usernames

Remember the good old days of screen names/user names? I don't know if it's just me, but these days it feels like they're a thing of the past... I remember being glittergal, magicalme, hermione16 (*cringe*) and a whole lot of other ones that I'm sure were inspired by various Harry Potter characters. But now I'm mostly just signed up with either my name or this blog, thegraphicbee. Maybe it's just something I've grown up from. Maybe, with facebook and twitter and sharing so much of your personal life online, people don't care/aren't afraid about using their real names anymore.

There's a new profile I need to create for an app that I've just downloaded, and I'm stumped. Should I name myself after a constellation? A book character? A favourite tree, perhaps? Or should I just stick with thegraphicbee?!

august

The 100 Days Project was a failburger on my part. Actually, not totally failburger, since I did manage to rustle up a few typefaces, which is more than I could've done had I not started the project...

Anyway... what a crazy month August was. Without going into too many details: I finished up my contract at my old job (sob), had a little surgery (what the), got offered two jobs (insert happy dance), and sprained a knee and an ankle on the same leg (wop wop). Oh, and I got instagramming! If you'd like to follow my exploits and such, you can do so here.

The Wisteria bine* by my house which has been looking dead the past few months is slowly starting to come back to life again - it's got little buds and I just know that in the next month it's going to be bursting with flowers and fragrance. Aaah how I love spring.

That's me signing off today, happy weekend!


*"bine" is not a typo. Btw, I never would have thought that Wisteria was related to the pea family! n

Days 28 - 32

Yes, I'll get Days 22 - 27 up soon!! Sorry I missed uploading that week, but I can't wait to share the results.

So I still cannot come up with a name for this typeface, if you can think of something, please leave it in the comments! It's the first time I've had a typeface-naming-block! Hmph.

I'm fairly happy with this one (especially the tittles and except for the ampersand). I do still need to make some ligatures and dashes.

Day 21

So I don't know why but I was feeling majorly uninspired with Chicken Potpie and I thought I'd do something else rather than trudge along with it when I know I'm not enjoying it.

This is not my best type drawing but hey, that's the beauty of the 100 Days Project, it's not about being perfect, it's about getting something creative done every day.

Days 11 - 20

Some more alphabets for Matariki (Chicken Potpie?? Matariki...?). I'd done up more but as I really wasn't happy with them, I am going to redo them.

Didn't I say that the uppercase letters looked like kowhaiwhai patterns? :-)

Next post will be up on Sunday. By then, I hope to finish this typeface. It has stretched for too long and I cannot wait to get stuck into a different one soon! All the final tweaks and things I'll work on at the end of the project...

sniffle sniffle

Dear blog and 100 Days Project, please do not think I have abandoned you, and please excuse yesterday and today. C.an I please have a sick day in this project?

I will try my best to get my post/new typeface up by tomorrow! Only a few alphabets left for Chicken Potpie! Woohoo!

Hmm I might call the typeface "Matariki". Just a thought.

Days 4 - 10

When I went to work last Monday, I was given a new job... to re-design a flyer for school enrolments for the new year (isn't it a bit early for that? Anyway...). I searched for a font that looked like cursive chalk writing. And when I couldn't find one I liked, I decided to make my own! Chicken Potpie has taken a back seat this week while I worked on this new typeface called 'School Enrolments' (ha!). It's based off of Snell Roundhand, and I'm still working on a few ligatures. :-)

And this is what it looks like in my flyer (contains some placeholder text):

Days 2 + 3 + announcement

Hello, dear blog.

This is the third day of the 100 Day Project... and it is going well! Yesterday, I finished off most of the lower case alphabets of Chicken Potpie (yet to be renamed...), and today I have started working on the upper case alphabets and numbers.

I have decided the way I am going to go about posting these typefaces. I will be posting every Sunday, the results of the entire earlier week. Hopefully that will mean that I will do one typeface per week, but let's see. As since Friday I only have a bunch of random alphabets and a few numbers finished, I won't post anything today, but by next Sunday I hope to have Chicken Potpie done and dusted.

So... see you next Sunday!

Day 1

Less than an hour for Day 1 of the 100 Days Project to finish, aaaand here's todays achievement. I hereby present to you, the first thirteen lower case alphabets of my new typeface. The typeface is currently called Chicken Potpie but it totally has potential to change. I don't like chicken.

The reason I chose this specimen to make into a typeface, was because of the upper case alphabets (to come soon). They reminded me very much so of Maori Kowhaiwhai patterns, and I thought it was fitting that I started off the 100 Days Project with this typeface. :-)

I realise that the bowl of the "o" isn't perfect, but at this moment, I just want to get the alphabets out; I can tweak later on.

Over and out. :-)

a cluster of links

+ Favourite new blogs. This and this. The girls behind these blogs are so cool.

+ It's no secret that I'm not the world's best cook. But these mushrooms look easy to prepare...

