Start of a new....collection!

Okay, its barely a start since I only have 2 in my 'collection' so far, but since the designer toy world is growing at snail pace (or maybe im just getting pickier)...I have decided to invest in something more 'practical'. It's funny cause since I was a kid, I've always been trying to start some kind of collection...rocks, crazy bones, pokemon cards, stickers, erasers, toys, and the list goes on. There's just something really exciting about collecting stuff....it makes me feel all giddy for no reason. Anyway, I bought my Art of Toy Story 3 book last year and I still look through it once in awhile for inspiration...and every time I go to Powells, you can always find me huddled in that back wall of animation art books in the Pearl Room. And so I bought my second 'Art of' book last week (Art of Pixar's Up), not the best 'art of' book but that's because the animation was more focused on storytelling. It was only $14 so I bought it without a second thought.

So I've come up with a list of books im planning to buy (it'll be like a treat/present for...myself...if my grades are good this term..and christmas and bday presents for... myself ...since im too old to receive gifts now ha!)


ART BOOKS LIST:



* Art of Ratatouille - Saw a used but in brand new condition one at Powells for $24, will go back and get it next week. It better be there. Btw the materials in this book are great.



* Art of Tangled - Not my favorite Disney film, but its got amazing background designs. I was really impressed when I skimmed through the pages. Really high quality print and great concept art.


* Art of Rise of the Guardians - Not a Dreamworks fan at all so I don't plan on watching the film. I flipped through the book not expecting much...but I had to admit I was blown away by how beautiful the pages were. Amazing concept art, great book layout and high quality images. Maybe its just me, but it's kinda got this Miyazaki vibe going on. One of the best 'art of' books I've seen so far. Too bad the actual rendered characters in the film weren't that appealing, they all have the typical Dreamworks smirk (which kind of drives me crazy)



* Art of Paranorman - Another film by Laika (studio in Portland, OR). Gotta support my fellow locals! I really loved how they showed the sculpting process which im extremely interested in.



* Art of How to Train Your Dragon - Can't believe im still saying this, but I still havent watched the film. I only know about its amazing character designer which is the main reason why I want to buy this book.

* Art of Spirited Away
*Art of Howls Moving Castle

* Art of Snow White or Pinocchio

* Walt Disney Animation Studios The Archive Series: Layout & Background

Okay im afraid to add more or else I won't be eating lunch, or buying new clothes, or toys for the next two years. Maybe I'll just live in a cardboard box with all my art of books...

Recharged!

Had a two weeks break after summer term and it was JUST what I needed. During the whole summer term I was feeling unmotivated and anxious about everything, this break really allowed me to sit back and recharge. I've been keeping myself busy for the last two weeks...although its only been two weeks, it feels like I've been on break for a month (which is a good thing I guess). I got some stuff done on my 'to-do' list, but I still have a few crucial things I still need to do (uh hopefully it will miraculously be done by tomorrow) like setting up my art blog and finish designing a character for a friend. Thanks to (finally) having my drivers license, I can get all my errands done quickly and I've been getting out of the house a lot more...in fact, now it feels kind of weird to stay home all day. It's great to not have to depend on getting rides or waiting for the bus *shakes fist*. Now I only wished I'd gotten my license a few years earlier. Poo.

A pretty short post today.... could have sworn I had a lot of things I planned to take pictures of, but I can't remember any of them. I basically walked around the house (and my studio) to find things I needed to shoot...it was surprisingly a lot less than I had expected. My sister came back from HK with stuff I requested, but now I can't remember what else she brought back... it'll probably hit me after I finish this post.



Doma Speaki ! (no, Speaki is not a typo) My sister bought me this from HK, its basically a mini speaker for your ipod/mp3. Sound quality is surprising quite good despite being only around $12 USD each, definitely worth the price. It does need to be recharged (with a usb cord), but the battery doesn't run out quickly. He's a bit under 3 inches.



Skinfood kiwi masks!! Omg never knew the magic of facial masks until I tried this...Skinfood should start opening stores in the U.S (but then again, nothing ever comes to Oregon -.-)



My dad's friend in HK is a bit of a fashionista so she brought my sister on a shopping spree like 3 times a week. She brought me a lot of cardigans and shirts, as well as a bag I've been trying to find for ages. These were the two necklaces she bought me. The pink (its actually neon pink) one is black on the other side and has a colorful edge. It looks awesome although its a bit chunky to wear out. I'm thinking of turning it into a keychain for my bag...but right now it looks good just hung on my wall.



Been wanting this tote for years!! My sister found them in stock at the Uwajimaya in Seattle. I might actually start using tote bags when I go grocery shopping :O





Stayreal Mousey from HK! I asked my sister to bring me back one, but she brought back three! She also didn't know the one on the far right is in Mcdonald's costume. I'm not complaining though. Love the one on the left...it looks kind of like me HAHA.







