Belated hiatus notice

I've been having computer problems for four months and they're still not resolved yet. I'll probably have to buy a new one soon. But until then, as before, there probably won't be any updates.

I HAVE been drawing and stuff, though. They just won't be up here until I get my new computer and reinstall everything on it. :S Pfft, expense.

Macarons inspire me

My Saturdays have been swallowed by work. Work will continue to swallow my Saturdays until the end of the month at least, and that's only the official events. The reality is that I take home my work every day so that I can finish it in time.

It's a good thing that I have fun at work, or I would hate it. By necessity, it's eating my life and being. That's what being a teacher is like.

So, for the time being, here is something that I did FOR work -- a collage of pictures from the Internet that I had put together into a 'vision board' for a sharing. So, just by looking at this stuff, you can have a pretty good idea of what I'm like and what I value.



I especially dislike it when people are careless with words. Words shape thought, and thought shapes reality. People who continue to use 'macaroon' with reference to almond flour biscuits even after being corrected deserve to be called 'moroons', since they won't get it anyway.

I haven't given up on being able to have a personal or an artistic life outside work, but we'll see. This July is hitting me something fierce.

Ridiculous hairstyles

I was browsing through my old art when I found this. In 2008 I made friends with two other comic artists and we set up a short-lived forum, where we'd draw to each other's prompts. The theme for this picture was 'ridiculous hairstyles'.

I rather miss the old place, but one of the three of us has disappeared off the face of the earth, and my take-home work makes it difficult for me to produce new art on a regular basis. But here, I offer a hair-clamp.

pensketch

I haven't completely kicked the habit of doodling. In order to remind myself not to forget about the photogenic fantasy people, I did a brief pensketch on my notes that actually looks nice enough to post.

Kimono loot

OK, as everyone knows, I went to Japan and bought way too much stuff. Most of it was kimono, and most of the weight came from the autumn/winter stuff that I wasn't supposed to buy (because I live in SINGAPORE for heaven's sake, but I haven't given up on taking these things back to Japan to wear because I'm sure one day I'll visit it in December). Here they are.


yukata and hanhaba obi from Gion, Kyoto

I wanted a yukata that I could wear well into middle age, since I won't have all that many opportunities to wear this kind of stuff. This particular set looked like it fit the bill.


The first three are hanhaba obi, and the mint wug one is for yukata.

I thought I'd stock up on hanhaba obi because they're super versatile and not so much bound by tradition that you can't make your own creative knots and be called out on it. The yukata obi at the bottom was actually quite expensive and a complete accident; I was walking about in Asakusa and when I saw it lying there in a shop I HAD to have it.

The retro obi right at the top was secondhand and turned out to be the cheapest at 860 yen.


Obtained at the temple flea market at Toji. The Nagoya obi was even more expensive than the wug yukata obi, but I liked it so much I went back for it in the end.

I like owls and stripes. I think you can sort of tell.


Bought at a hole-in-the-wall secondhand kimono shop and at an open booth in Toji flea market.

This particular kimono was the main culprit for making my luggage go over the weight limit.
Together they must weigh over 3 kg.
I actually don't think I'll take away the lining of the winter kimono -- it's just nice as it is, and it feels fantastic when I pull it on. I'll keep it for when I go back to Japan in winter, and then wear a turtleneck underneath (with thick heat-tech tights and fancy boots)!


Summer kimono and obi. It's hard to gauge sizes when you're outdoors and there's no changing room.

This is my favourite obi of the lot. It's made of a thick, stiff shantung with the flowers painted on. I'm only allowed to wear it with unlined kimono for late spring till early autumn, which is absolutely no problem for me.


Vintage yukata and Nagoya obi.

On top of being obligingly breathable, summer kimono is supposed to make onlookers feel refreshed just by looking at the wearer. That's why water motifs and cool colours are so appropriate. I like water motifs, myself. Just look at the details of this wonderful obi.



Altogether, they cost rather a lot of money. ;_; I don't begrudge the cost because most of these garments were painstakingly handmade by craftsmen and artists who also have to eat. If only the black gauze kimono hadn't been too small -- it had been my favourite, too.

