Word Art Shirts!

This is by far, my favorite! 10 Ataris Games in Pacman form!

About 7 years ago, I started making shirts as gifts for friends who celebrated their birthdays. A few birthdays passed and numerous comments about the shirts I posted on Multiply, people started asking me to have shirts customized for them and their friends. I loved that I got to exercise my right brain and get paid to boot! Look at some of my favorites that I made below:

Drawings Weekly: The Old Woman Who Lived In A Bespoke Shoe

Click on me to view a larger version

I was searching Google for handmade shoes the other day and saw this intricate white bespoke shoe. It is to be worn by the bride on her wedding day. Although in my eyes it looked like an elf's, it was still very beautiful. And then for some strange reason,  out of nowhere really, I thought of the old woman who lived in a shoe. Wouldn't it be so grand to live in such a luxurious piece of handmade shoe? Then I remembered that the old woman who lived in a shoe was very much poor and had too many kids and had little food to feed them. I wanted to create my very own illustration of the woman who lived in a shoe but I wanted to make her happy and stay away from the negative story that the child's poem narrates to us. In my illustration, she has 6 kids, a husband, a dog and a cat, a telescope and a very cool inflatable pool that ll the neighbors envy. Isn't it wonderful?

Fly Away On My Zephyr

My artworks at times get a high dose of rainbow shots and  as much as I want it to not look like it has been vomited by a double rainbow, it just looks like it. Below is an example of an artwork I made years back:

Daily Random: Whistle While You Work!

Look at that! The woodland creatures are tyring to measure how long my hair is! Hahaha.

Whistling while I work,
SFM

♬ Listening to Wheels by the Foo Fighters

Smile Like You Mean It~

Save some face, you know you only got one~

Yes, that is my face and my curly hair.
SFM

♬ Listening to Sam's Town & Hot Fuss albums by The Killers ★

You better run for the hills before they burn
Listen to the sound of the world, don't watch it turn
I just want to show you what I know 
And catch you when the current lets you go~

Brain Farts at Eat, Sleep, Draw! ★

If you have Tumblr, then you prolly have been to Eat, Sleep, Draw.

Eat, Sleep, Draw is a site that features hundreds of illustrations, sketches, paintings, drawings and other artworks that are submitted by followers all over the world everyday!

Here's an Eat, Sleep, Draw banner I made that got posted. For some creative outlet, why don't you submit your art and banners? :)

Let the record plaaay!
SFM

♬ Listening to Good Charlotte songs; Dance Floor Anthem & Keep Your Hands Off My Girl. "They said Ahhhhha! But the record keeps playing the same old song"

My Heart Upon My Sleeve, Iago

I was browsing through my old stuff and found a thick pocket book covered in dust. It was Shakespeare's Othello. Though much of the story I have already forgotten, I still remember this one character, a man of villainous veins, a felon written so poetically that I wish I could've crossed paths with him in my past life: Iago. 

I had to look for these lines on the internet as I remember this is the phrase (?) where the title of this entry originated from. Haven't you heard this line in so many pop songs and didn't know it was Shakespeare who coined it?


IAGO:

It is as sure as you are Roderigo,

Were I the Moor, I would not be Iago:
In following him, I follow but myself;
Heaven is my judge, not I for love and duty,
But seeming so, for my peculiar end:
For when my outward action doth demonstrate
The native act and figure of my heart
In compliment extern, 'tis not long after
But I will wear my heart upon my sleeve
For daws to peck at: I am not what I am.

STAND UP AND DELIVER! ☮

I say, IT'S ABOUT TIME YOUNG GUNS IN THE PHILIPPINES LOOK FORWARD TO SOMETHING WHERE THEIR WORKS CAN BE RECOGNIZED. This is brilliant. It is a sign of things to come for the Design industry in our country.

I know some of my professors and some design elitists are frowning upon me for supporting award-giving blahs like this. I remember a professor telling me that it is not the awards you receive that define your success or something and that living for awards is pathetic to put it bluntly. It's just that, for me, it feels great to be acknowledged and awards can  push artists and designers to never let their design guards down. (What did I just say there? lol) It's something to keep everyone on their toes, it is something to get inspiration from...just like what Martha Stewart always says, it's a good thing. 

Below, I've copy pasted some information about the PGDA in hopes that many artists and designers and colleagues will join in the FIRST EVER Philippines Graphic Design Awards! ☮

 

The Philippine Graphic Design Awards or PGDA is the first and only local awards program in the Philippines that celebrates Filipino graphic designers in a showcase of the most creative and innovative artwork produced within the last year. 

