A Window Into History

Aren't  these pics amazing? There's nothing like old photos. They're like a window to the past. There's so much in one pic.

And the feel of them! There's nothing like it. When you hold an old photograph, you can feel the love and work the photo developer put into it to get these pictures. Anyone who has developed their own photos will know how much work goes into it.

These two pics are of my family (top is mom side and bottom is dad side).




The last couple nights I've been having inklings to research my family. Of course, I don't know much about my family. I only know back to my grandparents on one side and a great grandmother on the other. Its kind of sad really. I'm hoping to talk to my family though to get more information... if we have any.. it's hard because my dad doesn't like talking about the past (I didn't even know that he had aunts and uncles!) and my mom doesn't seem to know very much (she's the youngest in the family so it's like she only knows bit sand pieces).

Last names:
辛Sun
張Truong
官Quan
馮Fung

Man... it took so long to find those names. It's also harder since I don't read or write Chinese. It's going to be a difficult ride for me! But, I'm going to start first by taking that Ancestry DNA test... see where that leads me... then I might go looking back for actual people. I'm hoping that I'll be able to contact some of my aunts and uncles for some information. Possibly try and get my parents to help. One of my great aunts is still alive (now she has a crazy story!)... maybe one day I can visit her and maybe she could tell me some things.

Wow. Way past my bed time... Until next time... Wish me luck! Haha.

Wedding Invite!

Woo hoo! So, my cousin got engaged last year and has been planning her wedding for this coming September.

I've been working with her this year to create her wedding invitation, which I just got in the mail last month!! =) I'm so excited. And it turned out pretty well too. Right now, I'm working with her on designing the paper collateral (programs, menus, etc.). Probably will post some drafts soon.

=)

ASun Preview

Still a work in progress. A draft of my new website layout. Still changing things here and there. Just dabbling with some HTML5 coding. I know I really should have been keeping up with the coding stuff but when HTML5 came out and everyone was all into it, I wasn't. I just felt like it was making website coding more complicated than it needed to be. But, after experimenting with a few codes, I kind of like where it's headed. I should really read that HTML book I bought like a year ago. Lol.

I pretty much got the index page coded. The other pages shouldn't be too hard. I really need to re-photograph all my work but I've been slacking on it. Will post a link when it's completed. =)
 

Mom

Here's a sketch of my mother. Definitely messed up that corner of her mouth.. Teeth are really hard to draw. And one of her eyes is slightly out of place. But, after I get past those little details, I can really say that I like this portrait. =)

I miss my mom. Pretty excited. I'm taking a trip back home tomorrow. I get to see her and everyone else next week. =)

Bluejay

Did another drawing last night. Here's the pen and ink sketch of my friend, Bluejay.




=)

I remember hearing in school that it's harder to draw people that you know than people you don't. I think it's a little bit more challenging because there's an added pressure of trying to make it look exactly like them.

Still need to work a bit more on proportions and I think the placement might be just a hair off. I've always had a bit of a problem with those. so I guess it's not too bad.

Practice makes perfect, right?

MySoul Debut

Ok, so, this song was released a little over a month ago and I'm just posting it here now. =) I helped a bit with the lyric video below.

This song is Free Alone and is written, performed, recorded, produced, mixed, and mastered all exclusively by MySoul. Yes, I have talented friends =)



I was really excited when they told me that they were releasing one of their songs online so that everyone could hear it. I've had the pleasure of listening to a few of their songs and I just couldn't wait for them to share their music and passion with the world.

There are a few short song teasers you can find on their website, MySoulMusic.Net, right now. Not much out at the moment, but soon....

They are truly gifted and talented musicians. I love hearing what they have to share. Their music, I think, has the ability to really effect people in a positive way. I could really see a few of their songs in certain TV shows and movies. Hopefully, that will become a reality one day... Watch out world! =)

Drawing Practice

I'm a little rusty. It's been a while since I've drawn people. But hey, I can still do it! Haha. Here's a pen and ink sketch I did of Phoebe Tonkin.



I've never really been very confident in my drawing abilities, but I think I did a pretty good job on this one. =) And it's been at least around 3 years since I've attempted drawing (semi-)realistically like this. Haha. Hopefully I'm inspired to do more practicing.

Pen and ink is fun to do. I think it's one of my favorite mediums to use. But it sucks when you mess up.. there's no erasing! Lol. I just used a regular Uni-Ball pen. It took me about two hours to draw this. Well... I was drawing for about that long. Haha. I really should have used some of my drawing pens instead... but hey, it's just a sketch.

I really need to work on nose and mouth areas... and I don't think I'm very good at drawing males. It's weird... but I guess girls are more defined with the hair and make up and stuff.

Phoebe Tonkin is an actress from one of my favorite shows at the moment, The Originals. I first saw Phoebe in The Secret Circle. I also happened to be watching the H2O: Just Add Water series around the same time and she's in that too. She's one of those rare actors/actresses I had a special feeling about... And actually, cast of The Originals is filled with a bunch of talented actors and actresses.

=)

Doodles

Just a couple pen and ink doodles...



I'm also working on a new layout for my portfolio website and trying to update my portfolio. The hard part is always trying to decide what to display on my website and what on my hard copy for interviews and stuff.

If I remember, I'll post when I'm done with the website. But in case, here are links to my websites... AmandaSun.com  & Bunnie Productions (coming soon)

P.S.

1. This whole new Blogger layout thing is totally confusing to me. I don't know how long it's been since they changed it but it's going to take some time to get used to.

2. I'm planning on using this blog more. I thought about starting a Wordpress blog on my domain but I think I might want to just stick with this one since it's already started and I already have things on it. I really hope I start blogging more often and start doing more design/photography worth posting.

One Year Later....

