SKETCH – SAITOU HAJIME (SHINSENGUMI)

Sketching has always been one of my hobby and I came from studying ART in my secondary school. So in between breaks (from my other hobby, work, etc), I love to sketch or doodle.
This is one that I have done months ago. I apologize for the quality of the photos as they were taken with my cellphone. 斉藤一(Saitou Hajime) from the 新選組(Shinsengumi).
The original is beautifully done by カズキヨネ(Kazuki Yone) who is responsible for the artwork of most 薄桜鬼 (Hakuouki) anime, games, etc.

And then the outline version from using a dip pen. I am actually not used to using a dip pen at all, so I think this is so badly done. LOL.

And finally, the colored version. This is done with color pencils. The hair should be of a more purplish shade, I think I did used shades of purple for the hair but am not sure why it turned out a tad too pink.

Heh, amateur at work. However, I have signed up for illustration classes! Chiho sensei is really friendly and her classes are comfortable to be in. In fact, I think I am going to sign up for long term classes after my 4 lessons are up (which is pretty soon).

I will post up my real life illustration soon (after touching up on the last bits).
I am feeling awesome already! How about you? :D

Hakuouki – Houzuki No Reitetsu Plush (Needle Felting)

Lovelies, I am back (for a while, haha!).

Anyone attended AFA2014 this year in Singapore? I did! I had so much fun, plus my favourite 声優 (voice actor), 津田健次郎 [Tsuda Kenjiro – Voice Actor for my favourite anime 薄桜鬼’s (Chikage Kazama)] was here. He was here to promote for the very popular anime K.

Other than seeing him, I was actually attending AFA2014 for X. This is the reason for the below craft project.

Remember him from here? 沖田総司 (Okita Souji) from the anime 薄桜鬼 (Hakuouki). For being a loyal fan to 斉藤一 (Saitou Hajime), I had a very good reason for needle felting Okita. This was a handcrafted gift to X. Anyway, I know I sound ambiguous but let’s just keep it like that (I APOLOGISE).

A look from the back. I was very lucky to be able to find all the colors I needed from my current stash of wool. I guess it also explains why I am unable to felt Saitou, although I have plans to get my hands on other Hakuouki related colors.

Well, other than this, I’ve also needle felted 白ちゃん (Shiro-Chan) from 鬼灯の冷徹 (Houzuki No Reitetsu). I love, love, love this anime & the manga, it’s hilarious and 鬼灯様 (Mr Houzuki) is such an adorable character.

I am sorry about the (very) poor quality as this was taken from my iPhone. I should have taken photos of the completed piece with a proper camera but by the time I remembered, it was already packed in the gift bag.

And look at that fluffy tail! Shiro-chan seems to be a Japanese Spitz although I haven’t really read up about it, the fluff tail is one of the adorable characteristic of this hellhound. Isn’t he cute?! I will definitely re-create this to keep for myself.

Well, thank you for keep up with this post! I am still trying to complete my pieces for the charity work I’ve talked about, so I am happily occupied. I hope you are too, no matter what you are doing. It’s 11pm now in Singapore and I’m really sleepy (I know 11pm is too early to be in bed but I had such a long day at AFA2014 yesterday, I feel so mentally drained today, not to mention I had to get up early for classes today Orz…).

With that, good night everyone, good afternoon to far far away friends and good morning to far far far away friends. =)

NARUTO – UCHIHA BROTHERS

Yes Yes, I am still alive. Apart from being busy at work, I am also busy crafting bulks for another Charity Collaboration with Creating Smiles.

So during whatever breaks I have to de-stress (yes, crafting for a project can also be stressful ^^;;), I managed to squeeze in a few nights to complete something that I’ve been wanting to craft for a long time.

ナルト(NARUTO), the anime has been going on forever (not that I am complaining) but I don’t really have a lot of clay crafts for it. Considering the massive amount of characters available, I am lacking very very behind. One thing that doesn’t change is my love for  うちはイタチ(Uchiha Itachi). He has always been my favourite character in this anime, followed by his brother, うちは サスケ(Uchiha Sasuke) and then 大蛇丸(Orochimaru) and then 自来也(Jiraiya) and XXX and XXX and XXX in no specific order.

Being able to see the Uchiha brothers fighting side by side (Episode 334 *me thinks*) is a dream come true. Well, I mean Itachi was supposed to be dead after all,  it was emotionally exhausting to watch them fight and holding back tears when Itachi said his last words. And I was motivated!

I re-watched that fight with カブト(Kabuto) a couple of times and I came out with this. Sasuke was really awesome to work with because of his costume and hair so all I needed to adjust was his height. I chopped off his legs a few times because he always turned out taller by a few centimetres.

Here’s an individual look of Sasuke himself.

And Itachi. =)

I’ll be gone again for a while because I need to rush out the Charity project before mid-November but I hope to be back real soon with more ideas!

