Summing up the last of 2012

Right after Christmas and before the New Years.
Was a week of adventure with my family and peers.

Basically, my only rest day was the 26th.

As usual, we have an outing! This LK Escapade was hosted by our very own Daddy Danton in their home at Canyon Woods, Tagaytay. Since it is right after Christmas the weather was really cold at night and cool in the mornings, so I just wanted to share my "photography" of Tagaytay in the early morning.

~A Foggy Friday Morning~

I love this outing the most because we get to have our own version of our Christmas dinner. I know I didn't cook any of these and I usually just end up part of the cleaning crew (for around 12 people) but I still find it absolutely heartwarming.

~An LK Christmas Dinner~

And though a lot of booze was running around, we still had wholesome games of Werewolf, Taboo, Monopoly Deal and Wata! Booze games include the usual Ring of Fire, Beer Pongs and (for lack of better name) Lowest Card.

I got home at around 12AM on the 29th, and believe it or not, my parents thought it'd be fun to go all the way to Pangasinan (around 5 hours of nonstop driving) to visit Our Lady of Manaoag. Then travel another 3-4 hours to Subic. That is what I call a roadtrip. However, I do believe that I needed to be awfully thankful for 2012. It was fun and it's a year I most definitely will not forget.

~Our Lady Of Manaoag~

Good Bye 2012,
AnaRay

I'm cashing in my luck this holiday season.

Well, hello potato!

I've been attending Simbang Gabi for the past days and if you don't know what that is. It's basically a nine day novena before Christmas that's held at four in the morning. You read that right FOUR in the MORNING! And, it's a way to ask for wishes or guidance. So, as I've said, I've been cashing it in.

For starters, I passed my finance subject. I seriously needed 110/120 in our finals exam. Either I was really smart or my incentives just pulled me up. No matter which, I am thankful because I really did learn something from that class and this means I'll see my professor again next year.

The other was my US visa, I was seriously nervous 'cause I was stopped so much before the actual process. My reasons were 1) I forgot to remove my USB out of my bag; 2) I had chewing gum in my bag, and 3) Finger scans are hard!

Lastly, was our block party last December 18. I really find it hard hosting parties but apparently I did a well enough job according to my friend, Elilea's post.

So... art? A somewhat mechanical horse.

Inspired by this amazing animation.

Well, that's it for now.
AnaRay

It's the Holidays again!

Again, another month of hibernation from my blog.

BUT, I am back for the holidays. So, to kick things off, here's an unfinished illustration/fashion sketch.

~Photo enhanced by the Pixlr-o-matic app~

Loving this Pixlr-o-matic App! It's easy to use and there are a lot of effects that you could apply on photos. Sigh, it's really fun plus, it's free. It's also available online at Pixlr.com but it's always nice to have it around.

And here's another one, just because.

I just finished finals around two days ago, it lasted from 8AM 'til 8PM and well, I had to pull up a few good ones so BAM! No social life for me.

I was really planning on drawing Toothiana from Rise of the Guardians but got distracted with fashion sketches. Oh Tumblr is such a fun and mystical place, though I don't have one.

COUNTDOWN: 11 Days 'til Christmas.
                             1 Week 'til 12/21/12

AnaRay

A month has passed!

Close to a month anyway, but it's been a barrage of quizzes then midterms.

So, to keep myself somewhat sane I began sketching fictional animals like the...

Rabbiphant. (Rabbit-Elephant Crossover)

and this Flying Pigster, with a little inspirational help from my friend Mae. (Bird-Pig-Hamster Crossovers)

lastly, the Flarhingo with a little inspirational help from Jeth. (Flamingo-Rhino Crossover)

The last two were written behind my philosophy readings so it's really messy. LOL.

Other than these, had a surprise celebration for Mae, which was cool and surprised me as well.

Then, had a really awesome 3D2N with the most awesmazing people. Lounge Kroo

And, ended October with this pose. Hahaha, I've always wanted a pose like this.

Over and out! See you blogworld around,

AnaRay

i'm busy without the stress... as of now.

October 6, 2012: Masquerade/Realistic Eyes

Hello world...

One of my most wanted things to do was to draw "realistic" eyes. And, I think I have finally achieved this goal with this masquerade piece. It's just one artwork however my friend asked me to try and color it in. I wanted to see what would happen too!

~Realistic Eyes on Masquerade Girl~

But, I come to the conclusion that maybe I should have stuck with B&W. It's still pretty though. Like a California girl color theme, I guess.

~Testing Color on Masquerade Girl~

That's it for now!
AnaRay

i have read the law and i don't think i should be afraid of it any longer. ^_^

October 2, 2012: Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012

Kicks off.

I have no idea as to what I'm allowed to do, say or post that would be acceptable or not. To know my current state, just Google search the title and have your own opinions about it. But, as of now, I'm keeping to myself 'til I fully understand and contemplate on this.