Singaporean though I might be, I'll find a way to wear them somehow. Maybe one day I'll organise a Taisho tea party!

En garde!

My former partner in crime has asked me for permission to use an old sketch for her new platform, and I said yes. The text has been updated by her and can be found here at http://sagittarius.sky-song.org/.



I spent most of my free time this week making an epic lolita sales post, but there'll be more coming soon! Just wait.

Imai Kira imitations

For those not in the know, Imai Kira is a popular illustrator of girls in frilly dresses, and I really like her art. Her website is at http://kira.main.jp/ and examples of her work can be found anywhere on the Internet.

I do show my appreciation through patronage. When I was in MaruiOne two weeks ago I bought Imai Kira trappings and nothing else. Having crowed over them on the trip home I thought it might be a good idea to channel her style into my lolita drawings.


Fabergé

I like books, frills, cats, AND jewels. While mulling over the kind of seat I should ensconce this little girl in, I let my irrational brain out through my fingers and was tremendously pleased with the result. The piece is named for the jewelled eggs commissioned yearly by the Russian royal family until the Bolsheviks chopped their heads off.




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The outfit worn by the queenly figure on the left of the second picture is inspired by a girl I saw walking to the JR ticket barrier in Shinjuku station, who wore Juliette et Justine's Coppélia OP in grey beneath a brocade Excentrique corset with enormous bronzy flowers in her hair. I only had a moment's eyeful of her gorgeousness but it was enough. .__.



I rarely do such detailed pencils because figuring everything out takes so much time. Each of these sketches took an average of four hours to complete because I was multitasking throughout. I might do more tweaking with the second one because I'm not pleased with the feet of the girl on the left -- they should be pointing up. I'll be preparing to ink the first one maybe tomorrow.

I have to say, this kind of stuff is really addictive. I might stay with it for a while. Don't accuse me of being boring now that I have a new toy. I haven't gotten around to experimenting with textures for the photogenic fantasy family yet.

Surprise emergency holiday notice

I'm going incommunicado for two weeks for some hectic enjoyment. 8D But I'll have LOTS of drawings and stuff to share when I get back to make up for it. In the meantime, have an 'I'm bored' sketch.



There's bound to be a LOT of misspelling even though everything is already in hiragana because I was working on (my very low-RAM) memory while trying to pay attention to something useless. The only reason why I could remember so much at all is because I LOVE this song!

The lyrics are here: http://www.animelyrics.com/anime/kannagi/musuhinotoki.jis



Personal translation:

Gods of the sky, gods of the country, eight hundred thousand gods, hear this:
All sins are no more.
Dispel the mists of the high mountains and the low hills, and hear this:
All sins are no more.
Bear your earnestness with pride, and you will not stray from righteousness.

Beloved, beloved children,
To live well,
Vow as friends in this sacred grove
For peace and serenity,
And let this moment be eternally engraved
Upon the sacred grove.

A sea of rice fields; bountiful rain;
The prayers of daughters; the industry of men;
The moon smiles; the sun is warm;
Come together and be joyful.

Beloved, beloved children,
To live well,
Vow as friends in this sacred grove
For peace and serenity,

And let this moment be eternally engraved
Upon the sacred grove.

Progress report: photogenic fantasy family

I did say I was having trouble with the colours. I spent many abortive attempts and far more time on it than I should have. And then I realised that all I needed to do was to make the outfits themed.



Because obviously they only get together for special ceremonies and need something to tell people that they're actually a family despite not looking that much like each other.

I'm going to add gorgeous patterns and textures in there soon to differentiate each outfit and make them unique. Big bro gets the leather stamping and metallic embroidery and big sis gets shot taffeta and very heavy encrusted beadwork if I can make it. Little sis gets rich brocades and finely worked cambric. I'm not sure how to make all the fabrics look as they should, but that's what this blog is for really. I'm not supposed to pretend that I'm good at this. :/

Filler kebaya lady

I'm in the middle of painting the photogenic fantasy people. I'm not very good with colours, so I'm still agonising over what combinations they should wear. I nearly put up the progress picture, but it's too lame; have some old artwork instead.



