From the Sketchbook

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Just working on some pretty sparkly things~

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From the Sketchbook

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I don't often draw men, in any form of illustration. There's just something less intuitive about their build than female faces and figures. However, a certainly anon has been very generous with her time and efforts in drawing for everyone else, so I felt it only appropriate to try to draw her request. It would probably benefit me to practice male proportions more often.

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From the Sketchbook

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There is something particularly charming about drawing cute pictures for people requesting characters that they have a strong connection with. Of course, as with any situation, you might run into less than courteous characters, but for the most part, I really enjoy doing these types of requests. It also serves as a nice space in which I can experiment a little bit with different drawing styles and just generally practice making art in a more relaxed setting.

Recently, I've decided to try a sort of "quick-sketch" style. Partly for increased speed. And also because I really love the soft coloring style, and wanted to find a way to do it myself. Nice solid rendering is nice, but there's something about soft colors that just really makes my heart do flips.

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From the Sketchbook

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Now that the hatsumode collage is done, I delivered it, and returned to a more normal routine of drawing requests. I tried out a new lineart technique on this one and I think I might try to do it more. It has thinner lines than I've been doing previously. It at least works better for nice flowy hair of the style I like.

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From the Sketchbook

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Most of this week has been spent working intensely on the hatsumode picture so I could finish it, and finish it I did!

Here it is in all it's low-res glory... I think doing the background was actually the least comfortable part for me, just because I don't draw landscape things often and don't feel like I'm very good at it. Perspective and composition is hard, and I think it turned out a little awkwardly. But I tried? >_> I was hoping to be a able to deliver it this weekend, but I was just a tad too late finishing it, so I'll hold onto it for next weekend when everyone who requested for the collage might actually be around again.

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From the Sketchbook

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This week, I've been working on a very large and much longer-term project than I originally expected. I'm not sure why I thought I could do a fully colored picture with 42 characters and a fully rendered background in a short amount of time...



Massive collage is massive. Actually, I'm not sure why they call it a collage, but it's a large picture containing many different characters from different series. The common theme here is Hatsumode, the first shrine visit of the year in Shinto religion. It's a lovely Japanese tradition, and all these characters are either coming in their New Year kimonos, or are mikos working at the shrine.

For now, two of the 42 characters are in color. Silhouettes are done, but actual coloring is going to be a while yet.

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From the Sketchbook

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Happy Year of the Sheep!



Or goat, or ram, or whatever ovine creature of choice you'd like to substitute.

In related news, I've been drawing a lot of animanga requests and posting them under a pseudonym on some secondary accounts: http://10103.tumblr.com/ and http://10103.deviantart.com/

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Project 365 // 015 - 021

One day late, I know... o(v_v;;)o

015 / 365: I love astronomy, and I had been wanting some sailor elements to add to my wardrobe, and this series satisfied all of those! The print details are absolutely gorgeous, and I'm very glad I decided to go with navy instead of black or sax blue.



016 / 365: This year's My Little Pony Annual, now with 20% more superhero ponies! I definitely enjoyed it <3 data-blogger-escaped-br="">

017 / 365: Fall is coming, and all the green things are beginning to wither away into winter mode. However, this little rosebush in my apartment's courtyard is still a nice bright spot of color!


018 / 365: Candles make me feel cozy, especially sweet-smelling ones like this one. They're perfect to light on colder nights!


019 / 365: All of the ponies! I finally got all of the compilation volumes for the official My Little Pony comic thus far, and I am now all caught up on the stories!


020 / 365: Hanging out in weekend drawthreads is my new favorite thing, despite some frustrations with ungrateful requesters. I feel bad that I don't draw as well as they expect, but I'm trying to learn and get better! Cute bunnies are cute, and cute boys in bunny hoodies are even cuter ^w^


021 / 365: Ever since I started using Clip Studio Paint (I got it because it was on SUPER sale), my lines have felt a lot more comfortable. Practice, with a bit of help from input stabilization software does wonders! I'm pretty pleased with how the final version of this sketch turned out.


May all of your next weeks be filled with happy cuddly things!!

Project 365 // 008 - 014

This is a bit of a challenge, since I'm not used to taking lots of photos all the time! But I'm still managing... barely...

