Some updates from me :)

Hi everybody!! It's been quite a long while since the last post! I haven't forgotten about this blog or my dream :) I was actually busy being a new mom of my precious little angel!!! There was also a period of illness and confusion about my life and future, and I was lost in darkness for quite some time. But I'm mostly recovered from them, thanks to God, and would like to refuel my passion! This time though, is not for myself, but for the LORD. After a recent Bible study called "Restless: Because you are made for more" by Jennie Allen, I found myself understanding my purpose in life a lot more, with a clearer direction for my life. Now, I would just want to jump right in and run the race for the purpose God showed me!

Something I did last year: a Facebook fan page was created and I mostly publish my posts there from then on :) The one below is a commission illustration of a fellow Fiat driver from a Fiat dealership where I bought my Fiat! :D

A pic of my happy diapering boy for my Facebook fan page:

A pic of my angel who loved doing this after turning 6 months!!

My teething cutie!!!

Thank you so much for reading my blog!! <3 <3 <3

Rooster and Leaf

Random sketch of a rooster we met in Jerome, AZ,
using my custom brush :)

Adobe Illustrator Brush Test

Ever since I started using Adobe Illustrator, I haven't really tried to use the brush sets because I always think that they look very fake. However, recently, because I want to submit some illustrations to a stock illustration site, and they need vector illustrations more, so I tried to see if I can achieve that hand-drawn feeling with AI.

Here's my first quick experiment with the Artistic_ChalkCharcoalPencil Brushes. I like the look of the 'Pencil thick' brush:

Applied it to the Noel illustration I drew with the Pen tool (P). 

Filled the illustration with color like usual.

With color on the background:

It's fun to use, but I'm not very satisfied with the outcome. I'll try to see if I can make a custom brush that can achieve what I want :)

For a Facebook Page :)

I've been hoping to open a personal Facebook page for some time after reading the consulting post from A Girl Who Creates :) However, since the new addition to our family, I haven't been able to really be very productive...BUT, every now and then, when I'm not taking care of/playing with my little kitty Noel, I'd try to make tiny progress to the Facebook page, namely the FB page banner :)))

In my mind, I know I can just take any illustrations I drew before to make the banner and quickly start the FB page, but my stubborn perfectionist heart just wouldn't let me, as it doesn't match with the little girl picture :p (although it was drawn over two years ago :p but I still love it as I so want to do more freehand drawing after spending 8+ years using AI to draw all the time!) So, below are some of the experiments I've been working on :) It's so much fun to play with different color combinations and patterns! :D And the style is more geared to a hand-drawn feeling as I progress (newest design on top, click the image for details). I still haven't decided on which one to use yet, and I may still add in new designs before finalizing it :) Your comments are most certainly welcome!!

Some color combinations that I'm liking at this moment :p

These are some of the colors that popped up in my mind one night when I was about to sleep, and I quickly hopped off the bed and put them in my iPad (so please excuse my very ugly handwriting and graphics :p) The Christmas palette tells you it was something made back in December...:p

Although my progress is slow, I'll still try to make some baby steps on this journey to an illustration career :) Thanks for reading!!! :D