Okay so I made it through the exam relatively breathing, though the results are only coming out either February or March so I'll be dying till then thank you. oh and finished up all the Chinese New Year Hamper orders so I haven't had that much of a chance to come online and all.
Right now I'm busy preparing new badges and stickers designs from a few series. ( ﾟ▽ﾟ)/ Need to bring in 'em moolahs soon.
Though I'm just gonna update with a few scribbles and sketches that I did and scanned recently <3 Enjoy~!
my two OCs, Nadjwa and Ethan from Intoxicated cuddling up all nice and warm. ♪(ﾉ´∀｀*)ﾉ did this before bed yesterday.
Naoshi Haruki from the Otome Game; Starry☆Sky~in the Autumn~ as per requested by my Ototou-kun ☆ Did this in between sketching the chibis for the new badges / stickers.
haha a mashup of Rui's all around and a tiny Shinjiro peeking at the corner. I sketched these Ruis after I did all the prints for last AFA X as a stress relief under bout 2 hours or so. I'm particularly partial to the working Rui on the left Ｏ(≧∇≦)Ｏ
well, minor minor updates ♥ anyways, as most who has been up to date with my current plans, I have applied into the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts in Singapore not too long ago for enrollment in this year. After surveying and alot of Colleges and Universities in and out of the country and weighing the price of living and whatnot, I've decided on Nanyang for several reasons:
1) It's not too far from home. So if there was an emergency and my family needed me, it wouldn't be that much of a hassle to get back home.
2) It's reputation. Nanyang has had one of the most impressive reputations for Art Colleges in the South East region so why not!
3) but most of all; It's facilities for the 2D Animation Department is ASTOUNDING! I don't think I can find any other College with this much facility in 2D Animation with the price it's offering! ｶﾞ━━Σ(ﾟДﾟ|||)━━ﾝ!! The rest around this price is offering more towards 3D and this is like a once in a lifetime thing so OH YES BABY HIT JACKPOT YEAH. yes. 2D Animation is my second biggest passion other than Seiyuu and Manga haha.
But there's a catch; I have to pass their entrance exam. Yeap. they have one. Well the school isn't too big and I guess with the huge amount of applicants coming in every year, they had to have a way to filter the applicants.
But I'm extremely nervous to say the least. In fact I think I'd be decaffeinating bricks any moment now. o(>< )o ｏ( ><)oジタバタ I've never had my art evaluated in such a manner and neither had I had classes in art. So I'm pretty worried if I'd even be on par on the normal standard other applicants would've receive.
Neither have I been frequent in competitions either. The last time I was in an art related competition was a Junior Manga Competition and I merely got an "honorable" mention for "Best" concept. But that was highly due to the fact that I was the only 1 of 2 contestants out of 500+ contestants that submitted a shounen piece. But that story is for another day haha.
If you're wondering when the entrance exam is, take a wild guess ( ﾟ▽ﾟ)/
...........it's this coming Sunday.
HAHAOMG. I just feel like running in a hole somewhere haha. My hand trembles everytime I think about it, BUT!!!
I want this. really bad. I believe, by getting through and entering Nanyang, I can renew myself with the knowledge and new environment. It's a chance for me to really strive and focus solely my passion. I really want this, I mean to the point I can't imagine what I'll do if I don't pass. So I'm just gonna keep my chin up and do my best!! 八(＾□＾*) ﾀﾉﾑ I hope I make it through! I've been practicing with my sketches everyday, so hopefully it'll pay off. Wish me luck guys!!(*･∀･)／♡＼(･∀･*)
on the other hand, to keep myself relaxed, I stumbled upon the PERFECT therapeutic tool when I'm, stressed out or doing work. ♪(ﾉ´∀｀*)ﾉ
TADAAAAAAAAAAA! (￣▽￣)ノ＿彡☆バンバン！! the ultimate Hanaji fangirlism tool; Hitsuji de Oyasumi CD Collections!!☆
I stumbled across this ultimate relaxation tool whilst browsing through a few Otome Review Blogs and I think this is made of PURE GENIUS. Why and what actually is this you ask? Let me tell you hoho. (*≧▽≦)♪
The Hitsuji de Oyasumi Series is a series of CDs compromising of famous seiyuus (mostly male), counting sheeps (YES. SHEEPS.) To aid you to sleep better! How cool is that! I was very excited after hearing about it and was even more ecstatic to the fact that the first volume is of my two biggest seiyuu hero/crush to date; Akira Ishida and Hoshi Soichiro. I mean, these guys are responsible for making me so interested in seiyuu in the first place!! To have them actually lull me to sleep whilst counting sheep in the most SEXIEST of ways? AWESOME.