American toy designs usually don't interest me at all...but Lalaloopsys are a total exception. I think they have a freaking awesome design team with a great sense of colors (omg finally a toy in America with good color schemes!!). They keep their designs cute but minimal, and they aren't afraid to push their designs. I also think its awesome how the label on their boxes say "for age 4 to 104".

I'm not really planning on collection Lalaloopsys, but this set and a few others caught my eyes. I think their mini figures are cuter (these are around 3 inches?) than the big dolls, which would appeal more to kids.







I have a thing for transparent-ish toys...and also this one reminded me of my labbit bubble collection!! Dammit, I just remember that I planned to photograph this with my labbits...i'll keep it in mind for later.



Fairytale series! So cute. The snow white one is my favorite.



I might try to hunt this one down...apparently, its hard to find in stores. His skeleton outfit is pure awesomeness and he gets brownie points for owning an Angrybird. (lol i know its just a parrot)




Most awesome toy-stroller design or what. If I ever caught this thing on sale, I'd totally buy it just for decor purposes. I think the design is strong enough that it can stand alone as an awesome display toy.



Bought this giant lego head container (it actually sorts out legos) at Target. Had $10 giftcard so it was only $20. Saw this at Toys R Us later and they were sold there for $40! Whaaaat?
Anyway, this thing is HUGE. Every Asian that sees this in real life will say it looks like a rice cooker.



Mini Ramen from HK. Also had kimchi flavor (which was DELICIOUS)...these are really tiny, like the size of your palm. Makes a good (but unhealthy) midnight snack.



My aunt sent this egg-waffle maker (a popular HK snack) to my sister...she and my cousin tried a few recipes but its extremely hard to master. So far they haven't succeed yet. Hopefully, they will some day cause the last time I had these were over 10 years ago. Best waffles ever.



This is actually a photo I took for their menu (yes lighting is a bit iffy), but they're starting to offer other bubble tea flavors. I'm personally not a big fan of fruit flavored bubble teas...im more of a plain milk + tea kind of person.



I told my cousin I was craving for some fried milk (which I haven't had in over 10 years) and he actually went ahead and tried the recipe! The inside is bit like a custard while the outside is light and crispy. Roll into sugar and eat as dessert...deliciousssss!! Gah now im craving for some. He actually made a lot more than this,  but I only photographed a few pieces.



Finishing this post with some awesome music. I've been obsessed with Wanting Qu's album. She's a singer/songwriter from Canada but released an album in China, so half of her songs are in English. They're great in either language...which is a rare accomplishment. I love how unique her voice and music style is. I pretty much like every single song in her album, but i'll share the most popular three.

Chill day...

Finished some dreadful midterms...time to sleep in all day and do useless stuff......like blogging!

I actually vacuumed the entire house today (got grossed out by seeing mountains of dust everywhere). Honestly, im one of those lazy people who cleans my desk once in a blue moon...so you can guess how rare it is for me to clean the entire house. I even scrubbed the sink till its all sparkly and white. Was tempted to bleach the kitchen floor as well, but our 70's patterned kitchen floor is so ugly that even bleach can't save it...so I decided its not even worth cleaning. Im hoping I can repaint and remodel the kitchen on my next break...nobody is willing to help me so I'll have to see how it goes. I've been extremely inspired to remodel the house (I stalk www.younghouselove.com daily and watch the Nate Burkus show on my  non-school days hahah)...but my mom thinks the house is perfectly fine (its actually an interior-designer's nightmare). 

Anyways, my to-do list for today was: 

Vacuum the house

Take pictures and blog

Drive to Trader Joes and buy steak

Marinade steak  (might end up doing these tomorrow...) 

Practice Piano

Find and watch Lilo & Stitch (as research for character design)

Start on character design proj. for friend's animation

and maybe do a major desk clean up tomorrow...have too much dusty junk lying around... 

Happy Labbits! Still got a few on its way...so far no luck with mustache labbits and teal ice cream labbit. A lot of collectors found this series "too cute" so its not very popular. Its actually the only mini labbit series I like. Those transparent bubble ones look really nice in person.

Finally got my Mr.Cloud!! I had my aunt brought this back for me from HK. Super super excited and happy to find a hand written postcard from the artist herself!!! I promised to take a 'Mr.Cloud in Oregon' photo for them, but I don't have a good place in mind yet =/ Oregon doesn't have any famous touristy landmarks like the Space Needle or the Eiffle Tower...

Kuro by Camilla d'Errico! I've actually been stalking this for days at kidrobot forums because I couldn't decide whether I should buy it or not (trying to hold back on buying expensive toys)...but then the seller decided to lower the price so I bought it without a second thought. $25 shipped! For the size (about 6 inches tall), design, and quality - completely worth it! He kinda reminds me of a baby version of No-Face in Spirited Away =P



Uhh... friend portrait?