Who is your favourite Naruto character? Share them with me!

Charity Work 2014 – Children’s Aid Society

On and off, I am doing charity financially when there’s extra bucks to spare. Most donations go to Animal Welfare (locally & abroad) because I feel that the welfare of animals is severely neglected when it comes to charity. However, I do support the other side.

Today, the charity I am going to mention is the Children’s. Specifically, the Children’s Aid Society. I’ve got to know about it because a close friend of mine has set up a voluntary organisation named Creating Smiles. They aim to provide labour and financial support for those in need. The range of work that they do at this organisation is huge. From food distribution, to learning workshops, goodies bags, everything is done by the volunteers themselves.

Few weeks ago, reading up on their new planning, I talked to my friend (Tracy) who was the founder of this organisation, and mentioned that I would like to contribute something. So after a little discussion and knowing that the total number of participants is 25, given approximately a week to go, I suggested the following as a surprise gift for each child.

In total, I made 25 colourful charms for the children. It took me about 6 days to complete but the sense of satisfaction is indescribable! Well, this is the least I could do. Each of them were then packed into individual paper bags for distribution. Tracy told me the children were ecstatic upon receiving the surprise! That brightened up my day and the day after and maybe the entire week. =)

I am motivated and would like to contribute again with my craft for Creating Smiles. There’s nothing better than to Craft for a Cause. Project with a Heart. Products that Care.

I would also like to take this opportunity from this blog post to thank the people at Creating Smiles for caring and the founders Tracy and Carena for doing what they did. Keep your fighting spirit on!

Moooooo…

Hello People! It’s been a long time.

Today I’m going to show you another wool felted project. Judging by the title of this post, I’m sure it’s not that hard to guess which animal will be appearing.

Tadah! It’s a Moo Moo Cow! She seems tiny compared to my previous wabbit but just as adorable!

I even gave her a heart at her butt and a bushy tail!

I am in the mist of creating more wool felted projects and I hope to start selling some of them on Etsy. I want to craft for a cause and will be donating 50% of my sale to animal rescues, etc. I do remember a couple of years back when I first had the desire to start on needle felting(wool felting as I would call it here) and came across a friend’s friend (or colleague, I couldn’t recall). As this hobby is not big here in my country(Singapore), I had problems initially trying to find materials to start. I asked my friend to check if she could point me in some right direction. However, instead of helping a fellow crafter, she said that she would sell me the materials(whilst earning a profit) and refused to share where she get her materials from. No, the sale didn’t went through. If it sounds right to you, it didn’t for me.

With determination, I managed to get my hands on the craft materials. Feel free to email me if you need to know my supplier. I always believe that we should lend a helping hand to those in need(within our means). It didn’t sound right to me that one should ‘take the opportunity to earn big bucks’ this way.

How did you start your hobby? Share it in the comments! :)

Felted Wabbit Box Set

Well…well…Where have I gone, really? Nowhere, actually. Just spending time with my cat, catching up on dramas, animes, etc. I.Am.Sorry.

Other than that, I had been crafting, just not with my usual medium(clay). I had been crafting with wool. Yes, wool felting. Trying to hon my skills onto wool felting since there weren’t any new characters that fascinate me as much. Although there is one, but the anime will only be screened next January 2014 AND I have an idea to use it as a part of my wear for AFA 2014, SO I may not even show you the finished piece till AFA.

I do have 4 pieces from the Hakuouki(薄桜鬼) series but I kept having issues with them here and there. I completed them months ago but things just weren’t perfect the way I wanted them to be. I hope they will appear SOON too.

Okay, after much blabbing, let me show you a project I have done quite some time ago. A felted Rabbit Box.

Adorable, isn’t it? I personally think that this is a very useful gift to be given.

This is the actual box! I had meant to keep it for myself but I think it made such a wonderful present so…

Christmas is coming! Yay, because that means my birthday is coming too! Awesome.

What’s your favorite gift this season?

Norwegian Forest Cat

Following my post about adorable fur babies, I shall present to you yet another lovely breed of cat called the ‘Norwegian Forest Cat’. They do look a tad like ‘Ragdoll’ but maybe furrier and were rumored to be the ancestors of the ‘Maine Coon’.

Typically, I prefer short-haired breed like the ‘American Short-Haired’. However, this is such a fun piece to create.

You will find that the face is created with different techniques from the previous work. This is more detailed and I had used safety eyes instead of beaded eyes in this piece as well.

A view from the top. The base would be white because that is the main color. I top it off with brown (with a tint of orange) and black streaks. This is done without reference (don’t need to because the stripes, fur patterns, etc will never be the same for every cat).

And a view from the back. Starting to fall in love with cats now? :)

Oh, my quarterly donation to the Big Cat Rescue has arrived!