Wow. Have things changed in the last year. Things have changed so much in my life since last November. Honestly, sometimes it feels like everything has changed but at the same time, nothing. Next week, will be exactly one year that my grandma has passed away. It's crazy to think that it's already been a whole year. I still miss her very much. What other big changes in the last year? Well, I finished school in December. What a big accomplishment. I mean, that was the one goal I've had my whole life since I was little and I actually accomplished it. I was in a bit of shock about that. And then, I started wondering.... what's next? What is my next goal in life? Where do I go from here? January was definitely a month of a lot of emotions dealing with the passing of my grandma and figuring out my next move. Which lead me to make the biggest change in the last year.... moving out of state. Yup. Never imagined that I would. But, yet here I am... 800 miles away in Denver!

Design and photography has been at a bit of a standstill. Sometimes Most of the time, I just feel like there aren't enough hours in the day. That and the lack of inspiration.  Not to mention the freelancing work I've been doing in my spare time for my old job back in California. But I'm planning on doing more design and photography work for myself. I also have another freelancing opportunity for my mom's employer for a bottle redesign. Things are looking up... But I just need to figure out how to manage my time better so I can start working on my personal design projects.

My Best Friend Got Married!

At the beginning of the month, my best friend got married! 

I was so blessed to be a part of their wedding and to share the special day with them. Everything went great. The two of them met 10 years ago and got engaged in May. I'm so happy for them. <3 I know its been a long time waiting. Really, all I had to say was FINALLY! Lol. =)

PCN... A Little Different Than I'm Used To.

Looking through my drafts and realized that I don't think I ever posted these photos. They are from Kilusan Pilipino's 15th Annual Pilipino Cultural Night at University of the Pacific in April 2011.

My brother's girlfriend was the president of Kilusan Pilipino, the Filipino club on campus, that year and arranged the show. My brother, naturally, was the unofficial official photographer for the event. I somehow ended up becoming sort of an assistant..

This event was definitely different from any other kind of photography I've ever done. This was the first time that I've taken photos from a balcony, from up high. Didn't realize how much of a difference it was. Usually, I'm down in the pit when I shoot photos at a performance. So, I remember running into issues of trying to figure out what to capture and it was difficult to create different angles. Also, capturing the light in the scene is different. I was also working with my regular camera and my brother's camera, which is a Nikon (mine is a Canon).

I wish I was able to shoot at a higher ISO film speed. I think these photos were pretty good for the circumstance. Click on the images to see the album on Flickr.

New Website

Finally got around to designing, coding, and uploading the new portfolio website. Click on the screenshot to see the real thing. =)

PCC: CD Packaging Comps

Created a new CD package for the Gym Class Heroes CD Papercut Chronicles. This is the second comp that I created. I intend to make one more comp at the very least and eventually turn it into a dual CD package for their recently released CD, The Papercut Chronicles 2 (Out now at stores and on iTunes! Go get it!)

This project was very different in the way that I designed it because the majority of the package was designed without a computer. I used spray paint and created my own stencils. The only time I used the computer was to print the track listing and the photography (which also happen to be my own photography) on top of the spray paint.

Using something other than the computer as a means of design was definitely fun and changed the aesthetics of how my design turned out. It's something I've been kind of experimenting with this semester on a few projects. Makes me kind of wish I had been experimenting like this before. Now, the trick will be to create a happy medium between design off and on the computer.

Using spray paint for the first time was a bit of a challenge as well. It was a weird sense of being able to control the substance but at the same time, I couldn't control it as well. Each comp I created turned out differently than the next. I didn't realize what a control freak I was... but then again, what graphic designer isn't?

Arroyo December 2011 Ad

Just found out recently that one of the magazines that my work advertises in also has an online version of the magazine! I don't remember if I was able to screen capture the ad from last month but here's the ad that ran in this month's issue! I'm planning to grab the magazines from work and photograph them either sometime this week or next week.

The ad I designed is the one on the left page.

Roomination: Enter a Graphically Designed Experience

Entered some of my work to a gallery exhibit at my school. The show is called Roomination: Enter a Graphically Designed Experience. It is being curated by a few classmates from the Graphic Design Club in school and the show will be opening on Saturday, November 12th. Check out the Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=228473927212456

Very excited to have my pieces be exhibited!

This also means that I have no excuse but to update the website in the coming weeks now that I've gathered some digital files.

But, its been a stressful and busy couple weeks and, unfortunately, the following weeks will be just as bad. =/

PIVOT!

Heading to Phoenix tonight! I'm volunteering at the AIGA's Pivot Design Conference this week! So excited and nervous!

The Princess Bride

Created a new book cover for "The Princess Bride." And from the book cover, created a promotional package including: table tent standee, three bookmarks, three buttons, and a coffee sleeve.

The idea behind my book was to capture the more mysterious side of the book. I decided to use the six-fingered man as my inspiration for this as Inigo Montoya spends the whole book trying to look for this man who he can only remember as having six fingers.

More Magazine Ads!

Just designed two more magazine ads which will be featured in three magazines.

THE Magazine
Luxe Magazine
Arroyo Magazine

So excited! =)

Kinetic Type

Here's a video of the latest project from my entertainment graphics class. I think it turned out pretty great for being my first time. I know it could still use a lot of work though.

The objective was to animate a quote from a movie and have the animation coincide with the tone of the speaker as well as the style of the movie. Of course, I make things difficult and pick Suckerpunch.

My main focus was to capture the style of the movie which I (and my professor agrees) that I did with my font and color choices. The animating of the words was the next focus which for the most part, I'm happy with. I didn't realize how much I forgot about Flash!

Things I could fix: animate the building up of the grunge textures on the font. Shifting camera angles so that not all the text is always showing up. And possibly a change in color/background, etc.

Without further ado...