And not to mention, in between the 150th and 200th sheep, the seiyuu responsible of counting will ask if the listener is still awake and according to the type of character played, he will either tease, or tell you sleep soon. Where Akira Ishida is concerned, he played the yasashii character so he kept on counting even if the listener was awake, commenting that she tried her best in sleeping so praised he for it haha. But oh my lord, his voice was...........MAGNIFICENT to say the least.(*≧▽≦)♪
So far they've had an amazing cast joining in the fun including Daisuke Ono, Hiroshi Kamiya, Hikaru Midorikawa, Fukuyama Jun, Mamoru Miyano and many more!!
I haven't tried it when sleeping but I will try it later. So far it's never failed to relax me haha. I'm replaying it over and over and it actually helps me focus more! (ﾟｰﾟ)(｡_｡)ｳﾝｳﾝ Supposedly it's a sleeping aid but so far all the reviewers often comment that with such sexy voices, they ended up rolling in a pool of nosebleed rather than sleep haha!
This will definitely be on my list of things to buy if my trip to go to Japan comes through at the end of the year. Ｏ(≧∇≦)Ｏ I'm a firm believer of supporting original goods so I always buy the original goods once I have the money especially if I download. It's important to support the people that inspire me daily! So JAPAN, HERE I COME ☆
Anyways, wish me luck guys!! I'm gonna do my best and think positive for the Entrance Exam and hopefully I'll be updating here in February with AWESOME news!! Ｏ(≧∇≦)Ｏ がんばります！ファイト・・・・・・・・オオオオ！
Yesterday, I've had the opportunity to experience my first Otome Game; Starry☆Sky~in the Spring~. Since I'm a game n00b and all, installation and patching took ALOT of effort and probably half of my life haha but I managed to pull through.
Well I'm no game expert since I've haven't had much of an opportunity to experience /that/ many games throughout my years but this would be my review :D
Well since this is my first, I'm still not biased about it. As most know, I'm very critical when it comes to Shoujo materials; I tend to repel it if it's overly sappy or cliche. Or rather it depends on how cliche are the materials presented. I'm a firm believer of "Its not where the idea comes from, it's how it's used"
Overall, Starry☆Sky~in the Spring~ offers a tad more originality in the concept department than most Otome or Shoujo themed games (or materials) I've stumbled across so far. I love how the Constellations and Western Horoscopes are used to give the game a theme. I notice most Shoujo materials tend to deviate from the concept and theme once the shoujo scenes start rolling in and Starry☆Sky tends to keep those two well balanced.
In terms of characters, I'll give it slightly above average. There's so much you /can/ do I guess in terms of character building in an Otome Game. But at least the characters didn't reallly leave me saying "Ugh" or out in the cold so that's something. Usually I tend to barf in the sight of shoujo characters haha. I guess same can be said for the dialogues. In terms of originality the dialogues wouldn't be what I'd call original but I guess in terms of presentation, the cliche shoujo lines are executed in a manner that fits the given characters so it doesn't make you feel like rolling around in laughter or barfing yesterday's dinner haha. So props to HoneyBee for that.
Where the Artworks, Backgrounds are concerned, I'd give them a thumbs up. The backgrounds were stunning and character designs by the awesome Kazuaki were extremely drool worthy haha. Nothing for me to complain there. In fact I hope they'll have an artbook out so I can buy it haha. The art for the game is simply GORGEOUS.
