At SOI, May 17

Finally, I get to surprise my parents and my sister in bringing them to New York City and the best part is watching them observe what the world of illustration is like through the Student Scholarship Show at Society of Illustrators. It was the first time for them. It felt heartwarming to be with my family and it was great to see some familiar, sweet faces at the Society of Illustrators, NY.

News

Hello! Sorry for being away for so long and I'm so glad to be back here again. Below are some of the works exhibited at the Senior Show.

The Long Leap (Selected for Best of Ringling Show)
Source: Tampa Bay Times

I chose to illustrate this article - For young grads, it's long leap from college to career and I couldn't help agreeing more with the long leap. I'm sure many of us who just graduated this year, felt this way too. Oh yes, I've officially graduated! The future is a little scary but definitely exciting. Somehow, I have a feeling that I might move to New York. We will see. 

All I know is to stay grateful, have faith and keep on trying no matter what.

 

Rise of the Tiger Nation 
Source: The Wall Street Journal



Ikea Recalls Meatballs After Deduction of Horse Meat 
Source: The New York Times

Both alphabets, E and S were created for Pancakes and Pickles Book by Baron & Sy Schimberg, for young children. This book was a voluntary project set to raise funds for the Miracle League of Manasota, a non-profit organization that gives the opportunity to people with disabilities a chance to play baseball. I'm happy to be able to contribute to this good cause, along with other great illustrators and friends. More info about the book can be found here.

 (Click on image for a larger view.)

I really had so much fun with the above project where you could randomly doodle abstract shapes without any intention. It is like tipping a bottle of ink accidentally across your paper and turning that blotch into a creative piece of art. The above reflects what I had come up with. The abstract shapes were created with Corel Painter's brushes and Alchemy.

That's all, folks. Thanks for checking it out! :)

Little bits

This year, we are given the choice to choose between the portfolio and thesis for the upcoming Senior Show on April 27. I chose portfolio and thus, I had been working on different pieces at almost the same time. 

For now, some little bits of new works and I can't reveal them yet in order to keep the suspense for the big show.

35 days to deadline.

43 days to have a meal with my parents and sister whom I haven't hugged for 214 days. Stay strong, Angeline. It is going to be a huge chapter of life.

On a side note, I would like to share with what Scott Bakal wrote in my sketchbook recently:

"Don't worry so much about what your art looks like. Just be yourself and let your stories and ideas flow from you. The art that comes out of it will be YOU."

Indeed. It was nice to have him over at Ringling College to tell his story. Thank you, Mr. Bakal!

Kitty poses

Character studies of Kitty for the story, Where are you, Kitty?

Happy Vday

"My obvious observations of the day...it's raining and I love you."
- Hannah Orr

Thoughts on SCBWI Conference NY 2013

Firstly, it was an amazing conference of 2.5 days. The first day started off with an Intensive workshop which featured great speakers sharing their experiences, process and artworks. What is helpful to know is how they overcame their obstacles like the printing error, figuring out their style, about their relationship with the Art Director and so on. Below are my favorite / helpful lines that I managed to catch through the interpreters.

"Style developed from problem-solving issues during the process of experiments. It is more about how you think and problem-solve. It is the intersection of all styles that you have tried. It is like your personality." - Shaun Tan

"Always move forward. Get to know your inner artist and inner critic. Take care of yourself. Let go of the outcome and control. Work when you're sleepy. Doodle. Believe in magic." - David Ezra Stein

"Art never finish. Unfinished art can be a winning piece." - Floyd Cooper

"The book is the finished art." - The Brothers Hilts

It is interesting to hear their different viewpoints and I couldn't help agreeing that both are right. Art has a lot of layers like a croissant.

You will want to remember this. "In conclusion: Love your Art Director." - The Brothers Hilts

That sweet laughter moment when they showed a photo of their cheerful A.D. Cecilia hugging her dog. I smiled at my first immediate thought of A.D. SooJin, Chris and their min-pin, Sota.

