents of the neighborhoods in NY tho, I've never been to NY. So when I go, I'll sniff around holding a sample of each neighborhood in my hand...hehehe. Next to perfume they sell, body products, candles, t-shirts, gift boxes and well just take a look on their site ^_^. A few popular scents are 'Scent of Peace' and 'Chinatown'. Here are a few examples of the bottles:

From left to right you see: Andy Warhol Lexington Avenue, Brooklyn, Chinatown, Scent of Peace, WestSide. All credit goes to Bond No.9...don't want a lawsuit on my ass...you know for posting a picture of the bottles...I know may sounds silly...but in these days you can't be too careful...*looks around suspiciously*

Oh yeah, I forgot to add; these are the more deluxe versions. But man the prize 0_o...well I don't have the money to buy a full sized bottle haha. I got in contact with a very sweet American lady who explained all about the Bond no. 9 perfumes and what she thought would be best. She also said that the scents can be mixed together, so then you can create your own scent. She sells the samples she gets with a purchased bottle (6 samples cost $15 dollar as an additional purchase, I got like three samples from her for $5 dollar...I think that is very affordable hehe). One sample contains quite a lot and you only need a little of it, since it's real perfume (or we should say eau de parfum with a french accent ofcourse...) and not eau de toilette. So the scent stays on for a long time!

Don't they look like cute candy bonbons ^_^!

Yeah I'm a real master in rewrapping stuff...can't you see how nicely it's done.....-_-''

Even after I bought several samples from her, we stayed in touch and she is such a friendly and kind woman! She even enclosed lots of samples for my little brother (okay he is not that little he is 15...but still for me he his little....oh my god...when he reads this...he's going to slap me -_-''...). As a thank you, I will make her a small ~Thank you~ card with a personal note in it. But I'm not so sure what type my drawings should be....okay I'll give you two examples.

The first one:

Surrounded by Bond No. 9.
If you enlarge it you will see her expression better.

This one is a bit more 'technical'. With that I mean more human like haha. She's not a chibi, that's for sure. When I first drew this sketch, you saw a leg sticking out her dress with some pretty heels on. But when I looked at her facial expression and then to the leg (this went on for quite some time...)...I felt something wasn't right. She looked too sweet to stand in a pose like that hahaha. But either way, I think her face should be with a more bold, sassy expression...*looks again*. Yeah, she has a lovely expression, but I want it more bold, like a femme fatal hahaha. Luckily it is a sketch though, I can change it. I do need to change the Bond bottle, cause that one isn't right at all. But I just made a quick sketch to see how she should stand. Maybe I'll draw a mini bottle in her hand, so it seems she just spritzed Bond No.9 on her...what do you think?

Let move on to the second one!

Bond no.9 is being loved by all.
Please don't look at the scribble in the upper right corner...

CHIBIS!! hehe I really think you can't go wrong with drawing chibi's. It's still an initial draft. I will draw it again and But my American friend, comes across like a very classy and friendly person, so I think the first one would be more appropriate. Well I will ponder about this difficult matter a bit more and I will decide later one! I will place the finished results in a blog. I probably shouldn't be giving her a link to blog yet....it won't be a surprise if she reads this post before I send the card hehehe

But you know the scent I really like and already know I'm never gonna get...it's the scent that lingers in a perfume store...all those perfumes combined make such a wonderful scent!! Can't they just bottle that?? Who's familiar with this?

Oh yeah! I'm also working a small sketch to be printed on a tea mug for a close friend of mine. But can't tell you more just yet! I will post a blog about this later one!

Till next time!!

Anyone? No one? Aaah come on! Pleaseeee??

Is the plane already leaving :|....

