So, it's been a while. A long while.

I'm in the mood for some re-vamping here, going to try a new layout (I don't know when it'll be done yet, but...I want to make a new layout), and try to blog some more.

While I have been not-blogging, I did happen to pick up a side-project and this was the result:

It's been quite a while since then, and graphic sites these days are all shutting down cause their either too busy or too dead...it's a shame, really.

But that allows me to segue into this - I myself have started up a graphic request site of my own called "generationXIA."
After coding the layout and all, I officially started it up a couple of days ago on the 12th of August, and well...I can't say I've been real busy since then. My advertisement-methods are quite 'abnormal' though, so I'm not too surprised.

If you're interested, please come and visit and/or request at the site, http://generationxia.blogspot.com
I've been making and giving out "business cards" to fanfic authors in the name of promoting generationXIA that take on the form of a fanfic poster. It's busy work, but I'm pretty happy with this because it gives me a chance to try out some different things and see where my inspirations take me.
Here's some of the stuff that I've come up with so far, because of it:

The stories are also linked to the thumbnails, so please go read them if you have time! I've read what they've posted so far and liked it. They might not be ready to be published in books or anything, but to be honest, I haven't really read fanfics in a long time and they all reminded me of why I even started reading fanfics in the first place. Of course, through what I read, I was touched in some way and found the inspiration to make them a poster.

So that's all for today - keep an eye out for the re-vamp!

Labels: Fanfics, generationXIA, Graphics, Life

Seconds pass by,
Time tick down,
Music keeps playing,
Life still goes.

Don't want to do anything,
Yet there's so much to do.
I'm just watching,
While listening to Blue.


From: Me
To: Jtoasn
-
So, I don't know where you've gone, where life has taken you, I just hope that wherever you are, you're happy. Maybe you'll come wandering back and read this one day, and then again, maybe you won't. Even so, I'm sure you'll be my blog-layout idol for a very, very long time. I've been busy with school and all, so I haven't been able to keep up with all the people I would've wanted to keep in touch with - I'm not sure why you left, however I'm sure of this:

I'll remember all the good times we had together.

Perhaps one day in the future, there will be more to come.









I know it's been a while since I've updated, but these will be my last words for the day:

I wish there was more time in life to do all the things we wanted to do.

Labels: Big Bang, Blue, Letters, Life, Remember

So, it's a new year, and I now have a new layout! All credit goes to Hapii pailin for the original base-codes, all I did was make and throw in my own pictures and edit the color-scheme to match my picture.

I'm thinking that I'll probably stick with this style for a while - it's more graphic-portfolio-like, which is what I wanted to begin with.

I've also become a designer at Purple-Sashiin, hopefully that will help make me use Photoshop more and get better at designing graphics. I still have a long way to go!

Here's a graphic I made at the end of last year - I thought of it while listening to Kim Hyun Joong's "Kiss Kiss".

Any thoughts?

Lately, I've been trying to catch up on watching movies and dramas. One that most recently made my "Masterpiece" List is "In Time with You" (我可能不會愛你/Wo Ke Neng Bu Hui Ai Ni). It was simply...too great to describe with words. It moved me so much that I just had to write a review on it because there were so many things that impressed me about it that were not mentioned at all in any of the other reviews - I felt like someone might appreciate what I had to say, so I wrote one up! (My first ever review on...anything?!)
My review is posted on a site called "My Drama List" (http://www.mydramalist.com/). If you want to find my profile on there, my username is "Silver". Or, you can also find it under the "Profile" section by clicking on the Profile button up at the top.

That's all for now - hopefully 2012 will be a year of more-consistent updates from me!


Note: Also, I've updated the link for "I Hate You but I Love You" in the last post - it's a high quality verison now!

Labels: Dramas, Graphics, In Time with You (Wo Ke Neng Bu Hui Ai Ni)

It is now Winter Break of 2011.
My, time sure does fly.
Last I posted, school hadn't started yet.
Now, I've already finished a semester of school.

Speaking of school, this graphic was inspired by part of a performance of Giselle at my school.

I hope it's not a surprise that I named it "In Love with Giselle".
A pretty simple graphic, really, but you know what? Sometimes, simple is good.
While doing this one, it made me realize two things:
1) I haven't touched Photoshop in months.
2) I should really update my texture-collection.



Oh yes, here's another one I finished a few months(?) ago, for LoveYouMika and Rai-na's "I Hate You but I Love You."

Funny story that goes along with this one - a few people at school saw me working on it at various times and I was messing with fonts for the "I Hate You" part. The "but I Love You" hadn't been typed out yet, so everyone who saw my screen during that time was just like "Wow, that's harsh."
Note: The quality seems to have down-graded? I'll have to look at that again...seemed fine when I made and uploaded it a while back.



To wrap it up for today, here's a letter that I think everyone should send to themselves.