+ Can't remember if I've shared this before, but this jewellery store looks pretty cool.

+ When I saw these blank books at the bookstore, I fell in love. I didn't buy them though, because I knew I wouldn't write in them, they're much too beautiful...

+ I love gold jewellery, but it always goes dark in a few months! Grr. Maybe I should try these home products for cleaning jewellery.

+ 19 things that prove Aladdin and Titanic are basically the same movie. Heheh.

+ Jewellery organisation video. I can never get enough of those.

+ I reeeally want to make an orange vanilla smoothie!

100 Days Project + sample of a new typeface

Choose one creative exercise, and then repeat it every day for 100 days.
Record each daily effort and see what evolves in the work and in the self over time.

 --

The 100 Days Project starts this Friday (eek!). For my final graphic design project at university (back in 2011), I created four typefaces. I absolutely enjoyed working on them, and I couldn't wait to make more. Then I got a job, got busy, and sadly, I never got back to making any more of them. SO! For the 100 Days Project, I thought, this is it! I'm making typefaces! I don't know how many I'll be making, and I don't want to commit to a number, I just know that I'll be making some typefaces and when I can't, I'll make some type drawings.

This is one of the ones I'll be finishing off during the project.

 Like all the typefaces I'll be working on for this project, it's based on a type specimen from the Victorian era.

 I haven't quite decided what to name it yet. I am glad though that it brought me a good amount of Bézier curve practise! :D

big fringe + goody bags

For the party, I made big fringe garlands (see first photo) out of coloured cellophane. I was actually looking for this "Mylar" stuff that I'd read so much about on other blogs but alas I couldn't find any (for cheap) in Auckland.

These are going to be part of the photo booth.

party party party

I'm planning (and decorating for) a first birthday party for the very cute Shanaya!

Her parents, who are our family friends, approached me after they came to our New Years' Eve party, for which I had decorated our house and created a photobooth (the theme was black, white and gold).

The theme for Shanaya's party is pink and yellow/gold, and I am currently knee deep in gold crepe paper and giant cellophane fringe! I hope to get some behind-the-scenes photos up here soon. I would've uploaded a few now but drat my phone's battery has—of course—died.

Eeeeeee, exciting stuff!!! :D Check out my pinterest for party or craft ideas!

a cluster of links

Currently working on two design collaborations with my friends. Exciting things are to follow! :-) Do check out my pinterest, I've been pinning like crazy!

Okay so I know it's not Friday but this is long over due... I hereby present a cluster of links!

+ This is hilarious: 7 celebs who make the same face in every photo.

+ Tanesha Awasthi aka Girl With Curves is so stylish.

+ How far is it to Mars?

+ How croissants are made. I want some croissants now!

+ Gangnam Style dance dare.

+ Four ways to mix fonts.

+ This is a bit old now but a good one: The Greatest Nation on Earth Isn't Us.

+ 10 recipes for 20-somethings that can't cook. Hah!

+ Um, whaaat? The truth about the Fig Wasp, and why other vegetarians and I shouldn't eat figs anymore.

+ I loved this article about other peoples' seemingly perfect life on social media.



Until next time! :-)

wander far.

Today's doodle is dedicated to my travel dreams :D

test + type drawings

Testing out posting from my phone. Below is a quick sketch I did today :-)

ever after

Just wanted to share this amazing video I came across on the weekend, about the fate of four Disney princesses (Ariel, Jasmine, Belle and Pocahontas).

Every girl had one or two favourite Disney princesses; mine were Jasmine and Ariel. Love their spirit. BTW! Disney princesses are a lot younger than you'd imagine!

p.s.: Video fixed! :-)

india

What an incredible February I've had in India! I met most of my relatives, a few of my friends, and all of the malls.

Take a peek at my trip (hooray for me finally joining the instagram appreciation society):

 Mumbai Skyline

 

  “Gondhal” at Kala Ghoda Arts Festival

 

 “Gondhal” at Kala Ghoda Arts Festival

  “Pani Puri Wala” at Chowpatty Beach

   Oh hello there, just casually dawdling on the road! :-)

 Old buildings in Mumbai are absolutely beautiful.

 Underneath the Sea Link

 Rail tracks

 Oh, and that's me at Hobbiton (I went there a week before going to India)

Do not copy or reproduce photos without prior permission.

Piscine Molitor Patel

As Dumbledore put it so wisely "Ahh, music. A magic far beyond all we do here".

Happy New Year!

I know, it's almost a month late... but I was a bit wrapped up with work and whatnot and I wasn't planning on returning to blogging any time soon... but inspiration from a rather interesting source struck me last evening, and I have decided to come back to my beloved blog! :D (and what's with that strange but awesome peak in blog views last November?!)

I've been doing a few pieces of hand lettering in the last year so hopefully I'll be able to get that up soon... I'd really like for this blog to be sort of like... my inspiration+my own work. Hmmm.

Here's to a fresh start!