Homework Sketch Dump 1

Sketches I had to do for my 3D modeling homework at school. These sketches were all copied from Bridgman's Complete Guide to Drawing from Life. It's interesting to learn to draw from it. Hopefully it improves my anatomy. XD

Monthly Sketch Giveaway Winner

August's Winner: 

Azizah Asgarali


Winner have already been notified.

(Note to previous winners: Don't worry I haven't forgotten you. I'm just going to be a bit slow. I will get them done, so please don't worry!)

Thank you to everyone who has entered! Unfortunately, I've decided to discontinue my giveaways as I've been falling behind on my sketches and don't want you guys to have to wait a year before getting them.

Some of you maybe already noticed the absence from my Twitter or when I didn't post a new giveaway. I apologize to everyone who was hoping for a sketch, but stick around, I will hold random giveaways whenever I finish these other sketches or when I'm in the mood. Oh I created a notebook design which I think some of you would love. Took the pictures finally so I'll be sharing it on my blog soon!

Thanks again! I love you all!

Aisa

Books to Comics and Books to Movies

I've been thinking a lot lately about how so many books/comics are being turned into movies. With the growth of technology, it's no wonder the movie industry is taking advantage of the situation. The popular book to movie adaptations such as Harry Potter, Hunger Games, Jurassic Park, and yes, Twilight all have a huge fan following. Furthermore, popular comic to movie adaptions are X-Men, Spiderman, and The Avengers also have a huge fan base. The movie industry uses that to their advantage by building a hype which could generate more box office sales.

I'm not saying this is bad. Actually I'm quite excited to see books and comics I like turn into movies. However, more often than not I find the movies just don't live up to my expectations as much when compared to the books. That's just my personal opinion since I know people interpret books differently than what's displayed on the screen. Still I have to say I can be disappointed by such a big hype and having my hopes up only to be squashed at the end of the 2 or so hours. Therefore it's easier if I don't get as excited because then I won't be as disappointed if a movie does not live up to my expectations.



I know there are a lot of people who have not read the original story to either enjoy the movie since they don't know what they are missing out from the book or find it confusing since the movie skims over some facts assuming that people have read the book. It's just interesting to see how others react to a movie based on what they do or don't know about the original story.

Still, I do enjoy the visual elements of seeing a movie come to life based on written/illustrated stories. At the end of watching a movie I usually still prefer the book/comic probably due to the execution, actors/acting, or overall mood of the movie. I do have times where I feel the movie lived up to their expectations but those movies are rare for me. Most of the time the movie is either lacking or just satisfying, most of the times I'm not super excited with how the movie played out or ended unless it was well done.

I understand there are other factors to consider. Sometimes movies don't have the time or money to add everything from a book. The 2 hours or so time limit can inhibit the execution and pacing when trying to fit everything from a book into a movie. I know there are scenes which have to be cut out, rearranged, and re-scripted to ensure the movie still flows smoothly and stays true to the story but that's a difficult feat in itself. It makes a fan discouraged and sometimes confused when it's done during a movie. Especially when they expect the movie to play out like the story.

I've noticed that people in the movie industry, I'm not sure if it's the directors or producers, either keep or change the stories.

1. They either stay true to the story and play it out almost exactly. (Hunger Games - left some unimportant things out)
2. They change, cut, and rearrange the story so that it's out of order but still similar outcomes from the story. (Harry Potter series - kept only the important parts and rearranged them accordingly)
3. They change the mood and story almost entirely while loosely basing the story off the original. (The Last Airbender - changed the mood and execution almost entirely)

These are just my observations but I find that I prefer the first two. I either like the story going almost exactly like the original with maybe a unique twist at the end to keep one on their toes or the second because the essence of the story is still there if not cut and mishmashed back together.

As a fan of the original stories I prefer seeing the movies play out the story visually, I know there are other factors that play in it such as resources but with such a huge fan base you'd think the movie industry would prolong it enough to gain enough resources based on such a huge following. You really don't want to let a fan down in the case of The Last Airbender for me. I loved the original series but when I saw the movie I thought, "Are you kidding?!" Glad I listened to the reviews and waited to rent it out. Bad movies definitely speak for themselves. I was super excited to see the movie as it was in development but the execution was horrible and it only adds to my disappointment because I know it could have been so much better.

Nevertheless, I'm thrilled that there have been an increase in books/comics to movie adaptations! It's awesome to see your favorite characters come to life. Still movies don't tend to live up to my expectations but I would still pay to see them try and to encourage the movie industry to keep going and  improving their execution skills. I await the time when the movie industry will execute the books/comics flawlessly and beautifully....but I wouldn't hold my breath over it. lol Still they are improving and that's what matters. :D

What are your thoughts and opinions over this topic? Or am I the only one who's thought about this? (Please let me know I'm not)

Review: Shoplet Featuring House of Doolittle Calendars

The great people of Shoplet Office Supplies allowed me to review a couple of products thanks to their Product Review program. I was pleasantly surprised when these two items showed up on my doorstep. I was ecstatic because I needed a new calendar for next year. This just saved me all that trouble. With the new calendars I hope to be much more organized next year.

