2006/10/21 Them Birds

Was inspired by a pin I was given that featured a representation of Escher art that one could wear.

I've been so tired recently.

Finishing up on Ogata comic.  I drew and inked for four days straight.  Have a few mistakes to correct with the inking (which is quite poor), the last page of the comic to pencil and ink along with the freetalk and omake.

Juu who I am working with on creating this book showed me this wonderful comic she drew featuring Ogata and penguins.  She did the first page when we met last year for Ogata day on August 16th(?) and made Ogata buttons with Koyar. I hope this year we will have glorious Ogata day again.

2005 / 2006 Dearest Emily

I just realized that I haven't updated in two days!  Oops.  Sorry about that. D;  I've just been working on comics and playing Odin Sphere so I haven't been turing on the computer at all.

Today's update is about Emily, a character I met one day about two or three years ago when I managed to draw a profile of a pretty girl with a mysterious face.  I used this actual sketch when I created the shoujo kurabu screenprint.  I was supposed to give this sketch to my friend Guiseppe as I was drawing it for him to include in a letter.  But I was so captivated that I decided to keep Emily to myself despite dedicating the drawing to him.  I am sorry!  But perhaps someday I will give Emily to you. ha ha

Here is Emily with another fond character named Borgia who is quite odd indeed.  Always doing things that are weird and surprising other people and "scaring" them.  This is Borgia's personality.  But she is quite a compassionate person as well.  Emily at the time was still a delicate girl and often cried thinking about sad and romantic things.  Here she and Borgia are making a Christmas garland.

I don't like this sketch very much, but I'll include it here since I scanned it earlier.  Emily is quite a carefree girl despite her sentimentality and weak constitution.

However, gradually I find that Emily has gotten stronger and stronger.  She is no longer the meek girl I had seen those many years ago, and I find that I can't draw her as such unless it is to show her past.  How odd to think that she can grow.

And an extra. Ogata laughing evilly.

On the comics front, I think that things are going at a decent pace.  I've only done pencils (Ogata 3 pages, Gilles and Sylvie 3 pages) and have not gotten to inking yet.  Losing a bit faith on the Gilles and Sylvie (and Louise) story, but I suppose I should tread on!

2006/12/13 Sweet birds and strawberries

Sorry, I have just not been really wanting to update recently.  So tired all the time.  Anyway, here is one of my favorite sketches that I drew last year featuring Gilles and Sylvie again.  Sylvie's outifit was inspired from Jane Marple's designs from the early to mid-1990s especially the blouse which I drew while thinking of a folk blouse the label released a long time ago.  I always envision Sylvie as a very fashionable girl that likes to wear clothes from Jane Marple and MILK as well as vintage and cool outfits.  Gilles usually opt for the more simple black since, unlike Sylvie, he is a less complicated person. (^^;

Can you tell that I like birds a lot?  I often draw them when I don't have anything to draw or run out of ideas.  Looking at birds eat is, well... I find it really funny actually. LOL  Since they seem to work so hard yet can only eat a little bit at a time.  There is a phrase in Vietnamese that goes, "Eating like a bird."

Anyway, I drew this on the day that I first ate Beard Papa cream puffs while on vacance.  They were the best!  I wish I could have some again.  But unfortunately Beard Papa has not come this way yet!  Sylvie and Gilles were originally looking at a "Best till" sticker that came with the cream puff.  You have to eat them the day you buy them or else the cream will go bad so the date on the sticker said 2006/12/13.

2006/05/31 Princess always cries

Even though she is so young, she must get ready for battle in order to defend her people.  The man on the right brings bad news, but upon seeing her cry tries to shake it off as a joke.

I've been tired recently.

2006/04/08 Blame

Borgia makes a cameo in this picture!  Poor Jorge is getting yelled at again.  Borgia feels his pain.  However, she is still caught up in the action whereas the guy on the left has more pressing and interesting matters to attend to.  I suppose that I really do like to draw birds a lot. (^^;  I wonder what this bird is eating in the drawing.  It looks like candy but...

2006/10/21 It's Winter!

It's snowing!!! Today!!! In April. D:

So, here it is... the "It's Winter!" sketch.  These guys look so excited to go play hockey and wear the mittons and scarf (I almost wrote foulard). (^^;  But... it's not supposed to be winter now right?  And after all the snow had already melted yet somehow it's snowing here.  Do you notice the "Iya da" cat on the bottom there?  It's my character for moments when it's really Iya da.

Does this sketch journal make any sense at all?!  I seriously don't know. D:

2006/02/19 Down

She looks so devious.  She may be crouched down from all the weight of her worries and sadness, but she is really planning something.  I originally drew this in red ink!

All of a sudden I'm craving for pineapple.  I think I'll make do with some apple juice instead!

Right now I'm working on a lino-cut, and I hope to be able to finally take a step towards finishing "Roman Shoubu" and the Hanamonogatari translation I had completed with Bronny ages and ages ago.

2006/10/30 & 11/07 Introducing Mi

This is Mi, a character I had created.  I thought Mi is a dolphin but it seems more like a "bird fish" at times.  I don't know.  It's a weird animal thing... that doesn't like water and speaks Vietnamese and is yellow and very small.  It used to be Mi the Yellow Dolphin, but now I'm not too sure.  To translate the Vietnamese: "Mi an nhieu qua" = "Mi ate too much."  "Mi chon" = "Mi is hiding."

I draw a lot of comics about Mi but none are good enough to show you.  But here was one I had drawn in my journal anyway:

In the last row Mi says, "Om Mi," which means "Hug Mi."  Then Mi says "Mi vui," meaning Mi is saying it is happy.  You will see Mi appear in many of my other sketches from here on so I had decided to introduce Mi now.  I draw Mi a lot when I am stressed.  Sometimes there are entire pages that are nothing but Mi.  Mi is a special and unique creation.  I don't want to see anyone take this away. (*_*;  So I say now: Mi (c).  XD;

2006/11/05

This is the first appearance of Gilles and Sylvie. I had met them the night before. They were sitting in an airport waiting to board an airplane with their parents. They sat together near the large windows typical to airports, but they both were looking straight ahead, their eyes burning.

2006/10/11 Renato Zero

Do you all know Renato Zero?  Because I like Hong Kong Counterfeit I came to know many Italodisco artists including Wish Key and Amanda Lear.  I don't know if Renato Zero is considered Italodisco or not, but he became popular in the 1970s for his disco-esque songs in Italy.  Today he is still singing, and I think he is a very famous personality over there!

Rather than being a 'fanart' of the singer, this sketch is more inspired by Renato Zero's stage custom and performance in the 1970s. If you can't tell, it is a man in the sketch. He seems entrance by his own reflection in the mirror.

You can see many of Renato Zero's clips on Youtube.  Here are some from the 1970s that I liked:
Renato Zero - Depresso:
A riveting song! Even in black and white he is fabulous! I think he started his more 'glam' stage in 1977, and this seems before he seriously got all glammed out.
Renato Zero - Mi Vendo and Sospetto:
He was so thin! If I sat in the audience in the first row I would had been worried that he might step on me. At the end of the clip is a short snippet of Sospetto in which our dear friend Renato attempts to become a porcupine.
 Renato Zero - Il Triangolo:
His costume...  This song is awesome!  Very epic!  I'm not quite sure what he is doing wearing those triangles....  But, don't worry kids, it was only the late 1970s so everyone else was doing it too, and Renato doesn't dress like this anymore.  This here is an example of "ultimate fabulous."

I suggest checking out Amanda Lear's New York and Wish Key's Orient Express as well if you enjoyed this (or even if you didn't; Wish Key is excellent).