Rabbit doesn't fly...

I'm back. 
It's been 19 months since my last blog update... where did the time fly... ha. Ok, now I am trying to catch up with updating my last trip with my dear illustrator friend, EmilaYusof to Bologna Children's Book Fair on last April. 


The journey started with a flight to Bologna Guglielmo Marconi Airport, with a layover at Dubai International Airport. It was 7 hours flight to Dubai from Kuala Lumpur... man, I hate to fly that long... 

Birthday Cake

Sugar Rush...

ImagineFX Sketchbook

Swarming by tons of monsters and creepy creatures in a book I just bought "ImagineFX Sketchbook", I feel so relieved to see Mattias Adolfsson 's art works on pages 196-199, it's like meeting an old friend in the middle of nowhere..

Rabbit's transformation: Final Stage

Transformation Final Stage...

"Whatever form you take, I always love you".
~Kyara, 6 yo 
(My daughter asked me to draw her sitting on the monster's tail, saying I always look beautiful for her, even when 
I am a monster ......tisu...mana tisu...)

Rabbit's Transformation: Stage 3

Soft blue-purple feathers were starting to grow on the back of the monster... I think it's kind of cute...isn't it?

Rabbit's Transformation: Stage 2

My first idea of doodling the monsters is to join the Inktober event, but couldn't resist to add water color on the 

sketch... so no more Inktober, but Inkcolortober then.... ^^

Rabbit's Transformation: Stage 1

So I read somewhere, if we get the art block, go draw some monsters... Apalah atuh saya mah, jadi gambar aja
the rabbit turned to be a monster, one day one monster... maybe the block will fade away... uhuk.

Travel Sketching: Dip, Splash and play in Hulu Langat River

Dipping and splashing in the crystal clear river steam was a wonderful feeling we got! Yay! children were wet and 
happy and mother was sketching joyfully!

While sketching this page, I was sitting on side of the river under 
this small bridge, right before lunch time. 
And that's why I haven't finished the sketch.

(There's always an excuse for unfinished live sketching, yes?;)

On the way home, we bought some local fresh fruits from the street fruit seller. And yes, I cannot resist not to 
make some illustrations of them... :)

Participation on Tomie dePaola Award 2013

The Tomie dePaola Illustration Award is one of the competition event in the Society of Children's Book Writer and 
Illustrator (SCBWI), given annually to an illustrator of promise chosen by Tomie himself. 

Thomas Anthony dePaola* (born September 15, 1934), is an American writer and illustrator who has created 
more than 200 children's books, and is known best for picture books such as Strega Nona.
^[1][2] He received the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award for his lifetime contribution to American children's literature in 2011
*from Wikipedia.

2013 Tomie Prompt:
Over the past few years, the picture book seems to be geared more towards the very young crowd. 
With this in mind, here is this year's task:
Illustrate a poem (see below) in full color for a book of poem that will be "pitched" to parents to read to their 
babies, toddlers, etc.

Poem: 

Sneeze

A sneeze

Is a breeze

In

Your

Nose.

Unofficial Gallery of Tomie dePaola Award 2014

Sunday Sketching : Teh Tarik, Boiled Cassava and the Pillars

Sunday sketching at the side walk cafe at Carlton Holiday near by the Pusat Akuatik Darul Ehsan, Malaysia.














Boiled cassava wrapped in the banana leaves, combined with 
shredded coconut brought back some memories from my childhood, 
when my mother made it special in our kitchen. 
Today my cassava plate has a nice a cup of teh tarik as 
a partner to make my morning tea perfect.

Being carried away painting, I 'accidentally' over colored the pillars 
up to the top of them, haha..

Last year AFCC sketch

I submitted this illustration to AFCC sketch competition and I got the first prize. Not bad, SGD 300 to be spent 
on online bookstore and a free pass entering the seminar at AFCC was worth SGD 300.

IF : SWIM

Straighten out the watercolor painting

When all pages are ready, then I find most of them are slightly wavy. 

And you know the wavey papers are not good to be scanned, 

they tend to make uneven shade in the scanning result. 

An easy treatment for wavy watercolor art, 

that won't harm the art on the paper is simply with taking 

a slightly damp sponge and wet the BACK of the paper just so it is moist.

Once the paper is damp, put it between blotter paper and weights 

and flatten it that way. I am using a heavy frying pan, here..:D

Trust me, it works and doesn't have any effect on the art on the front.

Orangutan

Sakadang Monyet jeung Sakadang Kuya

Dummy Book

I made this dummy book several months ago, as a manuscript to be sent to a Publisher in Singapore. 

I printed and glued every page with love... and kissed it good bye, since I knew I couldn't see this one again.. :p

The Stray Kittens

Who can resist not to give a hand to some little kittens you found on the side walk? How could we leave those
kittens out in a windy afternoon just before the rain come? I am sure that no one could.
So, the children and their mother did their best to bring all the kittens home, fed them and comforted them.
But what are they going to do with all six kittens?
They were to many to be kept. But, don't worry...mommy knows exactly what to do.....

Illustration Friday : SNOW

Piles of snow.. glowing lights.. two horses..  Taken from "The Gift of The Ladybug" book, written by Carole Amber 
and illustrated by me, on December last year..

Illustration Friday : EXPLORE

Alright... enjoy your time exploring my planet... but please behave yourselves or you won't get any pocket money!