zurieau.co.nr

Goodbye, 2008.

2009-02-22T01:23:00.003+11:00

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After some on-and-off time spent thinking, I've decided to cease blogging at this URL. I'm leaving it open as a reminder of what progress (as little as it may be) I made in 2008. No, it wasn't really a good year; I was barely inspired, doubted my 'skills' profusely and wanted to give up Art altogether.

And then...

Meet 2009. I've been brimming with the need to draw, draw, draw.

New site soon, lovelies.
I'll need to set it up first and get some posts going before I publish it.
Check back for the URL some time. (;

The Season of Gifting!

2008-12-30T22:32:00.004+11:00

This post isn't technically late because it's still in the timeframe of 2008. So without further ado, I present my presents! xD

A (spontaneous) gift from Melissa:
A set of sixty (five sets of twelve) pencils.
*Seizures*

And my Secret Santa present from Maxine:
Acrylic paints, brushes, kneedable eraser and pencils!
Plus lollies for taste bud fun. :)

Thank you to these special people!
You've furthered my (rather expensive) quest for art supplies by so much!
I shall put them to good use, I square to God I will!

In smaller news, I'm thinking of moving URLs. This is supposed to be an art-blog, but it's become a little too informal. It's still undecided, but I'm leaning towards starting afresh and serious.

The new blog layout is being made! It'll feature my favourite portraiture artist, Audrey Kawasaki. :)

So until next time/year, have a safe and happy holidays!

Arise.

2008-12-13T16:48:00.006+11:00

Hi readers. Or shall I correct myself by saying "no one" since I doubt anyone ever visits this place any more. @____@

Well whoop-de-whoop, I doodled last night and came out with this. To a trained eye, the proportions are probably ghastly. Let's not address the shadows (or lack of) either. At least I'm happy with it.

Btw, it's based on an avatar of mine. No brownie points for guessing her name.
~~If I were bothered to colour it, you'd see that she has pink hair. Actually, I might colour it. Oooooh.~~

And yes, the photos are identical. I'm just showing off my editing skills. (H)

[EDIT]

"Original" is better than the "edited" one, IMO. ;P

[/EDIT]

PS. I feel like changing my layout in preparation for the upcoming Christmas holidays. And then maybe for the new year. So stay tuned? :3

Gimme, gimme something.

2008-11-16T00:50:00.003+11:00

I AM SICK.

So to all you people who have been patiently waiting for some form of an update, I simply cannot update in this condition! Unless ..

Suggest something for me to do! D:
Can you tell I'm on my last rope now?

I draw (includes sketches), paint, and am an amateur at Photoshop.
Give me a reasonable goal and I will achieve it!

Will do: Anything I can get decent references of.
Won't do: Things that will take over a week.

PS: No responses = No updates until the end of the year (if you're lucky).

Sweet, sweet bliss of a new layout.

2008-11-02T21:16:00.003+11:00

YESSSSSS. Finally. ==
I slaved over this layout and everything you see for over six hours. Determination, much?
Nothing much new in terms of content except for a little bit more info in the Profile section, and having Kristy as a new addition to the Links section. xD

As for yesterday's trip to Faber Castell, I was in heaven. 8D
They're selling merchandise at 50+% of the retail price! Hopefully going to grab the $20 ($70 RRP) set of pencils next week. Comes with a free miniature easel too. :D Yey.
Ironically, the most expensive thing there is a large toy truck at $50 (cut down from $70, I think?). There's plenty of stuff that you can grab with a mere $20 note. :) Can't wait to head back there.

Off to do homework (namely, Visual Arts'). xD

And yes, my net is still alive! .. For now ..

Back and Gone Again.

2008-10-31T23:05:00.002+11:00

Ever since my last post, I've done practically nothing under my own accord. D: It was only when I was told to do something that I actually made progress.

