Faye Villanueva's Blog, page 3
February 14, 2016
An Insight on “Platinum End”a new story from the creators of “Death Note” (repost)
If anyone is reading my blog and waiting on something new, I dearly apologize for not posting lately. I’m currently working on two overlapping series, etc. and its quite a handful. But here now I want to repost this article I recently read. If you’re one like me who is curious to see the new series from the creators of Death note, Platinum End, and you are a believer in Christ, or in another case, if you’re thinking of suicide, heres a beautiful insight from Beneath the tangles blog site.
Some quotes:
“Strange though it may sound, hedonism and Christianity go hand-in-hand to an extent. Christianity is about seeking and finding joy but acknowledges that this quest is ultimately about desiring God, rather than simply pursuing pleasure for its own sake. We put our hope in God because we trust that He has the power to make good on His promises to sustain our joy. Nothing else, no matter how well-meaning, has that ability: people will disappoint us and/or eventually leave our lives, memories will fade, bodies will atrophy, and possessions will deteriorate. Only eternal things endure, and those things are few and far between—human souls and God, among them.”
“Don’t suppose that you have nothing left to live for. Don’t suppose that things won’t get better. Don’t suppose that you can’t beat this. You don’t know what tomorrow holds (Matthew 6:34). With God, all things are possible (Matthew 16:26). We can do all things through Christ who strengths us (Philippians 4:13). We are conquerors and overcomers—soldiers in His spiritual army (Romans 8:37). It’s not an easy fight. We’re not told to put on togas or monkish habits, but to put on armor (Ephesians 6:10-18). That doesn’t mean we’re not allowed to stumble, fall, bleed, cry, and question God. David did all five, on an almost daily basis, yet God considered him a man after His own heart.
Don’t give up. God’s not giving up on you.”
I have yet to start reading Platinum End. Thanks to my bulk right now, it is not permissible. They say it’s controversial and Im up to it for study. Anyway, anyway, what can I say? Dark stories like this actually perk me up to keep working to get my series out. Sorry it sounds like Im “plugging” again. Just wait for it nalang. Haha.
December 8, 2015
FREE: Chic Gift Card for any occasion
Here’s another gift tag you might want to use, especially if you’re girly or if you’re giving something food-ish. Just click on the link, then click the download button on top of the image, print, then cut.
I suggest you print them on vellum board paper. Enjoy!
Link: Chic Eat Gift Tag
See also: Free Printable Christmas Cards, MA-I Gift Tags
FREE: Printable Christmas Cards
Hi guys, in case you want a Christmas card talaga, here’s one I made that you might want to use for your gifts and to serve as a reminder why we’re celebrating Christmas. Happy Holidays!
Just click on the link, then click the download button on top of the image, print, then cut.
I suggest you print them on vellum board paper. Enjoy!
Link: Manger Christmas Card.
See also: Chic Eat Gift Tag
FREE: Printable MA-I Themed Gift Cards
Hi guys! I’m a week late from posting this but I guess I’m not yet too late. I posted free cards for Christmas last year (and I will repost in a while) but for now, here’s what I have to give this year (since it’s also the highlight of my 2015)- MA-I Themed gift cards that you can use all year round. I’ve made four designs you could choose from. Simply download from the link below the image and then print on your preferred paper (I prefer you’d use board paper 150-200 GSM, vellum, white or cream colored). I hope you guys use it. Enjoy!
Here are the options you could choose from:
Groupfie
Link: Groupfie
Lakan overlooking Munting Nayo n
Link: Lakan Overlooking Munting Nayon
Lakan Backshot
Link: Lakan Backshot
Makislap
Link: Makislap
Assorted Layout (in case you can’t decide)
Link: Assorted
Enjoy and Merry Christmas!
See also: Chic Eat Gift Tag, Christmas Gift Tags
PS: If you haven’t yet, please like MA-I on Facebook/maikomiks
and do grab a copy of our Graphic novel series for you or for your young friends! Available na sa mga bookstores (and select National Bookstores, for now). You can also order via
order@csm-publishing.com for direct and overseas orders.
