VIRAMZ featured world

Rebooting and rerooting the Viramz blog

2011-08-19T12:12:00.000+02:00

Hi all. It has been a while.

I wanted to let you know that I will be restarting my blog. There are quite a few things I want to share with you. Unfortunately the blogspot format just isn't up to the task, so I will be moving to a wordpress design on my own site.
Click this link to go to the new blog, and have a looksy.

Rainy Japan

2010-06-24T06:22:00.008+02:00

I have been hearing it on the news and online. "The rainy season has started in Japan". Well so what I thought to myself, a bit of rain won't hurt anybody. How wrong I was, about the first part that is, the part about "a bit of rain".
A few days ago I had my first experience with the rainy season in Japan. It was like a Amazon torrential monsoon unleashed upon Japan, and my poor little head.

Bad things about Japans rainy season:

Humid, hot, wet and clammy.
You can't hang out your clothes after they get wet because of the rain, because of the rain.
Sitting in the office with wet clothes does not increase productivity.

Good things about Japans rainy season :

Fresh freshwater supply.
Everybody complains about the rain, so you have something in common with everybody and your all friends for the day.
Umbrella's failing... you know what I'm talking about ;).

Yokai offical database?

2010-06-17T11:34:00.006+02:00

Those who love Japanese horror and mythological stories will be delighted with today's news. Apparently the International Research Center for Japanese Studies has scanned in drawings and ink-tings from scrolls and old literature with Yokai depictions, creating an online visual database.
Yokai make for interesting characters and are widely used in manga and anime these days (GeGeGe no Kitaro anyone?). I always wondered what the original depictions looked like , and what horrors must have been imagined by the original artist. Now we can have a first hand look without having to visit archives or museums.
These drawings most have been the cause of a few nightmares don't you think?

Edit: Sorry, I should have explained how to use the page. The site is in Japanese, and the search page here takes only Japanese characters (Kanji, hiragana and katakana). If you enter かっぱ (kappa) for instance, you will find original depictions of this widely used and popular character in anime and manga.

A small comparison:Modern day Kappa...makes you want to feed it cucumbers (it's favorite food), doesn't it.

Old school Kappa...makes you hope you will never meet one.

Asia heats up for the Word Cup

2010-06-14T03:53:00.010+02:00

I wanted to share with everyone a bit of how Asia warms up for the World Cup.
Thanks to the fellows at reallycuteasians.com for bringing this hot Holland supporter to my attention. Check out the blog post for more pictures, or moko.cc for all the goodness this lady brings us.

You will also find some very warm models with paint on there body's supporting all of the World Cup nations. Something to keep the supporter and players warm during the winter colds in South Africa.

And other models posing for there favorite teams over at 2010.sina.com.cn.

Looks like this is going to be a very enjoyably and warm summer, or winter ;).

Grungy Japan

2010-06-08T13:55:00.002+02:00

Japan is not all sparkly, soap-bubbles and neon-lights. Japan has texture as well. A bit of the gritty and dirty side of Japan you don't see advertised on bill-boards and export products.

The main road I cross everyday has been degrading bit by bit and piece by piece.
The little cracks in the tarp are starting to turn into potholes.
In japan you will find lots of steel covers, iron-grating and the sort covering little ditches and gutters.
This little fire-escape could use a lick of paint.

Finding an orange shirt

2010-06-05T05:38:00.005+02:00

Finding an orange T-shirt turned out to be more of a convenient problem then I had anticipated. I figured that Uniqlo would be a place to start looking for something orange. Uniqlo being the most probable change I had of finding cheap T-shirts my size.
Turns out that orange is a summer colour this year, so I actually had my pick of T-shirts.
Oyea, they also had these way-to-awesome-not-to-buy printed T-shirts.
So I kind of ended up buying 2 orange T-shirts, and a collection of printed shirts that reveal my inner nerdiness.
For those wondering about what my thing is with orange T-shirts... Orange is the Dutch national colour, which means the national teams play with orange outfits. So if your rooting for the Dutchies for this upcoming world cup, get some orange!

Wildlife incounters in Japan

2010-05-25T13:24:00.018+02:00

Japan has a very wide variety of wildlife. Some very dangerous, others not so. The funny thing is that a lot of animals have their own place in historical or mythological stories (Naruto anyone?).
Here are some of the encounters I managed to survive.

You will find ninja-cats every where around my neighbourhood. I have been the victim of a few ambushes. Luckily I spotted this one before he could get me, so I think he must still be in training.

Exhibitionism is considers a big problem in Japan. For some reason they come out mostly on rainy damp mornings....mostly.

Even the fish are adamant about maintaining the status quo. Staying stationary in one place with as little effort as possible seems to be a very popular Japanese sport.

You will find these critters close to big historical tourist spots around Japan. Females tend to roam around in hordes, the male variant in packs. If faced with a pack or horde of uniformed keitai (cell-phones) wielding kids, remember this. They are more afraid of you then you are of them.

As I was saying, they are more afraid of you, then you are of them. Although this one almost did give me a hart attack! I scared him so much he thought the best getaway route was up a vertical wall.

Takayama and Shirakawa-go, Japan

2010-05-19T10:06:00.012+02:00

"I want to see mountains again Gandalf mountains"!
Today we visit the historical Takayama and Shirakawa-go. Located in central and inland Japan, which means it is a mountainous area. That is a special thing for somebody from the 'Low Lands', seeing mountains always gets me exited.

The train ride to Takayama is a slow and relaxing trip, and you get to enjoy some beautiful scenery.

At Takayama I happened to find the most kitsch Ryokan ever, like finding a treasure trove in the attic. A most definite recommendation to anyone who want to try a traditional Ryokan and get a bit of the old Japanese feeling. They even have a samurai suit of armor at the entrance.
Takayama is well known with tourists for its traditional crafts and it's 'old town', preserved like it was in the Edo period (1600-1800). Here you can find sake-breweries, crafts shops, eateries and museums. There are also a few temples around the area and a morning market.
From Takayama there are a few side trips you can make to onsens and other villages.

A 50 minute bus trip will get you to Shirakawa-go, a world heritage registered site. A beautiful village in a valley with old thatched roofed houses. This little trip made me go "Wow" a few times. The scenery's just took my breath away.

Ueno, Tokyo

2010-05-06T02:17:00.009+02:00

Right next to Ueno station you will find Ueno Onshi Park. This huge park has a number of museums, temples and even a zoo. Great to hang out at during the weekend (although it will be crowded), and a must visit if you are in Tokyo. You will also find street performers and food stands. It is probably the best spot to experience the mixture of history and modern culture through its range of different museums and temples.

Historical temple at the park.

Hippo's at the zoo are a big attraction.

"No pointing at the little critters!"

Little house at the lake.