008 / 365: With the news of the Hub Channel being absorbed into Discovery Family, and hopes of a Season 5 announcement, I've rekindled my love of ponies by delving into the dangerous world of My Little Pony comics! This is also thanks to the discovery of a really awesome comic book store near my apartment ^_^


009 / 365: With the new music project slowly taking some slightly more legit form, I've been busy this past week recording a couple of demos for it!


010 / 365: I was sick this day, and didn't really go anywhere. But being sick and colder weather is a great excuse for wearing cuddly fuzzy things, right? Even better if they're full of Hello Kitty, right?


011 / 365: Finally made myself a pop filter out of an embroidery hoop, some hosiery, and a wooden spoon. Yes, a wooden spoon.


012 / 365: Fluttershy best pony! More love for My Little Pony <3 data-blogger-escaped-a="" data-blogger-escaped-again="" data-blogger-escaped-and="" data-blogger-escaped-been="" data-blogger-escaped-br="" data-blogger-escaped-drawing="" data-blogger-escaped-enough="" data-blogger-escaped-even="" data-blogger-escaped-fanart="" data-blogger-escaped-few="" data-blogger-escaped-finally="" data-blogger-escaped-finish="" data-blogger-escaped-fluttershy="" data-blogger-escaped-get="" data-blogger-escaped-i="" data-blogger-escaped-ll="" data-blogger-escaped-maybe="" data-blogger-escaped-months="" data-blogger-escaped-now.="" data-blogger-escaped-on="" data-blogger-escaped-since="" data-blogger-escaped-song="" data-blogger-escaped-start="" data-blogger-escaped-that="" data-blogger-escaped-to="" data-blogger-escaped-unlazy="" data-blogger-escaped-ve="" data-blogger-escaped-working="">

013 / 365: Having fun drawing a lovely outfit photo for a fellow Lolita! It's nice getting back into drawing again, although I am still terrible with a tablet. Nice sketch like this somehow gets all derpified and weird when I scan and redraw/clean it on my computer for digital coloring >_<


014 / 365: Drawfriends in drawthreads are fun! Yes, I drew someone's waifu request... But I love Minami-ke so it was for me too! But Chiaki is best girl. Also... further frustrations with tablet... lines get all sketchy/squiggly, things get weird and derpy-looking, I can't control where I'm drawing TT_TT Please teach me the ways of tablet, senpai...


Woohoo! Another week down! Let's hope next week is also full of fluffy lovely things for everyone ^_^

Project 365 // 001~007

I've decided to begin a Project 365 in order to challenge myself to better document the little things in my life so I can remember and enjoy them later on. As such, I will start uploading a week's worth of daily photos each Sunday, and it'll serve as a nice little weekly wrap-up for keeping up with what's going on in my life!

001 / 365: It got cold very quickly recently, and my wrists have been cold, so I decided to make up my own wristwarmer knitting pattern. It took several attempts to settle on something I actually liked, but there's finally progress!


002 / 365: I've been fiddling around with a good way to record things I play on my electronic piano for a while now, with no truly satisfactory results. I finally caved and bought an external USB soundcard with stereo input, and I cannot possibly be more pleased with the results! So look out, there will be more piano adventures in the near future!!


003 / 365: Hey, look! Finished wristwarmers! Since I have tiny baby wrists, I would make them smaller the next time I knit this pattern, but I'm quite pleased with how they turned out ^_^



004 / 365: Sketching mascot illustrations for a new J-pop/rock music project I'm starting with a friend.


005 / 365: Having a good way to record my piano playing has inspired me to practice more, because now I can actually use some of my own instrumentals for my cover songs!


006 / 365: ARRRR!! It's Talk Like a Pirate Day!! Ahoy ye landlubbers, Captain Totoro really likes pink floral headscarves - pirates can be frilly too!


007 / 365: This sign makes me giggle every time I walk past, because the I parse it in my head is: "Neighbors? Please, no. Dogs please!" As if the sign writer really hates neighbors and would prefer dogs instead...


And that is my week in a nutshell!! Let's hope I can keep this up ^_^ And I hope you all have a lovely sparkle-filled upcoming week

I Draw Lolitas

I've been drawing a lot of my fellow Lolitas lately, usually going off a reference photo of some outfit they particularly liked. I figured it would be nice to share a compilation of some of the ones I've done in the past couple of weeks!



Prismacolor Fine Line, digitally colored in Photoshop

Illustration Friday ~ Time

Prismacolor Fine Line + Photoshop.