From: Me
To: The Future Me
-
The scariest thing about growing up is the possibility that you may grow up to become the kind of person that you once couldn't stand.

Labels: Dramas, Graphics, Letters

For starters, I now have an "Affiliates" section. I actually wasn't planning on collecting affiliates until I upgraded my site to something more..."me"...but since there were a couple people who asked, I figured it was time to start responding. I also didn't think anyone would actually visit this site, since it's not a graphic request site and I don't really know other bloggers (except Jtoasn), plus all I seem to catch are blogwalkers in the cbox. XD

But well, it's there now.

And if you haven't noticed, I'm jumping the order of that title....


My latest completed-request:


After finishing this one (and working on the background), I sent the poster to my friend and she told me that I should add something to the top so that the eyes don't go directly to the faces since they stand out so much - normally the eyes should go to the title first. We also talked about "negative space" - usually artists/etc. try to fill in that negative space with something else so that it doesn't seem so empty. I however have found that I am someone who likes negative space. o_O
Not so much boring "blank" negative space, but rather the simple "fading away" negative space. ...I don't think that made any sense. But I mean, I LOVE when posters blend in with/into the background like a...floating thing?
...Anyways, I'd realized that after going back through some of my works -
Here's another one that is negative-spacey:


So from now on, I'm going to do more stalking studying of other graphic designer's graphics and pay attention to this "negative space" that I seem to love so much....


And last but not least for today: Colors.
I always seem to come across situations where people request for colors like pink, blue, and/or purple, or something like that (and no offense to them, I just find it interesting that it always turns out to be these colors/some combination of them/something similar to them) on a happy poster. I grew up being told that purple was a sad color, so the only way I know how to make it happy is for it to be "bright purple". But I don't know, a small part of the reason feels like it's because of the colors, the rset of it seems to be because I still fail as a graphic designer. I'm going to try and experiment with making more "happy" graphics with colors that are not related to black and white. (I feel like my favorite graphics that I've made all seem to be grey/black/dark-color -based, and the ones that are brighter/"happier" seem to come out...not as great.)



Roses are red,
Violets blue,
For now,
This is all I have to say to you.

Labels: Affiliates, Colors, Graphics

So, it's been a while.

I've had the currently-airing Korean drama "Heartstrings" on my mind for the past few days. (Its alternative title is "You've Fallen for Me".) It features singers/musicians like CN Blue's Jung Yong Hwa and Kang Min Hyuk as members of the school band "The Stupid", along with the actress Park Shin Hye as the female lead. The other members of "The Stupid" are ex-FT Island member Oh Won Bin (although I never knew him really) and FT Island member Song Seung Hyun's brother, Song Se Hyun (or so I've read).

But anyways, I love the music in this drama - the band reminds me of CN Blue, and reminds me of why I like CN Blue. I think I like them so much because it lacks all the "pop song"-ness that is in the songs sung by idol groups these days. I like instruments and music. ^^

It's interesting seeing Jung Yong Hwa as Lee Shin and Park Shin Hye as Lee Gyu Won. Lee Shin has this playful-jealous side that isn't like the cool-headed Kang Shin Woo of You're Beautiful. Lee Gyu Won however, still has that 'Park Shin Hye' vibe at times, but at other times, I forget that she is Park Shin Hye. It's just when she whines to her grandfather that I remember she's Park Shin Hye. Otherwise, I don't see or feel much of a resemblance to the character she played in You're Beautiful (the name has slipped my mind at the moment).

I am currently loving part 3 of the soundtrack, so much...music!
My favorite song is probably Jung Yong Hwa's "Because I Love You." (err...is that what it's called? It's the first song in part 3, I think? He sings it after his biological father dies....) It makes me want to cry when I listen to it. =(

A nice Heartstrings moment today - maybe I'll reflect back on a couple other dramas in a few days.

Labels: Band, CN Blue, Dramas, FT Island, Heartstrings, Jung Yong Hwa, Kang Min Hyuk, Oh Won Bin, Song Se Hyun, Soundtrack, You're Beautiful, You've Fallen for Me

Since I haven't blogged in a while, I actually feel like I have a lot to say. Since I haven't blogged in a while, I think it would be easier(?) if I put everything under a title heading. Since I haven't blogged in a while, I think that you should go and prepare yourself for a long reading ahead (unless you don't plan on reading it all in one go).
Since I haven't blogged in a while (and have a lot to say), I think that I'll just get started right away....

A memory I plan to bring with me,
Even though things didn't turn out exactly the way I hoped they'd be,
(He didn't tell stories about all of us, you see),
And it makes me sad to see how many people finally feel like they're free.
Yet still I should say things turned out pretty well, maybe,
But then you see,
Then there was she.
Now I'll toss that aside to make myself happy
And keep forever
This last memory.


