About style 關於風格 / 畫畫的方式

I’ve been bellyaching about not (yet) having a specific style / way of drawing. But then things happened.

A few days ago, I carefully counted and put my rent into an envelope and drew something on it. It wasn’t delicately drawn, not to mention to do justice to my ‘illustrator’ identity. But the landlord lady was so happy because in the drawing there are our 3 cats sleeping on the roof of the house and because we all love them. (Or was it because I said this is the ‘protection money’ for this month?!) I was delighted upon seeing her laughing and rushing to show her husband what’s on the envelope. I didn’t think much of the style when I drew but what to draw to say thank you to her and how wonderful it is to live with them. It’s not a great picture but it communicates well for me as a good picture does.

And then it’s one of my besties’ birthday and I drew her this picture. I know she’d be thrilled and squeaking by whatever I draw (because she always did and for me that’s the best reward). So I think it’s not really about the drawing, or the style, or how good it is technically, it’s really about what you’re trying to say.


我最近有點憂鬱 沒有一個固定的風格

前幾天我數了 (好多遍) 房租，放在信封裡要給房東。我在信封上畫畫。畫的不精細也不是多複雜的圖，但是房東阿姨很開心！因為我畫了我們家裡的三隻貓在屋頂上睡覺，而我們都愛這三隻貓。(也許是因為我說這是這個月的保護費？) 看她很開心的樣子我也很開心。我沒有想太多要用什麼風格畫，畫畫的時候我想的是要怎麼跟她說謝謝，還有跟他們一家人住是多幸運的一件事。那不是一張很厲害的圖，但它很厲害的替我講了一些我沒講出來的事。

然後我其中一個最好的朋友今天生日，我畫了這張圖給她。我知道不管我畫什麼她都會很開心的飆高音 (因為她是台中人，她說台中人開心就會飆高音，不知道是真的假的)。然後我想，也許最重要的不是這張圖的風格或技巧有多好，真正重要的是這張圖要講什麼。

這些生活中的小事都提醒我為什麼喜歡畫畫，和畫畫真正對我來說是什麼。

不要流於形式好像講起來很容易，可是我們很常只看到或只要求表面的樣子，忽略了真正重要的事。難怪小王子會說 "What is essential is invisible to the eye" 真正重要的事是眼睛看不到的。

Work in Process: Valentine Birds

I was commissioned to make a couple of valentine's day card for the coming up Chinese Valentine's Day, which is celebrated on the lunar July 7 mostly in China, Taiwan and Japan. 

There were 2 birds in my mind but I didn't know what they were going to do. I doodled it out anyway. If you see that bean-shaped prototype on the right, you know I'm no close to be called talented... 

The 2 birds on the bottom left caught my eye, and I thought, yay, here we go! 

台灣一間長期合作的書店請我設計七夕情人節卡片

我想畫兩隻小鳥，可是不知道要畫什麼

所以就先在紙上亂畫

But we didn't go anywhere better. 

(It's so upsetting that I can hardly outdo my own sketch!!)

I painted it out but the picture didn't look very exciting to me.

然後用左下角的兩隻小鳥繼續畫下去

可是畫完我覺得好像還少了什麼

Frustrated as I was, I looked around my desk and tried to find something fun to do the image over again. I saw some color pencils and thought, how about applying the color pencil on top of the painting to add some texture... (glad I didn't!) 

And that's when I took the picture below. (Eee! A green flower!)

後來想用彩色鉛筆加點東西上去（還好沒有！）

就開始削鉛筆

發現削下來的鉛筆花好可愛！

Then I totally forgot the painting and the poor birds. 

I played around with the colorful fragments and made 2 new birds. 

Check out the cute little eyebrow of the bird on the right.

It was an accident that the little piece fell right there, but it looked SO right!

Serendipity!

所以我開始玩這些很多顏色的鉛筆小花

拼成兩隻小鳥

一個碎片不小心掉在右邊小鳥臉上

剛剛好變成他的眉毛！

So, yay I drew the bird a permanent brow!

I glued them onto the paper once I found them interestingly satisfying. 

I scanned it and cleaned it up in Photoshop. 

實在太可愛了，所以我畫給他一樣的眉毛

接下來我把這些都黏在紙上、掃描、在Photoshop裡面把圖整理乾淨

Ta-da! Now the little couple are ready to go.

See you out there!

Ta-da! 然後就完成了！

P.S. I really enjoyed designing/making greetings cards. Every work is a whole new project for me and they all reminded me of the good times sending and receiving cards to/from the ones I care and love (and miss!)

It's all about love, isn't it.


Best wishes to all, xxx

Casey



More work/random updates http://facebook.com/caseysushi
Portfolio http://cargocollective.com/caseysushi

A taste of spring

I saw these little bees flying in and out of the flowering shrubs on campus of Anglia Ruskin University and I think they must know how to make a taste of the spring! (And I could see some of them already filled their pollen baskets on their legs but some hadn't!) 

在學校裡面看到小蜜蜂在花裡面很忙的飛來飛去 (很可愛因為可以看到有的蜜蜂腳上的花粉籃已經裝滿了，有的還沒)，我想他們一定知道怎麼品嚐春天的滋味！我覺得生命真的很美好。

Failure is the mother of ...

