Happy Chinese New Year!!!

Disclaimer: I blame my boyfriend for this post.

I've always had a habit of painting my nails. Since the 7th grade, I've used Sally Hansen's Chrome collection and kept my nails metallic year-round. My favourites were always the blues and silvers. I never did much other than a simple layer of solid colour.

Sally Hansen Chrome dried very quickly, and only ever required one layer. It was also much less offensive in odour than most. The downside was that it chipped extremely easily. But because it's very opaque, it's perfect for stamping!

Well, Chrome by Sally Hansen has long been discontinued. Thanks to my coworker Alicia, I've discovered GOSH nail polish. They have the perfect metallics!

GOSH "Ocean" topped with white floral stickers

My childhood friend Debbie introduced to me Konad Stamping Nail Art a few years back. I really like the product concept, as it lets you combine any amount of images in any way you like. It does take a while to get used to the procedure, but once you get the hang of it, it's extremely convenient.
After a little bit of practice, this was my first success:

Sally Hansen: Chrome "Sizzlin' Crystal" base
Sally Hansen: Hard As Nails Xtreme Wear "Gunmetal" plaid print
Sally Hansen: Hard As Nails w/ Nylon "Heartbeat" lace print

Of course, I find Konad to have some flaws as well. First off, the material scratches up like nothing else. The scraper could just as easily be made out of a rigid rubber and work just as well. But of course, material and production cost is an issue, so we just work with what we have for now. Debbie and I soon got into the habit of trading plates so that we can both use a larger variety of designs without purchasing more.

After a few attempts, I decided it was an awesome (and stupid) idea to host a manicure party at work!
We laid out all our nail polish and tools on the staff table in the basement of Crocs and had ourselves a blast, what with the combination of Crocs fumes, nail polish fumes, and booze. The below was the result of that night:

GOSH "Black Passion" base
GOSH "Metallic Blue" print

At this point, it only took me about ten minutes to do a base and print, or half an hour to complete a 2-3 layered design. I did my nails on a regular basis, which was probably very annoying for my roommates since it smelled bad.

GOSH "Purple Heart" base
GOSH "Golden Dragon" net print
GOSH "Metallic Purple" bamboo print

Soon I was confident enough to do my own nails for events. I started taking care of my cuticles too, with constant applications of hand lotion and trimming. I also began to use nail files more rather than clipping the nails. Filing your nails prevents chipping or flaking, and also promotes growth as it stimulates the nail base with vibrations. The below is an image of my nails I prepared for Tian Le's engineering graduation ball. I was very proud of it because it took me an extremely long time to layer about 4 coats of white in order to make it look like pearls. And the worst part was, each layer took about half an hour to fully dry. In case you didn't know, patience is not within my vocabulary.

Sally Hansen: Hard As Nails w/ Nylon "Super Frost Platinum" base
Sally Hansen: Hard As Nails Xtreme Wear "Brick Wall" floral print

Sally Hansen: Hard As Nails Xtreme Wear "Brick Wall" base
Konad "White" floral print

Alicia and I then made a trip to Mary's for another mini nail event. This was actually the first time I let somebody else do my nails! Alicia had a whole bunch of amazingly bright colours that I would have never thought of applying on myself.

Wet N Wild "Inferno" base
American Apparel "Manila" star and pattern prints

I then started using the top of a pen or the back of a paintbrush as a dotting tool. This only worked for so long, since using nail polish remover on those end up eventually ruining my brush/pen. I decided soon after to get an actual dotting tool. They're metal tipped, and double ended for different sizes. The size of the dot really then just depends on how much polish you have, or how much you press onto the nail.

GOSH "Ocean" base

GOSH "Purple Heart" base
GOSH "Metallic Blue" seahorse print and bubbles

It took me almost two years to buy another new plate, since I never really felt the need to. In the end, I only used this plate twice, because Debbie bought me a master plate. The master plate has all the designs from B01 to B36, which is more than I'll ever need. Any other designs I need are acquired through friends who also collect stamping art plates. At this point, there were many other plates that were not necessarily brand name. For the lack of a pleasant term, they were "copies" of Konad plates, and then some custom designed ones began appearing on the market as well. These were much more affordable, but I still purchase from Konad to support the company.

GOSH "Ocean" base
GOSH "Metallic Purple" floral and lace print

One day, Alicia gave me a bottle of nail glitter! I got super excited and decided to do a new design using the sponging method to create a gradient. The next day, I arrived at Crocs for my shift to discover that we have a new sparkly pink bracelet that matched my nails perfectly, right down to the pearl!!!

photography: Danny Kim
Sally Hansen: Hard As Nails w/ Nylon "Super Frost Platinum" base
Sally Hansen: Hard As Nails w/ Nylon "Heartbeat" gradient
GOSH "Nero" floral print
silver nail glitter with metallic chameleon purple butterfly flakes

A few months ago, I read about magnetic nail polish is Asia. I looked for it everywhere here, but with no success. Two months ago, I was extremely excited to find Nails Inc London Magnetic Polish available at Sephora. They only had three colours available, and of course, I bought them all. I was originally looking for Layla Magneffect polishes, which Alicia said had recently appeared in Rexall Pharmacies.

