Whenever a watercolour beginner asks me how they cannot blend the colours well, my first advice is: Get a good piece of paper!
But they all responded: “Nah, I’m just trying! I’ll get good papers when I get better.”
I cannot blame them for refusing that advice because I was in that spot!
A good piece or pad of watercolour paper is expensive. As my best friend said, “feel like flushing down 20$” if we mess up the painting. I understand that feeling very, very well. However, even with a seasoned artist, she could not nail every painting fantastically. There are always chances of dumping a few bucks down the toilet.
However, in many cases, the issue does not lie in your techniques or talents; you simply chose the wrong paper.
I will first explain what differences between excellent and ugly papers.
A good paper contains a percentage of cotton ranging from 25% to 100%; the higher, the better absorbance. Higher absorbing capacity will help water and colour layers sink into the paper better. Colour layers will stay where they are; the underneath layers can show through to create a glowing effect, which is the beauty of the watercolour painting.
In contrast, an ugly piece of paper contains wool pulps, which prevent water and colour from penetrating deep into it. This means layers of different colours will stay on the surface and thus be easy to be moved and smudge around. Many newbies, including me, struggle to blend and glaze colours on ugly papers.
BAD PAPER: Colours stay on the surface, which makes the painting looks muddy. Observe the upper top-left area, you can see many harsh edges because colours cannot blend together and sink into the paper.GOOD PAPER (Arches 140lbs, I prefer 300lbs): Even in the raw phase, colours blend well together to create soft edges and bokeh. Highlights are also smooth. The painting glows with vivid colours.
Painting on an ugly piece of paper is frustrated. You can try once or twice, then quickly give up because you might think you are talentless or watercolour painting is not for you. The real issue lies in the paper.
Give yourself a chance to discover your new talent with a good piece of paper.
6 năm sống tại Canada, nhưng đây là lần đầu mình có dịp tham gia Doll North, sự kiện BJD lớn nhất bang Ontario. Những năm đầu sang thì mình sống quá xa Toronto, tới khi dọn đến gần thì đại dịch; chính vì vậy mà năm nay mình mới có thể tham gia Doll North. Không cần nói thì chắc ai cũng có thể đoán được mình đã háo hức tới mức nào. Nhưng trên đời phàm cái gì càng háo hức thì càng dễ vỡ mộng (lol).
Doll North là một phần nhỏ nằm trong sự kiện Anime North. Đây có thể được xem là sự kiện Game/Anime lớn nhất Canada (?) diễn ra hàng năm tại Toronto, bang Ontario. Nói nôm na thì Toronto giống như Tp HCM ở VN mình vậy đó; nơi tụ tập mọi thể loại ăn chơi (?!), à nhầm, là thành phố sầm uất và đa dạng nhất Canada (hehe).
Bài viết này không phải là một bài review toàn bộ Doll North vì sự kiện diễn ra trong 3 ngày với nhiều hoạt động khác nhau. Mình chỉ tham gia vào sự kiện đầu tiên Meet and Greet; tóm lại là cafe offline tán gẫu giao lưu làm quen giống như ở VN mình vẫn hay làm; chủ yếu là để mọi người làm quen và khoe doll với nhau.
Do phải di chuyển xa (60km, bao gồm chuyển 4 chuyến bus cho mỗi chặng) từ Hamilton lên Toronto, mình chỉ mang cái thân mình và để Diana ở nhà nhằm đảm bảo an toàn cho em ấy.
Lúc lên tới nơi thì mình không biết cái Delta Hotel Airport (nơi diễn ra Doll North) nó nằm ở đâu cả, chỉ thấy dòng người tấp nập đi trẩy hội trong những bộ cosplay sặc sỡ di chuyển sang Toronto Congress Centre (ghi chú là Anime North năm nay diễn ra tại 3 địa điểm khác nhau: Delta Hotel, Sheraton Hotel và Toronto Congress Centre). Sau tầm 15 phút đi vòng vòng thì mình tìm được lối vào Delta Hotel; lúc này thì diễn ra một sự việc đáng xấu hổ.
Do không mua vé trước trên mạng, mình mang theo tiền mặt với dự định mua vé ngay cổng ra vào. Do có 3 địa điểm khác nhau và là lần đầu tham dự, mình cứ nghĩ ở mỗi địa điểm sẽ có bán vé riêng. Tuy nhiên, khi đến Delta Hotel thì mình ko thấy chỗ nào bán vé, thế là mình cứ hiên ngang đi vào chỗ offline BJD ở khu vực quán cafe bên trong khách sạn, không có ai soát vé hay gì nên cứ ngỡ là offline tự do nên sẽ không cần vé. Tuy nhiên sau đó mình mới biết được là chỗ mua vé nằm tít ở tận cùng hướng bên Congress Centre =.= Thôi thì tý nữa đi mua vé sau vậy!
