Artworks (Dec 2016 – March 2017)

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When was the last time I did a compilation post? I think its been months. So here are some artworks I did during December last year up to March. These are the artworks that weren’t featured in previous blog posts.

Self portrait in different styles.

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Watercolor test on a local paper brand. I hate it so much lol.

Fabriano paper test. This is the 63php pack that I found at Fullybooked. They also sell it at National bookstore. Both sides are okay for watercolor. Currently loving this brand. ♥

More portrait practice. Left: Berkeley watercolor paper | Right: Monologue notebook.

Sunflower art I did when Hannah came over to visit one day at home. ♥

I need to make more art. I’m running out of blog posts HAHA.

ID | Resources

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Here is a compilation of websites that I usually go to for my interior design work. I’ll probably put a quick link somewhere in my blog for this post. Will continue adding stuff to it in the future!

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Inspiration:

  • Pinterest . My favorite site. It has everything that interests me: interior design, art, watercolors, photographs.
  • Houzz. This is another useful site for inspiration. This one caters to architects & interior designers.
  • Office Snapshots. Compilation of office interiors around the world.

For SketchUp:

For V-ray:

 

Re-learning SketchUp & V-ray

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In interior design, there are numerous ways to present your design to the client. It can either be free hand, 3D renders, or a combination of both. That would require knowledge in numerous programs not taught in college. (I’m not sure if its taught now, but back then we didn’t have this). One of the programs is SketchUp. It is a 3D modeling computer program that is useful for interior design. It has a free version called – SketchUp MAKE, and a paid version called – SketchUp Pro.

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SketchUp is my favorite program in 3D modelling. Here are the reasons why:

  1. It’s free to use. For beginners, the SketchUp MAKE will suffice. The 3D Warehouse 3d models are also free.
  2. I could import my plans from Autocad (in .dwg file) to SketchUp, scale it, and then build up the walls from there. (This is for Pro version)
  3. Getting models is easy. It has its own 3D Warehouse accessible from the program itself. There are also numerous websites that provides free/paid models in .3ds & .skp files.
  4. Customizable. I could use any photo I want and use it as a material in SketchUp. For example, if I don’t want to use the default wood textures in SketchUp, I could import a wood texture that I got online and use that.

With SketchUp, I feel like I’m just playing a game of Sims on my laptop. Here is a sample 3D model that I did:

To make it look realistic with all the lights, shadows, etc. You need to use a Rendering plug-in for that. I use V-ray for SketchUp for this. This is not free, but there’s a trial version so you could try it out & decide if this works for you. There are other rendering plug-ins for SketchUp, but I’m used to V-ray. Here is the sample 3D render in V-ray:

Post-processing in Photoshop.

It’s been a while since I’ve last used SketchUp. The time where I used it extensively was way back in 2012, I started relearning again last December 2016. Added that I’ve bought a new laptop the same time, I finally got the chance to render in V-ray since my laptop can finally render quickly. Back then, a simple render would take 8 hours, now it would take around 1-2 hours.

To learn more about SketchUp, here are some useful links:

To learn more about V-ray for SketchUp, here are some useful links:

I hope I’d improve my SketchUp & Vray skills this year! So I could make tutorials and teach others as well. ♥

Just Add Water + Ink

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After a week, I’m still on the #JAWInk2017 & #CampJAWI high. ♥ This event was great! We went on Saturday at around 1pm and the venue was crowded compared last year! There were a lot of booths again selling watercolor & calligraphy materials.

Community Art Wall.

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First agenda was to visit Agueda Manila‘s booth again. Thanks to Dandi for reserving the square pieces for Hannah and I! ♥

Lezz do this. Colors were food coloring.

Finished product ♥ Mine on the left / Right is Hannah’s.

Community art wall again. These are 4″ x 6″ postcards created by various watercolorists. The freckled girl left of Sailor Moon is Hannah’s. The pink gerbera left of the hydrangea one is mine. ♥

#Art Tambay at Craft Coffee again.