December 4, 2015
Hunter X Hunter: Bloody Chopsuey , Human Meatballs, and Rotten eggs
I know I’m not very timely in making reviews but I just thought I’d make random reviews on anime’s I’ve watched before to help others out there think about and have an idea of what’s good to watch and if they’re actually worth watching (especially with kids). But everything is entirely my opinion. And as we know, we all have our own opinion on every matter. So if you’re against what I’ve written, I’m sorry, its my blog.
Here’s my thoughts about Hunter X Hunter, a widely successful anime/manga which made me realize that not all the successful animes are actually substantial. Sometimes, they just look and feel good.
Let me share some random thoughts about this anime. For your reference, I am reviewing based on the 2011 remake of Hunter X Hunter.
Strong Start
Like other strong characters we admire: Luffy is driven to become Pirate King, Naruto is driven to become Hokage, Edward and Alphonse Elrich are driven to bring their bodies back, Gon Freecs was also driven to seek his father by becoming a Hunter like him (oh, sounds familiar, right Natsu?). It was a strong start that moved the reader’s interest to follow Gon’s quest. And the following episodes showed a training of new hunters where Gon, Killua, Kurapika, Leorio, and other notable characters as Hisoka meet and display their strengths. It was a good ground to establish the characters and their pursuits, although I find that starting off with a training/ exam is less enthusiastic than starting off with an ordeal or an adventure. Too classroom-type for me.
What was the team about?
One question that comes into my mind is :why did the author establish Gon, Killua, Leorio and Kurapika to be friends if they will not journey together throughout the series, or at least help each other even in the distance? Gon, Killua and Kurapika all had stories from different arcs. But Leorio? And then, in the end it’s only just Gon and Killua journeying together. So… why establish something that’s not? I got lost there.
Kurapika: A Sad story
Kurapika is the only survivor of his clan, the Kurta, who were wiped out because their eyes were like precious gems that were sold at a high price. Kurapika was a very kind and quiet boy (and yes he’s a boy) to start off but shifted when he encountered the phantom troupe (the group that killed his clan) again and sought for revenge. He ends up killing a couple of the members and his heart grows deeper in revenge. I didn’t want to judge his story since it was yet to be finished but the story shifted back to Gon and left Kurapika’s sad story hanging that made me think that’s how it really ends. Kurapika is one character that grew from good to bad, and not even one of his friends reprimanded him for going the wrong way.
Even when Gon was fighting for his life, Kurapika kept ignoring the call to see his friend and we see him obsessed with collecting the scarlet eyes of his clan. In exchange for a friend who’s fighting for life? You gotta be kidding me. He’s gone mad in the end, sinking deeper and deeper into the misery of his revenge.
But I like him. I like the concept of him being a Specialist because of his being a Kurta. And even if I have a bad taste about his story, he is my favourite character in this series. There’s a hunch that he may also be the strongest. The concept of being from a lost special clan, having red eyes, and using chains for combat, the character is well-done, I can’t help but think he just had to be the main character. If not, his story should be entirely told separately from Gon. But Too attractive in the story that I fear that kids who watch him might emulate him, including his vengeful attitude. A very strong character like his with a story like that badly needed redemption.
Below: A fan art? Am I a fan? I have mixed emotions with this series, really.
A photo posted by Faye Villanueva (@spatialchild) on Jun 18, 2015 at 7:23pm PDT
Greed Island
Greed Island isn’t even about greed. It’s an acronym of the names of its creators. I have to say though, that this is the most interesting arc of Hunter X Hunter. Very intelligently done. I won’t be surprised if this is where Sword Art online got its concept. I actually think greed is implied somewhere in the arc but it’s not as clear as it is. Also, I think it would have been great if the story (of Gon) focused on Greed Island and then jumped to the part that he will already meet his father, Gin. All the other arcs in the Hunter X Hunter series would have worked if they were a totally separate series (perhaps also under the Hunter title) because they had nothing to do with the progression of Gon’s story. And this story should have ended when Gon finally met his father. I’ve heard that Hunter X Hunter is still continuing, but without the main characters. Seriously, where is the story going?
I have to note too that I find Gon’s passion to pursue an absentee father unrealistic. Most often than not, children wouldn’t want to pursue a father who left them, or so I think.