That was a small poem that I thought up after my last Orchestra concert about a week ago. It kind of says a lot of things, actually. I love when our director tells stories; I still remember some of the stories of my already-graduated seniors, and I think they're moments that would make you think "oh hey, it's that person!" rather than thinking "I think I've seen that person before, but I don't really know" all your life. I guess it might be a little stalker-ish too, but I like hearing about those memorable moments that I wasn't there to hear. I mean, you never know, someone in the audience/an underclassmen/a future music-student might think, "Wow, I would LOVE to experience something like that!" and be inspired to take a different class even if they play a different instrument. It also did sadden me to see how many people had Facebook statuses that were like "FINALLY, the concert is over!" or something along those lines. I think that if they didn't want to play their instrument, if they didn't actually care about music, then they shouldn't have taken the class. But then I guess most of the people wouldn't be in the class, if you crossed them all off. "Then there was she." Clearly, someone (a female) was bothering me there, but that's cause her attitude was just like everyone else's.

That makes me wonder, though, why do people sign up for band/orchestra classes if they don't actually care and don't want to be there? Because it's an easy "A"? Because they don't have anything better to take?

To me, I absolutely LOVE orchestra class; not just because my director always tells funny stories, but I love playing my instrument. I'm not the best at it; in fact, I tend to feel inferior when I play with everyone else, but I love playing my violin. I guess since I like playing, love being there, and love having concerts (I like to listen to the bands play too, even though I play a stringed-instrument), it just spoils my mood when people complain and whine about how long the concert is or having to come back to school for a concert at night, etc.

I think that's also one of the reasons why I love Pit Orchestra too; it's generally filled with people that I like to think of as music-enthusiasts. We're not all the best (like myself), but we like to play, and we're willing to play. (It wouldn't make sense if we weren't, because we have to stay after school for hours. During pre-hell week, we have to stay after school every day to practice with the cast for four hours, and during hell week, we'll stay after school until 9 or 10PM the whole week. I would think that people who don't like/don't care much about playing their instruemnt/music wouldn't bother wasting their time to "suffer" by joining Pit Orchestra.)


I was riding the bus home the other day and looked out the window.
I saw an old couple talking a walk. They were holding hands as they walked, as if they had been happy their entire lives.
Deep down inside, I envied them. I wondered if they had been like that from the start, if they had fallen in love, gotten married, and lived their lives together happily without any worries. Because that's what it seems like. But in reality, they probably did have their ups and downs; don't we all? They weren't a young couple living in innocent naivety, enjoying each other's company while thinking that life will be perfect from now on. They were an old couple living in a relaxing wisdom, enjoying each other's company while knowing that the hard times are over, and it's time to enjoy life now. At least, that's what I felt when I saw them.


Sometimes, I wish I could live a life like those I see in asian dramas. A life with a wonderful love story to pass on to the future generation, a life with heartfelt moments that make me smile whenever I think about them, just like when I think about all the memorable moments that I remember from various drama-series.

But then two quotes/ideas come to mind:

"Loving someone is painful, but being loved is happiness."

Or in more accurate terms if you can read it: 愛人是痛苦, 被愛才是幸福.

As well as this one, which is implied from/inspired by the Taiwanese drama, Silence (深情密碼 Shen Qing Mi Ma):

"Rather than living a quick and exciting life, I would rather live a slow and happy life."

That suggests that maybe, just maybe...

"Simple is better."

How do you all think that you would like to live your life?


From: Silver
To: jtoasn
-
Haha, blab?! Don't you see me ranting in essays here? XD
The way you were saying "if I aim high, and if I aim for something that surely isn't real", you reminded me of the female lead in this Korean drama called "New Tales of Gisaeng." She (and her *cough*mother*cough) always thinks that she's (they're) not worthy and don't deserve even more than what they already have.
As for your "selfish story to" yourself, I think that's great. I've gotten these story ideas that have been purely for my own entertainment/enjoyment as well. And as I mentioned before, no they never got finished but hey, idea spurt moments still feel awesome. XD
On the topic of that guy.... Once upon a time, there was this guy who liked me - at first, it was like this exciting feeling, but then it started to turn into this nervous, uncomfortable feeling. Kind of like a lack of trust cause well, (I asked myself and decided that) I didn't actually 'like' him. Maybe as a friend, but having him spend all his free time with me/my cousin/his-friend-who-liked-my-cousin and having him ask me details about my life was just...creepy, really. So in a way, I felt the way you did (glad) when he finally stopped. That nervous uncomfortable-ness...don't ever want to have to go through it again.
But in conclusion, I would like to say that I am psyched to hear that you are going to create more graphics, because I LOVE your graphics. 8D So, I am in total support of you - go for it!

Sincerely,
Silver



-End Note-
I think I'll probably post again soon [no promises, though, in case I get really lazy...] because there have been some pretty memorable moments worth talking about these days.

Well then, until whenever-"soon"-is!

Labels: Concert, Dramas, Letters, Life, Memories, Pit Orchestra, Reflections, Silence (Shen Qing Mi Ma)