Magnetic nail polish is extremely expensive, so buying several colours already breaks the wallet. Trying to buy more for the sake of more patterns is also a pain. Luckily, I've found that one of my favourite stores sells magnets individually!

I've been a loyal customer to Phoenix Beauty Lounge, so it was a pleasant surprise when they began to sell magnetic polishes. There, I bought a few more patterns at an extremely low rate. I figured this was the best solution, as I pretty much have all the colours I would ever use anyways. The only colour I would like to add to the magnetic collection is a nice deep red, which none of the manufacturers offer just yet.

photography: Danny Kim
Nails Inc London: Magnetic Polish "Trafalgar Square" base

Nails Inc London: Magnetic Polish "Houses Of Parliament" base
Sally Hansen: Chrome "Sizzlin' Crystal" dots
metallic pink butterfly flakes

I recently also began using a lot of fimo, cut outs, and rhinestones. I also have been experimenting with transfers, gradients, and layering effects. I now leave you with a design for Chinese New Year! I especially like the Nails Inch London Special Effects polish because it reminds me of (muscovite) mica, which (I don't care what anyone says!) I perceive as one of the most beautiful minerals. This time, I themed the design around Chinese enamel vases.

This year is special to me, because I am a dragon as well. The dragon's natural element is wood, and is of the yang force. I was born the year 1988, making me an earth dragon. This year, we celebrate the water dragon! Honestly, I've always wished to be born either the water or the metal dragon, but since when do we get to choose our birth, right?

photography: Danny Kim
Nails Inc London: Special Effects "Kensington" base
Nails Inc London: Special Effects "Wyndham" overglaze
Sally Hansen: Insta-Dri "Whirlwind White" dragon print
GOSH "Metallic Blue" ying-yang print
flower fimo, metal gold leaf, and red bead

Happy Chinese Near Year~! I wish everyone another year of health, prosperity, and happiness!

penis

That is right. This post is about penises. Mary, Alicia, and I were walking home together after work today, and we were theorizing why Chinese men have smaller penises.

Mary thinks that maybe it was due to the mass migration. If you consider the theory that we all came from Africa, then the only route logical for a mass migration to China would be through the Himalayas. The climate and food supply cause them to evolve with smaller ... everything?

Alicia and I thought that it would be because they shrink in the cold.

I pitched forward the idea that perhaps due to diet or climatic changes, the women were smaller. And therefore the men had to evolve to match that. If a woman wants to bear children, they would select the man accordingly. And before you make a comment about size = pleasure; yes, there is such a thing as too big.

Kel agrees with Alicia, in that the men shrunk. They shrunk for the same reason Asians have smaller eyes. Their thicker eye lids allow more blood vessels to protect the eyes and peep through the cold. Presumably, a smaller penis means there is less surface area, therefore less cooling and body temperature drop.

Scott believes that all races are equal, and that height need to be taken into consideration for a ratio.

Statistics do consider height in the studies. And we can all go do our research into this.
But the fun of it is theorizing on our own from rumours, limited knowledge, and experience!

Disclaimer:
Not a serious theory!

jin

Click Jin's bloodthirsty eyes to see the full image.

Jin is the first male I've drawn in a very long time that didn't turn out looking like a chick. Sure, I rushed this contest entry (as always) and the airbrushing sucked. But the important thing is: he looks like a dude.

The rough pencil sketch.

This was done before my Wacom Cintiq 21UX. Sketching was faster on paper than on computer, and also much less stressful on my carpel tunnel.

Line-art and base colours.

I admit I got lazy, but I was also short on time. I had less than half a day to complete this, so I cheated on the line-art. I used the pen [P] tool *cries* and didn't even do any dynamic lines. That's right, it was all 1pixel throughout. And I am not proud of it.

Primary shading: brown and black.

I started doing some quick shading using my Wacom Graphire4 4"x5". I went against the rules and started with the darkest colours first, which helped me determine the contrast of the entire image from the get-go. Typically, if I have the time, I wouldn't do it this way because it destroys the chances of me setting a good tone and atmosphere. But I had already decided on the background before I started the sketch, so this was A-O-K lol.

Roughly shade in the rest of him, then start highlights.

I typically set the paintbrush [B] to 16% opacity (and set the dynamics too of course) then put it on a layer set  on Multiply. I would lay the base colour on top of itself, which when multiplied, looks great. Then I would sample [alt on B, or I] that result and brush it over again for darker areas~ and repeat. Eraser [E] is also usually set to 16% with brush dynamics set to my liking.

The skin and the blades are shaded.

I was super cheap here on the blades. In the base colours layers' blending properties, I played around with gradient and pattern overlays. Then I did the quick shading on a Multiply layer. Remember, clipping masks are your best friend~ [right click layer, select option] And a neutral background makes it easier to see your shading or if your base colours were spilling over your line-art.