During the holidays (weeks following last post), I spent many hours trying to make a new layout for this site. I was and still am unhappy with what I've done with the codes. It's about 80% completed, but I doubt I'll use it. Before I could go exploring new concepts for another layout, I reached my cap limit and thus my boundaries were pulled further in. T_____T

I was hoping to initiate a layout change before I posted again, but alas: I've failed. ==

The above was done about two weeks ago. I've been putting the upload and entry off in favour of gaining a new layout. :\ Anyway. Sunah (pictured) modelled as she read the newspaper. I've had some comments on the way I've elongated certain facial features .. But there's a reason behind it!
I don't use an easel so I see the paper at a certain angle, and thus draw according to this angle. That's why it's kinda stretched. D:

I've remedied this in my work towards the HSC Body of Work. :3 I'm practising figure drawing (anatomy work) and I'm using the easel this time! xD I've been putting effort into the practise instead of the product, which is quite unorthodox for me.

Heading off to a Faber Castell sale tomorrow and I'm hoping to pick up some supplies. I love Faber Castell. :D The ad that the factory dispatched said they'd be selling toys as well! :D

Another thing: my net is going to be disconnected soon. I have no idea when it'll be reconnected, but I'm hoping to Jeebus that it won't be long after the (metaphorical) plug is pulled. D: In this case, I doubt I'm going to be updating this site while I don't have access to the Internet at home. Good side: I'll be able to focus more on upcoming content. Bad side: No net = Boundaries. D:

Let's hope I'll be able to blog again soon. :(

Examination Results II.

2008-09-29T02:03:00.003+10:00

This is a little late in the posting area, but it's here nonetheless! Just a little reminder to myself of what I achieved in the latest Visual Arts exam.

Yeahh, so during the actual exam, I was dawdling a lot in the beginning. But then I picked up pace and refused to stop writing until Milledge was standing next to me waiting for me to hand over my bundle of writing booklets.

And within the last week, we were issued with our results.
Section One: 20/25, 80% | Section Two: 20/25, 80%
Total: 40/50, 80%
Highest marks in the class, and I tied with Ananthu. Blimey, it takes a little something-something to overtake him, haha.

I'm pretty satisfied with my marks, though I expected more when I was writing up the actual answers. But then I read through them and I realised they were rather disjointed and deserved the mark I was handed.

Yepp, so the Preliminary course is done. :) Yey. Visual Arts wasn't what I expected, and to be honest, I was bludging a lot (especially through Prac. lessons).
For the HSC course, I'm going to pucker down a lot more and focus until my eyes roll backwards. 8D I'll be heading off to go shopping for art supplies hopefully. Looking forward to a brand spankin' new VAPD. :D

Body of Work II.

2008-09-23T21:25:00.004+10:00

Moving on from the Taste Test, here are the works in full.
The theme was "The Streets", and I went through many choices of concepts. At the last moment, I decided on A Sleepless City, or something along those lines. It's pretty literal, really.

Watercolour.
Had some criticism on the the black outline of the hand seen in centre.

Colour pencils.
Text in street signs:
City streets, unfriendly places they seem with their darkened alleys, grim faces and dangerous corners. The streets, themselves, seem to lurk like their occupants, some victims; some predators.

Text in "ground":
Greasy insomnia please release me / It's dark and I'm lonely / Oh, if I could only get some sleep / Creaky noises make my skin creep / I need to get some sleep / I can't get no sleep ...

Felt-tip, marker pen and tissue paper.
There are "hidden cities" under the layers of tissue paper.

I don't title a lot of my works because I don't think they deserve titles at the moment. x____x I'd rather give titles to things I've worked hard on, and it's kinda obvious that I haven't with this BoW (or any this year for that matter).
This time around, the highest mark was 16/25 and went to Lorraine and I. Lorraine's was quite overwhelming when compared to mine, let me tell you. ;P

I'll post up exam results when I get Section One back. Section Two has gone down well so far.
Sorry about the bland entry. Feeling less than great. :\

BAH.

2008-09-21T15:52:00.004+10:00

I'm going to remake this site in the holidays. I must. *Nods* It's so bloody boring and basic atm. T____T And I'm barely posting, which leads to occasional readers and even more occasional comments. D: ~~I'll make it so that I have "two" sites; one with personal stuff like any other blog, and one with the artsy fartsy stuff. :D~~ It'll take a few days at least. Hopefully it'll pay off.