[Lolita Blog Carnival] New Year's Resolutions for Lolita Fashion in 2014

I'm actually terrible at keeping resolutions of any sort; it's almost like making them curses me to fail. However, I enjoy making lists of things, so I thought this would be a fun one to do!

1. Sell pieces I don't really wear anymore.

I've been amassing a closet in various buying spurts over a span of 2 - 3 years now, in terms of main pieces as well as accompanying accessories. I'd obviously like to continue developing my wardrobe, but I have limited space in my apartment, so it would be good to filter out things that no longer fit with my current tastes.

2. Collect more simple headpieces.

Since I do wear Lolita on a semi-daily basis, I'm usually too lazy to deal with elaborate or fussy hairstyles. Unfortunately, very large bows/flowers/etc. don't look very good on plain hair >_< I'd like to accumulate (buy OR make) some more simple headpieces that I can wear with plainer hair.

3. Learn how to use clip-in bangs.

This is probably seems sort of random, but it's something that I've been thinking about for a bit. Now that I'm dancing so much, it's actually kind of a pain having bangs cut into my real hair, because they're hard to pull back cleanly when I'm dancing. I think the best solution would be to invest in a couple of good clip-in bangs (I'm thinking one blunt cut and one side-swept), and just grow out my own hair. This way, I can have the best of both worlds?

4. Develop a better petticoat collection.

I have quite a lot of petticoats, most of which are medium-poof at best. While I do have one that I like for more daily wear, I'd like to get at least one REALLY poofy one so I don't have to wear 3 or 4 petticoats at a time to get the amount of poof I want for heavier skirts or more elaborate outfits. I tend to get a rash on my waist from elastics as-is, and multi-petticoats don't help that.

5. Go to more meetups.

This ties into a more general life resolution I want to make regarding my socialization patterns. I don't think I'll stop being shy, but the last year or so I've really sort of isolated myself into my own world due to a lot of converging issues. But honestly, I miss hanging out with people, which only makes me feel worse. Since I always really enjoy Lolita meetups, I think forcing myself to go to more of them will really help me actually feel better about life in general ^_^

So there it is, my list of Lolita resolutions!

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Make sure to check out all the other blogs in the Lolita Blog Carnival who participated in this topic!

~ The Cute Lifestyle | Mary Hazelbelle | Her Lumpiness | Lace Teapot | Breiðholt | Lolita Glamour | Beyond Kawaii | New Vogue Children | Fire Extinquisher | Wearable Magic | Northern Star | Hello Batty | Ramble Rori | Jess Cosmic Delight ~

Drawing ~ Illustration Friday: Spirit

This week's topic: Spirit.

I decided to go with a J-fashion interpretation of the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future from A Christmas Carol.





Copic Sketch + Prismacolor Fine Line markers on mixed media paper.

Drawing ~ Illustration Friday: Pattern

I recently learned about a nifty illustration challenge site called Illustration Friday. I decided participating would be a nice way to motivate myself to draw more, as well as provide some topics outside of whatever my own brain comes up with. Plus, I really love all the artwork that other people have posted there, it's really quite inspirational!

This week's topic: Pattern

Copic Practice - Pastel Unicorn

I drew a similar picture as a card for a friend's going-away party, since she's my favorite unicorn princess

Copic Practice with Lolis

I've played around with ink drawing pens and Copic markers for awhile now, but for the longest time only owned 3 Copics (3 shades of purple). About half a year ago, I finally decided to take the dive and accumulate a much larger set of Copic markers, and boy am I in love!! It's taken awhile to get the hang of coloring with them, and I'm still trying to figure out the best way for me to get colors to blend and to avoid brushstrokes being left behind when I color in large expanses. However, I'm having a lot of fun experimenting with them ^_^

My earliest attempts were in sketching and coloring in various simple Lolita-inspired figures. They're nothing complicated, mostly just filled-in stick-people wearing dresses and things on their heads. They're fun for me to draw though, and I was pretty pleased with the progression of coloring that I saw even just over the first three reasonably decent ones! Hopefully as I color more, I'll get better at not having weird colorblobs and bleeding issues.

Pony Overload

The ATG finally got back on track, and is now finished!! And I did in fact manage to submit *something* for all five days of the ATG ^_^ Granted, Day 3 was just kind of a rough sketch (I didn't even have time to ink the lineart digitally...), but it's still something! I'm going to eventually go back and actually polish that up... y'know, in all of my free time... XD

In any case, here's the rest of my submissions!