2008 was... five years ago. I'm somewhat better than I was back then but not by that much. No time to practice...

I say that though I spent the afternoon lounging in my room leafing through a book about historical feasting traditions, making gifts for children, and reading random shit on Cracked.com. It's been such a long time since I had an afternoon to myself that I've forgotten how to spend it. :/

Real drawing! By moi!

I made some sketches! Finally, new art. Really new art.


#1: Photogenic fantasy people


Awww, they get to be happy for a little while. I, the author, will allow it. Then I crush them all like ants.


I haven't finished cleaning this piece yet, but I thought I would leave it here while I muster the courage to not abandon the project and actually paint it.

These three characters are siblings. Due to an unfortunate series of events, they all have different mothers. All their names begin with A. You've seen the little sister before -- she is Training Master From Hell.

I have an illustrator friend who tells me that big bro's eyelashes are too epic, and really he gets teased a lot for it. It's one of the few physical traits that all three of them have in common. Dad and Aunt from the same family have the same startling peepers. Aunt likes to claim that they were descended from camels.



#2: A mad bird.


"aaaack!" *cough*cough*cough*"aaaaaaaack!!!"


I've gotten slowly back into the habit of doodling things while waiting for people to turn up. It's very therapeutic and keeps me from (1) playing Candy Crush, or (2) blowing my top at the late people. The only downside is that the sketchbook is heavy.

I don't generally know what I'm going to make when I put my pen down to paper. I make meaningless shapes and they metamorphose on their own into a thing. I used to do these random fantastical pen-sketches all the time... one day they will appear here.

Ok, gone.

April and March outfits

Here are some outfits that I've worn out over the past three weeks!

Outfit 1: to a friend's birthday buffet at The Regent Hotel

Skirt: Juliette et Justine
Underskirt: Victorian Maiden
Top: Ruis (from Taobao)
Clips: Surfacespell
Headpiece: JRunway
Bag: Mucha (mook)

I've just realised that I'd used the wrong colour corsages to recreate this outfit! There should NOT be that dark purple rose there (it's so jarring). I'd used a flesh pink rose instead for the actual thing... I can't imagine what I was thinking while I was making this photograph. Possibly I wasn't thinking at all -- the weather was so hot.

Outfit 2: to hear Benjamin Britten's War Requiem

Dress: Mere Vierge JSK
Hoodie jacket: Cabbages and Roses x Uniqlo collab
Necklace: Alice and the Pirates
Hairclip: JRunway
Earrings: Tzarist
Bag: Lapalette
Shoes: Clarks

The concert was a Requiem Mass interspersed with arias sung to the words of Wilfred Owen's most famous poems. I did Owen's war poetry for my A'-levels and could, to my surprise, remember nearly everything. I'm sure I wasn't the only person mouthing along to the quavering bass and tenor soloist parts.

Outfit 3: to another friend's wedding dinner

Dress: Alice and the Pirates

Corsage: Surfacespell

Shoes: Clarks
Shrug: offbrand

Clarks is just about the only brand that sells good shoes in my size. I must have busted at least half a month's salary's worth of cash on Clarks shoes over my lifetime. It's worth it because the shoes are beautiful, heavy, comfy, and indestructable.

The people getting married were non-lolita so I thought I'd keep it toned down. It was a good decision; everyone at my table, including the bride and groom, were wearing black! But really this dress is an artwork on its own -- I have more OTT coordinates in mind, but this time I accessorised it simply and just let it do its thing.

You'll notice that I've been leaning towards tea-length dresses, but I've been doing that for a long time. I've always preferred longer skirts, especially since it was easier to wear socks underneath without revealing a bit of flesh when they inevitably sink.

---

As always, I keep intending to do some real art, but it never happens. But I was talking to someone yesterday and she said that she's looking forward to the day I produce my own comic. I really need to get my act together and actually create something! So hopefully there will be something of that nature up here the next time I post.