Meatballs and Chimera ants
I hate this arc. And the worst part is that it’s the longest arc. The author went as far as the concept of chimera ants turning people into meatballs to eat them. Ulk! This arc haunted me for days, to tell you honestly. And the part that Kite was killed and whose head was shown being caressed by Neferpitou,a female chimera ant, was very disturbing. And by the way, where did he get their names?
In the progression of this arc, somewhere along the way, it also seemed like the script became narrated by an anonymous narrator, telling the viewer what is obvious (which in a visual story is totally unnecessary) and then what was supposed to be animation became a collection of still images. The characters weren’t even throwing dialogues! This ran for several episodes I just wanted to close my eyes and sleep! and then along the way, all the characters started thinking alike. I can’t help but think the author outsourced the story to someone else who didn’t have the heart to Hunter X Hunter as he did. It was inconsistent, sick and boring.
Chopsuey, Perversion and Occultism
All in all, Hunter X Hunter is a collage of Hunters’ stories, not just Gon’s. It could have worked better if the Hunter’s individual stories went under different subtitles (ex: “Hunter X Hunter: Gon freecs” and this series focuses only on Gon’s story, “Hunter X Hunter: The Last of the Kurta” which focuses only on Kurapika’s story, “Hunter X Hunter: The Zoldyk that Doesn’t Kill” which focuses on Killua’s journey) and progressed in on smooth arc as opposed to them being placed in almost random parts of the series like a chopsuey of vegetables tossed in one plate. I feel the series wasn’t given a concrete main arc when it started. It’s amazing that they published this like this. I mean, where are the editors?
Oh, who would forget about Hisoka, the most perverted character I’ve ever seen, ever (redundancy intended)!
Throughout the story, perversion is prominent. There is no border line between good and evil. As a storyteller who intends to spread good moral values to its readers, I find this story very disturbing and dangerous for kids to read or watch. I find that there is a tendency for its readers to be perverted too, because the story doesn’t define morals and somehow even makes evil entertaining (why are we even most attracted to Kurapika and Hisoka? This is freaky!). it’s not surprising though, because in the first place, the author is a follower of occultism. And that’s a supernatural power he anchored on for the success of this series (ooh, sounds like Death Note).
Out rightly, you find images of Satanism in the series. I had to watch through hunter X Hunter for inspiration and ideas as I constantly need them in my story telling. But my heart was heavy throughout watching this. this was undeniably intended to glorify darkness and evil, intended to spread something that is not of God. In the end, my heart yearned to make a better story out of this, that would redeem the characters in this story, especially someone such as Kurapika. Talk about “All things work together for good.” (Rom. 8:28)
Strangely to me, there’s more lesson to take home from Death Note than Hunter X Hunter. And even if Death Note was mainly about Shinigamis, Death Note didn’t have occult symbols like this one.
What I’ve Learned: A Basket of Eggs do not mean all the eggs in that basket are good, or rotten.
Here’s a basket of eggs.
They all look the same on the surface. No wonder many preachers say anime or manga is bad. But We have to look closer and define for ourselves which is rotten and which is not. Whether we like it or not, they all look the same and they’re all in the same basket. in reality, anime is only a medium. It’s the message that is more important. Not all animes are good, neither are all of them rotten. I’ve seen a lot of animes and there are really good ones, even if their stories do not come out strong. The morals of some stories are really good and there’s a lesson you’ll carry for the rest of your life. And then there are some who just want to shower the world with perversion, leaving the kids with a demented idea of good and bad that will give birth to possible catastrophe in their lives or their generation. For me, Hunter X Hunter is one worth not watching by people (especially kids) who are seeking for answers in life. but if you’re a story teller seeking to learn from the mistakes of others and seeking ideas for a story, okay, give this a shot, because there’s a lot of creativity put in that you can learn from too. I just hope, like me, you intend to spread good to your readers and not evil.
Other Facts:
The author of Hunter X Hunter is also the author of Ghost Fighter and he’s married to the author of Sailor Moon (which I now feel bad that I became a fan of.).
All in All
Hunter X Hunter is far better than its older sibling, Ghost Fighter, by leaps and bounds (if you care to know my thoughts on Ghost Fighter, I’d say it’s less bloody, less creative, waste of time to watch, yet strangely popular in my generation) . Yet it still falls short.