Mini diana camera charms. They came in a cute little tin can. Found them on sale at Blick's for only $2.88 (originally $6), I might go back and buy a few more colors.



He looks like a photography noob cause he couldn't hold the camera properly...



Large peas-in-a-pod from Toy Story 3!! Super excited when this first came out...and I was surprised by how cheap and big this plush was. Recently saw this on sale for only $5 at the disneystore (I bought it at original price =( though )



My cousin sent me a few more tokidoki x hello kitty from Hong Kong.



When I first saw this online I was really curious about how it looked in real life. Didn't disappoint!



Vintage Arale my mom bought in HK many many years ago (before I was born probably). She's probably impossible to find today (especially in this mint condition).



My cousin gave me her entire Hello Kitty mcdonalds set (from HK a few years ago).



Wedding present I made for a friend's wedding. Entirely made out of sculpey, painted with acrylics (extremely  impressed by Martha Stewart's craft-paint line). Took these photos before I glazed the entire thing cause I wanted to avoid glares. I think it looked 100x more finished after the glazing...



 

They're both animation/art majors so I wanted to make something that would reflect their hobbies and interests. I had the 'flying on paint brush' idea very early on, but then I got stuck and couldn't figure out what else to do....started brainstorming ideas that could symbolize animation - and then the light bulb went on. Studio Ghibli! Duh.



Spray painted a Hello Kitty bank my cousin didn't want. Actually, this is just white primer... im planning to customize it,  but I don't have any good ideas in mind right now. If im lazy im might end up just spray painting it in a glossy bright color.







Friends With You playground/installation in Hong Kong!!!!! I want to buy a plane ticket to HK just to see this in person. Its like the happiest cutest place in the world. I tried to threaten my sister to go (since shes in HK right now), but she said its way too far from where shes staying. boooo!





Saw this illustration book at Powells book store, I think she/he is a local artist?
Anyway, I LOVE the style and illustrations....super cute and nice color palette too. I think every page can be framed and hanged as a wall art. I might actually go back and buy this, but Trader Joes and Blick's have been making me go broke these days...



Nooka Inc. Hello Kitty design. Quite an interesting design...might grow on me.



FREAKING AWESOME. Im sure this is just a 3D render so I don't know if they're actually releasing the figure itself. I saw this with a Japanese flyer (didnt understand it) about some hello kitty robot event this month. I know they're selling hello kitty robot tshirts but I dunno if they'll be selling this figure. If they are, im going to break my piggy bank and buy it.





My sister told me about this Hello Kitty fairytale series currently being sold in Hong Kong Mcdonalds. She was going to get me the black bone one, but it sold out super fast. The other ones are kind of boring...little red riding hood, ugly duckling, wizard of oz, and frog prince. The lion is kind of cute cause its got green button eyes. Basically you just have to buy a meal and pay an extra $3 to get one of these.





Funko Pop Sanrio series. Kinda cute...but I remember seeing really bad paint jobs on the Disney series so I'll have to see these in person. I always thought Funko Pops were those kinda toy designs that looks better as a set.



Tokidoki Punkstar series. Wished they were blindbox figures instead. I have no use for cellphone charms.



Bubble gumdrop figure. Apparently its supposed to be 'limited edition' so it costs a few bucks more than the normal gumdrops. Seems kind of like a rip off for the exact same figure but in a different color. Can't deny its cute though...and probably the best color out of the others.



Adventure time x Tado. Adventure Time seems crazy popular the moment, but I havent watched it yet. I think fans of the show would enjoy this toy release.







Prototypes of the design?
But anway.... OMG I  LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE this design!! Such a clean but unique and cute figure!! Really nice proportions and form, just a freakin awesome design.

 

Mini keychains ...not sure where to buy these.



Very very nice and smart design .




My sister went to the StayReal art exhibit in Hong Kong, I dont think she was allowed to take pictures so i got these off online. Would be nice to own a StayReal mousey in this size...



Apparently, my uncle in HK bought me one of those Doma Mini Speaki (yes, speaki. no typo). They're mini speakers that you can plug into your ipod.



Cute bottles. When I was a kid, I used to put mini figures in a tiny jar and fill them up with water. Something like a snowglobe...not sure why, but there was something fascinating about it. Seeing this picture brought back some childhood memories.



Designed by How2Work toys. Love the vintage-ish feel to them.



Waah such a cute friend elephant!




A Boy by B.Wing. Theres something about the egg-yolky eyes and simple design... would love to own one but they're over my budget. Maybe someday...

Okay, this entry literally took me like half a day...guess I wont be doing half of the things on my to-do list today. Oh well...im just happy I finally got some of these stuff posted. Was going to share some artwork but I think i'll save them for my art blog which im planning to start during my next break.