Prettiest Princess Tiara

Remember that crown I drew earlier? And how I said there was a story behind it? Well, I ended up using a different drawing but kept the idea:

You may think this is for a small child who loves princesses and tiaras, but you'd be wrong. I made this for one of my best friends. He's turning 21.

I met him through the uni's Fencing Club at the very beginning of Freshman year of Uni. For the entire first quarter plus break (this is somewhere around 13 weeks), I'm embarrassed to admit that all I knew about him (keeping in mind we have a small club and he was one of the only two people in my year) was his name. It wasn't until the first day back for Winter quarter that I realized a) we had a class together b) he lived near me c) he um, existed. As a person, and all. Ahem. But then I made up for that by asking him to join my brother and me for dinner. That makes up for it, right?

A birthday tradition we have at the fencing Salle is that the birthday person gets to wear the pretty tiara and has to fence everybody. From experience, this is both fun and terrifying at the same time when you're the youngest and just beginning, haha. But this year, my friend is currently in California this summer during his birthday, so he doesn't get to wear the pretty tiara and be a pretty princess for his birthday. So to make up for this atrocity, I made this for his birthday card. I hope it gives him a laugh.

July 2015

For every girl's girlfriends

One thing I've learned in my relationship endeavors is that my girlfriends will always be there for me. So this is for them.

Inspired by the first time I heard "Bros before Hoes" from Transformers and thought it was hilarious (I was in 8th grade), cute Korean dramas (tiny bit obsessed with Boys Over Flowers), and hipsters (because it's Seattle...).

June 2015

It was Father's Day. I'm Late.

Here's something about me: I'm always late...when I'm traveling with my family. And all our friends know it. They know that "It starts at 4:00" will mean that we'll show up at 4:45...or so. But it only happens when I'm traveling with my family. When I'm by myself, I will almost always show up on time. I hate the feeling of being late. In all of high school and Uni when I finally got to choose when I left the house, I've never been late to class.

But I'm now figuring out, when it comes to blog posts and holidays, I'm late. Oops. Maybe I could just date and time stamp this post to an earlier date and pretend that it was always up on the blog?

Anyways, here's my Father's Day art post, just a mere 12 days late. I made these into cards and we sent them off to my grandparents. We even did it in time for Father's Day, yay!

I hope y'all had an enjoyable Father's Day however you and your family chooses to enjoy it (we had cod over a salad with delicious apricot dressing--homemade! And visited the Chittenden Locks in Ballard for our tradition of listening to the Elliott Bay Pipe Band).

June 2015

You're a beautiful cupcake

Here's a first look at a new drawing (made during finals week de-stressing at midnight), its subsequent scan and coloring, and the (almost) final product on a card!

Behold, the awful light from the lamp on my bed:

And my attempt at a cupcake on the right. I actually consulted pinterest for what a cupcake looks like (just more proof that cupcakes and I have been parted for too long, right?)

The scan into my computer did it much more justice:

This might be one of my favorite quotes.

June 2015

End of the school year, and my latest drawing endeavor

I just finished my junior year of university, and boy was that an interesting nine months. A lot of stuff happened--both good and bad--and I learned a lot about myself and the people around me.

I lived in this dorm room for two years, and while it wasn't a tearful goodbye in the end, I will miss having this chalkboard next to my door. My friends and I used to leave notes for each other, and the drawing of the oxytocin molecule used to cheer me up for some unfathomable (and probably a placebo-effect-related-) reason.

I don't want to get too wrapped up in reminiscing, but I'm really happy with how I've grown and how much happier I've become. So before we move onto summer, I'd like to briefly recap this school year:

• I raised my grades and simultaneously enjoyed my classes
• I finally got to take "real" classes in my major--and loved them!
• I finished the last of my chemistry courses for my entire undergrad career--it feels fantastic, and I finished on a high note with good grades and a wonderful lab partner (a plus, considering I find this to be my least-favorite subject)
• I continued at a job that kept me regularly sane (and helped me consistently leave campus and the college-bubble)
• a 3+ year-long close relationship ended :(
• a different 3-year relationship grew :)
• I got over my disappointment about the end of my first romantic relationship, and looked forward to continuing it as a close friendship
• I found myself inspired to try to become a better, more motivated version of myself
• I met many fantastic people, and made new friends I hope to keep in touch with in the future
• I finally found a place (and friends!) to live with next year
• I figured out my summer plans and am so friggin' excited to have my first summer without classes in three years.