Until the next post, which might be exam results for Visual Arts and the Bow. :)

NEVERMIND.
Negative feedback does wonders to the soul.
I'll stick to the same stuff I've been doing.

Taste-test.

2008-09-11T21:42:00.004+10:00

As promised, here are my submissions for the second Body of Work for this year. Well. Not really. They're only small previews. I'd rather snap better pictures once they're back in my hot little hands. ;D
Just quickly, they all had to revolve around the theme of "The Streets" and our own concept. Anyway, enjoy? :)

Watercolour painting.

Felt-tip and marker pen.
Later coloured with (Faber-Castell!) pencils.

Felt-tip, marker and tissue paper.

Yepp. They're only glances of the actual works, but don't expect much when I eventually do get around to posting them in their entirety. What you see is the gist of things. :D

Posting.

2008-09-04T00:30:00.005+10:00

I'll be back within a few days (maybe this weekend) with some photos - not scans - of some scrap work I've been doing to keep Robson off my back. ;P We're supposed to be working on our BOW, but once again, I've procrastinated! 8D Another all-nighter for me tomorrow~ I'll keep it small this time, for my own sake. @____@

Stay tuned, whoever may be reading this, LOL.

WILL POST UP BoW SOME TIME THIS WEEK.
I don't study for exams. 8)

Moving towards the Future II.

2008-08-30T20:50:00.002+10:00

At the last minute, I decided to trek over to the University of Sydney (USYD) for its open day ("Live!" I think). I printed a programme which focused on Art and went along with that for the day, dragging Jason with me.
I'll openly admit that the talk given at UWS by Billy Blue was a lot more interesting than the ones I went to today. The Sydney College of Art (SCA) seems so archaic. @____@ The only form of modern technology I bumped into was the PA system. ;P

Anyway. I attended the Visual Arts Study and Careers and the Portfolio Development talks at SCA. I found it hard to pay 100% attention a lot of the time. Jason must've been bored out of his mind. xD
We ventured over to an exhibition hall under the pretence of looking at Camera Obscura work. I grabbed a few cards from a piece because it was so tempting. o____o Idk if that was allowed, but I nicked "I grow in love daily" and "I am loveable". :) There was also a line of portraits of people with their eyes closed. Kewll~ The actual Camera Obscura room was pretty interesting. 8D It was awesome to see the reflections(?) of people walking.

Trooping back to USYD, I wasn't able to get Jason to Marine Science on time and instead we looked at the Maths problems and Bio corner. I got TWO "I'm a mathematical genius!" stickers. 8D Steph told me that there was an exhibition at the museum that included a piece made out of hair. ;O I wanted to see!

Yepp. So after today, I'm trying not to land in SCA. I have Billy Blue still in mind, though I'd like to check out the University of New South Wales (UNSW) first. I want a Masters Degree in Studio Art or Philosphy! Or a PhD. 8)

Deviation 002.

2008-08-18T09:33:00.004+10:00

I'm on a roll. *Pops collar*

Last night, Melissa approached me with the request to make a poster for Mental Day of EMPH Week. For those who don't know what "EMPH" is, it is a week-long event promoting postive Emotional, Mental and Physical Health.

Like last year, I chose the Alice in Wonderland theme. I decided to pull out the screentones again because I'm oh-so in love with that style now. :3

I finished drawing (the Mad Hatter, Alice and the March Hare) last night and was able to clean it up in Photoshop before being ushered off the computer. I returned at a blinding 6:30AM to complete it. Melissa gets credit for being so patient with my need to "add more detail!".

So fellaz and galz, the final product has been submitted to DeviantART as 002 EMPH Poster. Full view isn't necessary unless you really want to see the flaws and rubber dust, LOL.

If anyone just wants to see what I drew (i.e., just the picture), I also uploaded that: 002a EMPH Poster. And this time, I recommend a full view. xD It's kinda .. Miniscule and pointless otherwise.

Comment, pl0x (especially if you're in EMPH!) >8D

Btw, some handy tutorials to all those budding artists like myself out there:
Text Tutorial: Straight-forward and includes accompanying pics.
Real Screentoning Tutorial: Detailed with pics!

Deviation 001.