Spring bird

Since I went to a tea party this weekend instead of doing anything creative, here is more old art. I posted it on EGL a long time ago and I have since lost the link. But hey, spring is here!

The Transparent Cat (and Nanoha)

A bunch of friends from university and I gathered yesterday for a night of brownies and writing!

Prompt: "Story on a ship: past, present, future."
Time limit: 10 minutes (which I stretched to 15 because I cheated)



Story: THE TRANSPARENT CAT
---

On the second day of our journey my husband noticed the transparent cat. It was washing itself in the shadow of a deck-chair. The occupant of the deck-chair, a corpulent man of American proportions, sucked loudly at the dregs of a pina colada and completely failed to notice our stares.

"Excuse me," said my husband to the deck-chair. "Do you see a cat by the wall behind you? Just underneath that pipe?"

The deck chair failed to reply, its occupant having planted a magazine over his face. My husband pressed no further, for he is a polite man. But he did clutch my arm a little bit when he said, "Jane, is it just me, but is the cat currently sitting in the lap of a transparent man?"

"Wearing a top hat and waistcoat?" I said to his round saucer eyes; then, "Goodness, yes. Do you think perhaps we have had too much to drink?"

"Too much tea? Never. In fact, I think we should have some more. Maybe this is a dream."

On the way down to the passengers' lounge we passed by two transparent sisters with big feathery hats, several transparent sailors wearing coal smudges and old-fashioned high buttoned trousers, a bored child in a sailor suit, and a lot of chaos. Comfortingly three-dimensional people were bawling out the staff and having hysterics all over the place, and several had -- as we gathered from all the screaming -- barricaded themselves into their cabins, only to find a ghost or some sort actually inside the room with them. We couldn't reach the lounge, so we gave up and went back on the deck, where the Edwardian gentleman and his cat had been joined by a grand dame whose hat was bigger than everyone else's.

My husband, who considering the circumstances showed commendable calmness of mind, watched the white tail of foam ploughing in the wake of the engines and said, musing: "Well, we wanted an adventure. I think we've got one."

"I think it's fantastic," I said happily. "I wouldn't have expected anything less of the Titanic."

(no, I didn't paint this. I found the image on Google.)

---
Other ideas thrown up for the prompt, some of which I didn't use:

1. Dr Who fanfic (SO obvious. Ship = Tardis. Travels in time as WELL as space! But I've only watched two episodes of the whole thing so I didn't dare.)

2. Dilettante time travellers who go backwards into history to warn of an impending maritime apocalypse (or something)

3. A swords-and-sorcery fantasy in which a ship is 'attacked' by deep sea creatures long thought extinct.

4. A voyage on Titanic II -- the one that is currently in the process of being built -- that turns out to be haunted by the ghosts of victims from the original Titanic shipwreck.

Credit for this last idea DEFINITELY goes to my friends, and you can tell which one I chose for the story! We were really too busy eating and grousing to write more than one, though. The others had pretty awesome tales as well, and now there is talk of setting up a special LJ writer's collective for our group, so that we can inspire each other to write more without going to the trouble of meeting for dinner. But I'm not sure it would fly because we're all so busy.

I was going to do some painting today as well but I got distracted by Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha The Movie Second A's. Even though the art was so much better than in the series, it didn't have as much emotional impact because they rushed the plot too much. *Spoiler alert* It began mostly with a lot of random cutting between Hayate, Nanoha and Fate's very sudden and rather artificial reunion (no pathos because no buildup!), and then some random TSAB scenes -- neatly mashing flashy levitation magic, slice-of-life, and space opera into one confused ten-minute sequence before the Wolkenritter utterly destroy our suddenly fragile heroes without so much as breaking a sweat, leaving me feeling meh about the whole affair. Come on, Seven Arcs, you can do better -- Movie the First was excellent. Even its aeriel dogfights were better. The characters had matured into much more professional warriors over the intervening summer, so it makes no sense for the light show to have been less spectacular. I'm not criticising the animation -- there's nothing to criticise, it's amazing -- but their treatment of the mood. Where is the straining? Where is the muscle coil before the strike? The Wolkenritter and the Book of Darkness also have much more reason and inclination to completely crush Fate and Nanoha than Nanoha and Fate wanted to crush each other earlier in the timeline, but there was no brutality of the kind characterising the desperate battles that ended with Nanoha nearly killing Fate with that Starlight Breaker.  Probably, once again, because there wasn't enough screentime, and they had to rush through everything in favour of the pretty fighting, but if they had the production values to speed UP the fighting so that the mages flew more fiercely and clashed harder while having more epic power-ups... probably production time had been a factor as well? Things would have been much better if they had skipped the fanservicey dual transformation sequence in favour of better plot or timekeeping. <_< Give me back the Nanoha of solid steel who could single-handedly destroy a city-wide barrier while impaled through the chest.