Nói lan mang nãy giờ, vô lại vấn đề chính nè!
Meet and Greet a.k.a BJD offline có tầm… 10-15 người tham dự không cùng lúc. Có người đến và ngồi trò chuyện rất lâu, cũng có người đến khoe doll chớp nhoáng xong rời đi cũng chớp nhoáng. Cá nhân mình nghĩ do không có chủ đề và người dẫn dắt nên nội dung buổi trò chuyện khá loãng. Khu vực Terrace Cafe (tên của khu vực diễn ra event) có nhiều bàn trải khăn trắng, cực kỳ thuận lợi trưng bày doll, nhưng ngoại trừ doll của bạn staff, mình không thấy ai để doll của họ lên bàn. Phần lớn mọi người để doll ngay trước mặt của họ.
Cá nhân mình cảm thấy ban tổ chức Doll north không có kinh nghiệm tổ chức sự kiện. Ngay trong Meet and Greet, người tham gia ít và không có chủ đề giao lưu. Đa phần do mới gặp, không khí có phần ngượng ngùng. Mọi người trao đổi các chủ đề… không liên quan đến BJD, hoặc nếu có thì là khen doll của nhau, hỏi qua loa lịch sự thông tin về sculpt và trang phục. Nói chung là lạc lõng và nhạt nhẽo.
Mục đích của những buổi offline như thế này vốn là để làm quen và kết bạn, nhưng mình đi về thì cũng chả quen thêm ai. Thậm chí mình còn chả biết tên bất kỳ ai (ngoại trừ một người bạn quen từ trước) tại buổi offline luôn!
Theo mình, ban tổ chức có thể cân nhắc những hoạt động như:
Công bố chủ đề giao lưu trước sự kiện một tháng và nhắc nhở/gợi ý trong suốt thời gian đó.
Tại sự kiện có standee chủ đề
Tất cả BJD/doll mang đến đều phải để lên bàn trưng bày trong suốt thời gian offline với bảng thông tin (tên, sculpt, faceup, chiều cao, trang phục, IG/FB/Website của owner). Ban tổ chức đảm bảo an toàn cho BJD trưng bày nếu owner muốn di chuyển sang khu vực khác trong thời gian này.
Người tham gia được khuyến khích tự giới thiệu bản thân và doll của họ.
Trước ngày diễn ra sự kiện nên có hướng dẫn cách tham gia, ví dụ như: đến sớm mua vé để có thể góp mặt đúng giờ, cần chuẩn bị những gì, cách di chuyển với BJD an toàn cho các bạn ở xa, vân vân mây mây.
Một vài ảnh chụp vội:
Bộ sưu tậo BJD siêu bé của một bạn tham gia
Em BJD này chỉ cao có 2cm
Tổng kết:
Mình không rõ những năm trước Doll North như thế nào vì gần như mình không tìm được bất kỳ hình ảnh hay thông tin gì từ Doll North 2019 trở về trước; Doll North 2022 không phải là một sự kiện hấp dẫn. Do nằm trong khuôn khổ Anime North, việc mua vé 50$~60$ (tuỳ ngày) nếu không tham gia Anime North là không đáng.
Cơ bản mình cho rằng cộng đồng BJD ở bang Ontario không đủ lớn để tổ chức mini convention. Với số người tham gia nhỏ lẻ, rất khó để thu hút các công ty BJD hoặc/và các nghệ nhân BJD mở booth. Thay vì cố gắng tổ chức nhiều hoạt động như Photo Contest, thiết kế thời trang, đố vui… trong khuôn khổ Anime North, các hoạt động này có thể mang lên fan page.
Thay vào đó, Doll North có thể hoạt động độc lập như tổ chức offline giao lưu trưng bày hoặc các buổi Swap Meeting (buôn bán, trao đổi doll và phụ kiện). Ban tổ chức có thế bán vé cho chi phí thuê địa điểm hoặc người tham gia cần mua nước, etc. Mức phí này chắc chắn thấp hơn vé vào cổng Anime North @_@
Lời cuối, nếu năm sau cũng như vầy thì mình sẽ không lội từ Hamilton lên Toronto đâu !_!
My friend asked me when I told her about Diana. Why was she so surprised while I’m a veteran BJD collector?