Hunter is’nt all crappy, I must say. It’s artwork from manga to anime are both superb and pleasing to the eye. The composition of its arcs are for the most part intact and well knitted. But it’s bloody chopsuey and meatballs in most parts. The story arcs do not fall under one main arc (supposedly) and are disconnected from each other. It’s genius but not. And even up to now I wonder what happened along the way. Emotions and my convictions aside, it’s truly a work of a creative genius, yet it lacked a lot of foresight and planning.
November 21, 2015
The Horror and Beauty of “Death Note”
I watch a lot of animes almost every day but I must say I only get impressed by a handful of them . One of which is this strange but well crafted story of “Death Note.”
Death Note is a story of a young boy who picked up a Death Note—a notebook used by Shinigamis (or Death lords) to kill people whose times have already come. The young boy named Light Yagami is a brilliant boy who was bored with his daily living. Acquiring the Death Note gave him the vision to rule the world by eliminating evil and be God. Because of the massive killings, he, disguised under the name of “Kira,” caught the attention of International police, FBI and CIA and sought to stop him but to no avail. Top detective “L” comes to the picture and pinpoints Light as the prime suspect, but was outwitted and never had solid evidence that his suspect is who he thinks Kira is. “L” dies and will be succeeded by a younger boy named Near who eventually proves that Light is Kira. Shortly after, Kira meets his demise.
Things I like about the anime:
Art: The drawings are wonderfully crafted unlike famous counterparts. It has more detail to human intricacies than the popular animes such as One Piece or Naruto. The way these characters are drawn are beautiful to my eyes. That Light Yagami was a character deliberately designed to bring a mix of emotions and sentiments to its watchers. I do like how Light (the main character/bad guy) is so prim and proper and the ideal guy, while “L” or Ryuzaki (the good guy) is a more messed up guy who has nothing good to see in him. Contrast. I am all five on the artwork, both in the anime and the manga.
Story: If you like a story that brings your brain to work, this is it. Watching the anime made me feel like I was somewhat watching a piece of CSI or The Mentalist, only that these American counterparts are more consistent and unbiased with their characters and stories. At least somehow though, it gave me that feel. I like the Genius vs. Genius progression as if I was watching a chess game, or an escalated story of cops chasing robbers. It totally is worth thought provoking how one outwits the other and how the other overcomes. It’s also worth noting too that you rarely see a story where the main character is the villain and not the hero.
My other thought though is that I find that the main characters Light, “L” and his successor Near think too much alike as if they could foresee exactly how the other person thinks. It would be more interesting perhaps, if “L” and Near had prepared at least 3 plans to counter what Light might do next as opposed to always having always prepared one plan because “surely this is how Light will respond.” To me it was reflecting too much of the characters coming from one mind—the author’s of course. And to storytellers, one of the things we should not do is to make all characters think alike because it makes them more unrealistic, one-dimensional and disconnecting to the viewers.
Another thought on the story is that the pacing of the story changed after L’s death. There were a lot of details in L’s research on Kira but when he died, it seemed like Near so easily captured Kira just like that (although there were a few timeline skips that kind of established that further investigation on Kira also took time). It would be more interesting if the pacing was the same as that of L and Near struggled just the same as L, because… surely Light is a difficult mind to handle. But I do understand that maybe behind the production of the anime or manga, they had to shorten the series for economic reasons.
Lastly, it seemed that “Death Note” took the quote “The pen is mightier than the sword” to a whole new level. Brilliantly done. Slow clap.
Down to the Heart:
The best part of the story for me was when L said it was the first time he had a friend (through Light). despite the fact that he suspects Light, it was the first time he was understood. The heartache came when Light indirectly kills L through manipulating a Shinigami. Chills go to the spine as L stares at Light in his death. It was after all, a one sided friendship that led him to his defeat. That was an ultimate heart-wrenching tear jerker.
[image error]
In time though, Light had to pay the price of his sins. And so, there was a moment of justice being seen through this evil madness. But that’s all there is. There wasn’t even a sign of repentance. It’s just “I used my brain to the highest level.” But is the mind really all there is? What about the heart? And I wonder: what caused Light to be a mass killer if he came from a very peaceful and loving family?