2008-08-17T18:04:00.005+10:00

After an almost month-long blogging drought, I've returned! And with good news too. *Nods vigorously*

Yesterday, I started doodling in my old/scrap VAPD. I managed to produce something that I thought I'd never achieve, and I'm extremely proud of it. 8D It's titled STAND STILL 001. You wouldn't imagine how instantaneous title-block (as opposed to writers' block) is when you most need it. :( Anyway, clicky to see it. 8D

Btw, I don't intend to (ever) publish direct Deviations here. I'd rather have readers look at it in proper context - with the Artist's Comment mainly - and be able to comment if they have a dA account themselves. :)

I'm planning on continuing with this style because it really does give the impression of being from an actual manga publication. I might extend this style to the upcoming BoW that's due in less than three weeks, but nothing's certain yet.

Marked and Stoked.

2008-07-26T02:39:00.007+10:00

:D Let's refer back to my previous post on my first Body of Work for this year, here. Basically, I mentioned how I pulled an all-nighter just to have something to hand in, and that I hoped to get at least 15% out of the 25% weighting.

Well. Today, during the last period of the week, we got our marks. ;O And I, for one, was shocked with my mark. I was like .. !____! Seriously.

Miss said the best diary went to Abel (who had two filled diaries from the looks of things), and the best BoW went to Ananthu (with four pieces - two from the workshop he attended during the April holidays, one of Evan/Lester and the last of Rashad). They both got the highest mark out of the whole class. 21 out of 25. And so did I.

Needless to say, I was ecstatic. :D I have no idea where the marks came from, but I'm not complaining. 8D Apparently, I'm still coming second in the class, though I've got to be on Ananthu's trail. (A)

This is only the beginning! >w< ~~I'll post up the photos tomorrow, once I've watermarked them .. :D~~ EDIT: Back two days later, LOL. @____@

Body of Work Pieces

Portrait of Doris in 6B Progresso.
Not too confident with the similarity ..

Portrait of a model in watercolour.
Favourite~

Anime character, L, from Deathnote in acrylic.
Hated painting this. D:

So there you have it, folks. Tell me what you think? :)

Deviation 001.

2008-07-13T22:52:00.004+10:00

Yeyy. I finally pulled something together for dA at last, LOL. I'm trying to adopt a style similiar to Prodigy-Bombay. I love how she draws eyes .. It's mesmerising. @_____@ If only I had a tablet! Bahh, it'd make things so much easier. T____T

Back on topic ..

Last night, I experimented with that kind of eye style, with long noses and faces. The first two attempts were alskdjaslkdjlkj. == So I gave up. But then I felt "heated up" and started drawing again. 8) It's titled RED THOUGHTS.

~~Check it out (before I chuck it in Scraps)?~~ EDIT: Currently in Scraps. :)

The Seven Heavenly Virtues.

2008-07-12T22:28:00.007+10:00

I would've begun this post with "I haven't been doing anything artistic and it pains me!", but I'd be lying. For the past few days, I've been drawing avatars. @____@ I basically set up a thread/shop on Gaiaonline, where people ordered "avatar art" from me, paying with the site's currency; in my case it's "gold". I've been quite successful, if I do say so myself. This is probably because I under-price my work. x____x It's how business came rolling in, I suppose.

Anyway.

I was on deviantART (which recently went under a layout/interface change) and bumped into one of the most popular works on the site. It was a part of a series dedicated to the seven deadly sins. Click here to see. I was looking through them when the artist proclaimed in one of them that she(/he) wouldn't be doing the heavenly virtues.

Such a thing exists?!

So, needless to say, I went scouring Google to find out what these virtues were. And this is where the relevance comes in! Guess what one of the virtues is!

CREATIVITY.
There is a God.

THE SEVEN HEAVENLY VIRTUES.