Resized and added a comic background.

I used the paintbrush [B] on 100% hardness and 100% opacity to spatter dots of random sizes all over the background layer. This sat over a layer with rendered static. Then I merged the dots and static layers, and played around with different distortion effects (such as Motion Blur and Pinch) until I got the above effect~ Use the circle crop [M] tool with a feather to clear out the middle. Values will vary depending on the size of the image, therefore it's useless for me to list what my numbers were.

Speech explosion and the back of the Dark Lord's hat head.

Using the wand [W] I clicked the centre of the background layer and selected all the white area. I had to play with different tolerance levels to achieve the right balance of black and white. Create a new layer after making the selection. Right click on the selected area and fill it with a colour on the new layer. After I did this, I also went into the layer's blending properties to set a radial gradient.

On fire!

I played around with different colours in the gradients to decide on what kind of tone I wanted the image to be. The orange reminds me of Naruto.

Cartoonish cool blue!

The blue looked almost TMNT-like o_O I'm not sure how I feel about that.

The final result.

In the end, I lowered the saturation for the background colour. Overall, I suppose this is the best I could have done in the few hours I had. In addition, I think the Dual Blade class is stupid, which does not help when it's the subject I am drawing. The link to the full size piece is the very first image of this post: click his eyes!!!
Now go eat some markers.

commissions and art trades

I absolutely hate commissions.

Usually I'll get requests on online communities or MMO forums. I would get paid in game currency or virtual commodities. In cases like these, no matter what shit I spew out, it's always "amazing" and perfect. The Selfy (TinierMe) I commissioned below was for PenguinPop's contest. Less than two hours of work, and I win first prize.

penguinpop art contest

But once it turns to real life currency, it all goes down the shit hole. They aren't willing to pay their initial offer unless they are 100% satisfied. Or they will nitpick at every detail and possibly change their desired theme every half hour, resulting in over 6-8 hours of work for an extremely low price. We are talking about the same people who are giving away their in-game items.

For those who have never been on communities such as TinierMe, Gaia Online, or even MMOs like Maple Story and FlyFF, here's how things work:
People will pay real money to purchase in-game items.
Then they will hold contests or requests commissions for artists in those communities, resulting in giving away those said items.
The amount of money I receive in the form of in-game items through a contest or commission is usually greater than the amount of money I would charge a 2hr commission.

What's even more messed up, is when I randomly create pieces in my own time or for school and then print them out, they sell for $10-$40 each print. These are not geared towards any specific audience, and was not intended to be sold. It just happened that I made them, I printed them out, and then people wanted them.

random art for school assignments

So the break down of this is as follows:
I CG something you request in -2 hours,
you throw at me $5-$10 worth of in-game items.
I CG something you request in 4+ hours,
you argue why $5-10 real life money is way too expensive.
I CG some random shit,
you throw at me $10-40 real life money and then offer more.

I do not understand commissions...
Alternatively, I love art trades and collaborations. To be able to share different styles and techniques - and sometimes merge it altogether into one piece - really opens up new areas to explore.

Speaking of which, I still have ::bell:: line-art up for grabs, since my collab partner for that got too busy to finish coloring it. I plan on redo-ing ::and yours:: and possibly looking for a collab buddy for that too. And although I've completed ::gaze:: for a dA contest last year, I feel like I should redo the environment as well. It was far too rushed, as I only remembered about the contest the day before the deadline.


  

  

rising

Let's talk about my first Adobe Photoshop piece. Ever.

2005/2006. Adobe Photoshop CS2. The only tools I knew how to use were brush, eraser, and smudge. I didn't know about layers, or opacity. The Orbis statue was created in one file, and the mage in another file. I then copied and pasted it into the Orbis statue file, and noticed the layers. At this point, I still had no clue how to use them, or how to create new ones. So the sky was a separate file, and then the clouds another (at which I discovered the effects. Twirl!!!)

That being the case, this turned out extremely well for my first piece. After, when I discovered how to (sort of) use layers, I changed the Maple Lama Staff to my own creation: the Cosmos Staff, which I submitted to the anniversary contest in honour of the best Maple Story guild ever!

While doing this piece, I was extremely frustrated, and I knew there had to be an easier way. But as stubborn as I was (and still am) I wanted the satisfaction of finishing it without the help of anything or anyone.

One thing that OCAD has taught me in my four years there, was to immediately Google search anything I want to achieve but don't necessarily know how to. Not that it's a terrible thing at all. It means access to knowledge and methods that I would not have known otherwise. On the other hand, I now lack that same eagerness and determination to complete a difficult (and perhaps impossible) task. Learning by trial and error became near non-existant.
This was one of the many points brought up in my thesis; a matter of disconnect, wired, and unwired. Not to say that it is "good" or "bad"... there is no such thing. Just a change in pace and lifestyle that may or may not be to my benefit.
And I would apply this to the general industrialized human population, but I'm sure I don't need to get into that for anyone who actually reads this shit.

shameless self promotion

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