This blog will be on hold.
AnaRay

For more information: Republic Act No. 10175 | Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines

September Update: Stress Relief Kit

It's been awhile since I did anything... well, special.

But today... today... is slightly different. So, I'm taking this class about Personal Effectiveness. I loved my class last year because my professor was cool like that and my new one is just as cool. YAY! Though, he has me writing a paper every after lesson. Still cool though.

I'll share a part of our assignment today to all of you. The thing is to create a... Stress Relief Kit or Wellness Kit. I have random stuff in here and I'm supposed to say how it helps me and when I use it. So of course, I have no real work but studying; thus, most are stressing on deadlines and little details.

~Stress Relief Kit~

1. At the lower right, you’ll see a sachet of tea. I drink this every night when I have a big exam and/or project in the making.

2. The book shows how I deal with my diet. Medically, I cannot be any heavier. Also, learning new things help calm down for some reason.

3. Then, there is a pack of mints because fresh breathe has a good feeling to it. Usually I chew on some before publicly speaking or meeting new people.

4. Then, I have nail polish and a paintbrush. Art is a way for me to release pent up stress and emotions so whether the art be on my fingers or paper is good enough for me. I do this usually when I’m stuck in a paper and I just have to let my mind wander.

5. The bookmark at the lower left signifies reading books outside of my studies because I like being teleported away from the reality from time to time.

6. The sleeping pack is like a sleeping mask. As a girl, I just love how it cools my face after feeling so frustrated from not being able to accomplish what I want.

7. The rosary is something I have almost the whole day. Because, at the end of the day, I can only ask that what I’ve done is the best I could and hope that God sees that as well.

So much words... have a little art from stress!

~Simple Tree with Purple Flowers~

And, something my friend, Elilea, handed to me around a week ago.

~Ahh, little charms!~

And, I'm off...
AnaRay

In my kit: Sleeping Pack, Clear Nail Polish and Lavender Nail Polish from Etude House. Light Blue Lucid Nail Polish from Missha. Jasmine Blossom Green Tea from Stash. Jasmine Flavored Mints from Mint Q. Random Paintbrush. Hanbok Bookmark from Korea. Colored Rosary from somewhere.

September 7-8, 2012: A Whole New Year

Well, it is... for me anyway.

I've been out... celebrating with my family and family friends. I suck at gathering up my friends for my birthday simply because I'm lazy at that.

So, what have I accomplished now? Well, this monstrosity...

~A Thousand Piece Puzzle of the Scenic Route~

And, what has happened through out this weekend?

~Bellevue Macchiato Cheesecake~

~Chili's Birthday Surprise~

~Le Petit Cherie Blueberry Muffin~

And, what did I get?

~Camilla Eco Bag~

~Camilla Grey Backpack~

Okay, turning nineteen isn't something big. Especially when, you just got over turning eighteen which is a big thing here in the Philippines. A debut is similar to the Sweet Sixteen or Quinceanera. So, nineteen turns out to be big blah after that.

I'd like to quickly thank my family and family friends. And especially, to my friends who actually remembered my birthday and had time to greet me one way or another. ^_^

Three days 'til school,
AnaRay

August 20-25, 2012: Koreanovela-Inspired Sketch

08-22-2012
Asian television series have a big impact on me.

Every day, I watch either Korean dramas, variety shows, Japanese cartoons or Chinese movies. I watch them so often that I sometimes get the accent if I try really hard.

It's still a work in progress but I'm stuck. I really don't know where to go from there. Ahhh, is there really such a thing as an illustrator's block, similar to a writer's block? Very traditional if I have to describe it.

I took some pictures to see how it looks like on my computer and ended up letting you guys see the process. I admit that I do have addiction to drawing bare trees...

Three days later... 08-25-2012

The last draft from the series... came a little later since I was stuck but here is the final final draft. Edited out the shadows for a little bit of depth. Now she doesn't look like she's walking on barren land. ^_^

~Walking Away~

So happy!

AnaRay

August 18, 2012: Vogue Party

I do not like college parties.

Maybe it's because they're so far away from where I'm from. Or maybe because I don't drink alcohol. Or because I'm the kind of a introverted person. Or it's probably because these things are costly.

But, I need some points for a class and I just had to support a friend of mine who was performing that night. This party was held at Seventh High in Bonifacio High Street. Long story short, everything around it is expensive, think... Rodeo Drive of Beverly Hills.

~That is me... winning a necklace~

Once I get into these events though, I try as much as I can to have fun. Which means... I have to be outgoing and loud, which drains a lot of energy. Back in highschool, I probably would have loved these kinds of events but... things have changed I guess.

We (me and Jeth) each got a prize... She, an a-Jays earphones and I, a necklace from Qwin Accessories.