The beauty is in Reality.
Two beautiful things in the story: Light was an externally beautiful man, and, the author thought about the story too well. Light’s beauty is skin deep. he was wicked to the core, using women to accomplish his selfish desires, manipulating his own family even if it would mean their own death, and disposing his allies as if they were things. He did not have redemption. He only died in the end.
The world they live in seemed to me as if Shinigamis are more involved in our lives than God. There was recognition of a true God but it seemed like His hands were off the world while the Shinigamis were possessing people and messing the world, killing so many lives in the process.
The beauty is that we do not live in that kind of world. We live in a world where God is stronger than the Shinigami, good is stronger than evil, and He’s ever so near to each one of us than what was depicted in the story. Of course there are despair in our lives, but if we trust in God instead of a Shinigami,, or our own will, no matter how much of a genius or how big our enemies are, we will win.
The Shinigami always demands for something in exchange: a Shinigami eye in exchange for half of your life. The horror in fact is real. Sell your soul to the devil and it will give you success, people will bow down to you and you will be powerful. But in exchange, you will be cursed and you will live a short life. I’m not scaring you. It’s real. The possibility of the story of Death Note to actually happen is high.
But God is also real. And He’s the part of reality that is sadly not included in the story of “Death Note”. He will give you success wherever you go. He will assure you victory over your enemies and He will bless you and those who bless you. He is the only love you will ever need. He desires to, but does not demand you, to worship only Him, to bow down to Him and He will give you a life that never ends. But even if you don,’t He blesses you still and loves you. And even if you’ve chosen the Shinigami before, it’s never too late for redemption because He too can redeem, if you turn to Him. I’m not giving you false hopes. It’s real.
The beauty is in the reality. Now whose power will you chose? The Shinigami’s or God’s?
October 28, 2015
Where to Buy Art Supplies
Salamat sa Internet hindi na natin kailangang pumunta ng Manila para bumili ng art supplies. Image from: https://spatialchild.files.wordpress.com/2015/10/28315-deovir_art_supplies_cartimar_recto_philippines.jpg
I’ve been going through a lot of arts suppliers and cross-comparing them with each other. I was also hoping I’d find only one supplier for all my needs. Pero wala. Then I wondered if there are others out there rummaging through different suppliers (and medyo OC sa cross-comparison ng supplies, prices and convenience). So I thought, just in case there’s someone out there like me in the Philippines wondering where to get what, I did end up usually buying supplies online, and in this post I’ll summarize where to buy what.
pAINTS, Canvas, other artist-grade needs
If you’re more of a visual and traditional artist like me, consider going to Deovir or The Oil Paint Store. From what I know, both these stores started and manila and have been in the Industry for a long time already compared to online counterparts. Deovir is now convenient for me because they have a branch in Megamall near where I live, but I still somehow do not end up buying what I need there (for comics, in particular). By the way, The Oil Paint store has the cheapest price for Sakura Koi watercolors (I just bought). Although both have online ordering options, their websites are not as user-friendly as the other popular online stores. The advantage with both though, is that I find that they have the cheapest possible prices for art supplies compared to others.