... this drawing.

How honest one should be

A sneak peek on the new stuff I've been doing, which is pretty random/personal.

Speaking of personal-ness, I've been quite honest any time in my life and I guess I was born an incompetent liar. But it's still haunting me that how honest I should be as an illustrator, and as a person.

It always did no good to me being too honest, and sometimes I felt super stupid after opening myself up verbally or visually and often ended up thinking which and which I shouldn't have done. :/  I don't want to jeopardize myself since I'm the only one who can and who should protect myself. But for me it's even worse to be a phony person.

旭恭老師說，創作是為了面對真實的自己。可是應該要多真實呢，身為一個創作者和身為一個人，在不讓自己受傷害也不當個虛假的人的前提之下？

Inner peace

A place where you find your inner peace.

Snow in Cambridge

We had our first snow in Cambridge a couple of days ago!

Summer laziness

Reclaiming the territory

First thing at work: reclaiming the territory of the working desk! 

The old stray dog

那天傍晚飄雨
就像一如往常台北梅雨季的天氣
我從打工的地方回家
看到一隻很老很瘦的狗狗在沒有人的市場裡
鼻子貼著地上聞找東西吃

我知道這樣有一餐沒一餐的餵牠們不是長久之計
其實也有點不負責任
如果我可以
我也希望全部帶回來養
或替他們結紮絕育再原地放回 (TNR: Trap, Neuter and Return)
讓他們可以在生長熟悉的環境裡自然的老死
畢竟這塊土地從來就不只是人類的

可是我實在做不到明明知道他們餓肚子卻這樣走開
至少我能讓他暫時不要餓肚子
所以還是去買了便利商店裡我能買的最大的罐頭
看著他吃完才離開

離開的時候我站在街的另一端
老狗狗站在路中間看著我
我知道他沒吃飽
我也知道他不想躲躲藏藏繼續流浪了

我都知道


It drizzled throughout the day, like it always did in the rainy season in Taipei. I was on my way home from the bookstore I work part-time for. That was when I met the skinny, trembling old dog.

He was sniffing the ground, trying his best to find some leftover in the traditional market. So I bought the biggest canned dog food I could find in the convenience store and stayed there until he finished gobbling up, perhaps it was the only meal he had in the day.

Then I had to go. I walked across the street and looked back. He was in the middle of the road looking at me. I know he didn't have enough, and I know he never wants to be a stray dog and live such a difficult life. I know he wants a home.

Can you scoot over a little bit

Can you scoot over a little bit

好擠喔，過去一點好嗎？

If I work at home, this is what usually happened.

He would gently push me away by his leg and I normally sat on only a third of the chair. (I felt like I was nearly squatting or training my thigh muscles...) Sometimes I won the entire chair because he got annoyed that as a cat he couldn't get 100% share of the chair, other times he got the chair because I left for other tasks.

Days with cats, never get bored!

跟貓搶椅子我只能坐到三分之一的椅面
橘多多會一直用後腳推我
有時候我甚至覺得我在半蹲XD

和動物一起生活實在太精彩了

Dogs in the traditional market

The dog which helped his owner to sell fruits in the marketplace by sitting on the truck nicely and grinning his innocent, dorky and lovable grin. 

狗狗露出他天真傻氣的微笑，在卡車上幫忙賣水果。

The stray dog resting by the feet of the fruit vendor

流浪狗在賣水果的攤販腳邊休息

Only walking distance from my place, there is a traditional market where my family and I can always get the freshest and cheapest food and veggies. What makes me feel more excited than food about the market is that almost every time I walked through or by, I can spot the exquisite relationship and interaction between street dogs and the vendors.

市場裡比食物更棒的事：
幾乎每次經過我家附近的傳統市場
都可以看到狗狗和攤販們微妙的關係和互動。

Lower our sight level to their height

If we are willing to lower our sight level to their height, 

we can see another aspect of life. 

I went to an adoption fair in Songshan Cultural Park, Taipei, this weekend. I couldn't adopt them because I'm going to study in England soon, and my parents thought our place is already "saturated" with the 2 cats we adopted 3 years ago. Even though I couldn't bring them home, after the event I still went home with my heart warm and fuzzy and got my treasure that day.

Once this little boy saw the dogs in the enclosure, he sat down in front of it with no hesitation so he could play and interact with them. This was the most beautiful scene for me that day, and I believe there was the same beauty and warmth in the boy's as well as the dog's eyes.


週末去「貓狗同樂會」在松菸辦的的Blacky送養會，雖然我家不能再養了，但還是想去看狗、跟狗玩  有一個小朋友毫不猶豫的坐在地上，用跟狗狗一樣的視線高度跟他們玩。我覺得這一幕實在太美了，我想也許只有在我們願意放低姿態的時候，才能看得到這麼美的生命的面貌吧。

The cat around MRT Zhongshan Station

中山站附近的貓

她好像對我的傘有點不滿

我放在地上

她衝過去又抓又踢又咬的

哈哈

How to befriend a cat

要跟貓做朋友

首先你要手心向上  把手臂放低

表示你對她沒有威脅性

如果你夠幸運的話

也許她會讓你摸摸她的頭後面

但第一次不要太心急

不然可能會得到抓抓或咬咬一枚...