Also not pleased at how Lindy Harlaown never managed to display her combat skill. You put a badass starship captain with Admiral rank into a three-on-one situation like that, show her dodging  ONE croquet ball, and then when the little girls she's adopted burst in to take on the enemy she just disappears?! At least have her do something awesome, like engage the rather frightening support member of the Wolkenritter or collapse the jamming barrier that four TSAB mages had been failing to break while she was being cornered inside. Not to mention when she has a grudge of her own to work out... those were the people who had helped to kill her husband! They'd even made a plot point of it, and to leave it unfinished...NOT pleased.

Also: Nanoha and Fate suddenly being able to use their upgraded devices to full capacity in battle the moment they come out of the R&D office? Ridiculous. Good grief, their unfamiliarity with their new weapons could have been a great excuse for why they were merely evenly-matched with the Wolkenritter in the middle and then suddenly able to do combat with a magical weapon of mass destruction that's swallowed thousands of more experienced mages and their own pre-upgrade spells. The production office must not have paid their writers enough.

Oh well. The second bit was better done. I won't complain too much. A bit of the dialogue in Fate's dream was a little too fast-paced, but otherwise it was pitch-perfect. I especially liked how she acknowledged her dead family when she was preparing to break out of it: "I'm glad to have met you!" And Fate and Nanoha's teamwork, which had been rather neglected in the series, was magnificent. I'm pleased that they had cut out the Lieze twins, who were an overused trope anyway. And the separated Automated Defense Programme was much more threatening here than the rather silly opera-singing sea-creature being curb-stomped in Episode 11 back when. All in all I think it might be worth watching for a fan... but I don't feel so dreadfully in need for a sequel  at the end as I felt with Movie the First. Good, this means that I can get back to work!

Coordinate post: Mary Magdalene's Therese dress

A new wishlist dress arrived yesterday, so I had fun seeing how I could coordinate it! The dress on its own looks quite bridal, so I was looking for ways to tone that down.

Official photograph (mine came with two detachable ribbons and no rose):



I kind of wish I had a mannequin for these things, but I've nowhere to put it. My room is full of stuff.

 Attempt I:

Dress: Mary Magdalene
Bolero: Innocent World
Bag: Lapalette
Socks: Innocent World
Parasol: Victorian Maiden
Shoes: Clarks

I had the idea of pairing this dress with my black bolero when I first saw it, but I used brown, grey and gold accessories to bring out the warm shade of ivory in the dress. Actually, now that I think about it, this bag was a rather unfortunate choice. I should have picked something also in brown. I'll know what to do when the occasion comes for me to wear this ensemble out.

I've also just sent in an order for a black parasol to BABY, which I think may look much nicer than this cream affair.

Attempt 2:

Dress: Mary Magdalene
Bolero: Innocent World
Bag: Lapalette
Socks: Innocent World
Choker: Alice and the Pirates
Shoes: Clarks

I think the Lapalette bag works here! It's a very luxurious coordinate, but I didn't have either red socks OR red shoes (I would love a pair of good red shoes), so I had to settle for using the gold steampunk brogues from the former picture. Going in with that, I decided to pair the whole with lace-fluffy ankle socks for an element of fun, but if I had to wear out something as gorgeous as this I might chicken out of that and settle for a pair of tried-and-tested lace tights. For the full works, I think I might borrow one of my friends' red parasol -- it's printed in gold, and very beautiful.