Day 3 Assignment: Draw a pony dueling.


Day 4 Assignment: Draw a pony on a rescue mission.



Day 5 Assignment: Draw a pony coming home.

Draw All the Ponies!!

I don't think I've actually talked about my My Little Pony interest much on here, but I am in fact a fan, in the same way that I am a fan of my various J-pop groups. I'm not really obsessive about it, nor do I tend to produce much fan-art/fiction/anything, but I do enjoy it.

That said, I decided a good way to become acquainted with my new drawing tablet (other than Photoshopping different animal heads and bodies together for my research stimuli), would be to participate in some sort of drawing challenge. In comes Equestria Daily's Artist Training Grounds!

It's actually been postponed a bit, but the assignments for the first two days already were released. The premise is that there is a mock war between ponies and griffins, and all the assignments center around that. I figured I didn't produce *terrible* things, so I might as well post them here ^_^;;

Day 1 Assignment: Draw a pony in armor or uniform.


Day 2 Assignment: Draw a pony in training.


I forgot to color the lineart for the first day, so I was very determined to do it for the second day. I'm thinking about trying a different style completely for the third day (more like, a painting type thing, no clear outlines, more shading, etc.) but that might just be unfeasible ^_^;; I guess we'll see how much time I end up having.

Reflections and Resolutions for 2012

Time really seems to fly by nowadays, and yet another year has passed!

2011 was a pretty exciting year, and I would say full of mostly happy things. All of my friends and family have been absolutely supportive, and fortunately we have all been in more or less good health. I got to go to Paris for the first time, something that I have wanted to do ever since I was 12. I have continued to be involved with Neko Neko Maid and Host Club, and got a chance to see all the wonderful people I met last year at Mechacon again this year. I finished my first qualifying paper, and had the opportunity to present the work in that paper on two occasions. Financially, I've been doing well, and have been able to continue expanding my Lolita wardrobe, as well as indulge in a new 3DS and games for both of my DS consoles.

Of course, it wasn't all roses... Aaron's sister was diagnosed with breast cancer, and has been undergoing treatment for it (fortunately the outlook is very positive right now). My sister is still continuing to struggle with developing her career as a pianist, although she has shown signs of improvement in the past year. On a lighter note, my original Youtube channel was taken down, so now I am starting from scratch again. I am struggling greatly with my second qualifying paper, and that's something I will need to work out very very soon.

Generally, I don't really believe in making resolutions or anything for the new year, since I don't tend to keep them anyways (nor do most people, from what I've heard). However, there are certainly things that I would *like* to, or *hope* to do in the coming year. Many of them involve learning or re-learning languages. After my trip to Paris, I've decided I really need to re-acquire my former fluency with the French language, and I've been making an effort to read more books in French at the very least. I have also been slowly teaching myself Japanese, mainly through absorption by reading blogs and such in Japanese. I hope to continue this trend and eventually become moderately competent at reading, if not comprehending Japanese.

Of course I would like to be better at regularly updating my blog and other social media. I've started using the Tumblr queue, in hopes that it help me maintain a more constant posting schedule. That has been working well for the past month, so I'm hoping to start enforcing regular posting on this blog soon. As for making regular Youtube posts... well, that I would like to do, but often depends on whether I've had time to practice, whether conditions have been right to record... so while that would be lovely, I think that's a farther off goal at the moment.

My friend and I have managed to snag a table for the ACEN Artist Alley this year, and I have been busily manufacturing goodies for that. I would like to eventually get into a more regular pattern of making these things and eventually setting up an online shop on this site (I tried etsy for a while, and eventually decided it just wasn't for me).

I have been rather lax about practicing my instruments this past quarter, and I really want to make sure I keep up with my piano, so that's something I definitely want to work on. Related to that, I want to do more live piano+singing covers, as well as get back into composing songs of my own. Maybe an electronic keyboard should be my next musical instrument investment... Of course I really ought to practice all my myriad other instruments as well ^_^;;

I received a beautiful wonderful amazing Wacom Intuos drawing tablet for my birthday/Christmas, so a big thing for next year is getting myself to draw more, and teaching myself how to do digital painting at least mediocrely. Hopefully you'll be seeing more of my art posts as a result of this XD And in connection to this, here's a little doodle I made for my "Plans for 2012"



Happy New Year!!