~About to laugh~

Right after the program, we had some dinner in Italianni's. One of the expensive restaurants around but it was where we ended up in. After that, some of them went back to the party and a few of us went out to look for dessert. Got myself some expensive gelato from Gelatissimo, and it was really good.

Alas, there's not really much to talk about.

AnaRay

August 17, 2012: Anime Roots

The main reason why I wanted to learn how to draw was because I was so inspired by anime and manga.

While browsing through them back in the good old days, I told myself that one day... one day, I'd learn how to atleast be able to do a standing person. It's been around five years or so, and still I have difficulties with drawing a hand.

I swear, that it is the most intricate thing to ever be drawn if I ever do accomplish it.

Okay, so medium used for this drawing actually included the Steadtler pens, Dream On Foundation from Etude House, and Perfect Cover BB Cream No. 23 from Missha. The last two are from my make up kits.

I don't get out much these days...
AnaRay

August 10-12, 2012: The Aftermath

The weekend had been very nice. The rain has stopped and I was able to go out with friends and family.

Friday Night: Having at least some of my highschool friends around in our usual hang out place (Alabang Town Center), back in the good old days, was really awesome. This blast from the past was cool 'cause I really thought I'd be awkward with them since it's been so long for me.

Yet, I fell back to my old self and had a great time reminiscing the old days and sharing new stories.

Saturday Night: Me familia hightailed to UCC Coffee Cafe for some midnight desserts, hot cocoa and coffee.

Sunday Night: Grandparents head off to the US of A in business class. Just happy that I got to ate so much yummy food before they left. ^_^

I'm so lagged for some reason and I have to get ready for my one and only class tomorrow, which would feature an exam... well, screw my life.

Just gonna step out,
AnaRay

August 7 - 9, 2012: Staying Indoors.

For the past few days, I've been missing asking my friends, "Saan tayo kakain?" (Translation: Where are we gonna eat?) every break time. My body clock's slightly whacked and I don't even know what time we  take lunch and dinner because the sun doesn't shine as much as it should.

Anyway, this post is not about that. Trying out my pens for whatever I could get my hands on...

~Uriko the Half Beast Fanart~

~Toph Beifong Unfinished~

Seriously need to get out more, these past few days have been... uneventful at home. Oh, what to do... what to do...

Checking up on relief operations and what I can do,
AnaRay

August 7, 2012: Nobody Wanted This to Happen.

Apparently, last night... a lot of students prayed for class suspension.

No, I was not part of this.

No, I did not pray for the rain to continuously flow and fucking drown Luzon.

And NO, none of those who prayed for suspension wanted it up to this magnitude.

I did want the sunny sky to peek through like most of the people out there do, too.

----- Emotional rant begins. I will more or less not make any sense -----

BUT OBVIOUSLY, that ain't gonna happen any time soon. And, to everyone out there posting on Facebook, Twiiter and wherever else, that this is our fault (as in the students)... that we wanted the rain to drown houses, schools, universities and hospitals just so we could have a free day from school and look like we don't want to learn. Uh-uh, NO!

Some of us wanted to go to school and sit on our butts the whole day to learn some shit lessons. And yes, that meant we had to get up somewhere around in the early morning to get ready and all. That, we had to travel to these places where we learn and do everything we could do to well, pass. Newsflash though: We get tired too! So the "Yay! No classes" posts, please don't use it against us. We're just semi-happy for the reprieve.

We already know that there are gonna be tons of make up classes on our part.

And now, it's raining like the apocalypse is coming. What we COULD DO is help our fellow human beings get help. Let's not have the blame game going, it will never stop.

----- Stopping the Rant and thinking about what I SHOULD do. -----

I live far away from the flooded areas so I'm thanking God for sparing our home. We can't have another catastrophe like the one we had around seven years ago. As for donations, I am looking into that as soon as I can. I'm pretty sure there are more people out there who could undeniably help as of right now but... I can't.

I'm under lock down at home, studying for a quiz, making sure our house is in one piece. And you know what... I'm pretty sure our bamboo fences are falling down.

Just praying for the best,
AnaRay

August 3, 2012: The "Heartless" Tumbler Project

For the past week or so, I've been playing around with the "assignment" given to me by a friend of mine (Louie). The "Heartless" tumbler was first inspired by my remake of a Kingdom Hearts character, an enemy actually, the Search Ghost. That was for my July Project: 31-Day Drawing Challenge.

So, Louie asked me to make one for his DIY tumbler. After playing around for a few days, I got to measure it yesterday and apparently my first draft was way too big. Link back to the first draft!

And, now the end product which I really hope would fit exactly to his tumbler or else I'm doomed. If it does not, I will keep this for myself! I still have no idea how to make use of computer programmed "art" like Photoshop or anything of the like, so this is completely hand drawn and colored.

