Hey guys, How are you all doing?

So in my previous blog I confessed about my recent addiction which is also my craft, My love for Calligraphy and how many types of it I had already discovered. You can read more about it here.

As I explore my inner Artistic self, I was dragged into watercolor painting recently. One of my main reason is my drive to learn Landscape painting. I really tried so hard but self-studying (and not mentioning not having an academic background about Arts) is indeed a challenge for me. But guess what, it doesn’t conclude that you cannot do it and achieve it. Especially in this kind of Generation and Technology we have, nothing seems to be Impossible. I’ve been part of some Art Community in Instagram, and with them I was able to be knowledgeable about what materials should I use. Way back 2015 in my first ever Calligraphy event experience which was called “Zig Calligraphy Fair” by ZIG Phillippines I met an amazing Artist who do Calligraphy. But as I follow this artist in Instagram, I discovered that his main forte was Painting. He can do portrait, landscape or even abstract, this Amazing artist is no other than Sir Daniel Lei. Because of his great work and humbleness, I was pushed to try landscape watercolorDon’t get me wrong, I am not a pro. I don’t even have the quality materials to start with, but I can say that I am a novice in this craft, my humble beginnings start here.

 

 But right now, allow me to share to you guys my recent landscape watercolor outputs. And because I love Anime, my recent works are based on beautiful scenes/trademark of some of my favorite movies/shows.

 

1.       KIMI NO NAWA (YOUR NAME)

Photo Credits: @Inkfinity.and.beyond via Instagram.com

Okay, Kimi No Nawa might be my favorite Anime movie of all time. From the story line, to the cinematography, the brilliant sceneries made of Makoto Sensei, and to their great soundtrack (which are the music of Radwimps). I am also fond of galaxies and night sky so I already lost count how many times I paint this. I decided to paint this because this is one of the most Iconic scene in the movie. It is when the most awaiting Comet will be visible in the eyes of men, but as this scene shows so much beauty it is also a tragedy that change the whole life of Mitsuha Miyamizu and Taki Tachibana.

 Photo Credits: Wikia Fandom via kiminonawa.wikia.com

“I’m always searching for something, for someone. This feeling possessed me for some time.”

-Taki Tachibana

"A comet appears and mysteriously affects and connects the lives of two teenagers of the same age, one a boy in the big, bustling city of Tokyo and the other a girl in a country village where life is slow, but idyllic. They find for unknown reasons, they wake up in each others bodies for weeks at a time. At first they both think these experiences are just vivid dreams, but when the reality of their situations sinks in, they learn to adjust and even enjoy it. Soon they start to communicate and try to leave notes about who they are and what they are doing. But as they discover more about each other and the other's life, they uncover some disturbing hints that their distance is more than just physical and tragedy haunts them. What does the comet mean? Can they actually meet?

This masterpiece was directed by no other than Makoto Shinkai- Sensei, the movie was released in Philippines last December 2016. And by surprise, it was a blockbuster hit and surely did a noise even in social media. The movie also got many good reviews and even got some International awards. Indeed it was a quality Anime movie. If you love the sceneries in Kimi No Nawa, you should also check out 5 Centimeters per second and Kotonoha no Niwa (Also known as The Garden of Words) by Makato sensei.

 

Here’s the official trailer of Kimi No Nawa:

Source: All the Anime via youtube.com

 

2.       KOE NO KATACHI (A SILENT VOICE/ THE SHAPE OF VOICE)

 

Photo Credits: @Inkfinity.and.beyond via Instagram.com

Painting Cherry blossoms was kinda easy especially when you know the basic of the tree itself. Thanks to Ms. Iris Babao who shared her knowledge to us how to do this kind of painting.

 

If you were able to see Anime or Japanese movies, you should know that most of it has cherry blossom scenes or background. But this time I choose Koe No Katachi for this painting. I love Koe No Katachi as much as I love Kimi No Nawa, but in a different way. While Your Name focused in supernatural, stunning sceneries and soundtrack, A Silent Voice focused in reality and tackled one of the sensitive topic of our generation which is bullying. What I love the most in this movie is they showcased both sides of the characters which are Nishimiya Shouko (the one who got bullied) and Ishida Shouya (the one who bully Nishimiya). The story revolves to the path of redemption and how people can truly change if they only decided too.