ZzZzzzZ...(that is one weird plane whahah)

So yeah, the first time I ate ramen was at a Japanese restaurant and it was served with udon noodles. Very tasty, but I found the noodles heavy on the stomach. But there are many dishes I haven’t tried just yet! I went to a Japanese restaurant last Friday with two friends and I tried...squid. I was proud of myself because I was quite afraid (yeah yeah I know...who would be afraid of fish that is already dead...well yeah I was...please no weird comments okay -_-'). But you know the thing with me is, I love to see food (a neat presentation *oeh pretty!*…but not toooo neat that you are afraid to eat it, because you will ruin the way it looks, but enough to work up an appetite!) and to eat it of course…but I have to be careful with some products, like pork, my stomach can get upset quite easily. Which annoys me a lot. I have tried a few dishes one time and afterward I felt a bit sick -_-‘’…but I try out new stuff anyway haha. I think I just have to get used to it. But I’m not a big fan of pork though and some sea fish ( I can't come up the names now hehe...it's kind of late here...). I usually eat shrimps only when my dad makes it; he has this Portuguese way of seasoning which I love! Oh my I sound picky...


But when it comes to food, I love to try out new dishes! When I started cooking I added, Mexican, Portuguese, Italian, Japanese and ehm *thinks*…hmm can’t come up with anything else now…but yeah I added a few new flavors. My mom is from Surinam and usually cooks with rice, vegetables and meat/chicken. My dad is from the Cape Verdian Island and has his special moments when he cooks haha. Like last Sunday both my grandparents came to visit us and my dad made not one, but two dishes and my grandparents arent big eaters haha. But it was very tasty! If you would like to know more about these dishes just let me know! Both my parents are mixed (Italian, Portuguese, Indian, Arabic and Africa are influences that run through my family). Are there any dishes out there that I really have to try? Just let me know!

Always use the secret ingredients...what that is? It's a secret hehe...I know I know...lame -_-'

Till the next blog!!

Lost in the World of Communication...

Hello Hello!!!

Finally a blog again! It took me a while though, I wanted to post this yesterday, but I had to make a few pictures, but the lightning sucked in the evening, so I'm doing it today *yeeey*
Okay yesterday was a typical 'what was I doing again?' day. Every time I started something my mind drifted away and I realized that I was doing something totally different. The ones who read my profile a bit more careful, know that I'm working on my thesis *tries to hold back the fear to run away...* You see! There it almost happened again!

But yeah, I wanted to organize my folders, because while I search for information I always save other articles, publications for future use. So when I was working on the key elements of my thesis, I saved a lot of other stuff while I was searching through databases, the web...really you had to see all the files...and yes I cleaned it all up. I'm quite proud at myself, because when I clean things up from my PC I always have this vague voice at the back of my mind in a high pitched singy voice *Perhaps you can use it...who knows...*. I also have this when I try to clean my room and I have lots of school papers. I know that I have everything on CD as backup, but still too throw all that paper away...I find that very hard to do -_-'

Decisions, decisions...

But yeah, there I was cleaning up my files, ignoring that tiny voice and only kept the information I needed. That should have taken me less than an hour to do so....it took me more than 3 hours o_O. I mean like, I'm not kidding here...it took me three hours to clean up my files. You want to know what I did? Well actually, I don't really want to say it....okay please don't laugh or anything...*looks around if nobody else is listening*...okay ehm...I was on Facebook, Twitter and MSN...all at the same time *ashamed*...

I didn't even had a Twitter account...but I was too curious and too bored, so I made one. And you don't have to do a thing! People are following you out of nowhere. Really the strangest thing haha. yeah...seriously you can sleep and people will follow...

So yeah Twitter....for me it really feels like a big chatroom. Everyone is yelling, whispering, screaming something and if you reply...chances are very high you won't get something back. I thought it was a way to communicate with each other and not a place where you just spill your thoughts or URL's and not really caring if someone says something back. Perhaps its more a tool to follow 'celebrities' and stay up to date. But I missed the interaction with others on that site. This doesn't go for the ones who did say something back though! Very nice to have had a few conversations via Twitter. (You don't know, if they read this hehe). But this is just my perspective ^_^. How about you? You have a twitter account? Or even considered making one?