 ~Final Output~

Oh yea, for this final output. I used these two magnificent products from Staedtler, 3B Pencil and Triplus Fineliner (20 colors). They are really nice and easy to use.

To see it "in action", I have it here in GIF form. I still suck at keeping it in the "right" angle so take caution!

Now that that's done, I have no idea what to do for the rest of August. Ideas?

Or, I'll just study like mad for the rest of the term.
AnaRay

July Project: 31-Day Drawing Challenge - Day Twenty Nine to Thirty One

A few days late with the others, but I'm finally finished!

Theme of Day Twenty Nine: Fill a Page with Sketches

~Drawing of the Day: Everything's Connected~

Was trying so hard to catch up that I did this in pencil. Apparently my pencil was a tad bit lighter than I thought, I will be editing this soon enough!

Theme of Day Thirty: Gangster/Samurai/Pirate/Knight

~Drawing of the Day: Red and Black Samurai~

My love for anime series comes out again with this piece. I tried so hard to keep away from what I was used to but the Samurai choice was just screaming to be made!

Theme of Day Thirty One: Anything At All

~Drawing of the Day: Hair Braiding~

If I had the time and concentration, I could actually do this one my own or someone else's hair. There was that one time I dreamt of being a hairstylist.

To wrap it all up! Thanks again to the host of this wonderful event, Mr. Donal Fallon. You could check out the rest of the amazing month of July by clicking on this link and to the day you want to see. Don't be shy!

I am outta here,

AnaRay

July Project: 31-Day Drawing Challenge - Day Twenty Eight

Since I have not the time (nor inspiration) to come up with a human character to base with an aging process. I used something that's been around me since last Friday.

Effing bread. I love bread and since my mom came home with a bag of Tous Les Jours, there was nothing stopping me from eating whichever I wanted. So, I bring to you, my drawing.

Theme of the Day: 4 Panels of a Character Aging

~Drawing of the Day: The Story of Jelly Bun~

And, that's it for today. I'm a day late because of a children's party here at home even though it's been raining really bad.

Hoping for a suspension of classes tomorrow!

AnaRay

July 28, 2012: Work in Progress

Apparently, my friend really liked the cartoonized version of the Kingdom Hearts, Search Ghost Heartless from a few days ago. Since, he has a DIY tumbler from Starbucks he asked me to possibly recreate it.

The problem is I forgot to test for the dimensions but I've been itching to start. I had him test it for me so it's about a little more than 3/4 of the 8.5x11.

So for testing purposes, I wrapped it around a can of Pik-Nik and turned it around. So far it looks really good (forget my careless photography for now), there may have been some slight alterations to proportions to fit the paper.

Still cramming papers to be submitted tomorrow,

AnaRay

July Project: 31-Day Drawing Challenge - Day Twenty Six and Twenty Seven

We apparently have the saddest elephant in the world. And, it just reminded me of how much I grew up watching Dumbo and Lion King and you know how sad Dumbo was 'cause she has like the biggest ears. And, I could totally relate... not because I have ginormous ears but because I have my own insecurities as well.

Because of that, if I had to choose a fave animal of all the thousands and thousands of species. It's an elephant because well, they're nice, smart and can spray water with their trunks.

Theme of Day Twenty Six: Favorite Animal

~Drawing of the Day: Tribal Elephant~

Theme of Day Twenty Seven: Abstract

~Drawing of the Day: The Bubble Tree~

We had this project way back in highschool where I tried to explain making a tree out of circles of different shades of green. And, my friends couldn't really understand what the hell I was talking about. Maybe... just maybe... we should have just done it this way instead.

I'm still in the process of making up a business card (Day Twenty Five), 'cause I've never made one before nor had I ever gotten one.

Must do something productive...
AnaRay

July Project: 31-Day Drawing Challenge - Day Twenty Four

Theme of the Day: Monster

~Drawing of the Day: The Search Ghost from Kingdom Hearts~

Not very inspired today. But, I remember having played against these 'monsters' back then. I'll just go and hide under a rock to study... about politics... which I totally suck at. Sighh...

Good day to you all!

AnaRay

July Project: 31-Day Drawing Challenge - Day Twenty Three

It's my 200th post!!! WAAAHHHH! \(^_^)/


Copying something so complicated is not my thing. I tend to not follow the proportions as exact as it should be... And, whenever I do, it seems to take forever.

Theme of the Day: A Tarot Card

~Drawing of the Day: Wheel of Fortune Tarot Card in Sepia~

This baby took me three hours to make because I was trying to stay within the box. The typography was actually the easiest part. I stopped caring for the "perfect" circle since my compass is missing and I just took my chance with it. I must say it looks medieval enough especially with the sepia effect.

The rest are going to be updated by our host in this blog: Day 23 - A Tarot Card.

I can finally rest knowing that I am satisfied with my work.

AnaRay