To complete the experience you have to visit the Ameyoko market.The market is centered around the railway going from Ueno station to Okachimachi station. And they sell just about everything. From fruits on a stick to perfumes and military outfits.

In the hood, as requested.

2010-05-05T01:29:00.009+02:00

The Golden week 'Koi' are out! Around Golden week a lot of people hang out these 'flags' that are shaped like the Japanese carp. It gives a colorful and somewhat festive atmosphere.

Per request some pictures from around the area I live. So here are a few pics from Okazaki's South side.
It is a quiet neighborhood, and compared to other cities you could call it a countryside village.
Although to Dutch standards it would be a sizable city ;).

Sunset by the lake. Around here there a few 'lakes' that serve like water-basins and help with water management (at least that is my theory). This bigger lake is a favorite for joggers, or just to take a relaxing stroll.

THE most wonderful garden I have ever seen. It is a little terraced garden and the vegetable patch is garded by bonzai tree's.

Old men fishing by the lake (another lake). I wonder if they ever catch anything...

Little pots and plants finally come to life with lush greens and the colors of spring. You see little setups like this everywhere in Japan.

Neighbors traditional garden.

This time a setting sun into the hills, with the apartment building I live in to the left (the one with the blue stairs). Snapped this shot last night getting home from work.

If you want to see more or have a special request, let me know. I'll continue on posting the Tokyo series, and the occasional sketch for now.

Asakusa, Tokyo

2010-05-03T05:46:00.019+02:00

Now, on to some of the neighbourhoods in the largest metropolitan area of the world (and my favourite city), Tokyo!

Asakusa is a major tourist spot in Tokyo. Naturally this area houses many hotels and Japanese style Ryokan, and even a capsule hotel (for those interested ;)). It was my first time visiting Asakusa, and I liked it. Main attractions: Senso-ji temple and the river cruise, going down the Sumida river to the Hinode Pier.

Stampeding tourists all over the temple grounds. The surrounding streets feel like walking onto the set of an Edo period movie. Traditional and souvenir shops everywhere.

One of the gates.

Temple gate guardian. Not sure if it's Fujin or Raijin.

The Tsukiji fish market from the river side. Used to be a huge tourist magnet until they banned the tourists from the "inner market" because they where getting in the way of the actual auctioning.

From the river you can get a great view of the Tokyo Sky Tree, currently under construction. After completion it will be THE tallest structure in Japan. (I wonder what will happen to the Tokyo Tower?)

Seoul' proud history 2

2010-05-03T05:36:00.007+02:00

I wanted to share a bit more of Seoul's historical attractions, because they have so many. There are numerous palaces and old villages. You can find beautiful and colorful architecture, historical crafts on display and everything is open to public view (for a small entrance fee).

The main palace pavilion, where foreign guests where received and entertained.

The palace building where the big ceremonies where held.

The front gate. A general doing guard inspections.

A gate at the old village leading into the backyard. Just don't bumb you head..

Seoul's proud history

2010-04-13T10:28:00.013+02:00

And it is a very long tail indeed. Historical artifacts from as far back as the stone age can be viewed at the numerous museums in Seoul. If you like your history, or martial history like I do, you will be pleasantly surprised.
What I found interesting was the well documented interaction between the people of the Korean peninsula and the Chinese and Japanese cultures during the different periods, and the influence they had on each other.
Especially the conquests campaigns by different tribes and cultures , the following military developments and battles. These where displayed with periodical weapons and armors and strategy explanations.

More recently, and still very tangible today, was of course the war that divided Korea. High School history told me that during the cold war there where no actual military confrontations between Communist and Capitalist forces. Well they need to rewrite those books. Korea was and still is very much the staging ground for confrontations between communist and capitalist military forces.
At the war memorial museum I found the largest collection of postWW2 military machinery ever. I have never seen so many plains, tanks, anti-aircraft guns, artillery, rockets and helicopters together before in my life.

Seoul, digital paradice

2010-04-06T10:08:00.011+02:00

OK, so I missed the hanami in Japan this year. But in return I got to discover the interactive playground called Seoul. Here are a few examples I have encountered:

Interactive touch screen for your local map information or subway guide. Also shows banks, restaurants and what not. Very informative, and just begging to be used.
The Samsung promotional display stand. Found it at the Coex mall in front of the cinema. This stand has a 3D holographic display of the newest cellphone model centred in the middle. Around this you find screens that interact by moving cubes around on a table.
You can also play with the new models which are hooked up to a big screen at the pillars.

A word to all forward looking Media designers/developers, this is the place to be!

A few more sights of Seoul

Sketch

2010-03-24T13:05:00.005+01:00

Hi all,
a quick sketch in PS inspired by the hinamatsuri.
Status update and more to follow.

Website update

2009-08-14T00:55:00.003+02:00

Been working my ass off ;P. All the pages have been filled up with content now, except for the movie-gallery. There is still a lot to do and so little time. I'm hoping to finish the general parts tomorrow, leaving me with just the tweaking and polishing.

Viva gotoandlearn.com!

Working on the website

2009-08-12T19:08:00.007+02:00

Hey peeps! Recently I have started with the completion of my little website. It is meant to be more of a portfolio site which needs to start bringing in the costumers for commissioned works and other projects. For now it serves as a assignment to bring in some much needed credits that I need to graduate. Now, programming is not my thing, so Flash presents a big challenge for me. Hopefully it will turn out looking spiffy!

Here is a bit of the design, still a wip though ;).
On another note. Countdown has started for the last couple of days I can call myself a student. By the end of this month I will have (finally!) earned that little piece of paper and call myself a Bachelor graduate in Communication and Multimedia Design. That is if I am able to finish my thesis and get the last remaining credits.
Who needs sleep when you can graduate, right?

The end of Japans onsens

2009-06-10T03:31:00.010+02:00

Nearing the end of my 4 month stay in Japan I can say that it was a good overall experience. I'm finishing the Interactive Video project for my thesis and results are looking good.
Started packing my stuffs yesterday. Loads of things to dump, more things to keep and a lot to fit into my suitcase. Got most of the presents but will need to do a bit of shopping before heading home.

Here are some pictures from the last weekend trip.
We did 2 onsens as well, and they where amazing. I now understand why Japanese love these.
(Sorry, no pictures of naked lady's in the onsen ;P)
And some more snapshots from the trip...

Quick Hong Kong post

2009-05-25T07:39:00.006+02:00

Just got back from Hong Kong. For now just a few quick snapshots. Enjoy..

Nagoya

2009-05-14T03:21:00.016+02:00

Living and working in Okazaki, and used the European (night) life style it gets kind of boring after a short while. The closest place for a good time would be Nagoya, 4th largest city in Japan.
A short trip with a rapid train will have you in sprawling Nagoya city center within 25 minutes from Okazaki JR station.Close to Nagoya station you'll find shops like Big Camera (where I got my laptop) and some of the more red tainted (*wink..wink*) entertainment venues.