Truth - Truth is a comprehensive term that in all of its nuances implies honesty, accuracy, sincerity, integrity, and reality.
Love - A deep, tender, ineffable feeling of affection, devotion, and/or compassion toward a person.
Courage - The state or quality of mind ir spirit that enables one to face danger, fear, or change with self-possession, confidence, and resolution; bravery.
Wisdom - Knowledge, and the capacity to use the best means for attaining the best ends; good judgement.
CREATIVITY - The ability to produce through artistic or imaginative effort, characterised by originality and expressiveness.
Tolerance - The practice of recognising and respecting the beliefs or practices or others.
Freedom - The power to act, speak, or think without externally imposed restraints.
(Taken from pious.org).

In other news, I hope to get my deviantART account started. :\

Moving towards the Future.

2008-07-03T21:39:00.005+10:00

I'd been looking forward to today for a few weeks, actually. For the third and fourth period, we attended a careers' seminar/expo at the University of Western Sydney (UWS).

From the booklet with the three session times, I set my sights on Graphic Design for the first session, and University Life for the second.

I dragged Angela with me into Graphic Design and I applaud her for keeping awake. xD She looked like she was going to keel over from boredom. There weren't enough seats so we stood at the back. I was quite interested in the scholarship they were offering at Billy Blue, but something tells me that the college is somewhat small and still has a way to go.

After that, I kinda go separated from everyone so I followed Doris to the Gym where all the stalls were. We sought out the Billy Blue stall and signed up for info and both grabbed a form for the open day. She headed off to the University of New South Wales (UNSW) stall whilst I wandered around aimlessly.

I clearly had no idea what I was looking for, so instead .. I kinda just went for stuff that looked pretty. xD

I scrambled back to the lecture theatre one for the University Life talk. I didn't find much worth in it, because it was pretty basic stuff they were telling us about. Ever since choosing electives back in year eight, we've been drilled with the "follow your interests; not your parents', not your friends'".

Looks like I'm setting my sights on being a graphic designer by the looks of things. :\ Not that I'm unhappy, just thought I'd be able to find something that's not so mainstream. The UAIs are pretty standard (about 70s - 80s); and I wouldn't know whether to take that as a good thing because there's more of a chance for me to get in, or a bad thing since it's not as high-standard as other things like THE Arts (99.85, last time I checked).

The future is daunting. @____@

Art Supply Encounter.

2008-07-01T00:48:00.001+10:00

I was on deviantART the other day (btw, drop me a line if you have an account), and I stumbled across a deviation titled "Drawing Materials". Once I opened it, I was like .. "OMGAHH -LOVELOVE-"

Click HERE to see!

Basically, "this explains what kind of stuff you can use for a professional looking drawing".

I aspire to get everything on that list. And because there's bound to be someone capped, I'll lay it out:

At least FOUR SKETCHBOOKS.
Large PENCIL CASE/PACK.
SEVEN MECHANICAL PENCILS.
4H, 2H, H, HB, B, 2B and 3B LEAD.
Fifteen GRAPHITE PENCILS in 6H to 9B.
BLENDING STICKS.
TORTILLION(?).
ERASERS (stick, normal, shall and knetgummi).
SHARPENER(s).
RULER(s).
SANDPAPER.

I'll admit that a few of those items are regular, but I'm really intent on getting all those pencils and lead (graphite). :)

This will be added to my wishlist/shopping list ... Which will be constantly updated. xD

Body of Work.

2008-06-30T20:09:00.002+10:00

A Body of Work is supposed to be something that you've worked on for a while (say, a few weeks), and represents your work for the term; kinda like a practical exam.

For this term's BoW, we had to submit at least three pieces all on the same theme, yet all using different mediums.

Oh. My. Gawd.

I will never-ever again procrastinate on a Body of Work. o____o Honestly.

You know what I did? Stayed up all night painting. I spent four hours with a watercolour piece, and about five on an acrylic piece. I grew so frustrated with myself when I was trying to paint with acrylic - I realised I never used it properly before. x____x Suicide mission.

I was supposed to wake up at 5AM this morning to do my final piece, but I was exhausted. I finally drifted off at probably 4AM? o____o So yeahh, when my alarm went off, I started hallucinating about drawing.

Once they're marked, I'll post photos of them. :) I only managed to take progress photos for the watercolour one, though I'd rather post all three up. (Y)

I hope I get at least 15% (out of the 25% weighting). x____x

Title.

2008-06-24T22:04:00.002+10:00

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