This is the first time Filipino graphic designers will go head-to-head in a showcase of the most noteworthy graphic design artwork produced within the last year. If you need more convincing, here are more reasons you should join this year. If you're a Filipino graphic designer, and proud of it. If you want to be taken more seriously for your craft. (And demand more for it without the need for a lengthy explanation.) If you've got a feeling your artwork is among the best that is out there. If you want to find out for sure and how you fare among your peers. If you know there are no walls to being creative and you’ve always wanted to break each one that boxed you in.

 

PGDA endeavors to elevate the stature and perception of the Philippine graphic design industry by establishing a point of reference for Philippine graphic design among its regional and international counterparts. It strives to create opportunities and to inspire Filipino graphic designers to continually produce unique, cutting-edge artwork that exude distinctively Filipino qualities.

It's time, creative peeps!
If you feel insignificant to the industry, make yourself known and be recognized!

STAND UP AND DELIVER!

For celebrating local graphic design, cheers!
SFM

♬ Listening to No Doubt :)

Wonder if they'll ever come to our shores, when they do, expect that I'll be in front~

Weekend Wackness : Capsule Dinos!

As you may have noticed (or not), one of the items in my previous illustration is of a swimming dinosaur inside a shot glass.
Wouldn't it be a better place if we had miniature dinosaurs that fit shot glasses?

What I would do to make these babies real even just for an hour~

Forget about those cute micro pigs, adorable teacup puppies and squish-worthy toy dogs.
Say hello to SHOT GLASS DINOS!

A Thumbelina Triceratops!

A Tom Thumb T-Rex (Did you just read Tom as Thom?)

And even a Tinker Velociraptor! (Saw what I did there? Hahaha)

Oh hey, some bad photoshoppping on my end! Haha

Since dinosaurs are like...uhmmm... extinct, my brothers and I bought something close to that: We bought foam dinosaurs in capsules!

All you have to do with the capsules is soak them in hot water and watch them grow (or force them to "grow" by poking the capsule with a toothpick...or a ball point pen if you wish).

Aside from the possible brain damage caused by the ridiculous smell of the melting plastic capsules, the foam dinosaurs turned out okay.

The Capsule Animals Set includes 12 capsules in 4 colors. The set sells for about $1.
WHAT A STEAL, I say, what a steal!

The green one is a Triceratops, the yellow one a Diplodocus, the blue one an Oviraptor, the red one a Utahraptor

One of my favorites is the herbivore dino, the Diplodocus.
She's that yellow one in the center.
It looks so happy and dinosaur-y. Y/y?
I'm naming him Yellow Foam Happy Diplodocus Dinosaur or YFHDD for short.

So anyway, while you absorb the concept of real live shot glass dinos, I'm off to naming all these foam dinos and maybe change YFHDD's name. It may be too long. He might not remember it when I call for him.

Very Cherry Jelly Belly Beans,
SFM

♬  Listening to Runaway Train by Brandon Boyd's Newest Solo Project, The Wild Trapeze Album (What an awesome album! Wonder how many days until mine gets shipped~)

"Seems to be, that being in the middle is starting to get me in trouble
Try to run away, but they have a talent for making trouble seem enjoyable
Oh the more I try to separate, the better it feels to get right in the way
Should I douse the spark or fan the flames
Or merely think of clever things to say?"

Vector Mucho?

This is a portrait I made of Jalon, an extraordinary artist in Spain.

I kinda messed up his visible eye but I still love this portrait~

This is Nil Bartolozzi, an artist in Barcelona~

I love the colors on this one and the lines too.

I guess everyone's picked it up by now that I am as much as a vector illustrator as I am a female. I don’t know exactly what I meant by that but it sounds right, doesn’t it?

The Art of SoulPancake

A few  months back, I discovered a website where I can ask & answer questions, ponder on some talk points and throw my ideas out to a community that would actually come back to me and let me know what they think. It's a very engaging website were conversations are created and simple ideas grow into complex ones. You can find a spectrum of subjects to talk about and explore like art, philosophy, whathaveyous. The site is called SoulPancake. In SoulPancake, no opinions are discriminated and no views are blocked! It's some what motto is : CHEW ON LIFE'S BIG QUESTIONS.

SoulPancake on "What is SoulPancake?": It's a place for you to TALK about your soul and the existence of God. It's a space to ENGAGE in art, philosophy, creativity, truth, and beauty. And ultimately, SoulPancake is a community of people who are digging DEEPER to figure out what it means to be human and to experience this rich, strange, difficult, and awesome journey called life. 

At first, it can be intimidating to join in on conversations and or answer some questions posted, but if you open your mind to the possibility of getting back something in exchange of putting your thoughts out there, you will be a very happy and satisfied camper. 