Well over all I'll give this game 3/5 rating. It's pretty much sligghtly above average in terms of shoujo material for me. It's not below average either I feel, it just lacks the overall UMPH I usually look for in Shoujo material. After finishing the game, I didn't get that feeling of wanting to revisit certain scenes for it's awesome-ness or anything. I just felt like "Oh.... it's over" but that could be just me haha. Any previous games I've played with an Otome influence were often RPGs and all so the plot was heavier and longer. So probably that influenced my judgement in plot and whatnot.
But overall would I recommend this game? Yes I would. It's an awesome game to just sit back and relief stress from daily life. The easy feeling pacing of the game will help you relax and indulge in the graphics.
I hope to play the other 4 parts soon. Hopefully the different range of men in the other games will give me a broader perspective of the game. (￣▽￣)ノ
My Deviantart Account has been giving me problems these past few days. At first it was denying me from entering my own page (wth right?) and now it's giving me this:
graaah. it's getting on my nerves lawl ;;;; I was editing the KAMCAO devART page too ... (ﾟｰﾟ)(｡_｡)ｳﾝｳﾝ
just thought that today was a beautiful day as I'm sitting down reading my motivational materials and my Baccano! soundtrack playing the smooth jazz rifts in the background so my hand itched to update on that haha. a few snapshots of my desk and stuff around it ♥
what I'm currently reading and listening to. ♪(ﾉ´∀｀*)ﾉ Loving Baccano! soundtrack to pieces! It's extremely relaxing. I'll be sure to add that to my collection of ost someday. I do this everyday to prep myself for work and relax my mind. Oh and this book is awesome. a definite recommended read ☆
my mum bought me this brown polka dotted water tumbler! (*≧▽≦)♪ Too cute for words. Though I think it was quite pricey so thanks mum!
I'll leave you guys with this chibi Shinjiro I'm drawing haha. Thinking of doing Persona 3 Portable Stickers or badges. (either 1 not both). Which ones you think I should go for? (*･∀･)／♡
currently going through a HUGE Baccano! phase. Initially watched this series in Japanese then rewatched the whole thing in English. I LOVE THEM BOTH TO PIECES <3<3 both sides had a marvellous and sexy cast! I was definitely blown away at all the seiyuu ear-candy present in the short 16 episodes. (WE NEED MOAR LAWL!) Ｏ(≧∇≦)Ｏ
Even though the story circulates around the concept that "no one is really a main character of the series" thus having a cast of characters rich with individual concepts, it didn't make it hard for you to relate or like them. (ﾟｰﾟ)(｡_｡)ｳﾝｳﾝ In fact mine would definitely be Claire Stanfield aka Vino aka Rail Tracer aka Felix Walken. LAWL. you have to watch the series to get it BUT HE'S TOO AWESOME ♥
I was initially kinda sad that his character didn't get too much fleshing out (I mean, it /was/ meant to be a 13 episode series and it had a HUGE cast), but I was thrilled to discover that they released an extra 3 episode OVA with the DVD release (on the TOP of my to buy list now). (*≧▽≦)♪ And needless to say Vino had a huge chunk of the limelight this time. ♥♥
Anyways enough with my fangirlism ranting haha. （￣ー￣）ニヤリ For those who haven't watch, it's a huge recommendation. Though be forewarned, it's no mainstream material so alot of talking, character exploring and plot development. So not too much fancy moves, intact characters and whatnot. But a definite recommend if you love Mafia themed stories. ♪(ﾉ´∀｀*)ﾉ
Here is my current wallpaper decorated with Vino's Rail Tracer mode. HE'S TOO SEXY IN THIS MODE OKAY. lawl!! oh and ignore the little fujoshi joke at the bottom there. oh and no, this pic does not belong to me (*･∀･)／♡＼(･∀･*)
Though I hope I get to whip up a few Baccano! themed sketches soon! ♥ Have a great day guys!
a little something I did for the KAMCAO website some time ago. Background image is credited to: 憂雨
Good Evening Guys! ( ﾟ▽ﾟ)/ｺﾝﾊﾞﾝﾊ
Firstly I'd like to thank all my wonderful friends and GAR members that commented on my previous post and even hand me some good old advice that got me looking forward and running again. (*≧▽≦)♪ I'm so blessed to have such wonderful friends that kick me in the butt and pat my head at the right moments. YOSH! I shall do my best!! Thank you to all my senpai-tachis for surrounding me with your warmth!