The two products I received are House of Doolittle Two-Color Monthly Desk Pad Calendar with Large Notes Section and Wirebound Weekly/Monthly Planner. Below are the two items stacked on top of each other. The Desk Pad came shrink wrapped for protection, the Planner was not so when it got shipped some of the tabs and pages were bent but nothing a little heavy weight for a couple of days won't fix. Plus I tend to beat my calendars up so the wear does not put me off too much.

I'm going to start with the House of Doolittle Wirebound Weekly/Monthly Planner first. It's about letter size so 8 1/2 x 11 which is nice but a little large for me to carry around. I'd use it more as a desk or stay at home planner.



Below are some photos of the cover and the logo. I like the logo design because it's small, self-explanatory, and is embossed with silver metallic lettering. I love shiny lettering so this is a nice touch in my opinion. Emphasizing the recycled elements with the 100% post-consumer paper is nice to identify for those Eco-friendly consumers. The cover itself is textured as you can notice the wrinkles in the cover. It seems very "plastic-y" in terms of fee. I'm not a huge fan of how it feel but it's pretty durable. I scratched and scuffed it a bit with my fingernail and it seemed to clear up or blend in with the texture of the cover after rubbing it with my finger.

Trying to show the metallic silver embossing because it's pretty. XD

Now to the guts of the product, the paper. I actually like it, it's a bit off white kind of gray color which is due to the recycled paper. Doesn't bother me any as I'm pretty lenient with colors of pages that I write on. I think it's a nice cool color that isn't hard on the eyes when you use it in bright lights. It's slightly textured but not enough to bug me when writing but it's not super smooth if you like that.

The first page gives the standard contact information if you ever lose the planner. You can see the slightly bent corners at the top and bottom right as well as the tabs. I smoothed them down a little before taking the photos. I really love the tabs for each month. Makes it extremely easy to flip to the month you need. Love the explanations on what percentages are recycled components. The reorder code at the bottom left is very convenient for customers who love this product! Most times you have to search for it.

Re-emphasizing the recycled components and the certification that the paper is coming from legitimate sources and not claiming recycled elements without proof or certification.

A shot of the monthly view with the notes section. Nice and spacious with large numbers for each day. Standard look, nothing too special about it which is fine with me, I don't really expect a lot of deviation from calendars.

I like the linear design, makes it easy to refer to certain days. You can look at the week in just one glance. I haven't quite started using the planner as 2013 hasn't started yet but looking at the spacing of one line per half hour concerns me a little as I write a lot. Looks like I'll have to learn to abbreviate more when I use this planner. I like the little memo section and the notes section, perfect for a To-Do list. :D

Just showing the tabs a little more. Nothing spectacular but easy to grab and flip to the section you want.

Holiday page! Can't be a calendar with one. lol

A timezone map is nice but I probably won't use it often. lol Good if you travel a lot.

Address and phone section if you use those. I personally don't but always nice to have just in case.

Larger memo section for notes or what not. :)

Interesting in case of emergency contact information. Not sure if anyone would know whether or not this information would be in the back of a planner but good to have if you have a medical condition.

I like the little timeline section. It gives you a brief history of how the House of Doolittle began producing recycled products. It shows you do it step by step and it's nice to be reminded that it all can't happen at once.

Testing the paper with my Lamy Safari with a Fine nib and Noodler's Lexington Gray. Looks pretty good! No feathering! It might feather with wetter nibs but I always write with F or EF nibs. There was no bleed through for me. There is a little show through but not enough that bothers me.

Closer shots of the writing. I think it looks good. Please ignore my bad handwriting. lol

A little comparison to my current Quo Vadis Space 24 Planner which is half the size, I would prefer a slightly bigger notes section and half hour spacing. I do like the recycled elements but my Quo Vadis planner is refillable while this planner is not.

Now I'll switch to the House of Doolittle Two-Color Monthly Desk Pad Calendar with Large Notes Section. Here it is shrink wrapped. It's a typical desk calendar.

Similar information explaining the timeline process of going green.

Unwrapped and removed the cover page. Sorry for the shadows, my desk was a bit messy so I didn't have a lot of room for a nice photo. Typical desk calendar. Very spacious and I really like the notes section off to the right.

Just showing the plastic corners. Seems to be a similar material to the cover but less stiff. Not sure if it's made from recycled materials too but I assume it is by the way it feels and the brand of this company.

The paper is pretty much the same as the planner, so highly recommended. No bleed through but a little show through, not enough to bother me. :D

Perforated at the top for easy tearing.

Here's the back of the desk calendar. Just felt like showing it. Not as clean as the front but no one looks at the back when you're looking at the front side (except me apparently lol).

The corner was loose. Don't think it'll come off but thought I'd point it out. Keep it flat and it should be fine.

Over all, I really like these products and appreciate that they are both Eco-friendly. I just wish that both were refillable or at least the planner was refillable. Both are solid products. I definitely recommend them if you're a Eco-friendly conscious person and use F or EF nib fountain pens or if you just use regular pens or pencil. :D


**Disclaimer: These products were provided by Shoplet and in return for this review I was able to keep the product in exchange for an honest review.