Sketch... Goodbye 2014!

Kawaii and Blythe inspired fashion illustration for the New Year 2015!

Meow there, Monday!  Here we are again... the year's coming to an end.  Saying goodbye to 2014 and welcoming another new year.  And feeling much older... not sure I like that!  LOL...  But life and time goes on whether we like it or not!  Anyway, greeting the new year in dots and circles!  All things round!!!  Very popular for New Year here and for Christmas as well... It symbolizes luck, fortune, wealth and prosperity!  Happy New Year to everyone!!!  May we all have the best of luck, good health and prosperity in 2015!!!  =^.^=

Having fun with this kawaii/Blythe doll inspired fashion figure.,.  A lot of fun!  Especially the hair!   Goal for the coming new year:  get better at drawing hair!   And hopefully my internet gets restored before the new year!!!  It's soooooooo frustrating!  More than a week now!  

Sketch... Christmas 2014!

Meow there!  Darn internet company!  Haven't been able to go online since last Saturday night...  Service is still down at the moment, but I'm currently using a pocket wifi my brother got me last night... Yay!  Got internet access!!!  I can blog again!  LOL...   Anyway, Merry, Meowy Christmas!!!  Have a wonderful holiday, everyone!  Forget the diet, Christmas only comes around once a year!  Enjoy!!!  =^.^=

Simple Christmas outfit... 

Thought I'd do a "different" fashion illustration/sketch from my usual style.  Been rather fascinated by those Blythe dolls for some time now.  Really enjoy pinning them on Pinterest!  They're just sooooo adorably cute and yet rather spooky.  Always, fashionably chic!!!  By the way, I didn't even notice, until a few months ago, that Blythe dolls don't have eyebrows!!!  No wonder they look somewhat a little spooky!  LOL...

Sketch... asymmetrical hairstyles

Fun with asymmetrical and edgy hairstyles...

Meow there, Monday!   Quick sketch, having fun with edgy, asymmetrical hairstyles.  For those times when you just can't decide if you want your hair long or short... So, why not have both!  =^.^=

Portrait... Javier Bardem in graphite

Javier Bardem portrait in graphite and watercolor pencils.

Meow there, Monday!  Wet and COLD weekend...  Glad Typhoon Ruby (international name: Hagupit) is on its way out of the country!  It was a rather anxious wait the past few days for the typhoon... with weather reports that were gloom-and-doom.  Thankfully it wasn't as bad as Yolanda (Haiyan)!  Anyway, posting the "finished" Javier Bardem portrait I was doing last week.  He has a very interesting (and good looking!!!) face, especially for an artist.  Lot of angles that play with light, shadow and contrast.  =^.^=

Added a little color, with watercolor pencils.  Kind of bored with doing all-graphite portraits... 

Javier is such a great actor!!!  "Biutiful" is certainly one of the best movies I've ever watched!  Watched it about four or five times coz it is such an great movie.  I love how he portrayed the character.  It's definitely not a pretty movie, it's actually rather heart-wrenching and some scenes are really harsh.  But I love it!   Watched also some of his other movies - Mondays in the Sun, Before Night Falls, Vicky Cristina Barcelona and Goya's Ghosts... Can't get enough of his acting!!!  He really brings those characters to life and sooooo believable!

Very nice interview.  You get to know more about him as an actor and why he is such a good one.  And despite the very negative character he plays, he is actually a funny and positive person!

In Progress... Javier Bardem portrait

Meow there, Monday!  Having a lot of fun with portraits, I'm doing another one again!  Haven't finished this one yet though.  =^.^=

Sharing some of the songs I'm currently listening to while doing art stuff.  Loving these songs!

   

One of my faves at the moment!  

Just discovered this one yesterday...  Loving the song and the music video!!!!!!

Portrait... Miguel Bosé in graphite

Miguel Bose portrait in graphite, watercolor and watercolor pencils...

Meow there, Monday!  It's another portrait!  I really miss doing them. This one is of latin singer Miguel Bose.  One of my fave singers!   As mentioned previously, I recently revisited my old digital music archive... Went through them and decided to search for those old time fave songs on YouTube.  Found a treasure trove of new songs!  Well, maybe they're old songs for some, but for me they're new.  Anyway, found some great Miguel Bose songs, and have been listening to them and those of Alejandro Fernandez and Franco de Vita's for the past several weeks... Sooooooo loving these songs!!!   Don't think you can ever get sick and tired of great songs...   =^.^=

I kind of got bored of doing all black and grey graphite portraits... Thought I'd add a bit of color to "brighten it up", make it a bit more interesting. Light layers of watercolor pencils (and wash), smudged graphite and watercolor.   The "finished" portrait isn't what I had pictured in my mind.  I wanted to do it rather sketchy and with bold, stroke-y background... My hand seems to have it's own idea of how to go about it though... LOL... 

