Routine

Hi, all! I just finished a stop motion video that I would like to share :)



I shot nearly 3000 pictures and 1460 of them are used in the video. It took about 2 weeks to shoot all the pictures and edit the video. Hope you like it!

Inspirational Words

Hi, I'm back! I got busy over the summer doing freelancing, taking an online summer class, and hanging out with old friends back home in Japan. Then I was back to school in September, but you all know the reason I couldn't find time to write a blog post.lol
I'm really excited that this is my last semester. I had a great experience and education at my college, and I'm very thankful for all the opportunities that was given to me. But I'm so ready to get out of this place. I'm excited about start working, being in the city I like, and just about anything that waits on me in the future. It's a bit scary as well, but I'm confident that things will work out in the way they are supposed to. I don't believe in any particular god or in destiny, but I believe that my life isn't too bad for me to be trashed for the rest of my life. Even in bad situations, there are good stuff.

So, as many of the other design nerds, I was shocked and super sad when I head that Steve Jobs was dead. His words at Stanford University graduation in 2005 is just so encouraging and inspirational. I'm assuming that most of you have seen it at this point, so I won't share it here. Though, I highly recommend you to go check it out if you haven't watched the speech yet.

Speaking of inspirational words, I would like to share an interview of Ross Capicchioni for The Berric's Aberrican Me. Ross Capicchioni is a skater who got shot in his arm, chest, and head... and survived.

What Steve Jobs and Ross Capicchioni have in common is that both of them find goods in "shitty" situations. I really like the word of Ross Capicchioni, "I look at what I got, I don't look at what I don't have." Good, isn't it?

I'm wanting to translate the interview into Japanese for my Japanese friends. Let's see if I can find the time!

Etsy Store Open!

Hi! Sorry that I havent blogged for so long. I hope you all are having a great summer :)
It wasn't the original plan, but I AM BACK HOME IN JAPAN right now!!
It's been about half a month since I'm back. It was hard to adjust back to the culture here at first, but I remembered most of the customs now and enjoying it a lot. This would be my last return as a student (can't believe it!!).
On the way from Texas to Japan, I got to stop and stay in the Bay Area. This time again I stayed with my best friend, Paige, for about 10 days, and it was as great as always!

Being such a great great friend, she volunteered to keep and market my art works for me. The first sale we made was my "Stone Head" screen print to her boyfriend, Kuro. Im so thankful for them!!

And, we got an Etsy account together! Here is the link to our Etsy store.

Here are some stuff that are on sale so far:

Paige did all the account settings and stuff. Her managing skill is so good!! Spread the word, please!

Check her out on her Tumblr here.

I'm gonna list links to my things again on here. Check them out!

Shared Tumblr with Paige My Tumblr My Twitter My portfolio

:)

Fine Arts Stuff

Hi! I hope everyone is surviving in the heat... it's killing me in Abilene, Texas :/
I was not going to turn on the A/C, but it was impossible to live without it! It's been around 100 degrees for the most of the time.
But I'm leaving here soon!! And I'm really excited about it!! There was a huge change in my summer schedule, and now I'm going to the Bay Area for a week and back to Japan for a month and a half. I'm going back home to get some medical care on my neck. Some of you might remember, but I got in a car accident at the end of last year, and I still can't turn my head to the right although I saw a chiropractor for 5 months. So, I don't trust doctors in the States anymore.lol Medical fee in Japan is a lot cheaper, too! I hope I'll be back in the States with full recovery in the fall!

OH, ALSO, I'M GOING TO SEE DARWIN DEEZ WHILE I'LL BE IN THE BAY AREA!!!!
I'm SUPER excited about it!!! (as you can see!) It's gonna be so much fun :) Thanks to my best friend, Paige, for going with me although Darwin Deez isn't her taste at all.haha

Anyways, I would like to share some of my fine art stuff today!
My drawing class ended on Thursday, and most of the things below are from the class.

"This Is Not a..." Illustionistic Drawing. Nu Pastels, Charcoal, Prisma Colors

"Cities" The final series I did. My two favorite cities in the world! 

"When Pigs Fly" We were asked to make a self portrait based on an idiom of our choice.

"Over" This is from the painting class I took 2 semesters ago. This got into the Big Country Juried Art Exibition, 2010.

This is it! I hope you all have a great summer! :)

Summer Classes

Hi! I hope you all are enjoying summer :)
I'm taking 4 classes this summer! I had never taken any art classes during summer, but it's been interesting. It's so intense to get projects done in such short periods of times.  I took sculpture in May, and I'm in advanced drawing now.
Here is my sculpture piece:

It's a casted bronze. It was cool to see the process of casting, but it was not my thing at all. I missed designing and drawing so much!!