But I shall continue my story. Where was I? Oh yeah! I also reacted on status updates on Facebook, something I never do. I mean I like Facebook, but till a certain level. I have a lot of friends abroad, so it's easy to stay in touch. I got to know that a fellow student was also familiar with doing non-school related things and was stalking Facebook, just like me ^_^ (he also had to work on his thesis). And the worst part was after a large conversation by exchanging comments (One reaction on a status update, can lead to many other reactions...), I wanted to work further and he asked me a serious question! I mean I was like: Wow! A serious question! How can I not answer that, serious questions can't be ignored, so I wrote him an email ^_^. Oh yeah and I stalked people on MSN, something I usually do actually hehe, nothing new there. But today it seemed worse than ever...*sighs*


So slowly I found my way out again, but man! it was quite strange and the day flew by. I did managed to work on a few pieces of my thesis though, so I didn't waste my time entirely...

Oh yeah yesterday, my cousin and niece stopped by and later a neighbour came by and we were all drawing. Well, I was more like the teacher and helped them if they needed help. But it was quite difficult to give them all attention, especially if they all asked a question...at the same time.

Aah who to help first??

Who to help first?! I was running around..trying to help them as good as I can...and I have a problem explaining how to draw something, since I just draw and don't really think about it haha. Somewhere in between my mom decided to tell a story about *thinks* Omg I can't even remember what...*the shame*....please don't tell my mom about that okay...

But it was a lot of fun *getting a creative vibe again*. My cousin even decided to make a blog ^_^. (blogging is contagious!!). His name is Shaquille and also likes to draw. So if you would pay him a visit and perhaps leave a comment, I (and he also ofcourse ^_^) would be very happy.

But yeah I was lost in the world of communication...too much communication means tends to mess up my brains I guess...who is familiar with this? Please tell me I'm not the only one....pretty please...

Hmm perhaps the ones who read my blog, noticed that my style leans towards anime....I will tell in my next blog more about this ^_^! For now, I think I will make a few more sketches again haha.

Till next time!!

Note: Please bear with me...the sketches above were made very very quickly...but I wanted to capture a few moments, so hope you still like them ^_^.

PC fights, flying papers & lost pencils

So yeah, the last few weeks...

Where did I put it?!

Yes this sentence seemed to be the slogan of the last few weeks. I had major problems with my laptop and besides that....I also had some trouble with my drawing material...more specific, my pencils. I seemed to misplace each and everyone of them! I think I ran around the house dozens of times, because once again, I misplaced stuff. You might start to wonder, why I didn't grab another one...well the thing is that I have a few favorite pencils and I have a pencil case where I keep them, so if I lose the pencil case...I lose them all =_=''...

There are a few pencils that simply work great every time you use them or at least in my mind my drawings come out more fluently (oh the limits I place upon myself....). I have several made of Chinese newspaper, no specific brand and these work simply perfect. I think everyone has their own favorite brand/type off pencils. But I misplaced mine...aah the horror! I turned everything upside down. I ran up and down the stairs, I even searched in the garden, even though I knew for sure that I didn't went there, but I just had too look and to stripe 'the garden' from my mental 'where to look' list. It was a typical ‘tear the place apart’ scene, flying papers, feathers, pillows, you know the works. And then finally, I find it in a place that simply placed question marks above my head. I mean, how can it end up between the couch? I mean I work in my room at my desk or at the diner table...not the couch! Honestly, how does it come that when you lose something you find it in the strangest of places?! You have no memory of it whatsoever…it really feels like I have a blank spot in my mind…if this is the case then my mind is full of gapes…because I tend to misplace quite a lot these days ^_^’.

But back to my favorite brand. That is Sakura. I have the Pigma Sensei set for drawing Manga.

you see...my enemy...my laptop...

I love these!!! They are really great! Slide easily over the paper and doesn’t stop when you use it over pencil lines and more importantly it doesn’t fade when you erase the pencil lines (do you guys hear a commercial tune?). I also have two Pigma Micron fine liners, size 02 & 08. Also very good and great for details. These are the pens/fine liners I use at the moment. What are the brands you guys use?