Just 2 subway stations away you'll find Sakae, THE hotspot in Nagoya.
This district has department stores, electronic stores, book stores, fashion and pop stores, foods and drink shops, dicso's and bars, Live houses and so on.
Using the tv tower as an orientation point it is kind of hard to get lost, though getting a map (I found a Nagoya guide with map at the subway exit, for free) is most helpfull.
Some of the things I did during my visits to Nagoya:
'Tabe hodai', all you can eat buffy for 1 hour.

You could go and get your own food on a stick and fry them @ your table. Great fun. With 4 people we had (see above) amount of sticks after 1 hour of gorging.This restaurant is located in the building next to the tv tower, 3rd floor if I remember correctly.

The park that runs trough Sakae hosts live performances on Sundays...

The import store! The perfect place to go shopping if you feel homesick. It imports all the stuff other countries are well known for. Like for instance you will find from Holland: cheese, stroop waffels, chocolate, chocolat spread.
A little taste of home will help you through the long dark periods of Japanese / japanised cusine.

Motown live house / soul bar Garry's:

A taste of the sites and atmosphere in Sakae ...
Some dude in a clown suit promoting something...

Yes they have an apple store..

Did you know that in Japan every city has it's very own designed man-hole covers? These I found in Nagoya:

Hanami 01

2009-05-12T17:41:00.006+02:00

Osashiburi desuuuu. Been a while :)
Here is a small report of my first ever hanami in Japan. I say first, because there was a second. But that's a post for another time ;).
Generally Japanese spend the few days that the cherry blossoms bloom chatting, eating and drinking with there family and friends underneath the cherry tree's. Sounds nice, except that everyone in Japan joins in. And as we all know, Japan is a crowded place.

We went with a group of friend to Okazaki castle park. A beautiful park with the castle overlooking the park (some claim the castle provides the best scenic view of Sakura's in Japan), a temple and rows and rows of Sakura tree's.
The park is located close to the river. On the banks of the river and in the park there where food stalls where they sell all kinds of festival foods and have games for kids.
(And even a hunted house.....)
Fun times indeed. Around this time the Sakura blossoms where about halfway in bloom and it was rather cold. Enough excuse for another visit!

New laptop and HD

2009-04-30T09:43:00.008+02:00

OK, so I finally got myself a new laptop. That means I have no more excuse to not post ;P.
For the first post I would like to show of my new laptop and new external hard-drive...

It's a Western Digital Portable Hard Drive, My Passport.
This little baby is small enough to fit into my pocket, is USB powered and has 500 GB of space. That's like having one of those magic bags that can fit anything inside no mater how big it is.

And here are the specs. for the laptop...
And it has a Japanese OS... awesome.
Oyea, and if you haven't noticed, it's all black and shiny :D.

Ninja!!

2009-03-24T10:20:00.005+01:00

Oyea, a day trip to Mie prefecture. The home of ninja!

The Ninja show....

And some pictures from the museum...
Henshing ninja van! Another mystery to solve :P.

Eest side!

2009-03-19T08:51:00.007+01:00

A bit of the Japanese reeducation for English speakers.

Entrance @ Toyohashi station

Dinner was great, entertainment even better, but the name......

Don't play around in the toilet. Be serious when you do the doodoo.

You like my chocolate brown stick? Want a bite?

Spice chips

2009-03-17T05:42:00.003+01:00

Believe me, it is hot!
Was planning to make a daily dailings for this one... very interesting result the next morning :P. (I wasn't laughing that morning though)

Hardships

2009-03-16T08:05:00.003+01:00

Life without a laptop is sooooo boring.
2 weeks ago the motherboard of my laptop fried. So right now I'm stranded on a deserted island. Not being able to work on my paper, design or communicate with the outside world.

Although i do have a brand new pc @ the office, the software has not arrived jet. So that leaves me with only a internet connection and something called open office, which does not read docx.

The last month I have basicly done all, and I do mean all, the sketching and analyses and design for the IV app. Without Illu. I can't move to the next stage.
Also no new daily dealing :(.

And english liturature is very hard to come by here. So I have been spending all my time finding books and papers on the www. Ordering takes again a long time and a freaking hell loads of money.

But there is a ray of hope at the end of the tunnel.
Getting a new laptop, but it will take some time. No idea how I'll deal with the time lost just jet.
Looks like the practical part of designing and prototyping the Interactive Video won't be a problem.

Office space

2009-03-06T01:14:00.008+01:00

Some pictures of where I will be entertaining myself, and others fore some time.

My room......
With desk and chair.....
My closet.......
Just kidding, this is my real closet.....
The common room.....

Aoi hall (office building and education centre and radio station).....
My workspace @ the office......
On the desk the corpse of my laptop. We will be donating all of its organs to varies pc's in need. The HD is (for) now connected to my brandnew work PC (on the floor). So thats why the side is open.

Daily dealings 02

2009-02-28T13:08:00.003+01:00

ps.
Unlike what the title might imply, I will not be posting a cartoon everyday. Just to busy/lazy for that ;).

Better be careful

2009-02-23T14:56:00.005+01:00

Ladies, be careful! A black dude might be walking behind you in this underpass. We advice you NOT to harm these creatures because they are an endangered species.
"Okazaki comity for the protection of endangered wild life citizens and Okazaki police department."

New arrivals

2009-02-15T05:25:00.017+01:00

Are you looking @ me!
There's no one else here so you must be looking @ me! Punk!
You now, there is always something you forget when you go on a trip, right? Well guess what I forgot. The little SD card that's goes in to my camera. Yea, I think that's pretty stupid to. So I had to buy a new one @ Frankfurt. Luckily I bumped into a small electronics store and was able to make some pics for you boys and girls back home.

Calm as Hindu cows ;P (small hint for those who don't get it, watch fight club!).
With the economic crisis and all economy class had lots of space. So much space that people where using the centre 4 chairs as beds. So this time it wasn't as much as being cramped into to small a space for any healthy human, but more the jet-lag and not sleeping because of nerves before leaving that had me exhausted.
Al of a sudden I had this weird thought. People are looking outside, staring at the clouds or looking down. But why isn't anybody looking up? This is why...
There is nothing to see.

And this is me @ arrivals... No one told me there was a heat wave enveloping Japan!And this is me waiting for the bus........ and waiting some more.......
And finally arrived @ Okazaki station.
Stay tuned, because next time on Viramz .......
My accommodations.

Movie: Waterloo

2009-01-06T23:35:00.005+01:00

[Edit]
Does it look like "Bony"? Quick sketch during class. Did the BG in the subway ride home and colour @ home.
[Edit]

I saw this movie after wanting to know more about Napoleon and his big battle. Being a fan of martial arts I'm also interested in war history. A period that never interested me much was the Napoleonic time, where formations basicly marched towards each other and shot there muskets. Soldiers dying in a row never seemed logical to me. But then you start to wonder what all those other history fanaticals find so interesting about this period. So that then brings me back to this this movie.