Calligraphy needs, brush pens
If you’re more of a Calligrapher, you can head first to The Craft Central, Swirls and Strokes, Scribe Writing Essentials, and Craft Carrot. They have a wide array of nibs, inks, papers, holders, etc. Brushes (as well as nibs, I think) are cheapest at Craft Central (and I find it just fine to use them) so I bought mine from them and I plan to buy from then again when my brushes and nibs already run “weary.” Swirls and Strokes have items you might not find in any Calligraphy stores, like the Finetec Gold pallet, Dinky Dips, and the inkwell stand (I drool over them but I don’t think I need them at the moment) so I think it’s also worth noting here. Craft Carrot also has Calligraphy eklats almost the same as The Craft Central. But they don’t have as much variation in available nibs as The Craft Central. Scribe Writing Essentials is convenient since they’re already in malls like SM Aura, SHangri-la Mall, Megamall (etc.) stores I’ve almost been to! The setback is that sometimes when you are very particular with what you need, you may not find them in the actual stores. So better order online instead. By the way, the India in k I use (Speedball Super black) is cheaper at Scribe than Deovir, surprisingly. I’ve been buying at Deovir and only knew this recently. I thought you’d know :)
Fountain Pens
Of you want to drool over fountain pens, go to Scribe Writing Essentials. I drool every time I go to their shops. They have the best brands there are. Right now though, hanggang tingin lang muna ako because, again, I don’t find the need to spend for expensive fountain pens because I don’t find the need to buy them. You can also find some fountain pens in select National Bookstores, but it’d be more fun to have a wider selection of pens from the other store. I have to note too, that Always In Style carries cheaper fountain pens which I also drool for, especially their Picasso Fude nib pen which I cannot find anywhere. They carry Chinese brands Jinhao and Picasso, which are way cheaper than counterparts Montblanc, Lamy, or TSWI (among others), but I’ve read reviews that they work just fine (a little bit heavier than the more expensive ones). They say their price is affordable and I say they’re saying the truth.
Watercolors, Gouache, markers
While I’ve noted that Deovir and The Oil Paint Store carries the best brands of mediums available in the Philippines, I think it’s worth noting that the best supplier to get PH. Martin’s concentrated watercolors are Craft Carrot. They don’t happen to carry it in either Deovir or The Oil Paint store (I wonder). Scribe also carries them but not in single bottles. In Scribe, you buy a set of (like) ten bottles of different colors for around P2000, so if you only need particular colors and not the whole set, you can only get them from Craft Carrot. I have to say though, those Ph Martin’s Concentrated watercolors are worth having! Gansai Tambi isn’t also carried by Deovir and The Oil Paint store where you’re supposed to get the coloring mediums. You can get them either from Craft Carrot, The Craft Central, or Scribe Writing Essentials. I saw one in person yesterday (my first time) and I was really blown away by the size of those watercolors. That’s my next loot, Lord willing, because they can work as both watercolor and Gouache.
Papers
You can get quality art papers from all the suppliers I mentioned above BUT you can also get from Sunday paper. I don’t get mine there though. Mr C apparently has a paper supplier and I got a special paper from them (1 bundle of 500 sheets, so I don’t think you’ll need that for a hobby) which works well with ink and it’s what I’ve used so far for Book 5 of MA-I (although I must confess I’ve messed some parts of the comics). Well, for convenience sake, you can get good special papers from National Bookstore anyway.
For starters, it’s best to have Simbalion watercolors on hand. You can get them cheapest at Dolcesonline. They’re worth having as well for practice. Arty Animal also have watercolor and Gouache paints that you cannot find from other stores like a portable Kuretake watercolor set and Guitar watercolors. They also have Sakura Koi and Gansai Tambi however they’re more expensive there. Art Whale also have hard to find and top of the line coloring brands like Shin Han, Peerless, Turner, and Escoda brushes which are also apparently not available at Deovir or The Oil Paint Store.
Andaming choices! And somehow I come to think that it’s easier to be an artist if you come from a rich family or if you have a good paying job and less responsibility. A lot of artists that i follow on Instagram horde on these supplies even if they do not use everything. And here are my thoughts on this: do not spend so much if you’re only pursuing a hobby. If you’re only beginning or starting a new craft, opt for children’s grade supplies (like the Simbalions), then if you want a better output, go for a Student grade (Reeves, Sakura Koi), if your pocket allows it. But if you’re going for becoming a professional artist, then invest on Artist grade supplies that will return your investment (a good choice may be Gansai Tambi, W &N and if you can really really afford it, the highest quality of paints are Rembrandt, Old Holland and Shmitcke–I don’t even know if I spelled this right– you can buy these high quality colors at Dolces online and they’re as expensive as a laptop already!).
At the end of the day it’s not how good your materials are. the output of your artworks depend on you. I’m an artist who grew from an ordinary family and we were never able to afford such high-quality materials. Even now, we’re filled with priorities and little budget for higher-grade materials, but I find that I can still pull it off anyway. It’s all in the heartwork and that’s most important. I hope you too find more of the heart than the worth of all these products. I hope this helped though.