So, now, I'm very happy that I get to draw for the whole day :)

Here is my first project in process:

House paints and soft pastel on foam board. 

Interesting media, isn't it? I'm enjoying how my professor introduce us to new things! It was assigned yesterday (the first day of class), and it is due today at 2:30. Its hard core, but I feel like I will get much better when the class ends!!!

Weekend in the Bay Area

Hi! Last weekend, I went to the SF Bay Area for my best friend's 21st and had a blast there!!! Her mom was super awesome that she bought me an air ticket.
I was so sad when I had to cancel my trip there earlier this year (I cried so much lol), but this trip was such a great make-up for it :) I was there only for 3 nights, but it felt like months to me. We did so many things and spent good time.

This is a picture of her nephew and I. He is SO SO cute! We've only met for half a day last time, but he remembered me for a year and still liked me. I'm so happy :)

This trip reminded me that I belong to big cities. Growing up in Tokyo area, I'm so used to take trains and having fast pace life. It's nice to live slow in Abilene, but I guess I'm too young for it. I had enough from this land already, and I'm ready to move on!

I'm so motivated again to do my best in the last six months of college now!

Also, my best friend, Paige, and I started tumblr together. We post not only our works but also random stuff that we think are cool/funny/inspiring. Check it out here!

Loving Summer

Happy Sunday! Summer is here in Abilene, and I'm loving it :)

I was really busy for finals and moving but finally got time to sit down and update my blog. My new roommate officially moved into my apartment yesterday. She got her room arranged nicely, and I'm really excited about living with her!

So, last night, as a little "celebration," we got some beer and hanged out on our porch. I LOVE everything about summer, especially nights. 

No nights are better than summer nights :)

I have been thinking about what to do with this blog, and I decided to share more about what I do and what I find inspirational instead of just my works.

So I would like to share music that's been a big inspiration recently; Darwin Deez.

So good, isn't it?

My Infographic-ed Life

Hi, happy Friday!
If you live in Abilene and havent checked my last post, please do. We are having a fundraiser for Japan tomorrow at the Abilene mall. Come with your friends and family, it will be fun!

Let me share my latest work. It's my last project for one of the graphic design classes I'm taking this semester. Feels good to be done!!!
In the class, we were asked to create a graphic about ourselves, so I decided to infographic my life so far :)
Here it is:

You can click and zoom in to see the details. Let me know if you have any suggestions!

Hope for Japan- Fundraiser

Hi, I hope you all are doing well.

I would like to announce a fundraiser for Japan that's happening at the Abilene mall tomorrow!
We will be selling t-shirts for $15, $20, and $25. We are also offering face painting, hanna tattoo, mime performance, and kimono try on. (I believe these are free.)

(t-shirt design)

It's been 2 month since the earthquake, but much help is still needed.  Please, come support Japan!! Bring your family and friends, too.

To see more details, visit here.

Hand Drawn Stuff

Happy post easter week! :)
Let me share the works I did lately that are done by hands.
Figure drawing stuff:

A copy from "Sargent Portrait Drawings: 42 Works by John Singer Sargent."

From a picture of my favorite Japanese writer, Soseki Natsume.

Typographical painting:

Acrylic on canvas.

I did this because I have been keeping up with this website called "Six Word Story Everyday" and wanted to do something similar. I came up with the story, "She slept listening to the silence," inspired by Albert Camus' "The Guest." 

For the style, I looked through works by Jeff Rogers for inspiration. He also went to the school that I go to, and I have heard his talks several times :) He is so nice and a great great designer. Check his website out if you haven't!!! 

Branding Myself

Hi all! I hope you all are doing well. I'm being quite scared by the coming thunderstorm that I hear at work. Being alone in the office today isn't fun... :/
Anyways! I designed a logo for myself in identity design class. Here it is:

I think I'll start using it as my logo! Let me know if you have any suggestions.

Another thing I wanna share is that I GOT A GUITAR!!!!

It's not a great guitar but a good one for a beginner, I heard :) I want to be able to play well enough to make sounds for my videos!

Simple Animations

Hi all :) I'm happy that it's almost weekend!
These days, I'm getting more and more into animation and song writing. Let me share two animations I made this past week here:


Stop motion :)


This one is more of a test. The animation is based on my illustration earlier this year, and the song is still an ongoing project.

I hope you like them!