This time, I’ve sponsored Bailey the Bobcat and on behalf of my cat (Toriko), Nico the Geoffroy Cat. Well, I know my cat has no money (hahaha…) but I’ve put one of the sponsors under her name to accumulate good luck for her. It sounds silly, I know but who cares? :D

Ok guys, good night for now and good morning to those on the other side of the globe!

 

 

New Clay Art – Dedication

Today, we’re going to talk a little more about adorable stuffs, like animals. I’ve always feel very strongly about them and how we should do our part to protect these creatures, who share the same universe as us and deserve the same rights to be treated the right way.

If u were to ask me to name my favorite animal, I probably wouldn’t be able to name just one. I love dogs but I love cats too (and own one as well) and then I love ferrets and then every other out there. In short, I love animals. I read this line somewhere at the library, in defend of animal rights ‘because they cannot hold guns’. Don’t you think this is such a legitimate claim on why we should protect the animals from poachers, abusers, etc?

People who toss cats down buildings, people who burn dogs, people who do horrible things to animals, I hope they receive the same treatment, just like the saying goes ‘what goes around, comes around’.

Now let me mention a debatable issue. A lot of people feel that a tiger or a lion who accidentally kills a zookeeper/tourist should be shot to death. can I ask why? Why couldn’t the death be accidental? Why wouldn’t it be the fault of the tourist climbing over the fence and hence falling into the enclosure? Big cats are programmed genetically to kill for survival. They don’t kill ‘for fun’ like human do. Allow me to give you an example of an organisation whom I personally recommend called the ‘Big Cats Rescue‘. They have a very educational page where you can learn about big cats as well as stories behind the residents at Big Cats Rescue. they further proved that even big cats need rescue from us. I’d love to visit them one day.

My 9 months old kitten is not a people-friendly cat. she was hiding in the engine compartment of a vehicle whilst being towed to the workshop. She was hissing and spitting and very aggressive at just about a month old when I found her. At the end of the day, isn’t she just trying to protect herself? If I hadn’t rescue her because she seemed like such an evil little monster, would she survive in the area around the workshop where mongrels roam? I doubt so. After adopting her for 9 months, she’s no longer hissing (although still is, to strangers and the vet – haha) and spitting.

When I first met her. Must have traveled a rather long distance, scared and alone.

And then Day 5 in her new playpen we had bought her after the rescue. Still messed up and dirty as we didn’t want to stress her further by giving her a bath.

And then 3 months ago when she received her spaying surgery. We had to put her in a tube sock to prevent her from biting her stitches because she hated the E-collar.

 

And here she is now, on my bed every night, watching endless dramas with me. :)

She may not be the friendliest cat I’ve met but she’s certainly one of the best, in her own way. I’d like to dedicate the following clay art to my cat ‘Toriko’ and the Big Cats Rescue for being such a loveable pet and for being there for the big cats when they needed help, respectively.

Yes, these are my new clay works. Inspired by a japanese clay craft book named ‘KawaiiNeko.Neko.Neko’. The face paint of the white kitten is inspired by my very own kitten.

And a view from the left. Their eyes are inserted with gunmetal beads.

And a view from the top.

Lastly, a reminder to all. Please do help to donate to Big Cats Rescue (or any other similar organisation) if you can!

P.S. I am not affiliated with Big Cats Rescue or the likes. These are my own preferences and views. Readers reserve the rights to make their own choices.

 

 

 

 

Felted Coaster!

Nope. Dolls are still in the making, so let’s do something else in the meantime! :)

Heh! Felted coaster, inspired by San-X character “Kamonohashikamo”! It’s an idea that popped just 2 days ago and something that I do not have to purchase new materials for, not to even mention the simplicity of the craft.

Well, short post for the night! I should be posting some clay works by end this week (keeping my fingers crossed).

Good Night & Good Morning!

Hakuouki – Saito Hajime (Hekketsuroku Version)

I am embarrassed to even say ‘Hi’. It seems like I have abandoned this space (but I have not)! Partially, I was procrastinating. The other part was my kitten. She wasn’t really in the pink of health, so I was spending more time bonding with her and keeping her happy so that she could get better. She is my responsibility. A lot of people do not understand that keeping a pet is for life. Abandoning your pet is extremely irresponsible! PERIOD.

Let’s talk about happy things, like my man (who died about 200 years ago), SAITO HAJIME! You peeps know how much I love Saito. Although I did mentioned before that I love the traditional look of Saito in Hakuouki Shinsengumi Kitan (薄桜鬼 新選組奇譚), this time round, I re-created him in the Hekketsuroku (薄桜鬼 碧血録) Version! Feel free to drool!

I am very very pleased with this piece. What about you? :)

I actually cannot wait for the movie to be out this Summer 2013! I will let Saito end off this happy post!

新選組 斎藤一！(Shinsengumi – Saito Hajime!)

誠の旗に誓って ここから前は 通さん！(I swear by the flag of SINCERITY that you shall not pass!)

Good Night Everyone!