But about drawing I have made several sketches again as you can see. I’m really in a sketching phase right now, because I need to divide my time between lots of things now, so I don’t have a lot of time to work it all out. But I do need to get all these images out of my head haha and I will work them out eventually though, don’t worry! So my drawings will consist mostly of pencils or fine liners, perhaps a touch of color here and there as reference.
You know what's fun to draw? Chibi Geisha's. Have a look at a few sketches below, they are so cute ^_^!

I'm thinking of giving her an umbrella...

I love cherry blossoms. The soft pink/white colors of the petals are beautiful!

I like the first one ^_^

I think, I will turn these geisha's into cards. They would look great for invitations if you have a themed (birthday) party!

Well that's it for now. Stay tuned for more updates!

Talk to you guys later!

Part 1: A little bit about me: Drawing

Let me tell you a little bit about…drawing! I love to draw!

I will only tell a few things, because I can go on and on and on… Not too long ago, I just drew what I wanted, made cards for friends for birthdays and so on. Lots of people love handmade cards and my friends were really happy when they got one, but I have to say that when I see the cards back (I make a picture of each one, just to remember what I drew, don’t want send out double cards hehe), I got annoyed by the technical mistakes. (Really, I was like looking around to see if my friends weren't in the room, so that I can snatch the card and throw it out of the window....okay, I've never done that before, but I would do it, if I could, but I can't -_-'. But I guess, it's like that for most people who draw and see old drawings and are like "Did I really drew that and gave it away :|" The horror....

So the last months, I’m reading up drawing books and learning about techniques and so on. I try to make a few sketches each day, just to stay in the drawing mood and practice is the best way to learn drawing. The first time I seriously drew something, was Bambi ^_^, I was like 7 or 8 years old. I remember sitting in front of the TV and stopping the videotape and a pretty image ofcourse, I had a lot of paper and a pencil and I started to draw (and got annoyed every time the image unfroze). I eventually become pretty good and I could draw Bambi from the mind and it became my first real drawing. My friends always asked “Hey Tahira, can you draw Bambi for me?”. So during lunch break I was usually drawing. The strangest thing is, even though I’ve drawn Bambi so many times, I can’t find a single drawing from that time! It would be cool to see how I drew Bambi and if it really looked like the Disney Bambi (because everyone said so...).
Ah well, the years that followed I developed an interest in anime/manga drawing. I have an uncle who draws soo cool and effortlessly! I will post a few drawings of him soon!

But okay, the last few years I’ve started to drawn more and more and I love to create small stories with cute images and make cards for friends and family. My main goal is to get very good at this, so that I can draw up many images effortlessly and that when I have ideas that I can put them ‘normal’ on a piece of paper and not with vague lines haha. And also that I can edit the drawings on the PC and that I can use them for future cards. But what I really love to do most, is making pencil sketches, rough sketches. But okay, enough talking, let’s go to the pictures! I think, you guys do want to see what I’m talking about instead of reading words all the time...I think...I hope…. Well, hope you like it! If you do (or don’t also possible ofcourse), please leave a comment with feedback/tips.





















Perhaps you guys recognize the images...perhaps not...even so...I love Kei Acedera! She is part of the Imaginism Studios (The link you can find somewhere on the left) and she is so good! I often use her drawings as a reference. Her drawings are very cute and with so much detail! Another person I also like is Bobby Chiu, also from Imaginism. they are one of my favorite illustrators/designers. A few of my own card designs are here below. I usually use watercolors, to add a touch colors, but it's a another goal of mine to get better haha.

This is a card for a good friend of mine, I transformed my friends and myself in chibis ^_^.

This was for another friend. A birthday card. Okay I will leave it at this, I have a lot of pictures of drawings, but I think that my blog will get toooo long. Ow yeah I also have a DeviantArt, with a few old sketches (link is on the left somewhere too), so if you are interested you can have a look at them. I'm in the process of updating everything, so I will add new stuff very soon!

Hope you enjoyed reading this! Till next time!

Cyaa Xoxo