Zazzle for Japan Relief

I'm very excited to let you know that I have new items in Zazzle to aid those who are affected by the the tsunami. I've been looking for ways to help out and I found out that Zazzle was doing something to support tsunami victims. So for each design with 10% royalties, Zazzle will match the donation in addition to the donated royalties. If you're looking to buying something, check out Zazzle, they have hundreds of designs to choose from and your purchase will go to a good cause. Here's some of the items I've created, feel free to browse – there are plenty of options.

In addition, my friend created this sticker to be purchased for only $5 and all proceeds will go to Tsunami Relief fund. You can visit her store at http://hope4japan.bigcartel.com. She has only 300 stickers and already sold 31 of them. If you're interested in acquiring one, simply click on the link above. I'm going to purchase one and I'll show it to you once I receive it. I'm also planning on selling some postcards by the end of next week in Ebay – I'll keep you posted.

Courage is the price that life exacts for granting peace.

- Amelia Earhart

Hope for Japan

The most powerful earthquake hit Japan on March 11th - the fifth strongest earthquake since 1900, which left 400,000 people homeless and it's expected to climb to tens of thousands. When my family and I watched the news, I was astounded by how powerful tsunami is. I've experienced a lot of earthquakes in the Philippines but never of such high magnitude. I remembered my grandpa always yelling at us to get out of the house but I would just stay in my bed – I've never taken earthquake very seriously up until now.

Japan holds a very special place in my heart. I watched anime growing up, my favorite manga artist and film director is Hayao Miyazaki, I admire Shinzi Katoh's work, I love their food, culture and most especially the people – they are one of the warmest and sweetest people I know. One of my very dear friends family lives in Japan and fortunately they were not affected by the earthquake. My heart goes to all Japanese people especially the 100,000 children who were displaced by the tsunami. Japan needs a lot of help, here's a list of organizations you can donate to.

1. AMERICAN RED CROSS
2. SAVE THE CHILDREN
3. SALVATION ARMY
4. AMERICARES
5. INTERNATIONAL MEDICAL CORPS
6. SHELTERBOX

Also if you're planning on attending the National Cherry Blossom Festival, Red Cross will be there to accept donations from March 26 to April 10. In addition Cafe Press designed a limited edition t-shirt in support of American Red Cross – all proceeds will go to Japan Earthquake and Pacific Tsunami victims.

Hope is necessary in every condition. The miseries of poverty, sickness, of captivity, would, without this comfort, be insupportable.

~Samuel Johnson

Old and New

I was searching for some files in the X-Serve this week and I found a folder with my name on it containing a few of my work from years past. When I opened the files, I couldn't believe how much my work has changed and thank goodness, I improved. If I were hiring a designer, I wouldn't hire myself (^:^). Actually, my portfolio was pretty decent, my work weren't as atrocious as these posters but what was I thinking?! Below are some of my before and after designs.

BEFORE

NOW

Always remember practice makes perfect and even if it doesn't make things perfect, it certainly makes a considerable difference. I always thought I was a mediocre designer, now I am an improved mediocre designer who is continuously learning amplitude of things. So don't get discouraged if you're not pleased with your work, let it be your motivation to aspire to be better.

“Only as high as I reach can I grow, only as far as I seek can I go, only as deep as I look can I see, only as much as I dream can I be.”
~ Karen Ravn

The Music Video

After enduring a day of grueling rehearsals with a few mishaps along the way, our video made it to completion. This music had to be shot in three days and we only had a couple of hours to practice, despite of all the hiccups, it came out pretty decent. This has to be my ultimate favorite music video of 2011. I am so excited to share this with everyone! Get ready to be entertained.

Our shirts didn't arrive on time for the shooting, luckily Kim had extra shirts from our Cool Bean program and we ended up wearing them. I wish we had this on.

Satisfaction lies in the effort, not in the attainment. Full effort is full victory.
~ Indira Gandhi

Just Dance!

My colleagues and I were rehearsing a dance today for our presentation next week. It was so nice to see everyone enjoying themselves. It was such a riot, I wish I could post the video here. After they left, I decided to do a dance animation. I've always wanted to learn how to do animation in Photoshop and today I made my very first animated character. I know it looks rough and awkward but it was quite an achievement for me. It's been years since I've done anything remotely close to this. Since I've worked in print, I haven't had a chance to play around with other programs aside from Illustrator and Indesign. The only time I use Photoshop is to do color correction or crop an image. I thought it would me take me eons to learn this technique but it was surprisingly easy. I found this great link in YouTube for anyone who's interested in learning animation using Photoshop – it's very simple to follow. The music was an afterhought, I added it using Imovie. Hopefully, the next one will be a slight improvement than the first. I hope you enjoy this compendious movie.

I shouldn't post this after my animated dance video but I love this song and the animation is exceptional. I wish I could do this dance in the future. Enjoy!

There are short-cuts to happiness, and dancing is one of them.
~Vicki Baum

The Plum and Orange story

I was eating clementine at work today and a story came to mind. I must've been very hungry because it made sense to me at that time. So I typed it on my Ipod so I don't forget. When I got home, I ate and turned my computer on, opened Illustrator and created this.

"Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born."
- Anais Nin

Ramen

They had to take down the one of my chalkboards today since the promo is done. I hate erasing them but I have to so I can use them for the next promo. So, I took a picture of this particular board because it reminds me of ramen.


I had tasted instant ramen numerous times before and I thought they were delicious until I had the real ramen. Instant ramen is nowhere close to the authentic ramen. I don't know what they were thinking trying to imitate something with such inconceivable taste! So the first place I went to was Totto, next was Momofuku and the last one was Ippudo. Totto won my taste buds and my wallet, albeit I didn't pay for it. The only downside with all three places is the long-enduring waiting but it's all worth it. Anyway, if you're anywhere Manhattan and want to try some delicious ramen, go to Totto. I've always imagined that If I were in Japan eating ramen, it would taste just like Totto's or pretty close.

“Only the pure in heart can make a good soup.”
Ludwig van Beethoven