P O P * C A R B O N

I have long quit stalking deviantart for new artists. My message box for new devs reach 300 even if I check out a lot of them everyday. I used to think that looking at new material would help me out with my taste and would help me with ideas. But lately I've been experiencing a never ending frustration, that I can't execute things as well as I used to. I can't paint with the same patience I had before. My understanding of depth light and shadow is all just a mess.

So I'll be holing myself up for a while. Mass copying from magazines, figure drawing books, and photo refs for the time being. And photography if I can manage. Speaking of which, I haven't gone around developing my rolls yet. Must do so this week.

I keep thinking that I want to take painting classes. Oil and acrylic mostly. I've asked some friends before about it and they suggested practicing with watercolor to get a hang of gradation. However I realized that I wanted to learn the prep work involved with the canvas from complete scratch, priming, under painting techniques etc. How to assess that a canvas painting is raw or the paint layer is too thin. I remember reading a book written by a Japanese painter and he discussed how to execute different textures with oils and varnish.

There's still a lot to learn. And right now I feel stressed since the direction that I am seemingly aiming for is very classical/ romantic in nature. And I feel quite old and significantly lacking of skill with the way I am. I just can't go around looking and studying new styles without establishing the basic things I should know and I should be good at right now.

Maybe because I realize I'm turning 21 without ever painting a firmly established background before and that I have zero sense of perspective and chiaroscuro. It's a self-imposed exile to the mountains for me.

I'm currently working on this one piece. Approx 12 in. x 22in. And the painfully slow progress is mainly because I'm really worried about making a mistake, and opted to lay on the layers as thinly and as smoothly as possible. And to think I must submit by Friday! Haha!

Most of my pieces for an upcoming group exhibit will have the same area (give or take a few inches). And a part of me is torn about how I treat these works. For sure I really give too much time for minute things... and the idea that I am to sell these makes me feel uneasy. This is really happening. :)



It's still rough and continuously changing... but I can feel it in my bones, this one is special.

....What I'm trying to say is- I understand feeling as small and insignificant as humanly possible... and how it can actually ache in places you didn't know you had inside you. And it doesn't matter how many new haircuts you get or gyms you join or how many glasses of chardonnay you drink with your girlfriends. You still go to bed everynight going over every detail and wonder what you did wrong or how... you could've misunderstood. And how in the hell for that brief moment you could think you were that happy! And sometimes you could even convince yourself that he'll see the light and show up at your door. ...And after all that, how ever long that that may be, you go somewhere new and you meet people who'll make you feel worthwhile again. And little pieces of your soul will finally come back. And all that fuzzy stuff... those years of your life that you've wasted, will eventually begin to fade.

Drawing under cut because it's kind of tall and it has breasts. It's a work in progress and I'm quite happy with it despite how stationary it looks :) Still thinking of a proper title to name it.

Notes. Uh, the scan looks like that since I highlighted the drawing. It was drawn on watercolor paper and I haven't painted it yet. The texture made the scan look muddy so I tried to clean it up better to make it presentable.

( CLICK FOR DRAWING )

Drawing under cut.

I find it really amusing that I did this after doodling a pregnant woman picture a few days back. I didn't realize till after I've scanned this. This is loosely referenced from a picture of me, and I do like the end result. I'm just sad that its a very generic theme. Maybe I'll fix it later but it eats me up inside that I sketched this on watercolor paper.

Maybe I can do some nouveau prints on the background and give it to someone. :| I just don't know

( Mother & Child )

Spawned something new after a lovely drawing orgy overnight. :) I love you ladies~! You know who you are~!

We're looking to expand our drawing party. Anyone open for new experiences are welcome. XD

( ARTISTIC NUDE UNDER CUT )

On my trip to Sigayan Batangas with friends, I've managed to do a bit of photography and it was an experience that really surprised me. For one, I never had so much fun with it ever in my life, and second, having friends who are more than willing to pose/ who want to be directed is very very.. NEW to me. :) I'm glad I had the opportunity to go with such wonderful people. Under the cut are a series of shots which I really gave heart. Panning, silhouettes, experiments with flash, composition.. I never really thought I'd think about them so seriously again till now.