An 1970 released movie of epic scale. I happened to read a bit about the movie when I was doing a bit of directing research for my latest university project for which we will do a movie. Anyway, reading the book made be realise just how amazing directing a huge battle scene must have been.
At the time of filming the directer had under his command the biggest standing army in the world at that time.
Are you serious? Well logically they hadn't the CG's we are used to seeing in movies like LotR and had to fill the shots with actual extras. But that would have meant that 10.000+ people would have to be orchestrated, trained and be acting at the same time. Fucking awesome!

With that in mind I watched the movie. I do think it's a bit of a shame you can't really understand the tactics used and why, because you don't get a clear overview of the battle field. But then again, that's the fog of war for you. What I understand about the actual battle of Waterloo was that the smoke from the guns and cannons actually had the same effect.
The other thing that bother me besides that the pyrotechnics for the cannons where a bit to fake (well it is a old movie so I'll forgive them for it), it's the close ups of the generals when they ride into battle. Never seen anybody that steady riding a horse, LOL.

Manga: Dogs - Bullets&Carnage

2009-01-05T14:04:00.028+01:00

Continuing with the inspiration topic I decided it was about time to show and tell a bit about the anime's and manga's.

I'll start of with one of the manga's that had me amazed with its exceptional art and original world creation from the very first chapter I laid my eyes on.

Dogs - Bullets & Carnage
MIWA Shirow tells a story about people who live by the law of the back alleys like stray dogs in a run down futuristic world.
People who live there life by way of sword and gun. Destinies intertwine and dark pasts are revealed. With it's some what noir manga style and easy to follow action scenes Shirow conveys a compelling story of hardship, bloodshed, vengeance and other not so nice things. This is where the characters come to shine, fighting for and against these not so nice things.

Plot (from baka-updates):
In a post apolyptic world devoid of seasons, where man's "golden age of technology" ruined earth and caused science to run amok, there live four individuals looking for a door to the hell far below the surface. Through a series of coincidences, the ex-hitman-now-bartender Mihai, the deranged and psychopathic Haine, the vengeful yet kind Naoto, and the freelancer Badou meet one another.

Dogs: Stray Dogs Howling in the Dark, prequel to Dogs - Bullets&Carnage is a volume of background story's of the main characters and a recommended read before you read the series. Also the Dogs: Hardcore Twins is a special featuring the twins Luki and Noki and is a fun read.

Main characters:
Haine

Badou

Naoto

Mihai

Judgement
Art: 9/10
Story: 8/10
Characters: 10/10
(And it has nothing to do with the fact that I love girls with swords kicking ass! OK, maybe a bit :P.)
Level: Awesomeness

Onemanga: Dogs: Stray Dogs Howling in the Dark, Dogs - Bullets&Carnage, Dogs: Hardcore Twins
Artist info: MIWA Shirow
Artist website: m.m.m. Works ONLINE
Scanlations: MangaTranslation
Art Links: scans, wallpapers.

Canvas finish

2008-12-26T22:05:00.004+01:00

Yes ur, it's finished. And I will call it: Grasping the wind! The meaning is a little inside secret ;). What you guys think? I always find it interesting what other people see or how they interpret my pieces. So let me know OK!

Title: Grasping the wind!
Canvas 30cmX40cm
Tone markers, markers, fine liners, Pentel white.

Going canvas

2008-12-24T15:19:00.004+01:00

After being greatly inspired by some friends I decided to do a little experiment. Those dude made working with traditional (non digital) materials look so easy, I just needed to try it out. Working with these materials, markers and stuff I had in a drawer and not used for over a year, on canvas realy is something else.
Will post the finished piece soon :P.
[Edit]
A few small updates:
The original sketches
And another process pica;

Biting into projects

2008-11-15T14:01:00.004+01:00

It's getting a bit boring up here, so I decided it was about time to introduce you kids to some of the stuffs I've been doing at the university. The projects have been keeping me busy like hell. The only time I have for sketching these days is just before turning in for the night. So i have no time at all to take it into the next level of graphic awsomeness and turn them into master pieces :P.
But the projects are fun and I get to make some gorgius stuff.

Project Vicar Vision:
This project was about finding new concepts for an existing company that develops software for eye-tracking and face-recognition software. We had some amazing brainstorms leading up to research, target group research and a marketing document. We finished it with a movie presentation for the costumer.
My slices of the pie included the marketing and target group research, brainstorming and advising the visual designs and movie.

Here is part of the targetgroup research we did.

And this amazing piece of visual graphic design put together by my friend Veldy (believestudio) for the costumer presentation.

We came up with the 'Leer & Deel' (Educate and Share) concept. Using the eye tracking software teachers can see what parts of a presentation are interesting to students. Sharing this info with other teachers would improve teaching, learning and cover a bit of community building.

To be continued...

Quick sketches

2008-11-03T21:23:00.004+01:00

Some quick sketches ;)

Japan movies finally up!

2008-09-01T23:07:00.003+02:00

Hi everyone. Sorry for the long wait. I was intensely enjoying my summer vacation. Just reading up on some fantasy books, watching anime and other fun stuf. Cherishing what will probably be my last summer vacation for a long long time.

I have finally (:P) uploaded all the movies I made in Japan onto my youtube channel, so check it out!
Or just use the video bar on the side of the blog to navigate to the latest vids.

JP 1-2

2008-07-05T03:51:00.005+02:00

Japan what the hell, first impressions!

Well for the trip, it was a road of suffering but also very interesting.

Schiphol I know, not that complicated. Frankfurt, what the hell people! A freaking maze of connecting flights, European and continental and like a 1000 gates. Me being me,I started exploring. I think a saw about 75 % of the inside of the airport. What else can you do if you have to wait 3,5 hours.

Because of the people on the flight speaking Japanese I was unconsciously prepared for the all out speaking Japanese only. The weird thing being, I can understand as long as it’s just instructions and small talk. Not the long conversations. The first culture shock I got was that everybody on the plane was taking their shoes of, and had slippers with them. Wow, I normally take my shoes of on the plane, but am not used to other people doing it, even taking slippers with them.

Arrival was ok, not more trouble than I expected. Just needed to fill in a form and had my luggage checked. Being from Holland, at costumes they now about our ‘semi legal’ soft drugs policy. So specially for the people from Holland they have a chart with all the colorful party past time pictures. Do you have this, do you have this, do you have this? It was so funny.

On the way from Nagoya to Okazaki I noticed that there where golf shooting ranges everywhere. About every small town has at least 20 or something.

After arriving at the institute did a small walk around the aria and checked in to a hotel. On every street corner there is a vending machine. Seriously, going to Japan you don’t need to worry about dehydration in the extreme heat. You can have your choice of soft drink, or even beer from these awesome machines.