Like this
像這樣

Taipei cat cafe ZABU

Taipei cat cafe ZABU, located in Tian-mu, Taipei. See the map here. 

The cafe owner let the cat walk in and out of the cafe at the cat's free will, and didn't force him to stay in. I heard him said at the door to the cat, "You wanna come in? Come on in." and then he pushed open the door for the cat so he could walk in and perform his duty - sniffing and checking up on the customers.

I love the harmony between humans and things, humans and animals. I was so melted by the easy and unpretentious relationship between the cafe owner and the cat. The cat came and ate a bit and got to rest under the roof when it was raining, and the cafe owner was happy with it. Sometimes we want people to do things as we like, or even get upset if they don't. But it shouldn't be like this, the tension and the desire to control other people, other lives and try to control all the things as if we own them.

Life should be like this, or at least it'll be easier to live this way: Open a door for the cat.


天母的咖啡店 ZABU

很喜歡這間店的主人跟貓的關係。
我聽到他跟貓說，「你想進來嗎？進來吧。」
然後推開門，
讓貓進來做他該做的事--- 嗅嗅每個客人的味道
結束後滿意的躺在店裡的某個屬於他的地方

老闆沒有強求貓要留在店裡招財
也很ＯＫ貓偶爾來坐坐
偶爾在外面散步社交

對我來說
這種很輕鬆和諧的關係很迷人阿
人和東西、人和人、人和動物

生活不就應該這樣

My ideal picture of observational drawing

我理想中的戶外寫生

Cambridge School of Art offered me a second chance to submit more works before they decide whether or not they should give me a place in the MA Children's Book Illustration, only that they have to be observational drawings.

I didn't go out and draw from real life a lot before. But it was fun and exciting to let the pen go as quickly and precisely as possible when capturing what you see, because you don't get to know when they will move to another position or change their postures. The most difficult thing for me to start observational drawing is to decide what to draw. I only draw things that I feel connected to, but to be professional, I will definitely do more from now. And humans! I know... draw more human figures!


在劍橋的 Cambridge School of Art 給我第二次機會
讓我多畫一些觀察的畫繳交過去
然後他們再決定是不是要發 offer letter 給我

我理想中的戶外寫生就是有一群狗狗和貓排隊在我前面讓我畫
哈哈  有這麼好的事嗎
沒有嘛
所以我要去找他們了～

Bulldog and the old man

Bulldog and the old man in YongKang Park, Taipei

One thing that appeals to me about animals and companion animals is that they don't treat you differently by your appearance, age, physical and mental healthiness, bank account, occupation, political view or your moral standard. All they have is feeling. (Unless you hit them then out of instinct they defend or attack.)

I think I'm just repeating what everyone already knew. But it is still touching when you see it and you feel the connection between animals and people. I saw this bulldog and the old man in YongKang Park in Taipei. When I walked close and asked what the dog's name is and stuff, the old man started to babble about the dog getting really heavy but he said that with a smile on his face.

I felt warm and fuzzy listening because this is love. It is when you complain about someone but in the meantime you accept all of him/her and you are never going to change the true him/her. (Wait, are we still talking about dogs?) Awww... so let's listen to John Legend's All of Me. Haha!

對我來說，動物很迷人的地方就是
他們不會因為你的外表、年紀、生心理狀態、銀行帳戶、工作形態、政治立場或道德標準就用不同的方式對待你。（除非你欺負他們，那他們出於本能就會反擊）

這是在永康街遇到的鬥牛犬和老人，他們下午出來散步
老人家一直跟我碎念狗狗多胖多胖
可是又一直看著狗狗微笑 (好肉麻!)

畫了這張圖因為覺得真的好窩心
愛不就是這樣嗎
嘴上一直抱怨對方
可是同時又接受他/她的全部

所以今天來聽 John Legend 的 All of me 吧  哈哈！

In a search of peacefulness

I am not quite sure it is because the tender nature of pencil drawing or the affection toward these beautiful creatures that calms me down and eases my whatsoever bitterness and agony. Anyway it just did.

I do wish there is World Peace in the near future for all the living things on Earth (and no more invasion to other planet, seriously, do we need another planet to destroy?? Why not treasure what we have now on the magnificent Earth?), meanwhile I try to keep the peacefulness in my mind lasting as long as possible. I found myself popping the bubbles in the bubble wrap when I was working in the bookstore. I went blank in my mind and stood there for like minutes and not aware of what I was doing until someone came in the staff room.


"I think I'm sick."
"Everyone is a bit sick here so you'll be fine."


用鉛筆畫畫和畫這些美麗的動物讓我覺得好安心

Hierarchy

橘多多: 搶枕頭各憑本事囉!

Orange-much always got to sleep on my pillow so I can only sleep at the edge of my bed, and on my plush tapir for substitution. Orangey is not a pillow cat, so he's fine with this bedtime hierarchy.