Hope you like them as much as I had fun taking them :)

( PHOTOS UNDER THE CUT )

The Doors by Katrina Teh
There are doors which we can only see and pass through with our mind's eye-
be they obscure, recognizable, meaningless, or liberating.

It was for Shell. I've never done anything like this before. And this sembreak I'm hoping to paint a lot more since I'm getting a good hang of it :) I'm also thinking about doing something new for an exhibit friends and I will be holding in the future. Cheers to new projects.

White poster color on black paper. Some practice before I get started on planning formally for my entry to Unreality Bites, the second Philippine Graphic/ Fiction Awards, presented by Fully Booked and Neil Gaiman. I didn't make it last year since my author bailed on me :( (and I'll be using that story instead for thesis). So I'm most probably going solo this year with this. It's going to be based on my irrational fear/ irritation from teeth. Specifically small, numerous and compressed together teeth. Dunno about you but it bugs the bejeezus out of me.

Out of boredom/ practice. But this isn't really much compared to what tigersky  does when she's bored D: I did another drawing which I didn't realize looked Audrey Kawasaki-ish till I finished. I didn't bother scanning it.

( Cut for nudity. But this is just figure drawing )

One day, I don't have to put up with all of the things that the women of my family have been telling me. And also since you're here, how about downloading your very own copy of.. XD

BOYS SUCK
written by: Kat Teh and Sandee Dans
performed by: Sandee Dans, Kat Teh and Nico Dans

I felt really unnerved when my plate came out of printer with all of the minute details unseen just because my monitor's color calibration was off. I wanted to scream until I got to the point when I passed my plate. Don't get me wrong, I really do love my work- its just that for some reason sa kakaOC ko I stayed up till 6 frickin am!!! And all that just didn't translate into print.

Red Monkey Company Jeans
hypothetical non existent post event publicity.
But no amount of designing can EVER
convince people to buy a pair of 50k jeans.

Used Adobe Photoshop 7 and yeah used stock D: sxc.hu

With that done and a plate on hold till tuesday, I finally have the time to do my shell art entry. Also, anyone joining Eyebank? It would've been fun if it weren't for...

1. The dimensions = 20x30 inches (WTF)
2. It's due on october 5 (LOL)
3. Artists age 17-40 years are eligible to join (ibig sabihin pwede professional)

I want to join. But it would suck to send a 20x30 FULL TRAD artwork to them and only end up as a 5k finalist. Bad trip yun! D: And u can't take it home!

But I already have a concept... ._.

There is something inside me that tells me that I am close to something very wonderful. And as much as I would like to contain it, it feels like I'm going to explode. Something is about to burst. I can't tell if it's an idea, but it's a feeling. Maybe this is what people mean when they say... if you lose all inspiration, look back to your roots. And for this opportunity, I thought it to be the right path to take. Every time I did look back, or reflect on what I've done, who I am, and where I came from... I always end up with something meaningful. This is the kind of (art) which I would want to share. I am happy at this moment.

This is a video project done by our group composed of Cholo De Villa, Eman Carandang, Tipai Caintic, Jackie Lozano, and me :) But don't let the credits fool you. Everyone pitched in in everything. Bitin ang credits kasi Windows Movie Maker lang gamit namin. XD Everyone just rocks!

And YES the first part doesn't have sound. Just be patient. It will be cool and MIND BLOWING. I promise.

STOP ME before I feel excessively guilty for something as lame as this D:


I just bought this jar of Gesso for 575 pesos

I FEEL NEEDLESSLY GUILTY since my prof already gave me this extremely cheap recipe for home made gesso but the fact that you must dispose of it after one use and I have to go through the trouble of mixing it made me feel extremely lazy. After inquiring from sandee725, I found out that National Q Ave. sells them! SO I WENT AND BOUGHT! ;O; I thought it was a good investment. And when sandee mentioned 'TUB' of gesso I was thinking... TUB = PAIL.

AND THEN REALITY B*TCH SLAPPED ME AND I WAS GOING ADHJSGFHJDGH GRUMBACHER WHUUT??!!

I bought this mostly because of val tigersky asking me about what paint makes for good priming. Upon her bringing up Gesso I asked a few people about it and found that it makes colors more brilliant and has better coating than simple white latex mixtures. It would be great to experiment with this. And it works with oil.