I was to meet the family the next day. I had a long long sleep, with the jet-lag and all. Woke up the next morning and went to meet the host family. Well they are a very interesting family. This was the second time they hosted a student, so they were already experienced :P. After arriving at home did some unpacking and went shopping with the host mother (although she isn’t really that old, so I called her by her name. I called her mom and dad, mom and dad.)

Shopping at a supa (supermarket) was most interesting indeed. All the different things Japanese people eat, I was asking what is this and what is that for most of the time.

That was pretty much my first 2 days in Japan. I do have to note that dinners and breakfast where awesome. I’m going to miss them :(.

The pictures and vids you can be find here:

My youtube chanel

My Flickr account

Preparations for Japan

2008-06-27T22:46:00.007+02:00

I will be saying my goodbyes to Holland this Sunday. Happy days are here, I'm going to JAPAN!!!

Just a little something so you guys get a idea of where I'm going, check this google map. The blue dots are the stops, the line the travel route. Man I'll be making some serious kilometres, never been this far before in my life.

Grotere kaart weergeven

Taking a trip like this takes a lot of preparation, time and money. But first and for most is the motivation you need. That's what will keep you going if you hit snags like visa issues and stuffs like that. Hopefully the following list will help you to a good start. I will probable have a some things to add after my return :P.

Here is a list of my preparations for Japan;

The language: Learn a bit of Japanese of course. Here are some of the beter books to use to my experience. Japanese for busy people and Genki. You can also (think you can actually) learn proper Japanese by watching anime (LOL).
The trip: Yea, so the next thing is to figure out where the hell you want to go, because there is a lot more to Japan then just, OMFG! your going to Japan that's like freaking awesome dude! There is actually a lot more to Japan then just Tokyo. Plan your trip like you would any other. Find the trip that suits your needs and arrange it well before you leave. This is what I found to be my best choice, The Yamasa Institutes' Japanese Language & Culture Summer Program.
Money: Money can be a problem in Japan if you have only a Euro-card and no credit card. Dependent on your exchange fees you can exchange your Europes or Dollars in your own country or in Japan. Another good option are the traveller checks. You can also exchange a small amount before you leave for Japan, and exchange the rest of your cash on arrival.
Etiquette: Always good to know a bit about the local etiquette. Here are some links I used to get up to speed. About job interviews, overall unwritten rules, some more of that and what wiki has to say about it.
Omiage: Bring presents for the people you know or are about to meet. In my case the host family. Omiage are an important part of Japanese culture.

I will be blogging my experiences right here. I can not promise to update every day, but expect a lot of pictures, some movies and of course ART.

Load of raws

2008-06-19T14:15:00.013+02:00

It's been like a month sinds i last posted. I have been sooo busy with my studies and other crap that I have hardly even had time to sketch. Made a few changes to the blog, getting it japan ready. A flicker gallary and movie bar. For all the pics and movies i'll be making in japan.

So here are some sketches i did this last month.
This here is a study of the human head/skull from http://the-structure-of-man.blogspot.com/. If you are a bit seriues about drawing humans and the human figure you need to check this out.

A study of drawing emotions. How do the brows, eyes and mouth change with an expresion.

Some graphic design sketches i did. First is a mix of just random stufs. The second are some birds? The last one are some shape studies.

And of course some manga style sketches!

Kodomo tachi on the beach

2008-05-22T16:38:00.006+02:00

That was fun! Cell shading line art in Illustrator is actually not that hard, its just that you can't really do any soft cell shading with Illu.
I'm showing the process today, so keep up ;).

First you put in the base colours. At this point it still looks very monotone.

Next you ad the shadows, which in most cases is just a darker tone from the base colour.
Now you put in the highlights, the sparkly bits ;). I saved the eyes for last, that's always the most difficult but for fulling part. And viola your finished.
Finally you ad a background (a picture of the beach I made in Spain) and you have a wallpaper.
So what do you think, a successful experiment?

Kodomo tachi

2008-05-20T21:18:00.005+02:00

Had some free time today so did a quick line art from some sketches I made awhile back.
Just the line art for now. I'm going to experiment with some cell colouring in Illustrator for this piece.
Her t-shirt is sooo cool :3

Also added some more of my favourite links and blogs to the links section on the right. Have a looksy :).

Flowers

2008-05-12T14:52:00.002+02:00

Just finished my spring goodness.

RAW

2008-05-09T20:07:00.003+02:00

So today I decided to go all raw!
I wanted to show what my freestyle sketches feel like. Completely randomly putting my pencil on paper and just drawing anything, I do mean anything. When I fell something i'll just go with that.
On that note, who draws mushrooms in spring, seriously who?
Well, that's how I get my best and most original graphic designs.

So sunny

2008-05-06T17:52:00.004+02:00

Here are 2 wips (work in progress) in Illustrator. The logo fills the blank spaces for the elements i still need to work on. My laptop has a hard time with the 'sea' piece, all those lines are a bit straining for my ram ;). What you think, do they have a sunny feel dispite beeing black and white?

Inspiration filling

2008-04-27T19:44:00.009+02:00

I've been sooo busy with my school project that i had hardly any time to work on my stuffs. Friday we finally finished the project and now we have a weeks worth of holidays (school vacations banzai!). During those hard filled aching slavering days i did a shit load of shitty sketches. But a few are worth the effort of scanning and so forth. So expect some updates on a regular basis ;).

Anyhow this post is a filler. So what do you blog about to fill a filler post on a art/my blog? well inspiration of course!
So here are some of my inspirational sources;
First up is my cactus, blossoming its yearly beauty (its spring!)
And there is nature outside, a little park/playground behind our flat.
They my not be sakura trees, but they are definitely beautiful.

Otaku-kun

2008-04-14T18:52:00.003+02:00

Here's a little doodle of otaku-kun. Fast one in Illu.

Vamploli color

2008-04-12T23:52:00.006+02:00

Well i just couldn't let it go like that. I just felt sorry for this piece. So here's the color version of my little vampier. Done in Photoshop, good practice run :).
Its a bit hard to show my process, because i jump around all over the place, never working on one part for very long. So ummmm, 2 stages/ 2 days i worked on it :P.
So what you think?

Old works 2

2008-04-10T12:10:00.003+02:00

Oke peeps, some more old works ;). But of course i have been drawing, only haven't had the time to do anything with my sketches yet. Hopefully i will have something new to show you in the next post.

Old works

2008-04-06T16:39:00.003+02:00

I haven't realy done anything these past few days, bit bussy with school. So here are some of my older works ;).

Website design update

2008-04-03T22:05:00.004+02:00

Here's a little update of the first stage of design for my website.
This here is supose to become the menu. I also put some notes (english and dutch :P) so i know what will move, because i also want to animate the menu.