Attempt 3:

Dress: Mary Magdalene
Hat: Axes Femme
everything else offbrand!

I wanted a casual, natural-kei look for this coordinate -- you can't see it, but the lining of the furry hoodie is in a pretty pine-green curlicue print with yellow and red flowers, and the hoodie itself has bear ears on it. That's why I chose two shades of green for this coordinate -- I was thinking of the kind of cool spring day that doesn't exist in Singapore. It looks a bit plain here because I forgot to include necklace and corsages for this coordinate, but ah -- well. I think it would look wonderful worn with a nice braid.

As for the Therese JSK: the colour of this dress is 'saracen white' and it's embossed with this beautiful curlicue print. I love it. Cyanfemme has the same dress in palest pink and I can't wait to twin it with her one day.


Look at that detail! MM, y u so perfect?

Special thanks to Disfigureddream, who helped me order this dress AND arrange the things for these photographs. 8D

Caroline and Philip

My Secondary 3 Lit class is doing Where Angels Fear To Tread (E.M. Forster) as their set text, and I'd made them some cartoons to go with their holiday homework. So, now that I had a little time, I thought I'd do a little colouring.

I want to go to Italy too! ;__;

Old, old filler progress pictures

I've been working through the weekend. This new job is really consuming! But here are the progress pictures from last time, as promised.

Stage 1:



Stage 2:


Stage 3:


Stage 4 (discarded):


Stage 4:


And lo.


My art hasn't improved significantly for lack of practice. But really, fantasy character portraits are fun. I don't think I'll ever be too old for this sort of thing.

Old, old filler

No manticore. I'd just been posted to a new place and I hadn't expected to be taking work home every day. Here is some old art instead until I get some painting time.



This piece of character art was a commission done long, long ago (5 years or more) for the same person who now wants a manticore. The end product that was given to her was rather different from this because she didn't like the sales, so I replaced it with a blue spade tattoo. The character is an emotionless, task-oriented shape-shifter who stalks people so that she can drain life -- or eat them -- I'm getting old, I can't remember.

I rather miss doing character drawings like these. Once I paint that manticore I'll root around and see which old sketches I can root up to colour. If I don't have time I'll post up the bunch of process pictures I made as part of my portfolio a long time ago when I still had aspirations in that direction.

The great wave of kanegawa and a thousand pikachus

My work got featured on an overseas blog!



Originally done for a Japanese Studies class assignment, this piece was completed shortly before the terrible tsunami of 2011 (damn these Cassandra prophecies) and I posted it on the Internet to express my hopes of human survival and resilience. I hope the people who lived are doing well.

No new art yet, since I've been ill and drowning in deadlines. There'll be a manticore next week.

The original post is, again, from the old comics website I used to run here.

Love story

once upon a time there was a girl who loved her bed.

alas, she had to work.

so she and her bed were parted for many hours of the day.

the girl dreamed of her bed at work, and they rendezvoused faithfully every night.

but people at the office envied her, and conspired between themselves

to separate her from her bed forever.

so they sent her more work.

she got snowed in at her office cubicle and couldn't get out.

then, just as she was done, they sent her on an overseas posting, violating the sanctity of the attachment by forcing her to sleep with strange, foreign beds in hotel rooms.

when she finally got back, her bed was waiting for her, but she hardly knew it any more.

the end.

(happy valentine's day, people!)
P.S. This story is a figment of my imagination and any resemblance to -
P.P.S. Ok, ok. The first four lines are true. I was ill, all right?!

Xxapollinexx's wardrobe post

Xxapollinexx is a hime lolita, which means that when she really sets out to dress up she emerges from the house looking like the kind of fairy princess little girls dream of becoming when they grow up. Pastel-themed froth, sparkle, accessories such as pearls and fans and little tiaras, bouffant hair with a pile of floral corsages  if not wearing a Victorian satellite bonnet. I tried to bring some of that style of elegance when my friend asked me to design her a perfume bottle in her favourite colour, pink.

