6 posts tagged “cg artwork”

LOL, this is some relatively random CG I decided to throw together with some rejected design proposals (i.e. the three penguins). Not really wanting them to disappear into the myriad of files on my computer, I decided that I might as well do something simple and send them off onto this blog... (^___^")

They were axed as a result of theme inconsistencies with my core design, which was mainly traditional Chinese calligraphy in its style. The problem was not so much how they looked but more that they were simply penguins. Chinese tradition doesn't really have any references to these fine birds that occupy the outer reaches of the Earth and so it didn't click well with the conceptual framework of the design. (^___^")

Nonetheless, there were reasons for their creation and the idea that I was originally hoping to impart through this image was that of solidarity and the family (the project is being undertaken for an institute that supports troubled families). As for the writing to the left, that came about while I was trying to think of what to do with the empty space to the left -- that was when my iPod took matters into its own hands and played ayaka's 手をつなごう to provide me with a suitable solution, LOL (^___^) (Yes, thank you まぁちゃん (and yes, my iPod has a name), I am ever indebted to your attentiveness to my every need, LOL)

Well, it's time to send my flightlessly-winged birds off to their new home in cyberspace: "Good luck and godspeed, my not-quite-feathered friends!" (What do penguins have? It's not feathers... is it?)

If you read any of my recent translation posts, you may have noticed that I've been putting up banners at the end of them. Hopefully, the message was clear from just glimpsing at them, LOL. (^___^") In general, there are two different sets of banners although both carry the same notion: music should be properly bought.

I was prompted to embark on this endeavour because of the increasingly errant arguments I've recently found myself getting into. Some of my friends don't quite understand why I would waste my money on original copies of games, movies, music and whatever it is that I wish to so have since all these things can readily be attained "for free". Indeed, it got even more confusing for them when they realised that I do download things... and that the things I download are the same things I buy... (^___^") So I guess I can't really blame them for finding my position a little odd, can I?

Nonetheless, arguments can seem somewhat unavoidable as my group and I do sit around talking about theoretical issues every now and then, so it's no surprise that we would launch into discourses on the false premises behind the concept of "copyright", the omni-capital might of corporations, and the propagation of the neoliberal agenda, amongst other things (yes, I really am as boring as I sound). But try as I might, I find it very hard to support their position on this issue.

Don't get me wrong though, I have no love for the entertainment industry's incessant chiming that "downloading is theft", nor do I have any respect for their heavy-handed tactics of taking individuals to court in what amounts to outright corporate bullying. No, it is not because I buy their arguments that I buy originals.

Rather, my commitment to purchasing these items is borne from the reasoning that I ultimately live in a meritocratic society, whether I like it or not. It must be stressed then that in a meritocratic society, people are asked to "vote with their wallets" - and when this becomes the primary means of communicating the public will, the purchase of music inevitably buys an artist credibility and legitimacy; however, it also means the converse is ever truer: not purchasing anything from an artist will effectively amount to a vote of no confidence.

Thus, it is for this reason that I have no qualms about forking out the money to buy my music, among other things. It is not in support of the capitalist machinery, but in support of the artist. Not for EMI, but for Hikki; not for avex, but for Ai-chin; not for Warner, but for ayaka; and certainly, not for Sony, but for YUI.

As mentioned, I'm not trying to say that downloading is a bad thing - in fact, I doubt J-pop could have grown so large without such facilitation but in the end of the day, there aren't many avenues with which I could show my appreciation for the impact their work has on my life; so, fortunately for me, one of these methods is hopping into a store and picking up that disc.

With that then, allow me to move on to address each of the two sets of banners and give a very brief description of what I was trying to convey with the words I used, LOL. (^___^")

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The LOVE SUPPORT stream

You may have already figured this out, but "love support" is a play on the compound noun, "life support". The idea is simply to encourage people to support the things they love and, at a time when people seem to be buying less music, it serves as a reminder for us not to inadvertently pull the plug on our music.

The banners that have so far been created under this stream are,

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The PASSION stream

I have to admit that although it seems quite simple, I actually put quite a lot of thought into the words, "FUEL YOUR PASSION" - specifically thinking of each word, the direction of their meaning, rhythm, pronunciation and so on. The point of this stream is to raise awareness that we, as individuals, have a responsibility to sustain the things that we truly feel about.

The banners created to date in this stream are,

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Out of Steam

Well, I've run out of steam, so I guess it's time to bring this post to its conclusion. Check back in a day or so as a translation post follows shortly on the heels of this post! LOL (^___^")

To My Dearest Buttercup,

    It was five years ago yesterday that our hearts linked and learned to beat as one. Trying to achieve such unison was never going to be easy, I had no sense of rhythm and now my heart was trying to beat to an inaudible melody that was ever loud, yet ever soft.

    But through this time, we kept at it. Five years - though seemingly long - was strangely short. It was strangely short because, even now, all the time spent together appears only as a fleeting moment in the mind's eye. It also seemed long because in that moment, we had gone through and learnt so much.

    In that one moment, we had seen invincible summers as well as indomitable winters, light-hearted discussions as well as heavy-hearted altercations - we had also experienced yearning through a thin wall's divide as well as yearning through a great ocean's divide. Yet, it all seems but only a brief passage of time.