But now, after four finals (the last of which was on a Friday night--never again, for all I hold dear to me), a move back home, and re-learning how to use a dishwasher (I swear, it's a foreign appliance in college), it's officially summer!

One of my first drawings since the start of summer was an attempt at a crown/tiara. There's a story behind it which I hope to explain in a later post with the final version of it, but for now here are the WIPs:

I started with pencil and a reference:

And then moved on to outlining in pen. I first printed this on a separate piece of paper because I wasn't too confident in the steadiness of my hands--a problem I have been having recently. I hope practice will help me regain the smooth lines I used to be able to make.

In the meantime, this is where I am at the moment:

June 2

015

It was supposed to be a derpy kitty...

Another WIP. It started out as an intended "derpy" cat to cheer myself up from studying for finals. But when I added the facial expression, the entire mood shifted so I added hello there to try to bring about a laugh. 

My next part will be adding details. I'm not exactly sure what my details will be--either detailed fur, messy (lazy, ahem) fur, or just watercolor--but I'm sure I'll experiment a bit.

derpy cat transformed to awkwardly-hitting-on-you-cat

June 2015

Plans for next year

There are many things I'm excited about regarding my apartment next year. I'm so ready to live with other people--gone will be the days when I look up from my desk and realize I've spent the entire weekend by myself in my room with no contact to the outside world, let alone confirmation that the human race still exists. I will still have my own room (I've learned I need my space) and my own bathroom (albeit  it's smaller than a port-a-potty), but I'll be within a dirty-laundry's throw of three fantastic girls. I am estatic in only the way a 20-year-old who's lived by herself for over two years would be. 

But shh, don't tell anyone; I'm kind of the most excited (and horrified I will go broke) about the fact that I will be 3 blocks from my favorite art store. Like any self-respecting art-store find, it is located in the basement of a building with a back entrance and so many bright shades of art you can't miss it. I love it to death. 

I go there to buy more art supplies. I go there to cheer myself up. I go there to show my friends the "cool places" I've found in college, lol. I've gone there and been hit on by a cute engineering grad student. I swear that place is magic.

But anyways, in celebration of this exciting new future, here's a painting I did during my first visit when I was still knocked over in awe at this place. They have a little table set up for kids to paint and draw during their visit, and hey, I'm not a college student if I don't do at least one thing I'm too old for.

2014

Pugs Not Drugs (WIP#2)

Here's part II of the Pug WIP. Once I finished (at an ungodly time of night), I snapchatted it to my friend and then went to sleep.

It wasn't until the next (few) day(s) that I was able to scan it into my computer. I tweaked the contrast and brightness a little so you can see the finer detail marks, but otherwise left it alone.

Honestly, I like this as a graphite black and white. So I'll have this as an option, but I'm excited to continue on to the full product I have in mind.

June 2015

Pugs before Drugs (WIP#1)

I'm working on a new print! Here's the WIP (part I). I start with a hand drawing in my sketchbook (I started this at night, so there's an awful shadow on it, oh poop). 

It's gonna be a pug (hopefully you can tell). I have a few friends who think pugs are the cutest thing ever. I personally used to think they looked like a dog that got squished in the front and back (anyone else??) but I'm quickly warming up to them. They're pretty cute in a silly kind of way.

I've been using a few references, and I never realized how messed up (um, I mean, strange) their paws look, and how long their claws are! x.

June 2015

quotes #1 (dancing in the rain)

This was one of the firsts in my line of "quotes".

I never fleshed it out, erasing the pencil lines and thickening the fonts a little. It was more an experiment in different fonts and penmanship. I have since corrected my cursive 'r' so it no longer looks like the confusing hook here in 'storm'.

2013