Here is the the (un)original sketch...


...which marinated in my brain for a week before I decided, no good, it needs to be something a bit more dynamic.



Mad colouring time!!


I associate Xxapollinexx with yellow because she has beautiful blonde hair, but this didn't seem right. Too genie-ish. Not 'her' at all.

But I was running out of time. I got up at 5.30p.m. yesterday morning; work lasted from 8.30a.m. to 7.30p.m. Throw in the deadly commute and you get a very tired person indeed. By that time it was already 11p.m.


Even now I'm second-guessing myself, wondering if it would have turned out better if I'd left the smoke at that psychadelic yellow. Too late.

As for the final product -- well, it's decent, but not perfect. I'm really not very proud of this banner and I would have liked the opportunity to redo it, but I have an assignment due tomorrow that I haven't started on yet, and the month is almost as good as over! But Xxapollinexx said she liked it. ;__; I'll do better next time, Xxapollinexx, I promise.

In the future I will not take on more than three commissions a month. This time I promised five people because I forgot that there was going to be a deadline to begin with, and it serves me right.

Now I have to make a poster for my service-learning group. It will not turn up here because it will look very boring. Help, assignment due tomorrow... damn you, wardrobe meme month.

OK, I go.


Edit: wardrobe here!

Darkxdelirium's wardrobe post, or my contribution at least

This one took barely half an hour to arrange -- sketch, colours, communication and all. Work is tiring me out dreadfully, so I can't spend as much time on these things any more without sacrificing the little time that I have left for sleep.

The furry animal featured here is my friend's toy alpaca.

I'll admit that I was careless with the colouring -- should have made sure that the face bits and the cream patch were properly aligned, but by then I was half-asleep. The ears were a total bitch.

On the other hand, this series of commissions has been EXCELLENT at forcing me to produce stuff. There's just one more left to complete before Wardrobe Month is over; I must hurry.

Darkxdelirium swears that she will deco this picture up with a gold frame and sparkles to make clear that her wardrobe is not a SWEET but a CLASSIC wardrobe, even though her fluff-friend is candy purple and she had asked for that pink background herself. She has promised me a file of the final product so that I can put it up here...

Edit 1: And here it is.



Egad!

Cyanfemme's wardrobe post

The third in the series of wardrobe post banners for this month, and I am SO behind time. Now that I have given up my room at the hostel it takes five hours every day for me to travel to the university and back -- from one end of the country to the other. I must finish the other two before January is over. Omg.

This is Cyanfemme's wardrobe post, conceived over the same pancake dinner from the previous post. The sketch was made slanted on the foolscap, so I had to toggle the alignment. Cyanfemme provided the pen, and Disfigureddream provided the paper.



I wanted this picture in elegant, neat colour blocks. The banner is supposed to reflect its wardrobe owner's style, after all. And the city in the background is because Cyanfemme is an architect (and will raise great castles like that).



Cyanfemme actually owns a hat like that, but I took creative license with it.



This is a convenient fantasy landscape with no basis whatsoever in observable fact.



And then I brightened it up with a bit of fierce sunset light. I was going to put blue fire on the horizon, but I thought that it might be a little too distracting.

I was going to leave 'Cyanfemme's Wardrobe' in that corner, but it didn't look like a stamp that way. So I settled for the delicious irony of marking down the value for her clothes (for Customs). Her entire wardrobe of chiffon, dupioni and damask now has a declared worth of $2.

Finished version!



And there it is. Cyanfemme hasn't put up her wardrobe yet because she's been waiting for me. I'll put the link here when it's up. Two more to go -- I'll be attempting to do them in completely different styles again, but the ideas have had a week to incubate, so the execution shouldn't take too long; famous last words.

Edit: now that I think about it, perhaps it's not such a good idea to have the bridge in the middle ground; taking it away would draw more attention to the figure in the front. I wish I'd thought of this earlier. I'll see if I've any time to experiment with taking it away.

Edit 2: There.


You can see the actual wardrobe here.