October 19, 2015
Making the most out of Simbalion Watercolors (with Ph. Martin Hydrus shading)
It’s ironic (and funny) for me to find that most hobbyists (who have a full-time job and do arts on the side) tend to have more materials than us who do arts for a living. Napapa-hashtag-saklap ako. I wish I can have the resources to buy all those fancy stuff. Then at the end, I realize that i do no need them to complete my job. Para-paraan lang yan!
First of all, if you’re an educated artist, don’t read this. I am 100% self-taught and have never sat down in even one formal painting class. So you will certainly find my methods here unorthodox and full of mistakes. But if you don’t really care and you want street-smart alternatives, here ya go.
I have been looking over a workable, artist-quality watercolor/gouache paints that I can use for the next projects I’ll come up with. And I got depressed. The materials I need do not fit my budget. Not yet. Not today. Do you know that there’s a watercolor set that costs P20,000. Oo! Twenty Thousand pesos just for a watercolor set. Buwis buhay!
I might as well stick to my motto na: “Wala sa mobile suit yan, nasa pilot yun!” (If’you have an idea about Gundam you’d understand that even if Athrun rode a Zaku, he won over a Gundam suit). In more common terms, “wala sa pana yun.” So improvise shall we.
Quite honestly, I think I would want to have a Van Gogh or Rembrandt set (at kung mas ambitious pa ako, Old Holland of Schminke), but for now, since I am not an artist building a gallery (just yet) and since my budget is not permitting it yet, I am rooting for a Gansai Tambi set, which as reviews say is artist-grade already (for a way cheaper cost… and is ASIAN!) and is more like a gouache. Gouache is the medium I’ve used for the longest time and it’s the style I am most comfortable with so i thought maybe I can pull off with the Gansai tambi. In the in between (waiting ), I purchased a Simbalion watercolor set (P200-300 only depending on supplier) for my practice which I have given a quick review of here:
NOTE: Before using this watercolor (or other dry cakes), spray them with water so that when your brush gathers color from them, they’re already moist enough to take off. This gives your brush less stress as well.
I was initially thrilled by the strength of the colors but along the way I realized that the depth of the shading I want still doesn’t pull of for the cheap brand (especially when i experimented with a semi-realistic painting (see below). Of course what do you expect? I struggled so much with the shadows (and of course the paleness of the yellow). E fetish pa naman ako sa dark shades kasi Emo girl ako. I’m not as much into the bright sunshine colors (contrary to what my projects for the past years have demanded of me).
Happily, I have with me on hand, a bottle of Ph martin’s Hydrus Watercolor Burnt Sienna so i tried a hack. This is a high-grade watercolor material. and a whole set of bottles cost around P15k. So I only have one bottle. It costs P280 at Craft Carrot. I used it to emphasize the shadows of Mr. Cloud here. O diba? I think there’s a huge difference with the final output. The left was a painting with Simbalion (and inked with india ink) alone and the right was already shaded with Hydrus. O diba mas buhay ang kulay!
Anyway, that’s just me giving away the tip na if ever you cannot afford the better brands just yet, you can mix the cheapos with a few artist-grades ones (especially on areas you are fetish at) and you can pull off an amazing artwork already. At the end of the day, even if your pocket is limited, sky’s the limit with your imagination. Share with me your artworks if ever you used this tip. I’d love to see them!
PS: By the way, that painting above is painted on an ordinary notebook paper. Don’t copy me. use watercolor paper for a more vibrant output. The paper counts too!! I was just practicing for a style i’ll apply in my One-shot graphic novel (hopefully to be released before the year ends,yeah.). Gambare!
I shall post about the gansai Tambi when I finally get and test break it.
October 13, 2015
MINI-COMIC: Dream the Impossible Dream
Saw this from one of the artists that I follow. Influence is like a ripple effect. Someone inspires you, then you do the impossible. And when you do, you inspire others too. I just love this one. maybe i’ll do mini-comics too once in a while :)
Original post by: Zen pencils
October 3, 2015
The Unfair Truth About How Creative People Really Succeed
“Every story of success is really a story of community,”
Read here:
The Unfair Truth About How Creative People Really Succeed