Since there were no tables available at the event itself, we decided again to hang out at Craft Coffee. Hannah & I were the first ones of the #January Girls to arrive. We took over the long table at Craft, woohoo! January Girl members present were: Me, Hannah, Jean (Thanks again for the watercolor huhuhu), Monique, and our new member (haha) Naresa!

Here are some of my instagram posts that day:

It was so much fun! I also got to meet other Watercolorist ph members as well. ♥ I can’t wait for the next one! As for now, I need to try out the watercolor that I got from seamountainco. ♥ You can order your own handmade watercolor from seamountainco through this link.

IKEA Kitchen planner

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Currently busy working on a freelance project. I’m doing the kitchen right now. (This post is already delayed by 2 months that I’ve already done this part of the house lol.)The client wanted it all to be IKEA. It’s a good thing that I checked their website for more info. They have an app for planning & 3d modeling with their products!

IKEA kitchen planner.

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The IKEA kitchen planner is a nifty tool that helps you plan & visualize your kitchen. You can input the exact measurements of your kitchen & just select the items that you want to put in the plan. It’s user friendly! Here is a sample plan that I did:

Sample plan.

The middle part is open because I can’t find a counter in their selection. They have their own standard size for the cabinets, but everything else is customizable. From the handles, cabinet door color & style, to the accessories. Here are the 2 different views in 3D:

3D view. Reminds me of sketchup.

3D view #2 with the finishes.

It’s not perfect, but it will suffice. It gave me enough info on the measurements of their cabinets for planning. Another cool thing about this is that you could see the total cost & list of products you chose. You could register to save your work, and then log-in at their physical store so that their Kitchen Specialists can help you plan & design before buying.

That last sentence made me a bit sad though. We don’t have it here in the Philippines. This project is located in Singapore. Anyway, I can’t wait for IKEA to open in the Philippines. I wonder when will that be though.

I hope this app is useful for you! Cheers. ♥

Art Fair 2017

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A few weeks ago, the January Girls met up for another Art Tambay at Makati during the Art Fair Philippines weekend. ♥ We chose Fundamental Coffee as our location. Heavy rains poured the whole afternoon, so it took a while for us to be complete.

Pretty interiors.

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Getting to Fundamental Coffee is easier than the previous coffee shop we went to. From Glorietta Mall, exit through the Glorietta 2 exit (the one with the new activity center/waterfall entrance), and just cross the street to Park Terraces.

The menu.

Hannah and I got there first. I ordered the Double chocolate mocha & their Fundamental French Toast. Hannah ordered their best seller, which was Cappuccino with butterscotch. We talked about the interiors of the cafe while waiting for our orders.

Their fundamental french toast was heavenly. ♥ Three hefty slices of french toast with honey & nuts. So delicious!

Double chocolate mocha. The chocolate foam was a unique touch to this drink.

We invited another person to our art tambay. She was our (Aiza & I) group mate back then in the ATC trade last year. Her name is Monique. She makes the yummiest food illustrations on instagram! I did her portrait during this art tambay. Speaking of portraits – I did portraits of the girls as gifts for this meet-up. I’m glad they liked it. ♥

Flat lay attempt of my table space lol.

That cute tin can pictured above is from seamountainco. A local store that makes its own artist-grade pigments! Thank you Jean for gifting us a sample of your watercolor paint! I can’t wait to make art with this. ♥ I did try it out during our art tambay, and its really pigmented! A small amount of paint goes a long way for this. I can’t wait to experiment with it.

After that, we decided to go to The Link for the Art Fair. This event is held at the top floors of a parking lot building. There was a long line to the entrance. But it was orderly and the management/security did their jobs well. We went on a Saturday so the venue was crowded. This event showcases the best of the Philippines’ contemporary art. Here are some of the paintings that caught my eye:

Mass hysteria number two by Liv Vinluan.

Ramon Orlina glass sculptures.