Me

Hi, I hope you all are having a great weekend!
I'm in Dallas now :) My friend is taking TOEIC test, and I'm working on some projects at a Starbucks. I love big cities!! Being in a big city helps me to be more productive.
Here's the portlait of myself I finished this morning:

I think it pretty much looks like me... do you have any suggestions?

Auction for Japan

Hi all :)
Today I went to get my portfolio, leave behind, and resume printed out. I'm getting ready for the DSVC conference on Saturday. I'm so excited and nervous at the same time because this will be my first formal portfolio review/job interview in English...!! Wish me luck!

Since I got my portfolio done, I will take a little break from graphic design stuff tonight. Instead, let me share the fine art side of me :D

"Nagasaki"

(Honorable mention at Intercollegiate student competition 2011)

"Music"

(Selected in the Intercollegiate Student Competition 2011)

These works(and 2 others) will be sold at the silent auction at Abilene for Japan event on April 9th!
The event will be held in the downtown Abilene. I don't have the details yet, but I'll update it here as soon as I get it. All the proceeds made there will be used for Japan relief aid, so please come support us if you are in Abilene!!

The Optimist article on what we've been doing.

This Is

Hi :) I hope you are having a great weekend!
I worked on the This Is That design.

What do you think?

Also, not to forget about Japan, let me share a video that my friend made.

If you love art and design, Cause for Design is a great place to support Japan! You can purchase designs there, and all the money will be sent to Red Cross.

This is That(edited)

Hi!

I'm working on a design right now called "This is that, and that this is."

Here are 2 versions of it:

I like the phrase, so I want to explore it more.
Please leave a comment if you have any suggestion :)

Cause For Design

Hi :)
As I mentioned in the last post, I designed wall papers for iphones and desktops for Cause For Design fund riser to support Japan. Below are screen shots of the website. You can download the actual designs for $1, and the money will be sent to Red Cross.

Help Japan

Hi, I hope you all are having a great week! I went on a departmental trip to NY for spring break, and just got back to Texas last night. The trip was mind blowing. It made me want to be a designer who is meaningful to a community and to the world.

As being a Japanese, this whole crisis over there is impacting me so much. I've been emotionally up and down even my family and friends are all okay. I cannot imagine how tough it is for the people actually live there and have lost their loved ones.
I want to be strong and seek ways to support them as much as possible. It would be great if you can, too.

I found some ways to donate money. Here are lists:
-Donate $10 to Red Cross by texting "REDCROSS" to 90999
-If you like soccer, this is for you! You can buy a tshirt here, and the proceed will be sent to the Red Cross
-Download $1 wall papers for iphones here. This design is by me.

I'm sure there are tons of different ways to donate. Please help my country out. It's much needed over there and will be much appreciated!

Also, if you go to ACU, Japanese here will set donation box in the Campus Center next week.
So, come out and put some money there. Even coins will be a big help all together at the end!

Thank you for reading, and let's hope for Japan's fast recovery.

Entertainer

I made another video yesterday. So, I made three videos in a day. It's my habit to be deep drawn in something for a short while when I explore new stuff and get tired of it soon as well. Let's see how long it lasts this time.lol
Also, I should try to slow down and  get better quality video from next time. Encouragements needed :)
Anyways, here is the last video of yesterday:

Notice that sign in the back, too!

Making A Sign

Out of boredom, I created another video.
Since I have some more ideas for more videos, I wanted some sort of sign that I could put in all my videos in the future. So, I decided to make a name sign and film the process.
Here it is:

Making videos is a lot more fun than I thought it was! I'm getting into it :)

Potato Love

Hi :)
Last night when I was cooking curry, I found a weird/cute shaped potato. I wanted to do something with it, so I decided to give it a try to make a stop motion video.
I was very hungry at the time so it is super short, but it's a fun little video. I did the sound, too.
Here it is:

Kazaguruma

Wow, I can't believe it's almost been a month since the last post. Time flies!
School is keeping me busy as always. Especially this past week was crazy. But the good thing is that I got my first version of portfolio, leave behind, business card, and resume done :) We'll have a critique next week, and I'll get them refined by the end of this semester. It's pretty exciting.

So, I got some free time to make an illustration for fun and blog about it! (yaay finally!) Here it is:

"Kazaguruma(かざぐるま)" means pinwheel in Japanese.

I got inspired by a short film called "These Four Walls" by Wong Fu Productions.

Their stuff is so cool :) Check them out!

lalalala

Hi, hope you all are doing well!
It got hot(82 degrees) here today, and it helped me be super productive :))
Here is what I made for fun:

Since I'm most likely going back home after graduation, I decided to start studying Japanese fonts and designs. Even if I got to find a job in the States as I wish, it's good to know how to deal my own language :) As a starting point, I played around with alphabet and Katakana.
I got this done at work. It's so nice to have a desk job :)

Warhol Revised

Hi!