“I’m not crazy,” I answered softly with a smile. “I know what I’m doing. I feel that if I don’t adopt her, I will regret it later.”
My friend was right. In some sort, I was a bit out of my mind because living a nomad life does not allow me to bring home a new SD size. Just imagine, how could I carry two SDs with me around Canada? Why was I so insistent with the decision?
Recently, while renovating my blog, I stumbled into an old entry: “How to choose your first BJD?” In that entry, I suggested new collectors spend a short period to contemplate before the final decision of adopting. It is still appropriate advice for collectors with zero knowledge about their style. However, after almost ten years in the BJD community, and from personal and my fellow’s experience, I have another idea of how to choose your BJD, regardless it is your first or 100th. That realization is the answer to my decision toward bringing Diana home.
Listen to your call!
Your intuition is your most reliable advisor in terms of choosing your BJD! But how could you know if the call is worth an answer as intuition is a vague concept?
Know your style and references! This intuitive knowledge comes from self-awareness and the will to stay true to it! Most people have their ideal selves. They want to be a cooler person, but have you ever questioned how people become cool? I still remember Robert Green’s book—“The Art of Seduction.” Throughout the book, he demonstrated each type of sexiness with a historical figure. Though their attractiveness is unique, there is one common characteristic that makes them ravishing—their handsomeness comes from within.
When you embrace your authentic self, you will know your references. For instance, I am a romantic and imaginative individual. I love other artists’ art styles, learn from them, appreciate their work, but I do not try to become them. My artwork is always shining and whimsy. So that is how and why I chose Diana. I love fantasy themes, SD size, bunny, white hair, hime hairstyle, and sexy lolita style! YAY! See? She has everything I always adore. Give me a reason to not choose her?
Another example is a veteran collector, who brought Miwa (Diana’s original model name) because her bunny model is perfect for his doll theme: human-animal part hybrid. However, Miwa head is smaller than other Feeple60 sculpt, Cygne, which he found not meet his vision for his bunny girl. He decided to trade Miwa head to Cygne without a blink. His intuition clearly guided him to do whatever was needed.
Intuition seems to be a vague concept, very unreliable. However, it will become reliable when built on in-depth knowledge and experience.
So if you understand yourself, do not be shy in giving it more of your trust!!!
So that is how and why I chose Diana. I love SD, bunny, white hair, and sexy lolita style! YAY!
It has been five years since my last BJD arrival—Siela Sylvari (Limited Edition MNF Liria). Even though I still keep at least one doll around, school and work schedules stripped my attention for the doll for four years straight. That entire neglecting period made me thought the dolly passion has already gone until Fairyland introduced Miwa in February 2021.
Honestly, I considered my Miwa’s adoption is an act of both bravery and stupidity. Having a nomad life restricts me from expanding my belonging as moving with two SDs are pretty troublesome. However, I still got her because she possesses everything I want from a dream doll, such as being a bunny, white hime hairstyle, and layered outfit. I adopted her with the thought that if I didn’t, I would regret it later.
And here we are, after five months and a half, my Feeple60 Fairyline Miwa is here. I ordered her only with the human body, which I wished I got her bunny part.
I will go straight to the review because I think the unboxing process is already bored for you guys. However, I will list what I received from the box:
Feeple60 Fairyline Female body
Miwa Open faceplate with the default Face-up
Miwa blank Sleep and Event faceplate
A pair of heel feet
2 pairs of hands (not included in the full set)
Fullset outfit with a pair of unpainted resin shoes
A white wig
A pair of resin bunny ears
Guideline booklet
A certificate
Packaging:
The first thing I noticed is Fairyland used the Feeple65 box. Honestly, it is awkward as the girl looked like she’s hung in the frame. However, she is still safe and sound in the box is not for her.
In the big box: the nude doll with the open faceplate, 2 blank heads (sleep and event), 2 pairs of hands (I bought separately) and a pair of heel feet.
The small box: outfit, unpainted shoes, bunny ears, the white wig
Resin and Sculpting Quality:
As mentioned, it has been a long time since my last Fairyland BJD; I’m happy that their quality is still as good as I remembered. During those away-from-the-hobby years, I’ve heard many negative comments about their quality. Luckily, my Diana (Miwa) came home without any major issues.
The doll skin is sanded finely. It feels nice to hold the doll. There’re still some seam lines on one of her arms and thighs. However, I haven’t ever cared about them.
The normal skin tone is a soft pinky white.
Face-up Quality:
The face-up is gorgeous. Obviously, Fairyland changed their Face-up artist a couple of years ago. I prefer this new style more than the old one because it’s more colourful and creative.