Still loads of stuff to do, but the plan is to have it finished before leaving for Japan.

Lolivamp

2008-04-01T18:26:00.004+02:00

Made this sketch late one night and thought it would be good practice to make lineart out of it.
Lineart again in Illustrator. I'm not sure if i will take it into colour.

And i finally finished the header for the site. What you think? did it work out?
__O, and happy april fools day!__

Going to Japan!!!

2008-03-30T11:38:00.005+02:00

Yeaaaaa, finally got my flight booked. I'll be following a language/culture/homestay summer program in the city of Okazaki - Japan. It'll be my first time in Japan *waku waku* and I'm really looking forward to it. Of course ill be blogging my adventure here, so you know what I'm up to ;).
I'm leaving on June 29th and the return flight will be on the 25th of July. This leaves me with a few days after the end of the program. Not sure jet what i'll do, but Tokyo (read Akihabara) is most definitely on the 'to do' list.

If you want to know more about this program or want to go on a learning adventure as well, check this site:
http://www.yamasa.org/acjs/english/programs/summer_culture.html

Alfred J Kwak

2008-03-26T15:19:00.005+01:00

This is something I wanted to share with you. I just found out that there is a subber subbing the Alfred J Kwak anime. So it is indeed an anime. I'm sure most of us here in The Netherlands remember this cartoon, watching it before going to school, or after coming home from grade school. I'm sure all of us have some bitter/sweet memories of this anime.

check out this discription:
Alfred Jodocus Kwak is a Dutch-Japanese children's cartoon character created in 1989, based on a Dutch theatre show by Herman van Veen. Alfred J. Kwak is the main character in the self-titled cartoon series. Compared to other children's television series, Alfred J. Kwak features exceptionally mature and often sad themes. The cartoon is also notable for the political themes on which it touches. In the cartoon, Alfred fights against a fascist dictator, takes in refugees fleeing from a country under Apartheid, saves whales against hunters, and oversees the changeover of his country from an absolute monarchy to a constitutional monarchy. The anime is also unusual for the subtlety of its long-term narrative. In most children's cartoons, the characters do not age. In Alfred J. Kwak, we see the progress of the main characters from very young children to adulthood as the series progresses. This is particularly striking in the character of Dolf. At first a mere naughty schoolboy, we watch as his evil steadily progresses.

Its right on the spot!
So here's the link for those who want to check it out;
http://www.tanyas.nl/Website/home.html

Poster print

2008-03-24T14:36:00.007+01:00

Some time ago I ordered a poster print of one of my own works. Just to see how it would look. Here are some photos.
I wasn't realy happy with the quality of the print, to much smuches, distortions and the green is a wrong colour. But if you look at it from a distance its ok.

Easter

2008-03-23T20:38:00.003+01:00

My version of the easter bunny. This is as far as i go with this piece, although it could still could use some work. Line art in Illu, coloring in PS.

Kumo (cloud)

2008-03-21T23:28:00.006+01:00

I started out with just the cloud than edit all the other things. They where some sketches that i randomly selected and put together.
What you think? Does it feel ok, or is the composition completely off?

Also a small update for the header piece.
I'm not sure about the green though, any sugestions?

id=-50 error

2008-03-21T15:24:00.005+01:00

Ever had the id=-50 error in Illustrator CS2? Well let me tell you, its fucked up! It occurs when you use your wacom, costum brush and siccors tool. You lose almost all of your brushstrokes.
What would you do if this happens. I got so frustrated I deleted my .ai file. Stupid mistake that was, lost all my art! The solution to this error? Install CS3 and open the file. And there are all your layers and brushstrokes!

Fortunately I still had the psd file, so today I finished the coloring of this piece, tribute to id=-50.

Starting today

2008-03-15T14:04:00.014+01:00

From now on i will be posting my art pieces, wips, sketches ect. here. This way i can show the peeps what i have been up to, and what to expect.

Well anyway, thats that, and now for the shizzle.
The first piece i'm working on is for my soon to be online showcase/portfolio. Still lots of work to be done.

This next pieces are just line art. Don't know if i will take it to the next stage. Just getting some line art practice with my wacom and costum brushes in Illu.

Also the header still needs a lot of work as you can see, so its a wip as well. Will most defenetly work on that one.

Also please feel free to comment and feedback me.

Week 10-12 November 10 December 7

2007-12-11T11:01:00.000+01:00

I'm just going to bunch these weeks together, because not much has happend.
We finaly started building the site for HVJ. And i got to play the role of the dude that sorts everything out with the dudes that messed everything up (that would be the encoding company). So after some hours on the phone jebling away and jousting some e-mails I finaly understood what they did wrong, and had to correct it myself. An interesting still ongoing experience that can be interpreted as tiresome.

Last week I requested Lilian to make a half way essesment of my performance as an intern, and we will discuss this later this afternoon. I think it will be a good indicator for me so i know on which points i need to improve, so i can complete this intership with at least B scoring.

I did finaly find some time to finish my POP. Finised 4 of the interviews, and need to think about how to process these. There are 2 options. 1 is to make an edit, and have a sound only report. The 2end would be to write 1 interview into a report (damn lot'o work!) and do something with the rest. I'm realy leaning to worth the first option.

We also saw the end of the second assignment for Motion Graphics (thank the gods for that). I don't think i will post it because it's that crappy.
Looking forward to the new assignment and have somy great ideas. I'll be making a title sequance for a movie, based on a Forgotten Realms book (Yoshaaa!).

Ordinary every day chores

2007-11-25T23:23:00.000+01:00

I noticed again today that ordinary chores help 'clean' my mind, order my thoughts and helps me relax, as odd as it may seem. Its the automathism that allows you to keep your mind on the task at hand, but also to wonder around in the world of your mind. So you are focused, but at the same time unfocused. Sounds wierd? Sounds like the zero point to me!

Take for example when i'm doing the dishes. While i'm concentrating on not breaking anything, i'm also thinking about how to arange my new workspace in the basement. And while storing everything back in the cupboards i noticed i was using the 'sword steps', perfect movement to get to where i needed to be. I also noticed that everything i did was 100% efficient. No extra movement with the hands, just straight movement without spilling any energy whatsoever. I took note of all these things, and came to the conclusion that at that moment I was wondering around in the zero point, and have been doing it for a long time. Everytime i do my chores (wtf man!). So this is the point i have been training to reach but have already attaint in my everyday chores. I need to study this more thoroughly because i don't realy understand it jet. So no conclusions or plans to with this time. Just goinng with the flow.

2th internship comeback day 21 november (is this translation right??)

2007-11-22T11:09:00.000+01:00

Well the first comeback day was utterly useless. We only got annoyed because all the info we got on that day ought to have been available before we starded with the internship, we even got more of those useless assignments. So it wasn't a big succes.

The second comeback day was a lot more interesting. It was held in the WTC in Rotterdam.