Takahiro Hirabayashi paintings.

And that’s it for the month of February. For March, we plan on meeting again at the Just Add Water + Ink event. Hope to see you there!

Vanderlust

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Not all those who vander are lost.

Corny. HAHA. Anyway. A few weeks ago, we were looking for a place to have coffee & dessert long Tomas Morato where we found Vanderlust Bistro + Patisserie. A European cafe hidden at the corner of Tomas Morato & Sct. De Guia. Curious, we went in to see the display case showcasing European desserts: German Schneeball, Italian Cannoli, and Spanish Churros. The well-trained, friendly staff explained each dessert to me and recommended their best sellers.

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Second floor. Or maybe Mezzanine? Ceiling height is a bit low. You could say that this place is “cozy”.

How to enjoy the Schneeball.

Our order.

I ordered the calamansi schneeball for us to try. Coffee was Mocha for me and an Americano for him. I loved the procedure to eat the schneeball! You put it in the paper bag, and wack it with the mallet. It felt like my frustrations with work were being wacked away. HAHA.

Overall, our stay was really nice. We didn’t get to try their non-dessert food. But there’s always a next time. ♥

Vanderlust Bistro + Patisserie : Menu | Facebook page.

Crystal Beach

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Our group went to Crystal Beach Resort over the weekend. Reasons for this trip were instagram shots, photoshoots, surfing, and s’mores. Picture heavy post ahead!

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And of course a much needed trip for all of us since its been a while since we last got together. ♥ This place was one of the most recommended trips from the DIY Travel Philippines Facebook group. I discovered that a weekend trip is doable and cheap. Thankfully most of us were available. I reserved the following for our group:

  • Malachi – 2,550php for Inggo. This is an airconditioned room for 2pax. It has its own bathroom with toiletries, tv, and bed. It comes with free breakfast buffet stub for two.
  • Shem (They got transferred to Micah) – 1,700php for Ruth & Joy. This is a bahay kubo type accommodation. Comes with a bed, electric fan, electric sockets for charging. It also comes with free breakfast buffet stub for the next day. Its at Kampsite 1 and near the public shower area.
  • Tent (Mariel) – 750php/pax. If own tent its 550php/pax. 250php of those are consumable within the resort. You could instead add 35php at the dining hall for the breakfast buffet. Tent comes with mat & pillows. Its at Kampsite 2.

After confirming the availability of these rooms via phone call, I reserved the same day via online banking. We paid 50% of the total rooms. We just printed the email confirmation & deposit slip and presented it at check-in. We also paid the remaining 50% on site. There’s a 1k deposit per room (in case of damage) and a 500php deposit for the tent. This is refundable at check out. The deposit for the rooms we knew, but we didn’t knew about the tent deposit. It was a good thing that Inggo had extra cash.

Waiting at the reception. It was hectic that day. They were at full capacity! But the receptionists were friendly & helpful.

So pretty. ♥

Hugot wall. HAHA.

Esther. This is near the Micah bahay kubo.

LOOK AT THE TREES.

My signature travel pose. HAHA.

This is where Mariel (our tent) is located.

Our view with the Agoho trees. ♥ #ItsMorePineInThePhilippines

I found Mariel. HAHAHA.

To the beach! ♥

For your (Cigarette) butts.

One of the most Instagrammable shots in the resort. One point perspective guyssss.

The beach ♥. The other side of that mountain is Anawangin cove I think. One of the islands in the background is Capones island.

Pretty ♥

The beach has two areas: the surfing area & the swimming area. Check the signages! You could only swim between the colored flags. The waves were huge during our stay. It was fun screaming & jumping at the waves. Para kang nasa Splash island HAHA. I urged Ivy and Inggo to try surfing. It’s 400php per hour with an instructor. It was soooooooo much fun! ♥ Those two had aching muscles after though. HAHA.