"Always let the agent be your advocate. Don't contact the publisher and art director directly if you are upset / angry. You don't want to break the relationship with them." - Panel discussion talk

A Quick Update

Hello! I'm currently in New York City, attending the SCBWI (Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators) Winter Conference for the first time. Really exciting. So far, I just had the first day of attending the Intensive Workshop today. It was really interesting and helpful to hear all the inspiring talks by the awesome speakers like Shaun Tan, The Brothers Hilts and so many more. I will talk more about the conference soon in the next post. I looked forward to receive more information and advice from the professionals. I admit it is hard for an introvert like me to really get out and mingle with people. Nonetheless, I should appreciate this opportunity and I'm still trying my very best.

I Will Be With You

My piece in response to the Newtown Tragedy. I was contacted by the Relief Print headed by Gab Thompson and Sarah Kambara to contribute the illustration for a fund-raising event where the funds will help the families of the children affected by the shooting tragedy. During the research and creation of the illustration, I found it difficult to finish it not because of the tight deadline but rather a painful reminder of the heartbreaking news / stories. Almost each time, I zoomed out to take a look at the whole piece to check for value and color overall, my eyes welled up with tears. Nonetheless, I'm glad to at least be able to contribute it for a good cause. 

My heartfelt condolences to the affected families.

Some of the Winter Break's Sketches

Portrait of Mr. Alvin Yapp

This was done as a way of thanking Mr. Alvin Yapp for all his hard work and support in making the Peranakan Silence Show a success at The Intan. The show was in collaboration with the Singapore Association for the Deaf and fellow deaf artists. Thank you, Alvin!

Where are you, Kitty?

I'll probably come up with more scenes as they are pretty fun to come up with ideas of where kitty will hide. Right now, they are the first. Hope you like them!

Peranakan Silence Show

Today is the opening of the Peranakan Silence Show and I thought it would be apt to show the process of the artworks done for that show. 

Some old sketches during the train rides

Making up for the broken links in the old posts dated in 2008:

which is why I always enjoy train rides and I do miss them. This, a reason why I never learn to drive, which probably isn't right.

RWF & KFUN

Last weekend saw me travel over 5 hours' car ride with my good friend, Marissa to attend the Right Whale Festival at Jacksonville. Although it was pretty chilly especially the icy wind blasting often on everyone, it was definitely an enjoyable experience - hearing their educational talks on protecting the right whales, bottlenose dolphins and manatees, meeting awesome people, strolling from booth to booth, and interacting with the kids. It had definitely left me thinking about the human threat to the animals and it was appalling to know that the dolphin was fed with batteries. Humans. How long can this world survive?

I got side-tracked.

Sketches can be so pretty and something simple can really help the non-profit organizations.

Book Cover Illustration

A few months ago, I was contacted by the Epigram Books company to do an illustration for the book cover and I was really delighted to do it. The illustration is to be related to the stories, somewhat a little more of the story of Under the Bed, Confusion, which is the title of the book. Written by Wong Meng Voon, it is a collection of short stories that depict the lives and feelings of those living in Singapore and Southeast Asia.

More information of the book can be found here.

There was a lot of back and forth and it was pretty tricky as my style contradicted with the style of his stories. Thankfully, it worked out in the end and I'm relieved to hear that they, especially the author, like my work.

Layout and type, designed by Stefany.

Process:

Photo Credit: Epigram Books

A panel talk, featuring five Cultural Medallion winners - You Jin, Xi Ni Er, Wong Meng Voon, Singai Ma Elangkannan and Suratman Markasan at the Singapore Writers Festival two weeks ago.

Thank you, ADs - Edmund Wee and Stefany for the opportunity! I really enjoyed the challenge of this project and for getting to read his interesting stories before they were published.

A Sneak Peek

Here's a sneak peek of my works done for the upcoming art show in December. More details will be revealed later. Can't wait.

La Musica Poster

For this La Musica poster, I was inspired by the movie, Amadeus, a good example of the 1700's setting and fanciful costumes in Europe. The theme for La Musica is Celebration and I thought dancing is one of the ways to celebrate.

Sketches / Doodles

Book Cover Redesign

“Prime numbers are what is left when you have taken all the patterns away. I think prime numbers are like life. They are very logical but you could never work out the rules, even if you spent all your time thinking about them.” - Mark Haddon