We discussed how things where going with the internships, had a workshop 'interviewing' and got to see old schoolmates again.

The thing is that when they announced that the next assignment was to be an interview, i got the feeling they stole my idea. They probably didn't but i feel like i lost an edge i had over the other students, which in turn affected my motivation. There where also different conditions to which the interview had to conform then i myself had deviced. But i will steer my own course on this one, and continue the way i think is best.

The most i got out of was the 1 on 1 interview. Goal was to determine where the problems are in the intership of your partner. And to advice about it. There where no real problems with my internship, just a few things i want to start with asap because we are about halfway through the internship. These things i just discussed with Lilian, and it was received positevly and actions will follow suit. After hearing some storys yesterday i feel very lucky with internship!

Intership week 9 November12-16

2007-11-16T12:50:00.000+01:00

An eventfull week. This week I decided to stop waisting time and take the initiative again. I'm just quessing here, so correct me if i'm wrong, but most people who go through a internship expect to learn from the assigments they do, the feedback they get and watching the pro's at work. Thats all very good, and I do it to, and there is nothing wrong with it. But i want more, i want to know the people, there mindsetting, what makes them tik (Some times i find myself a bit disturbing, just reminds me of Cylar a bit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sylar). It's just that, the people do the work right? So what kind of person does it take to do this job.

To get anwsers and learn from it i decided to start interviewing people. I don't know if i'm doing it right and just how i'm going to process these interviews, but its a trail and error way of getting my answers (It also fits in with the competence 'communication'). Important is that it's a face to face interview, so I don't just get a preprogrammed answer and can ask for clarification if needed. A face to face interview also communicates emotions and intentions.

So this morning I had my first interview with Michiel de Gooijer. I recorded it with a mp3-player (the quality of the recording is surprisingly good). The main subjects we discussed were his career, what his jobs intails, his view in media and ambitions for the future. He did ask me to not publicise the interview because it contains private information, no problems there as long as i use it for educational purposes only. So it will be ;).

Next is Lilian, already made an appointment for next week. Michiel asked me if i wanted to interview people that are not from our departement, that was something I hadn't even considered. But that's also an option, so why not. I just need think and compile a list.
The results will be included in the final internship paper.

Also got some work done this week. The designs for the HVJ website are near completion. Just need some feedback and i can finish it up next week.

I also forgot to mention that a few weeks back we got moved to a new office. Check these pics of our executive space with view, living the life!

The Last few weeks of my internship

2007-11-12T22:52:00.000+01:00

Quess an update is in order concerning my internship. I have been keeping track of what i've done in my super the lux analog agenda, a nice little pocket sized blackbook.

[Edit: removed some names and info about projects that are not public yet, and need to be under wraps for the time beeing]

Week 4 Oktober 8-12

This week I worked on designs for a website. It's a new concept to be sold in South-Korea which involves a website for paranormal consultents. To say it's a website that is the front end of a paid phone service. So basicly we provide a platform for paranormal consultants, promote and take care of all the technical stuff so they can do there consults for a payment.

I got a few good examples of already existing websites from Charles (who heads this project), and a list of demands. Also there was a logo and a style. I started of with sketching a few different wireframes. Considering the potential users I chose a wireframe out of the different designs. It was kind of hard to get into the shoes of a south-korean user and designing a wireframe, because its a bit alien to me and the western design. After discussing this issue with Charlie he attended me to the fact that it was only a design protocal i was making. The eventual design was to be done in South-Korea by the people who do understand the users and there needs. So I proceded with a design mostly based on the European market and its users. Putting down a wireframe made out of Dutch userdesign logics.

After consulting Charlie again and some insightfull feedback I started fulling the wireframes with a design. I was to make 2 'levels' of the website. The main page and a consultend profiel page. The whole thing was done in Photoshop. This project went very smooth if i have to say so my self. I got the designs down very easily, and the following steps proceded each other rapidly.

The only hickup was the color of the site (orange/brown), which didn't look the same on every screen. So after some adjustments I finaly got that fixed. The finals where send to the Sales people who apparently sold it. So the project will go to the next stage.

Week 5 Oktober 15-19

After some feedback i remade the dvdcover cover of joecartoon. There needed more charactors visible and a bit more info. The design where done in Illustrator. The first problem i encounterd was that all the characters where not vector based, so i had to watch out for pixaliation. So after playing and moving around the different stuff i finaly settled on a design. This will be printed for all the promos of joecartoon dvd.

This week i also spent some time working on my minor. I needed to have the first assignment done the next monday. It was an interesting first try at animation. We needed an abstract piece of music and an abstract animation to go with it. The music i made using two spoons and banging away on some potts and pans in the kitchen. After editting it i made a storyboard. Then started animating in After Effects. Well the result i'm not to proud of. My goal was to get the basics of After Effects down, which was made. I'll post the movies i make during the minor @ my website.

Week 6 Oktober 22-23

Tuesday we had a brainstorm. Everyone voiced there ideas . Michiel wrote down everything on a whiteboard. It was a completely open brainstorm where everthing could be said and no ideas where put down. It was a very interesting experience for me to brainstorm in a professional invironment for the first time. Seeing the years of experience people take to the table and how they present there ideas. The ideas where noted and mailed to everybody. Michiel made a selection of the ideas that would be presented and who needed to make a visual and a few lines for the presentation. To tell you the truth, i am realy hyped up about this project. It's just something that used to be like on my to do list, do something for this brand.

This week I also started on a functional list and wireframes for the website of the podcasts for 'Home Video Junk'. A series of funny home video presented by pair of aliens who want to take over the world. There will be 2 'fases' for the site. Fase1 is the simple website, just info and stuff. Fase2 will be a website with a community and home video upload voting and commenting system. I had a look at diffent website, to note the happy tree friens podcast website, and made the function list accordingly. I got seriously distracted by the podcasts research. I never realy explored this so it was just interesting to see what was out there. But after a little detour i got back on track. After some feedback from Michael (technical consultent and heading this project) I started with filling in visuals to see how this would look.

Week 7 Otober 29-November 2

This week I continued with the wireframes and function list, not much to note here, just that i'm finished for fase 1. Now for the official design of the website.

This Friday we worked on the visuals for a pitch. I was asked to make a little template in Photoshop for the Powerpoint. I just took the list and started sketching on a A3 paper. Then googled for pictures and went to work in Photoshop and Illustrator. Making the logo's and visuals was a blast. But they wheren't finished jet.

Also on Friday, Fedde dropped by. He was welcomed by Lilian, and they had a very long and interesting conversation, that is what they told me (don't know for sure what they discussed, i wasn't there). Shortly after Fedde and I had a conversation about my internship. Well actualy more like me telling about my internship and him asking the questions. It was very releaving, cause I got to say some things i needed to say. And he gave me some good advice about how to approach things i had some difficulty with. At the end of the day he was loaded with goodies and i waved goodby.