S’mores night. ♥

It was only for a while but we had some s’mores at the bonfire after dinner. We didn’t get to eat as much s’mores as we want since the staff added more logs to make a bigger bonfire, huhu. There’s also an acoustic night during weekends, so it was a nice night eating s’mores and listening to music. ♥ If only we brought a large mat so we could sit here. Oh well, lesson learned! We stayed at Micah for some girl bonding before sleeping. ♥

The next day, we ate breakfast at the dining hall. I didn’t get to take photos because I was hungry or something. HAHA. After that, we explored the resort and took more photos. These are our italic shots:

Ivy.

Hannah. Her italic shot I think is too embarrassing to post here. HAHA.

Ruth. ♥

Me. ♥ Can you see my jacket? It has wings on it HAHAHA.

Check out was at 12 noon. We packed our bags and off we go back to Manila. ♥ We managed to ride a bus at the town bound for Caloocan. Lucky! And that’s our #WeekendWarrior trip. After all these years, one outing finally went out of the drawing board. lol.

Itinerary:

  • Ride the Cubao Victory Liner bound for Iba, Zambales. Tell the teller that you will alight at San Narciso, ticket price will be cheaper. (310php compared to 380php). Terminal guide here.
  • We were supposed to ride the 7am bus. Unfortunately, we were too late & the tickets for the 7am ride were sold out. We took the 9am bus ride instead.
  • Travel time is 4 hours with stops in between.
  • Alight at San Narciso. You will know its San Narciso if you will see the San Sebastian Church to your right.
  • Ride a tricycle to Crystal Beach. Fare is 15php per person.
  • Going home depends on which bus you will ride. The Caloocan bound bus fare is around 272php.

General idea of expenses:

  • Bus roundtrip (310php) = 620php.
  • Tricycle roundtrip = 30php.
  • Own tent = 550php.
  • Total = 1,200php for these. You could do a weekend trip for less than 3k/2k. This will depend on your food budget

Other expenses:

  • Surfing with instructor = 400php. Board rental = 200php.
  • Additional for breakfast buffet = 35php.
  • Rentable sports equipment also has a price per hour. Ask the staff for this.
  • You could also do an island hopping to Capones island. Ask the staff for this too!

Crystal Beach Website | Facebook

Hope this helps!

January Girls

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We had an art tambay last Sunday. Attendees were: Aiza, whom Jean & I met at the WatercoloristPH Art Trade last January; Sylvie – Aiza’s friend, and my bestfriend Hannah. We decided to meet at Makati since this is the “center” for the whole group. Jean recommended Local Edition, a coffee shop near Greenbelt.

Interior.

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Title of this blog post was from Aiza’s comment that we’re the January Girls because that’s the month that we met last year. I liked it, so there lol.

Our messy table.

I wish for more art tambays like this. I’m glad that everyone has the same interests & similar personalities. The whole afternoon was spent on chatting, giggling, painting (and sharing our paint!) and sharing watercolor papers. I’m really happy that I met all of them. ♥

My painting. I decided to paint a bouquet. ♥

Final.

Our table. The baristas gave us Manila paper placemats to protect the table. lol.

Gifts from friends. Postcard from Jean. Calligraphy from Aiza. Stickers from Sylvie. ♥ Thank you!

The interior of Local Edition only accommodates a small amount of people. We took over the center table for our group. Coffee was good! I tried their hot cafe latte for round 1, and the iced version on round 2. The male barista was nice, the one who took over, not so much. Its as if she was glad that our group was leaving. Huhu. Let me share something from an old blog:

As much as possible we’d like to do 2 rounds as courtesy to the cafes for staying that long. (At least its better than staying the whole day and ordering just one drink, in my opinion.) We also don’t use the electrical outlets, as we just lug around our art materials and draw / chat the whole time we’re together. Also, if there’s an influx of customers in need of seats, we either offer our extra seats or leave the place itself so the next customers could sit. 🙂

So, we did that after 4 hours. Hmm. We’re planning on meeting up again next month. Hopefully that follows through. (With more members?!). ♥