Mission Accomplish

I am so relieved this week is over! I had two presentations in the past two days. First on Wednesday I had a presentation for the Alabama Construction Industry Firm and I also had to build an exhibition display. My project was on a heat stress monitor helmet. One faculty member picked my project to do more research development.

beware.... of Hammoid!

just in time for halloween....

well i made some time to finally finish one of my character illustration piece. I have been putting this character aside too long.. and i was like well i'm sick of doing school projects... it's time to give myself some time on honing down my illustration skills. thanx to computer arts project magazine, i was able to get inspired to go a bit crazy on the background. i need to work on environment scenes but i think creating patterns is a good start since i have a huge fascination with colors and patterns.


This is hammoid by the way here's his story:

Hammoid was once a happy hamster.. who enjoy eating his favorite blueberry treat... until one day his life was cut short... the next time he wake up he was turned into a robot.

Electronic music is my love....

well i meant to post earlier... wow i had so much fun this past weekend! first my friend came down to visit me and i finally got to get out and get some drinks!! geez... i have been on a cycle of class.... studio... work.... sketch... build 3D computer models... doing graphics... over and over since august.

also i've been sick of being stuck in auburn so long... i really hate football season.. buildings is lock so i can't work, loud obnoxious fans and so on. i think it's just i've been here for five years i'm hoping i can finish by next year. well anyways enough of auburn.

my friend and i headed to atlanta on saturday. we hung out at little five points!! i got some awesome boots and some more vinyl toys. haha my vinyl toy collection is growing and crowding into my grad office hehe.

mainly we went to atlanta to see Cut Copy and The Presets at the Masquarade!! when i heard they were coming to atlanta i literally wanted to pee in my pants! gosh i'm surprise they came to the dirty south.

well they're all way from the land of down under and i have been getting into the new music that australia has to offer. more and more i've been getting into the indie dance electronica music. yes i still do like rock not to let you bravettes down. it's just i'm at a point of my life that things are gradually changing and i am a far more happier person.

anyways, when we got to the masquarade, i was not expected to see most of the cut copy/the presets fan to be mostly wearing black! did i miss something or is it b/c it's atlanta. lol i felt i was the most colorful person hehe.

well it turns out most of the goth kids went to another band which is in the hell section. we were in the heaven section! what sux was that we had to wait to get on the stage area until 8pm. gah the guards didn't really seem interested in cut copy and the presets...

finally at 8 pm after a drink or so we head upstairs to the heaven section. a dj was already playing.. i'm not sure who his name was. it was pretty cool.. until Castle Vania played! that dj was so cool! he had the coolest hair cut and coolest logo on his mac book pro.



he mixed a lot of awesome techno and rock music. i was stoked when he mixed smashing pumpkin's zero song. i couldn't stop dancing! haha some camera man took pics and video of me and my friend dancing our ass off.

after castle vania was done. the presets came on. they started with the song "talk like that". they were very intense industrial techno. i love the lights and the visual aid they use. they got the crowd roaring.



even though they got weirder i was so into their music it seems as if they were hypnotizing! the drummer seem pretty creepy but intriguing. he leap on to the board near when i was standing. since we were up front on the left side of the stage. my favorite one has to be "my people" song.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4woPKW4lbt0&feature=PlayList&p=F410D3502D85FD5B&index=9

it was very intense and made me very pumped up. but overall i love every song they played. "this boy's in love" was very beautiful. "yippo-yo" was fun to dance to. and "new sky" was just amazing.

then came .. cut copy. well it took a long time to set up their equipment! i wish they came .. the preset since they seem more popish. but i love them still. hehe the lead singer is just so cute!

they got the crowd dancing more and i was surprise how many folks were into them. everyone was singing and dancing and jumping throughout the show. i was really astounded with the video in the background they used for the songs "lights and music" and "hearts on fire". i was sad they didn't play one of my favorite song, "Going Nowhere".

cut copy just makes me really happy since it reminds me of the 90's/80's dance vibe and they're very colorful sounding. they've been such an inspiration to my designs and my characters too. it keeps me going throughout studio. i was very happy to see them live! i hope to see them again soon. sigh.. but yeah they ended with "hearts on fire"

and they were so nice to fans. they gave out drum sticks and the set list to some fans. gah i almost grabbed the set list!! but i got a high fived from dan the lead singer! lol he couldn't reach my hand for moment but he gave me a chance to reach for it. i was like the first one to get high fived maybe b/c i dance the whole time ;)

sigh.... but yes here's the video i recorded for "out there on ice"


"lights & music"


"hearts on fire" (my ultimate favorite!)

This when he gave me his first high five to the crowd!