Week 8 November 05-09

This weekend we where asked to finish up the pitch. Well i wasn't realy in any condition (i am a student you know ;)) so it didn't amount to much. That Tuesday we all worked on the pitch. I made some changes to the template and finished the visuals i started.

The next few days we spend helping out Lilian with a preparing a presentation about scripted online and web series. Well that was the perfect moment to be updated about what was going on in the world of scripted series. For the presentation there needed to be some trailers and screengrabs, also some background info from the various series. Like 'lonley girl 15', 'the Burg', 'Prom Queen' ect. Very interesting stuff. That Friday Lilian had the presentation in Brussels so it was on a very tight fit.

Posts from my older blog

2007-11-09T11:02:00.000+01:00

These are the posts from my older Blog, concerning only my internship @ Endemol. It's a 80 day orientation-intership of the field in which i'm going to work. Today is my 32 day, so almost halfway there.

The original blog is in Dutch, so I had to take a little time to translate it.

Day 1 18-09-2007 10:59 am

Today i started my first day at Endemol. Got in a little late because of the bus :( , that was not to nice. Allthough they dindn't realy mind. My fellow intern Rens told me that its a lot better to use a bicycle from the station, so tonight i got to arrange one ;).

Our workspace still needed to be furnished, the kabeling, pc ect. It looks very atmospheric, allthough it gets little sunlight.

And ofcourse the colleague intro's, at least those who where in the office because there is a lot of traveling going on.
First thing up was to look at a dvd about what's new at endemol and in the field of international digital media. There where a few good idea's there, and others where just funny.
I didn't realy do a lot this first day, just made a few scatches for a logo, so no flying start there. I do have a feeling its going to be a blast!

Day 2 19-09-2007 10:59 am

Today i brought along by bice, but that dindn't go so well. Apparently you can't travel with a bicycle in the train before 9, and you also need a separate ticket for your bicycle (how the hell was i to know). So i was kicked out at the next stop. Natuarly took the next train after buying a ticket. But eventualy arrived safely.

My first assigmentis to create a logo for a new format. So thats what i'm bussy with for the moment.

Day 3-4 21-09-2007 4:37 pm

The last two days i've been working on the logo for a new format about 'positve news' online. Its called bright vibes. The forst step after the scatches on paper was to scatch in Photoshop, because i'm jsut more proficiant with it. The eventual logo will be made in Illustrator, because its a lot tighter, so i got bussy with it. I hadn't worked with it for a while so i needed to accustom my self to the program again. It's going a lot faster now. Thank god for Rens, he's a Illu. genies, so I can ask him just about every thing. Learned a lot and progress is comming along fine.

Week 2-3 11-10-2007 3:04 pm

These last 2 weeks where good. The logo for bright vibes is finished. The final is a hybrid of my font and the design by Rens.

Next was a dvd cover for joecartoon, check joecartoon.com for the vids.

Friday it was overtime till 21.00. Michiel needed a copmilation promo dvd with a dvd menu. I never made one before so i was just messing around in Adobe Encore to see how it worked. Eventualy i found out that it was actualy quite simple to make a dvd menu, but the coding and exporting is what took the most time.

There was also the promo of 'Cell''. A new drama serie of 20 eps 2 min each, for mobiel. We needed footage, so we downloaded and made a selection of the stuff. The materials where send to the Candystore (they make promo's and stuff) . At the spot Lilian ( my intern coach @ the company) compiled the footage and made a nice promo.

All these things where needed for the promotion of our formats in Cann.
http://www.miptv.com/App/homepage.cfm?appname=100526&moduleid=715
It was a very bussy week in which a lot needed to be done. It was a nice change of pace and it helped me settle in and learn a lot. The feedback i get is what i learn from the most, things i didn't even think about or lose perspective of.

To Fedde

2007-11-08T23:19:00.000+01:00

First off I need to explane why this Blog is in English. Well its just a lot more convenient considering my international ambition's and need to communicate with people all over the globe.

You will have to excuse the occasional error, because i'm not a native English speaker. Also don't be surprised if you see some Dutch and Japanese words pop through the occasional post .

So here are the things I still need to do, and actualy need completed by tomorrow. Which I won't make.

Update this blog with the past few weeks of my internship. Also post the posts that I already have from my other blog concerning the internship.

'POP' (personal education program), in which i explane how far along i'm with the different 'competence' skills for the major (Communication and Multimedia Design). (3/4 of the report finished).

'Company orientation report'.

Sincere apologies to Fedde, who is my teacher-coach for this intership. I will probably finish all these tasks somewhere along next week.

Today it's a new world!

2007-11-08T22:47:00.002+01:00

Yea right! Who'd believe that. It's just the same. But still, it is a bit different. Because, every day you learn something new, which than in turn changes your perspective on the world. Right? Be it small things or big things, you learn every day, and may I never stop!(i'm starting to sound like an old fart)

I gues this has been happening a lot to me lately, these big learning moments. Today I discoverd another parallel line between the way I'm developing in my arts, that is in my drawing and martial arts.
For those who know me (I'm not gonne elaborate on this now), you know what is I do every wednesday night. I also recently started with this http://inventiontocompletehumanbeing.blogspot.com/ (its also a blogspot, just realized ;)).
It's just the thing I was looking for for a long time. A step by step video tutorial that can get me where I need and want to be with my human anatomy (the human is the most interesting thing in the world, also just to draw). Now back to the parallel, its what the dude explains in lesson.nr. 7. That you have to invent things, explore and learn things on your own. Find the methods that work for you, experiment and have fun. That also means, don't get distracted by others or other ways of doing things especialy if they don't work for you.

A nother place I have seen this same lesson is in 'Vagebond', its a manga about Miamoto Mishashi. I have started reading (read studing) about this dude, the most famous samurai that ever lived. I have heard about him all my life (I have been doing martial arts for about 14 years now, so just about all my life) and never actualy felt like I needed to examen his book, 'the book of 5 rings', until now. The same lessen is learned by Musashi, do it your way. How do you now it is the right path? Simple, does it feel good. If it does your there. But this doesn't mean that you should not look and experiment with other things. Always leave room for change.

Well this is a very long first blog. The question now is if I will be able to keep this up. I do need a central place where i can post every thing that is going on, so why not my own blog with every fucking thing I do. Its a lot people. Just a short list:

Internship, for which I need to inform with a Blog the teachers with.
School,(almost forgot :p) the minor ' Motion Graphics' I currently partake in.
Arts, to post my studies and new/old stuff.
Manga and anime.
Some other stuff, like ranting on the world and shit.

And to wrap things up, tomorrow it's gonne be a longggg day. First off, work/intership @ endemol, next up Dewali (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diwali) @home and than, last but not least to work on a project for the minor @ milo's. A longgg day.