Football For Juan

 Photo from Getty Images

Unless you've been living under a rock or simply living in the Philippines, a day ago, Spain won the FIFA World Cup Finals 2010. Their win lead to some discussions of whether Football is a sport for Juan or not. First thought that popped into my head when I read this article was, "Are you kidding me? Football is the game for Filipinos!". While some of his points, I can take, like the need of heavy support from the Government, overall, the article left me with no nodding head. Saying that you have to be enrolled in a good school to play Football is rubbish. I mean, really? Have you been to Bacolod? Have you been to Davao or Dumaguete?  Also, football can be played if you have less than 11 players a side and it can most certainly  be played without the "expensive shoes". Clearly this guy doesn't know the sport very well or has no love for the game for him to understand it better. It's just sad.  

Thank goodness for people that love and understand the game as much as I do.  I found this article and have to say that I share the same sentiments with him. I  like what he said about how Football is a simple sport and "The only time a normal person plays in a 21 man, expensive shoe, two hour football game is if he is playing it competitively and professionally."

Football can be played by every Juan. You can play it with a buddy or with the barkada. It does not discriminate height which is perfect for Juans cause we are not giants! Any Juan can play this sport and it can be as enjoyable as any other sport we Filipinos love. Personally, I think Basketball is a game for show. Puro yabangan. What most of the players have become: bloating, glory hogs whose playing area is just 1/8 of a Football field. Come on.

If it helps you to take in more the concept of Football for Juan, you should know PAULINO ALCANTARA.

Paulino Alcantara was born in Iloilo in 1896 and is the highest goal scorer in FC Barcelona's History with 357 goals and 357 games. He is also the youngest player ever to make it to the senior team!

"Paulino Alcántara is considered one of Barca’s legendary players because of his goal scoring exploits. He lacked the build of a stereotypical athlete, but he possessed the killer instincts of a matador. This offensive machine knew where the goal was and often made sure that the ball was in it." - FC Barcelona website

He became a legend even before Ronaldo, Beckham, Cannavaro and David Villa!  

He's a football superstar and he is Filipino.

Football is the perfect game for Filipinos...many Juans just don't know it yet.

Joga Bonito!

SFM

Some good reads about Juans and soccer:

Pinoy Soccer Star to Meet President Obama After Leading Team to MLS Cup 

UK's First Pinoy Soccer Team Finishes 2nd

The Philippine National Football Team

♬ Listening to: Hello Operator's The Breaks Album

BabyCakes!

I adore lines. Lines, in my opinion, make my illustrations look less naked. 

A few months ago, I saw a photo of this squish-worthy baby in Tumblr.

It reminded me of Neil Gaiman’s short, Babycakes and so it resulted to the illustration below.

The whole illustration is basically made up of lines and layers and layers of color. I couldn't give justice to this baby's eyes though. They are of a cat's! They're so beautiful.  

I don't know if you get the idea behind the toys I drew in. Closest guess, gets a kiss! Haha.

Babycakes is one of my favorite shorts by Gaiman. It’s about how one day, animals disappeared and in place of them, humans used babies…to eat, to test products on…that kind of creepy. I remember reading this as I listen to Eels' Flyswatter. It's a perfect mix of creepy; song and story! Below this, I've posted a screen shot of the Babycakes artwork done by Jouni Koponen.

You can see and read full Babycakes here.

Cheers!

SFM

♬ Listening to: Monster by The Automatic! & Flyswatter by Eels

☮ Wearing my tan skirt from 6th grade! Haha.

Spongebob in Real Life

You know how on Tumblr, you see so many awesome posts to reblog and then you stumble upon one that makes the others you've just reblogged look so ordinary? This is that one that stood out to me today.

What a fucking genius, this kid who wrote this.
It's Spongebob in real life.

For people who feel like they've lived inside a pineapple~

SFM

 ♬ Listening to: Franco's, Castaway

Some Facts About My Toys & My Hair

This is by far my favorite illustration of my 9 year old self (not that I had plenty).
Unlike some of my illustrations, this comes with a background story~

Spaghetti Hair & Dino Glasses

 

Dinosaurs are my most favorite extinct creatures in the whole wide world. I would like to believe that I was a dinosaur in my past life. I would be the cute geeky carnivore one but doesn't eat her fellow dinos. I'd have many friends but only two really important ones...or three. We'd always hang together, talk about the future and then discover a greener pasture where we lead all the other dinosaurs and then we would be heroes. I'd be the most popular one cause I'd have to fight this other nasty older dino, who with his hard headedness accidentally leads the pack to a cliff. Wouldn't that be awesummm?

Seafoam Monkey Has Landed!

Ending the week with this illustration of me and some of my favorite things in the world. :)
(I drew everything except for the space suit, the Thomas Harris books & the C3P0 lego figure. Haha.)