It's that time again...

well grad school is in session... i am overly filling my plate this semester. Studio, research on thesis topic, rhino class, library job, and freelance illustrator job. I am glad I prepared myself this whole summer just honing down on my sketch skills and learning about digital fabrication. Also, 3D computer might me one of my other niche in design too. Because I just love to play around in rhino. Here's some stuff we have done...

bunny chairs




well this is my character I drew way back in high school. He is revived in colorful scheme and even has his own dance scene. I had fun making his dj table and the dance light floor. I still need to work on the rendering and even naming him!

Little Big Planet

I just finished this in a few days... I think i'm getting faster with Illustrator and I'm loving the gradient mesh!! it's so much fun adding the shade and the colors. I drew this character based on the mask sketch here:

I then used the Little Big Planet template character and then drew the mask. Then I decided to give him a tuxedo metal suit in which i incorporated the zipper as the tie. I'm very happy with color scheme of the suit and the mask. I named him Mobius, I guess because it reminded me of a mobile suit fighter... hmm... But overall i was happy that i was able to combine some futuristic elements of sci-fi robots.

HappyApathy.Net

I would like to announced... my debut website:

HappyApathy.net

I now have an official site for my characters where i will be updating my illustrations and other characters i've cooked up. Enjoy!!!

jella anyone?

sigh... summer is almost over... it's been the most productive for me... well i'm getting close to finishing my website... one more week and then it's launch!! here's some more preview...


also... that umbrella niko is holding... it's called a jella hehe... there's some sketches and a maxwell render i did!! it comes in three colors so far i think... coral, aqua, and golden....

HappyApathy Character!

well i decided to cartoonized myself and created the character.. HappyApathy... she's my internal creativity where she loves to sketch characters all day long!! i use this for the about site. yeah i may make her into like a paper doll and maybe add more outfits and my ever changing hair styles. I also had fun creating some retro patterns for her shirt! she too loves colors like i do and geometric patterns.

Happyapathy.net (coming soon)

well... since the tshirt thing isn't working out... i've been in the process of designing my character design site:

www.happyapathy.net

I'm using this also for my 2nd project in my web design class... i use my character niko and fuu as the mascot of my web domain. I hope i can launch this site in about 5 weeks from now....

Vote for TOBY!

Go to threadless and vote for my character toby!



....or he'll steal the shirt off your back!

Portraits...

well... i think my creative juice has run out on the characters... so i turn to portraits again.. mainly i want to pick up on using my rapidograph pens...
I decided i should draw portraits of musicians.. since i am quite obsessed with The Bravery's music and their hotness haha... i went online and drew them with blue pencils and inked them with rapidograph...


This is Sam Endicott.. the lead singer and yeah he gave me a hug a year ago at the Big Day out Festival.. and next is..

John Conway.. the keyboardist... i admire his style and the cool electronic sounds he creates...

I need to draw the next three band members but i think i'm having a hard time on some of their faces.. and i've been thinking of turning them into the character style that i use.. hmm.. need to let that creativity sink in...

Flame on!

well this is the character that will be featured on my csszengarden site design. I am now in the process of converting my layout into the css and html format so i can upload it into a web page!

These characters are a species of flame sprite. they are called Flaminite. They flame up like so when they are are threaten. I have some drawn when they are at peaceful state as shown below.

Vote on my Tshirt on Threadless!

Everyone! please vote on my threadless design!! you'll make Loucille happy!!

Dandy Thief

This is the kleptomaniac character that's been urging to come out... he's quite shy so it took him a while to come about the world and stealing my stuff sigh.... he's name is Toby by the way...

he may look paranoid but be warned.... he will steal any of your small stuff as seen here.. good thing he doesn't always come with a nice strong bag...


hehe... just a fun story i had.. well i wanted him to be a toy that comes with an accessory like the Munny I had. Maybe people can paint the accessory that he stole to be painted maybe that's what he want people to do for him!

Loucille...

I would like to introduce Loucille! The wishful fish who wishes to fly! this is a character revival from the etching I did in my senior year in high school! you can check it out at this link: http://happyapathy.deviantart.com/art/fishflight-6007478

I used Adobe Illustrator CS3 using the gradient mesh technique. somehow the grid on the mesh help me to add the shade where i wanted easily than i could than Painting! ahh the glorious of mathematics in vector drawing haha... ok.. nerdy moment there...

...well i added some flowers from the sketch i did in my character sketches... i think Loucille is dreaming she's flying among real flowers above the sea!

Presenting..... Bijou & Mamey!

Viola!! after months and weeks of procrastination due to studio and what not.... i have finally unveiled my new characters: Bijou and Mamey! this one of the series of painting if that i don't get lazy.... i am currently working on the second one.... sigh.... well anyways..

Bijou happens to love anything that is pink hence that he's painting some shrubby pink bushes... maybe that's why he's friends with Mamey b/c of her hair?? or is it that Mamey is the one that created Bijou. hmm... i'm not sure if Bijou painted himself with pink paint or not or maybe it was already there or could it be Mamey??