So how you guys like the new banner and color scheme? ♪(ﾉ´∀｀*)ﾉAfter reading through all the heart felt comments yesterday at my previous post, I thought that the theme ”ぬくもり” or "Warmth" would be a wonderful theme to start on for the year 2011 ☆
So I picked out an illustration that I did that fits the theme best and played around with it in Photoshop and VOILA! Not too shabby right? Ｏ(≧∇≦)Ｏ Oh and the Banner's extra brush is also the same as the background used for above's illustration so credit goes to the awesome artist. I even edited the Font Colors to match the illustration and feel ♡
Other than that, I also added new songs to the playlist on the right so feel free to play whenever you like! ☆ The first song is put as commemoration of the website's current theme and one of my current favourites; "ぬくもり" (Nukumori) by HOME MADE KAZOKU. This song never fails to keep me calm everytime I turn it on. (ﾟｰﾟ)(｡_｡)ｳﾝｳﾝ It's simply wondrous, the effect of the right songs has on your mental state. Other than that, I added "Hello Again~昔からある場所" by JUJU, "Break a Road" by Mamoru Miyano (a recommended listen!) and kept "ふたりごと" by RADWIMPS because I love it too much still. (*･∀･)／♡
I'm slowly getting productive again. I found some Gurren Lagann fanart that I did last year and gonna plan to complete a few before I go to KL again next weekend so I can scan them and upload them here 八(＾□＾*) がんばります！
Let me know what you think 'bout the new look of the blog yeah? (*･∀･)／♡＼(･∀･*)
The Zhang Brothers and Nadjwa having fun on new years days. Happy New Years guys! :D
Hey guys!
slight rant entry so long words and no pics sorry :X do turn away if it annoys you yeah?
been piped up and busy so barely managed to have much time to myself. :D things didn't stop getting busy from weeks before AFA X ; with the prints and preparations. Not to mention had a slight dilemma with having less than RM50 travelling to Singapore haha. Anyways, with the excitement over the weekend of AFA X, the moment we touched down in Malaysia, I found myself with a 3 day fever haha.
Thanks to my good friend, Germaine and "changing shifts in having fever" with my sister, I recovered soon but dived again into work when I heard about a certain publishing companies' Audition announced just 1 month before the deadline. It was an audtion made for manga and opened for international artists. I didn't think twice and dove right in. I didn't even hesitated in the short time period given.
But a chat with a good friend of mine did make me questions my methods in diving into work so fast. He did mention that I was "taking the world on my shoulders" by doing this and frankly, I didn't think that it was that big a deal. If I get it, I get it. If I don't better luck next time...right?
Well as weeks rolled over, I speed up the production process. With the help of my sister cum manga assistant, we were doubling our work pace but the window of opportunity is closing fast. We even had a local convention that weekend so we shifted our work place to our KL apartment. It was treacherous, draining and very taxing on our physical and mental state.
Everytime I feel like throwing in the towel, I'd remember what many told me about my current state in work and I'd burn with a feeling to succeed. To prove them wrong. They'd always mention how when I plan something big, it'll always fall short before coming to light. Well I was determined to prove that, that isn't the case. After all no matter how much effort I put into something, if the result doesn't show, there isn't much to be proud off right?
With these thoughts in mind, I tolled myself to finish the 42 page manga, with the undying support of many of my gar membered friends like Germaine, Iwashi and my sister. Even with my family granting us to stay in KL for an extra week and more to get it done, chances of finishing it slowed down more and more. And as the days passed by, so did the pressure built with the manga.
I had to get everything done in KL before heading back to Ipoh to courier the finishing product since I don't have a scanner big enough to scan my manga papers because of the size. The only place I knew that didn't charge so much was the printers we visit everytime we print stuff for conventions.