Yesterday we had a critique in our Digital Illustration class for the ironic portrait project. I got some really good advice. So, here is the revised version of the same illustration. I like it much better than the first version :) I have some other ideas in my mind, and I'll work on it after getting the art history test out of my way!

Soup Cans and ...?

Hi all :)
It's nice and warm here and I'm super happy!
I just finished a project for a digital illustration class. We were asked to do an ironic portrait.
Here it is:

I struggled a lot to get the likeness.

Can you tell who that is? ...its Andy Warhol.

Let me know what you think! 

Happy Unbirthday!

Hi, Happy... uhhhh... UNBIRTHDAY!!
If today actually was your birthday, then, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to you!! :)

This afternoon, I finally got to go check out a museum in town(The Center for Contemporary Art) to see if my works got into a student competition. The reception was like a month ago which I couldn't attend because of the injury in my neck. But guess what? Both of my works, a print and a painting, were there! This made my day.

Here are the (bad quality) pics of them taken by my cell phone:

(I'll make this pic small coz it's blurry and gives me motion sickness.)

Abilene is such a small town, but there are quite a few opportunities for us art students. I'm so thankful for that.

Oh, and our video on youtube got 100 views in a day. It's pretty good, huh? If you haven't checked it out, scroll down to the last post and watch. It's fun :)

Where the Hell are Xixi and Erika?!

Hi :) Today, my roommate and I made our first edited YouTube video. We had so much fun!

I LOVE having my own mac. We can do anything we want. Check it out and let us hear what you think! We will try to make more in the future and will get better at it.

Here it is:

50!!

YAY!! Finally, it's back to Spring here. It's 50 degrees outside now :) When it gets cold, it drops 60 degrees in Texas. When it gets warm, it also rises 60 degrees in Texas. WHAT THE..., well, but I'm happy about today's change!
I went to the school Mac lab and finished up an icon design project. Here they are:

Polaroid camera, Pumpkin pie and Sumo figthter. It was a fun project!

 

4th day of being bored and semi-productive

Ok, so 4th day of no school is ending. Gosh, it was so boring! I tried killing time by watching more youtube videos but it didn't go well. No more kevjumba videos to watch. I have watched all of them :( I can still watch them for 3rd or 4th times and enjoy, but doing so makes me feel so dumb. Because, you know, I start questioning myself, "What am I doing? Don't you have real friends!?"
Though, I still didn't wanna go out to find somebody because it's below 32 degrees. This is unacceptably cold to me.

So, what did I do today?
Well, I made burrito for breakfast with homemade tortillas. It was okay for the first try.
Then, I worked on a blog post for a class, and I did some more illustrations with pencil and watercolors. I really wish my Creative Suits got here this week. It will probably get here next week, though :) Can't wait!!!
Here are the ones I did today:

You are seeing the same girl over and over in the illustrations... yup, that's me! There are three reasons for picking myself:
1. I don't feel bad for messing it up
2. ...So I don't feel nervous
3. I don't have to get anybody's permissions when I upload them online

It's not that I'm in love with myself or anything, in case you are wondering!
I dug up old photos in my hard drive yesterday and today. The trips were quite nostalgic. The people in the illustrations other than me are my friends who probably wouldn't mind to be drawn. I will start exploring to draw different people when I have more confidence in this style. Let me know if you don't mind letting me practice with your face :D

...this might be the longest post ever.
I hope you enjoyed reading!

Watercolor and Pencil

Hi :)
The last day I had school was Monday... and it's Thursday today,  yeah. A big snowstorm hit us, and the whole city is completely frozen. If you are from the North part of the US, this might be nothing to you. But it's Texas, you know, we are not used to snow. It was up to 72 degrees on Monday at noonish, then it dropped 45 degrees in like 5 hours!! 
No school, no doctor, no running, no eating out... so what do I do!?


I ended up spending so much time Youtubeing and drawing.
I watched most of Kevjumba and Nigahiga videos.lol Now you think I'm such a dork. Well, I don't deny it, but they are really funny! I like their stuff a lot :)
I had fun drawing, too! My CS5 didnt get here on monday :(, so I couldn't do anything on adobe stuff yet. So I decided to explore a style that I long wanted to try but haven't. 
Here are what I did:

Pencil and watercolor on paper.

I was highly inspired by Esra Roise. I love her works!!! You can check them out here.


Stay warm, friends! :)