With this face-up, the only two things I would prefer differently are the shape of the eyebrows and her lips. The eyebrow shape makes her look like she’s concerned about something. With the lips, I wish they would paint the whole lips with ombre baby pink or coral pink.
One weird thing I noticed about this face-up is without the wig my Diana looks more mature! I really wanna try different hairstyles on her.
Diana looks like a teenager with her wig on.
Outfit & Accessories Quality:
In short: as exquisite as always.
The resin shoes are unpainted. I must admit that I was quite surprised that Diana can stand firmly with such a pair of high heels.
The resin shoes after a quick painting. Since I can’t seal the paint layer, it got damaged right away. However, I can always repaint them ^^
Customer Service:
Still good enough. I mistakenly ordered two pairs of hands of the same type, Fairyland nicely helped me to change one of them to a different pair as I requested via email.
Yesterday, a friend told me that his passion for playing video games always put him in shame whenever people ask about his hobby. To him, playing video games is not a productive activity and spare time should be dedicate to learn something new instead. I told him having a passion is a blessing! Many people are still seeking where their passion lies!
Some collectors can be Face-up artists, some are good at more than one skills but some might possess nothing. To people who only embrace the big love for their BJDs and lack of mentioned skills, should they feel ashamed? NO NO NO NO!!! BJDs can be a form of art therapy and connections that gather like-minded people together! Thanks to BJDs, I found many sincere friendships that distance cannot be a challenge!
As I said, it is completely okay to just enjoy what you are doing! Life is so short, why bothered about what strangers judge about what makes your soul happy?
Sao phải lăn tăn?
Hôm trước, một cậu bạn của tôi nói rằng, thực xấu hổ khi thú nhận rằng chơi game là thú vui duy nhất của cậu; rằng chơi game là vô bổ và cậu nên dùng thời gian rảnh của mình để làm cái gì đó có ích hơn. Tôi cho rằng, có đam mê thực sự là một điều tốt!
Tôi tin tưởng rằng theo đuổi một đam mê lành mạnh và có chừng mực mang lại nhiều lợi ích hơn nhiều bạn nghĩ. Từ lúc bắt đầu sưu tầm BJD đến giờ, bản thân tôi và nhiều bạn bè xung quanh đã học được rất nhiều kỹ năng mà chưa bao giờ chúng tôi nghĩ rằng mình có thể. Có những bạn học nhiếp ảnh, face-up, thủ công, thiết kế… và cũng có những bạn chỉ đơn thuần thích nhìn ngắm BJDs của mình. Thực ra, tôi nghĩ rằng, nếu bạn chẳng học được kỹ năng gì mới thì cũng chẳng làm sao cả. Khi bạn chơi BJD, bạn muốn mang lại niềm vui và nuôi dưỡng sức khoẻ tinh thần của bản thân mình cơ mà!
Sao phải lăn tăn thiên hạ nghĩ gì? Cứ ôm BJD của mình và tận hưởng sự xinh đẹp của ẻm thôi nhỉ? 😉
From news portals to commercial websites or personal blogs, video clips shaped a new yet more ⌈convenient⌋ way to absorb information for their users. Today, not only we can effortlessly understand complex concepts but also can feel the feelings that together conveyed with the content.
Video clips prove its awesome benefits for commercial web pages, such as serviced sites and product introduction pages. It’s never easier for the customers to understand the services’ usage via video tutorials or getting the glimpses how amazing a new product could be with creatively trailers. Unlike photo tutorials which middle sub-steps could be accidentally confused, video clips show exactly how a process should be done. As a self-taught photographer and painter, I’ve learned so much via video clips on pro artists’ websites. With the demonstrated footages and the tips, the learning process is simple and clean. Complicated ideas are also very easy to be communicated, especially for non-English speakers who language could be an obstacle.
— Now, if you’re a girl, what would be easier for you to follow a make-up tutorial: a video or photo-based guide? ♥ —
The era of the wall of text for describing new features or the strengths of a new product was long gone with the emerging of multimedia content. In our busy modern days, it would be much more convenient if useful information can be understood in a short time. Caught this new trends, many companies, especially video game publishers have written little and put many efforts in flashy demonstrations. I cannot imagine which could be more mesmerized than a well-crafted in-game footage.
A TED-Ed video that I found incredibly interesting. The clip is effortless and fun to get the information in a brief time.