Had a rather hard time deciding which of his songs to include in this blogpost... Soooooo many beautiful songs but I don't want to make this blogpost too long.  "Morena Mia" and "Nena" have to be included of course.  Had them in my archive and were my faves then... and still are, especially with these live versions!   

       
Loving this song even more after checking out the translation of the lyrics online...
Playful, flirty and a little naughty... ;-)

This is my new "happy song"!!!

"En silencio y en secreto, te amare..."  I love this line!!!

Sometimes I get goosebumps while listening to his ballads...  

In-progress... Miguel Bose portrait

Update (11/24/2014):  "Finished" portrait is on this link, please clickie-click (here)...

Meow there!  Doing another portrait... I miss doing them!  Will be posting the finished portrait on Monday.  Yeah, I like watching music videos on YouTube while I'm drawing.  I need my music (and inspiration!) while I'm working.     =^.^=

Sketch... long hair practice

Meow there, Monday!  Previously posted some practice sketches on short and midlength hairstyles, this time it's long hairstyles.   Still need more practice!!!   It still is one of those things that I just can't seem to get right!  Grrrrrrr..................      =^.^=

Portrait... Alejandro Fernández in graphite

Portrait - Alejandro Fernandez, done in graphite and pencil

Meow there, Monday!  Finally "finished" the portrait I was doing but wasn't able to finish in time for last Monday.   Anyway, I recently went back to my old digital music archive and decided to look up them up on YouTube.  Always a wonderful and exciting treat to discover new songs and new artists... I love YouTube!   Been playing and replaying these new (and old faves!) songs on YouTube over and over and over and over... for the past several weeks! Still loving the songs...  Thank goodness for websites that translate song lyrics!  It would have taken me a loooong time using my old Spanish dictionary and notes... Knowing the meaning of the lyrics makes the songs so much more endearing, and I appreciate the songs so much more as well...   Alejandro Fernandez has such a beautiful smile and amazing voice!   =^.^=

I love his smile!!!  

Been a while since I last did a portrait...   This is actually my second attempt at this one. The first one turned out awful!  Didn't know what I was doing at all!   Wanted to do color too but ended up turning him into an Oompa-Loompa... LOL...  Still have to do lots of practice to get better at portraits!

I've had this song in my Ipod for years!  

Fell in love with this song all over again, especially this live version...  =)

Love, love, love how he looks in this video...
The hairstyle looked great on him!

El es muy, muy caliente!  ;-)

Love it when he hits the high notes at the end of this video...  amazing voice!

Still working on it!

Meow there, Monday!  Only have a WIP for today's post, I'm still working on it!  Well, actually this is my second attempt on this one...  Haven't done a portrait in a while, so not quite sure what I was doing.  Hope this second attempt works out fine!  =^.^=

Design/Video... color and contrast

Graphic black and white party outfit... 

Meow there, Monday!  Something sexy and elegant... for that special date night!   Or perhaps for the many upcoming Holiday parties in December?   Anyway, added the lavender for color accent/interest and to soften the edginess of the black and white contrast.   Accessorize with something shiny and sparkly for the Holidays!  =^.^=

I made a quick video of my inking...  

Sketch... hair practice, midlength

Meow there, Monday!  Practicing on midlength hairstyles this time... Still got ways to go! Love doing these hair sketches...  One of my fave parts of doing my fashion sketches/illustrations is drawing in the face and hair, especially "putting on the lipstick"!   So, these practice sketches are so much fun!   =^.^=

Label Sketch... Alexis Mabille S/S 2015 Ready to Wear

Alexis Mabille Spring/Summer 2015 Ready to Wear

Meow there, Monday!   I'm loving this dress from Alexis Mabille's Spring/Summer 2015 collection!   Yeah, it's simple but I love it...  =^.^=

Label Sketch... Daks Spring/Summer 2015

Daks Spring/Summer 2015

Meow there, Monday!  Cute outfit from Daks Spring/Summer 2015 ready-to-wear collection...  Loving the purply/lavendery color and the draping!   Loving many of the looks from this collection as well.  =^.^=

Yummy ube (purple yam) ice cream!  

Label Sketch... Ohne Titel ss2015

Ohne Titel, Spring/Summer 2015

Meow there, Monday!  I love this collection!  Loving the crisscross elements... especially the ones on the neckline.  And the draped strands across the body... cute!  Oh, yeah, and those gorgous, sexy, strappy heels!!!    =^.^=

Label Sketch... Porsche Design, Spring-Summer 2015

Porsche Design, Spring-Summer 2015

Meow there, Monday!  Loving this outfit from Porsche Design's Spring-Summer 2015 collection.   Had to think about which piece in the collection to illustrate...  Soooo many nice designs!  Sleek, modern and chic!  =^.^=

Pencil, watercolor base and using watercolor pencils and pencil for color enhancement/shading...