These character originated from the story my dad told me when i was a baby... he rode and elephant with me hehe... when he got off.. i cried and cried until he had to ride the elephant with me again! haha... what a way to get a ride huh?

Introducing Vipin the pimptastical Water Sprite and new friends!

well well... just alot of things just came up in my personal side sigh... well i was shopping in Atlanta and stumbled upon some vinyl toys at Urban Outfitters.

I got like three: Munny, Tokidoki cactus pup, and I'm French Dunny.


I like that it's a surprise that you don't know what you're getting until you open them.


the tokidoki pup has been a long time favorite of mine, this is my first tokidoki toy that inspired alot of my cute character designs. although these designers bring some sexiness to their clothing! if you guess they're japanese you're wrong!! lol they're actually Italian designers. I love how now european copies asian style like Japan and that japanese copied the europeans lol. it's like a cycle that doesn't end. well speaking of europeans:





this purple dunny is part of the I'm french series done by several french artists. I love the splattered detail of this dunny. he looks so pissed off haha!

and finally....... my first munny! i got the white one and it gave him a hat as my mystery accessory!



it took me like a day just to paint him. painting him help me ease my anxiety over what happen this weekend... painting him makes me go back to my childhood days and just enjoy the spontaneous of how the paint flows and how i manage to fix his mouth gah! I named him Vipin since it sounds like pimpin haha! The hat just suits him so well. although he's a water sprite i think he's enjoying being on land for now especially wondering around my apartment.

Sure Me Luck!!

what a glorious day!! well yesterday i got this email XD:

You are cordially invited to a very private performance and taping of The Bravery’s TV Special for the Ovation Network. The taping will be held on Thursday, May 8, 2008 at:

Bonefish Grill
3420 Buford Drive
Buford, GA 30519
678-546-8240

Please arrive no later than 1:45PM on Thursday, May 8, 2008. Show taping will take place between 2:30-4:00. The band will perform 6 songs twice. We will be clearing the venue promptly at 4:00PM.

This was so last minute! i thought it wasn't real at first and i remembered i submitted an email to this contest like right after i came back from destin, fl. I was so stoke i won!!! i have never won anything in my life and that i got like three tickets to see them for the fourth time!! gosh i am so much in love with the bravery they have helped me get through so many things in college and expand my creativity. i never thought i would find a band that have touch my life so much in many ways!

Well at the show, they made us sit outside for quite some time while the band was being interview. Just waiting and waiting until finally they let us all in at once. I was pretty close well as always i'm still behind just one row of people!! but i was in the same spot as i was at the Feb show in roxy just right at the view of Sam and Dirt sigh.... such gorgious guys!!


anyways... the drummer, Anthony, and the guitarist, Mike Z was jammin to some cool gypsy/jazz stuff as Sam joined in their jammin session while in between takes. it was pretty cool they played some Aerosmith and some other stuff hehe. they were hilarious when they had sound problem as the keyboardist, John was complaining, "This is really loud as Hell!!" haha

So on the show they played 6 songs it was An honest mistake, Believe, This is Not the End, The Ocean, Time Won't let me Go, and Unconditional. haha well the unconditional is their finale and they told us the first time they played it we had to pretend unconditional was the real finale of the show haha. first they taped the band themselves along with the background sound of us dancing, wooing, and singing to them. then they made us go outside to move the cameras and shoot it again with the same song but this time it was at us!! 0_o..... well one camera was right close to my angle view lol i was like uh... well i just kept looking at the band and just bust out my dancing moves and just singing their songs out loud!

Oh how i adore them and intimate shows!! the cool thing was there was only 20 audience members including me and my two other friends!! this was way too awesome to end this school year especially my undergraduate year!!! XD this was a great timing since i'll be graduating saturday!! what an awesome graduation present ^_^

GRAD SCHOOL!

omg i made it i couldn't hold it in any longer i actually found out yesterday have i had to keep it on the DL. Gosh it's a such a huge relieve i couldn't believe i had it in me to do this. i just kept pushing myself and i didn't try to compare myself to anyone i just focus on me. i'm glad that now that my future for now is secure so now i can focus on doing something what i really want to do with industrial design and i hope to get a job out of the south!! ^_^

Post Bac Review

alright i will find out the results around 9 am today. hmm.... this is my post bac review.. basically you post everything you have done since the summer op studio until this semester. sadly i'm still in the process of making my product design so some of my portfolio isn't complete.

the important thing is i'm emphasizing process development and progression. I'm very happy how this turn out and the colors are just so vibrant! i think these really bring out my personality that people usually see hehe.. i can't believe how much i've done just in a year and how it all came today. and yeah i'm still looking at my stuff still now i guess b/c i'm nervous about how the faculty feels if i'm capable to be in the grad program or not. but yeah i think i am set on doing thesis on vinyl toys! i was really inspired by some of the grad student's thesis. although i abhor writing bleh.... oh well research is fun for me i can't wait! :)





and these are some of my table display upclose!