And plus, since the deadline was so tight, I was left with only a strict amount of days to ink and scan then return home to ipoh to do minor editing and toning then ship it off to New York in time for the deadline. Apparently the courier needs maximum of 5 days in case of delay to get it there in time. Which means if I don't get the manga done by the 27th or 28th then I won't have enough time to get it there. Even though we had more than half to go, I and my sister refused to give in. The thought of defeat was far to bitter for us to taste even though it seemed all to likely.
On the morning of the 27th December 2010, I and my sister tirelessly inked all night long. Our hands hurt from applying pressure onto our inking pens. The pain shot up all the way to our elbows and without a wink of sleep from the night before, our heads start to scream in pain and our eyes feel heavy. 27th December by the way was the birthday of my youngest sister. And for those who knows me well, I do adore her very much.
As the clock in our living room tolled onto 8 AM, I turned to my sister who was tirelessly inking a page on a carton box on the living room floor. her hands were moving vigorously despite the obvious tire on her face.
"I think.. it's enough" I finally croaked. My sister looked at me with a solemn look on her face. I was thinking she was probably far to tired to show any range of emotions at that point. "It's Iffah's birthday. I think, we should go home." I could see that she was going to object, but she stopped at the sight of tears streaming down my face. She simply hugged me and say "It's ok. let's go home"
I'm not too sure why I cried much myself but I'm not the sort of person to easily tear up when it comes to things like these. All I knew was that I set out a goal for something I really wanted and I failed. It's not so much the contract of the publishing company I wanted so much but rather the fact that I've completed something that I've put my heart and soul into. But I guess somethings are not meant to be.
So we returned home to Ipoh where we enjoyed my sister's birthdays but currently I still haven't drawn anything worthwhile let alone touch the manga since then. I'm not sure if it's the post battle worn blues or just the fact that I drew too much in such a short period of time but for now it's getting harder and harder to draw things. Its as if I'm being hit with an artist block but not quite. like.. a half block.. if that makes any sense haha.
And by not being able to draw, I discover I'm pretty much useless everywhere else. I don't have any other skill I can seem to use to benefit others other than drawing. Made me think though, if I can't achieve my dreams in drawing, would I be as loved and reliable to others as I am now? I mean, I'm no Mother Theresa to be sure. But even to the handful of people who depend on me, would I be dependable to them as little as I do now?
I have my entrance exam to the Nanyang Academy in a couple of weeks and in my current state I'm not sure if I can score, let alone pass. I've never tested my skills is one and I doubt my level of art is equivalent even to the normal standard there.
So I'm slowly letting my head cool for now and figure things out. I don't know anyway else to handle it other than that now haha. Would appreciate some suggestions tho m(_ _)m
For now it seems, reading motivational books and keeping myself calm with new songs and positive messaged shows and videoclips tend to do the trick. I'm slowly pep talking myself into finishing the manga. now with 10 pages to go and plenty to beta, I hope it comes soon.
Hopefully I can finish the manga before my exam though I'm not too sure what I'm going to do with it now that the deadline is way passed. My parents and several friends suggested that I send it in anyways but I'm rethinking about that. We'll see. I mean, I know it'll be a 0.0000006% chance that they'll consider or even take a look at it if I send it this late but who knows. We'll see.
I do miss my friends though. Dearly. It seems that as I got to see them once for the past 2 months has only served to make me miss them more haha. It seems I depend too much on the little time we spend together in motivating me in my daily life haha. But I guess that's how much I love them (;´ρ`)
Well over all in all, I'll be doing my best to get back on the bandwagon and improve further for 2011!! がんばります！ファイトオオオオオオ！！( ﾟ▽ﾟ)/
here's a little reward for you who stuck through my post today haha. here's the list of songs I use to relax myself lately <3 Hope you guys enjoy it ;DDD
I am a freelancing comic artist / entrepreneur out here to make aspirations a reality. Born on this tiny strip of land called Malaysia, I'm striving hard to make it out here in the harsh realities of life. Currently an avid stalker of anything that has huge boosters, karaoke and manly talk.