Label Sketch... Reem Acra, Spring 2015 Ready to Wear

Reem Acra, Spring 2015 Ready to Wear

Meow there, Monday!  I'm loving Reem Acra Spring 2015 collection!  Very elegant, feminine and sexy...  Simple silhouettes but with lovely draping and playful, sparkly beadwork. Very nice colors and fabrics.  Very much enjoy this collection!  =^.^=

Label Sketch/Video... Josie Natori, Spring 2015 Ready-to-Wear

Josie Natori, Spring 2015 Ready-to-Wear

Meow there, Monday!  Spring 2015 Fashion Week has begun!  Yay!  Starting off this series of fashion week runway illustrations with this cute outfit from Josie Natori.  Thought I'd make a short video too...  Not the full process though, it's rather difficult to get into the detailing with the camera between me and the sketchpad, and ipad as well.  =^.^=

Quick video of my sketching and partial rendering/coloring of this illustration...

Nice interview by CNN Talk Asia not too long ago...

Sketch... practising on short hairstyles

Meow there, Monday!   Although I've been drawing hair many, many times, I haven't really put much thought on drawing/sketching it properly.  I always just randomly draw lines to the general hairstyle I had in mind, fill in with watercolor, ink and sometimes, watercolor pencils.  (Same process as with my fashion figures, actually!)  So, I've been consciously drawing/sketching it lately.  Paying much more attention to the way hair actually  flows and falls... curls and waves.  Hair is complicated!   Defintely need more practice.  As they say - "Practice makes perfect!"  =^.^=

By the way, it's the 1st day of SeptemBER today,,, that's the start of the "Ber Months"! Christmas has unofficially begun here in the Philippines!  Yay!  My fave holiday and time of the whole year, always...  Let's get the holiday spirit going with some Christmas tunes!!!   

Still one of my all-time faves... All I want for Christmas!

The Muppets!!!

Not quite a Christmas song, but I love this one...  Many of my faves in this one!  One of my fave movies (Neptune's Daughter), fave actress (Esther Williams), fave comedian (Red Skelton, he's so adorably funny!!!), fave scenes from a movie...  And I just love, love, love Esther's dress in the scene!  So simple, yet so beautiful and elegant!  It's been years since I last saw the movie, but I remember the fashions were fabulous!  Esther's character was a designer, swimwear I think...

Sketch... smoky blue

Casual style - shirtdress in colorblock and stripes...

Meow there, Monday!   And the weekend continues on to the new week!  It's Heroes Day today!  Yay!  And starting this new week with a casual outfit, maybe for the office perhaps.  I'm loving this smoky shade of blue!  =^.^=

As always,  watercolor base and then watercolor pencils for shading and color depth.

   

Not so messy desk for this fashion sketch!  ;-)

Sketch... denim T

White tee, denim shorts and Converse Chuck Taylors...

Meow there, Monday!  Going for a relaxed outfit today... super comfy and still fashionable, of course!  Denim and white tee, classic fashion pairing.  Completing the look with equally classic, Chuck Taylors.  All my fave fashion pieces in one sketch!  Yay!  =^.^=

Sketch... greenery stripery

Green stripe tube top dress with ombre effect

Meow there, Monday!  As green as the meadow and the grass, and the leaves, and the... ummm... whatever else is green!  So, it's a green outfit sketch today.  Not quite my fave color, so I don't do green much.  Anyway, it's stripe with ombre effect at the lower part of the dress.   =^.^=

Sketch... graphic wrap

Meow there, Monday!   Going graphic for today...  classic wrapdress in classy/elegant color scheme of grey, black and some punches of red accents.  =^.^=

Sleeveless wrapdress with graphic print...

Sketch... sunny blue

Meow there, Monday!  Wanted to do a "summery" sketch, it's been a cloudy and rainy weekend!   Although I love the rain, I miss Summer.  So this is sort of a feel-good sketch...  sunny/summery and with my fave color, blue!  =^.^=

Classic blue and white casual outfit...  again!  ;-)

Sketch... purpli-cues

Meow there, Monday!  A quick sketch for today...  going for loose and "cutesy" pigtail hairstyle, with purple ribbons for the "cutesy" look.  And played with some leafy/petal-y curlicues.  Fun!  =^.^=

Loose pigtails... a little wisp of wind for movement.

Sketch... shift to sexy!

Meow there, Monday!   Starting the new week with my fave color!  I loooove blue...  So please excuse me as I indulge myself with my favorite color again.  =^.^=

Navy blue shift dress, with squiggly "stripes"...