 

“Tuesday is going to end soon”

-Nishimiya Shouko

 

Photo Credit: Wikia Fandom via koenokatachi.wikia.com  Official Manga Cover

"The story revolves around Nishimiya Shouko, an elementary school student whom has severe hearing loss. She transfers into a new school, where she is bullied by her classmates. Ishida Shouya, one of the bullies, bullies her to the point that she transfers to another school once again. As a result, he is ostracized and bullied himself, with no friends to speak of and no plans for the future. Years later, he sets himself on a path to redemption; to right the wrong he has inflicted onto both of their lives (mainly Shouko)"

Source: Wikia Fandom via koenokatachi.wikia.com

The movie was directed by Naoko Yamada and originally based on manga by Ooima Yoshitoki. The movie was aired last May 2017 here in Philippines. And as it was said in the news that Koe No Katachi already surpassed the sales of Kimi No Nawa last year. Indeed it was one quality movie that is worth of your money and time. It will teach you so many moral lesson about Bullying, Suicide and Sacrifice not mentioning it also talks about the Importance of real friendship. And if you haven’t see the movie and planning to watch it, hold onto your heart. For some scene in the ending might make your heart skipped a beat.

Here’s the official trailer of the movie Koe No Katachi:

Source: Madman via youtube.com 

3.       HAIKYUU!!

 

 

Photo credits: @inkfinity.and.beyond via Instagram.com

So the last one was a mountain and crows. I can still remember way back in my childhood days, drawing mountains with birds are my favorite because it is way too easy and almost all of my classmates were doing the same. LOL

 But my main inspiration in this painting is the Anime series known as Haikyuu!! Unlike the first two, which are both movies the last one of my work was based on a sports series. (Not mentioning that aside from slice of life, romance and drama genre sports is my favorite too. It was a volleyball themed show which focused on Teamwork (of course), drive to go the nationals and a dream of the future The Little Giant, Shouyou Hinata . This scenery was showed in the ending OST of Season 2 of Haikyuu!!. Which is I assumed, mountains symbolizes of their hard training to get revenge to the Team of Aoba Johsai (who beat them hard on Season 1). And Crows because of the trademark of their school which is Karasuno High School.

 

“You don’t win alone, that’s just how it is”

-Tobio Kageyama

 

Photo credits: Wikia Fandom via haikyuu.wikia.com

"Shōyō Hinata, after seeing a volleyball match, aims to become the next "Small Giant" and thus joins his middle school volleyball club. After finding new members, he sets out for the middle school tournament, where he crosses paths with a formidable school with the "King of the Upper Court," Tobio Kageyama. Although his team lost, Hinata is still determined to aim for the top and exact revenge on Kageyama. Upon entering high school, he receives the biggest surprise: He and Kageyama are in the same high school volleyball club!"

Source: Wikia Fandom via haikyuu.wikia.com

The series was originally based on the manga by Haruichi Furudate. The Manga is still ongoing while the series had already released 3 season. But a lot of people (including me) are waiting for season 4. Hoping that it will release next year together with the season 3 of Tokyo Ghoul, Free, Boku no hero academia and Attack on titan.

To give you some Ideas, here are the materials I used in my watercolor landscape.

 

• ·         Watercolor – Simablion watercolor cake, it is mostly available in your local bookstore like                                       National Bookstores or Fullybooked

• ·         Paper- Canson watercolor pad it has 200 gsm, it is already a good paper for wet and wet                              technique. And it is also available in your local bookstore.

• ·         Brush- Raphael Petit Gris Pur Atist brush (no. 4,6,8 and 14). This kind of brush are quite                             hard to find, but you can check out Art Bar in Bonifacio Glocal City, Taguig City. I                             bought mine in ArtNebulaPh, which is an online shop they also have some quality                           but cheap brushes there. (If you’ll asked me it is more convenient to go online if you                        are looking for quality brushes, they even got sets sometimes. Just beware of the                            scammers and buy on those legit stores only)            

 

For more Calligraphy and Paintings (well I got only few though) you can visit my Instagram in @forever.favored and @infinity.and.beyond

 

Thank you so much for reading! Have a great day!

 

-Yannn / Dy