An as a fanfiction author and a netizen, I noticed that embedded music video plays an important role in enhancing or creating readers’ emotions while reading certain chapters. It helps them to feel the feelings that intended to convey. This benefit works so well for other types of contents, such as traveling clips, introducing new aesthetic products, a teaser for a singer’s new album, and almost anything else. We would be on the emotional rollercoaster with the clips’ content. The right video music clips work much more effective than just image and words.
Last but not least, video clips are superly benefited for education. With the soaring of video clips, online courses have been becoming a new trend for people all over the world who do not have chances and resources to approach direct classes at schools or studying abroad. Learning foreign language is a great example of this advantage, I wonder what could be more convenient than video clips that teach foreigners to pronounce correctly a word. I myself also got great benefit from many IELTS website while studying for the test two years ago. Thank God, I got an amazing result on that particular exam.
Video clips seem to be the finest form of giving information because they ‹ satisfied our two most important senses, visual and auditory at the same time ›. And so they make both our virtual and real life become so much easier.
Now, enjoy the music I listened to compose this blog post for “Matinée Multilingual” Contest 😀
I thought I would be really productive during the winter break, such as completing all of my face-up commissions and finishing at least 4 books. However, all I’ve done was painting nonsense things and watching Korean dramas. Though saying so doesn’t mean I haven’t done anything; at least, two books were read and two face-up commissions were almost finished. Not a good progress, I know >”<
Anyway, Siela‘s first alpaca wig arrived yesterday after one month waiting. Below are some photos I took today. She also got some new winter clothes as gifts from my amazing dolly friends. However, it’s so cold this morning, I tried but couldn’t stay outside long enough to feel the air and capture photos without numbing my fingers. Maybe next time.
Let’s talk a little about the alpaca wig. Long ago, I was against anything from the animals but later, I learned that alpacas need to be sheared annually for their own health. Hence, their wools are safe to buy? Honestly speaking, I’m still suffering from the dilemma of ethical behaviors. We bred the domestical breed that cannot shear their coat naturally, so if we stop shearing them, they’ll die. But if we do, I can imagine the stress we put on those poor beasts. What if everybody stop buy wool products? Will nature again make things right? Meanwhile, those alpacas and sheeps would be alright till then? Oh, this is cognitive dissonance!!! We do what is against our belief and then we try everything to make up a logical excuse!!
Anyway, put aside the ethical issue (yes, I’m trying to suppress the guilt), I wanna talk about the comparison between the synthetic wig and alpaca wigs. Which one should we buy for our dolls?
Alpaca Wigs:
Strengths:
Super soft
Look like real hair (exquisite?)
Easier to style
Drawback:
Expensive to very expensive
Synthetic Wigs:
Strengths:
Considerable price. We can buy many different wigs.
Varied styles
Easy to dye temporarily
Easy to preserve
Drawbacks:
More difficult to style. We mostly keep the original shape.
Look fake (of course?)
In my opinion, we can have one alpaca wig (if the ethical issue doesn’t bother you at all or you can deal with cognitive dissonance like me) and other synthetic ones. Experience tells me that sometimes, synthetic wigs can create better hairstyles, for example, short hairstyles or some weird styles. The choices are still up to you.
The universal problem of every student we do not have enough spared time for entertained reading. This book was picked at the beginning of F17-term and in almost four months, I hardly could finish one chapter at a time. Now, the semester was over and surprisingly, it was consumed in only 3 days, hahaha.
“Tides of darkness” takes place before “The rise of the Lich King”, which depicts the first war between the Alliance and the Horde after Stormwind has been fallen. Like any other Warcraft book, I again fall in love with how beautifully it was crafted with both writing style and the story itself. Though Aaron Rosenberg’s style is not as romantic as Christine Golde, his depiction for battle scenes is fantastic. Not only once his words threw my imagination right in the middle of the battlefield, as if I was there, fighting with a divided soul for both sides. However, since most of the time, the book followed Alliance faction, it has less time to portrait how honourable the orcs could be and their cause of the invasion. I believe that if a guest reader passes by, he or she might hold a thought of evil, brute, and barbaric orcs. As a fan of the series in general, I feel uncomfortable with it.
Anyway, throughout “Tides of darkness”, readers would again live in the intense atmosphere of the first encounter which seemingly opens the vast and long-term wars as we all knew in video games later. We also know how honourable a true orc could be, how Orgrim Doomhammer was call legend, about Anduin Lothar, Khadgar, Turalyon, and his blossomed relationship with Alleria Windrunner (hell yeah, she’s the oldest of the Windrunner family) as well as the origin of paladins and the death knights.
A highly recommend for any Warcraft fan and for any fantasy lover.
BunnyForever 