    Through it all, our hearts have grown, length by length, to become evermore as one. Intertwined, we have become interdependent, borrowing and lending strength to weather the storms and the seasons before us and ahead of us. In the passing moment that is us, I have glimpsed the nature of eternity.

    Eternity is a paradox - in love, it is a transient moment that is never long enough; but in sorrow, it is an incessant second that is never short enough. So, although the times we have spent together do not seem like an eternity, this love is eternal.

    Thank you for always being there and giving me a voice when I had none. Thank you for keeping me honest to myself and even for arguing with me. Thank you, for loving me.

    I love you and to this day, I am still falling in love with you... and as the moon to the Earth, I wish only to continue in this eternal free-fall.

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Heartbeats
To my Buttercup~

Before this CG piece gets buried even further into my Vox picture gallery, I guess I should post on it. I decided to write this entire post on my Playstation 3 just because I thought it would be nice to try my hand out at typing on the Sixaxis controller with that on-screen keyboard thingy... LOL.

It's prohibitively slow but I will prevail (thank god for predictive text!). Nonetheless, I hope this will help in making me keep things super-brief... I hope... (^__^")

Anyhow, here is the CG art that is linked to my earlier post on my other swine-related CG work: The Winged Pig.

This piece materialised minutes after I finished the earlier work but whereas that drawing represented hope and contentment, this one symbolises perseverance and confidence. On a superficial level then, "perseverance" is why I am typing this up on a Sixaxis controller.... LOL... (^__^")

I guess I could have made things easier by installing Linux on the PS3. I do plan on doing that after upgrading to a new hard drive since installing Linux requires a 10GB memory partition and my PS3 is already choke-full with tons of media content (so I will have to do it eventually)... I guess it's a good thing then that the PS3 uses normal laptop 2.5" SATA hard disks, so at least I could shop around for a bargain on that 160GB hard disk.

Well, I will leave things off here: with an attempt to take a picture of the PS3, "John Hancock tower"-style... LOL

Getting to this point of the post felt like an eternity but somehow I made it... I have learnt my lesson on perseverance and perhaps an even more important lesson on blogging - don't do it with a Sixaxis controller! (^__^")

This is for the people of Myanmar who have been struggling for the right to freedom since 1974, or perhaps since 1962 when the military overthrew the democratic government of the time.

To speak the truth, this culminated only from a selfish urge to want to let this feeling of distress out... I wonder what it's like to open fire on the very people one is supposed to defend in the event of a foreign aggression. In some ways, the words of W.B. Yeats in An Irish Airman Foresees His Death still echo in my head: "Those that I fight I do not hate; those that I guard I do not love".

The soldiers have their own personal livelihoods to think about; if they were to disobey, it would mean throwing everything away - and that is unimaginably more difficult when that sacrifice includes the livelihoods of one's entire family. Locked into this unforgiving web of volatile relationships, everyone is playing their part in maintaining the events that we see unfolding today.

Theravada Buddhism is the bedrock of life in Myanmar - it is for this reason that the monks played such an important role in this protest and it is for this reason that the monks represent the idealised sentiments of the people. Their original request was for an apology from the government for the maltreatment of monks in the past week.

In that way, the protests started not as a fight for democracy or freedom but only as a show of solidarity to highlight that there are limits to the seemingly limitless patience of the people for ill-treatment. It would be the government's increasingly heavy-handed response that turned the monks' request for an apology into a national struggle for freedom (granted that most of the events are limited to the area around the capital of Yangon from what we know).

Kaba Ma Kyei, "until the end of the world", is the national anthem of Myanmar. According to Wikisource, it is officially translated as:

Till the end of the world, Myanmar!,

Since she is the true inheritance from our forefathers, we love and value her.

We will fight and give our lives for the union

This is the country and land of our own

For her prosperity, we will responsibly shoulder the task,

Standing as one in duty to our precious land.

For those who are truly fighting and giving their lives for the sustainability of the Union's future: there are no words that can express the sacrifices you have made, no art that can paint the emotional depths you have been through, and no melody that can imagine the love you hold for your nation.

Forgive me for my pointlessness therefore, I can only pray that you attain what you seek.

I haven't had much time recently to attend to Vox since I just started school (at last, LOL). I was really supposed to post the translation to ayaka's Why today but that obviously didn't work out and I have to get to bed soon since I have an early day tomorrow.

Before I continue though, let me just take this opportunity to remember the great tenor, Luciano Pavarotti, who passed away this Thursday at the age of 71. May your voice that transcended the heavens transcend your soul to its rightful place.

With that, allow me to share with you one of the CG works that I had done last year. Since I didn't have a blog then, I have resorted to posting some things retroactively. Anyhow, here is "The Winged Pig":-

The quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson sums up well what this piece is trying to convey. The focus is on hope and contentment - to understand what lies within you and to push those self-imposed boundaries. The concept of the flying pig was inspired by one of my Canadian friends and the work was brought into reality by the incidents surrounding one of my family members in Canada.

Well, as I said, this will be a short post - if I had more time I would have posted something entirely different. (^__^") I do have another flying pig that I will be sharing with you in the near future, but that won't be before I publish ayaka's translation... for now though, good night out there - whatever you are... muhahahaha... (Ah, how I miss Count Duckula... and how sleepy I must be to say something like that!)