Gah. Now I'm scared about wasting this. I have half a mind to sell this val. But now that its here...

I thought it was wise to get this for myself now when the long weekends are coming and the rains are pouring, this would give me a lot of time to work with canvasses.

After half a semester of grueling advertising plates I've come to discover that indeed, advertising is more than what meets the eye. People would usually define advertising as selling a product/ idea. It's not it at all. Advertising to be precise is the establishment of brand familiarity or to ensure that your consumers are loyal to your product- constantly giving them images that would think back and remember what you presented.

Editorial ads are different. Now these are the ads that try to make a statement. And personally, editorials are more fun to do. :)

Point Example.
McCann Ericson : Cap
McCann has been unstoppable. Just thinking about sending my resume someday makes me embarrassed. They're the people known to redefine 'less is more' and always come out with simple but witty imagery.

Terra News : Exercise
The imagery can pass off as something editorial if it wasn't for the Terra News logo. I like how the image tied in with the copy (Suddenly you see the world more clearly). This would've been an editorial if they plastered an anti-war sentiment.

All these and more care of Ads of the World. They have everything from video, print ads and ambients. Its a wonderful place to surf and refresh your creative mind. In my case I need a lot of that.

( It's okay to be human too )


click for larger, complete image

I wanted to show a sense of duality in this picture. But above all, I wanted to look at myself... and finally really genuinely know and feel that I'm gonna be okay...I'm okay.

I've been having head splitting headaches all day. D: My brain is collapsing like the polar ice caps.



Logo samples for Pop Carbon. I'm going for the dymo one. Third on the right column. God. Past few days have been hectic to say the least. And tonight I'm probably not sleeping any time soon and same goes for tomorrow. I just hope I do a good job. Storyboards, Editorial Illustration, product mascots...

In a totally unrelated to my major fine arts classes note... in my Philippine pop culture class, my prof offered to give me his book on "Body Politics" because I loved my report topic so much. And though deep inside I would have loved to accept his gift (but still am very embarrassed to do so), I couldn't accept it... as I am still bound by chinese tradition to not accept good graces withint 40+ days after the death of a loved one. Deep inside, I'm hoping that he won't forget. I wanted to buy it from him instead.. but he insisted...

There are a lot of things to be proud off. Like having multiple works due within these past three weeks of class and getting straights ones (though I had to repeat the lot of them since our prof was nice enough to let us revise all our sketches). And finally getting to draw for myself.

Oh yes! The second work in progress to "Undergrowth Folk" is up.



But there are a few things to be sad about. The other day I found out that one of the profs I really looked up to had in fact resigned. I had thought that she was just on leave for this first semester. I miss her of course, but more so because I thought I can learn a lot from her and at the same time I wanted to show her a lot of things that I knew would fascinate her taste for illustration as well. Regrets? Yes, several.

And today, I think I get it. I'm not really cut out for the advertising outfit. I understand that it's a shame since I've been reading and studying on it like mad. I've sharpened and refined my taste and continuously flip through books, sites and designs made by people all around the world. And I'm blessed to be equipped for the job as well.

I just can't see myself living like this everyday.. and estudyante palang ako. Trying to please this one prof (who's good looks and smarts on the industry make my endless spiral of fatigue worthwhile... *sometimes*) is already prompting to evolve from MEGA OC MONSTER to ULTRA SUPER DUPER MEGALO OC MONSTER. Before I go to bed at night.. I think of PLATES. And my grades on stuff I've sent that I eventually get a perfect grade for. I *THINK* there's something wrong with me.

BASTA. I MUST illustrate when I grow up. Even if it's sideline, I want to. I heard from a friend (but I need confirmation) that Adarna might consider publishing stuff for adolescents. I hope that it is true and that someday I get a shot. Maybe I can try out for InK or something to help myself. But I can't match up with their uniqueness and mastery of technique just yet. I think I'm just at the point of my artistic life where I can roam with the big boys without getting thoroughly owned. :( Owned... but hopefully not thoroughly beaten to the ground.

Okay I have nothing more cooler to call my group project with friends other than the "Secret Project" D: So anyway here's the first study for it~! :3



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