Along time ago, it used to be a competition between colleges. But since the College of Fine Arts kept bagging the 1st Place, we have since been disqualified. Many people think that we do it for the sake of the parade but in fact we do it for the sake of our grades as our lanterns/costumes and floats are all graded.

This year, I decided not to be part of the parade but to be a mere spectator. It’s just amazing to be a participant but since I’ve never been part of the crowd, I decided to give it a shot.

Indeed, I enjoyed the parade. I think next year I’ll be a spectator again… or maybe not.

This is Halo-Halo.

Halo-Halo comes from a popular Filipino dessert that is a mixture of shaved ice and milk to which are added various beans, fruits, jams, jellies and served cold in a tall glass or bowl. The concert is basically a mix of a lot of different bands. The concert is held in our newly renovated parking lot and waiting shed.

To the right of the stage, there is a freedom wall. Anyone can write on it but since we’re Fine Art students, all you see are drawings.

The next pictures are just the event. Enjoy.

Benitez and Oreta at least.

Mugsyboy and I will try to keep this space updated for our readers.

Annual Halloween costume parade and contest in the red light district of P. Burgos Makati, in spite of heavy rains brought about by typhoon ‘Santi’ on the eve of Halloween 2009. Over 200 showgirls and entertainers participated in the parade hoping to win a cash prize for the best costume of the night. Makati, Philippines, 30/10/2009.

It feels like it was just yesterday when I asked her. I can still remember the times we had when we were still groupmates. We’d do projects til the wee hours in the morning.
We’d just sit and chat even if we were done already. I remember it was Me, Mika, Clawe, Box and Ralph. Always. We were “the group”.

I remember we’d all go out but as time passed, it just became me and her. We became really good friends. She was my best friend.

I wanted her but I knew if I took my time, she wouldn’t be mine. Finally, after a few weeks, I asked her. She hugged me and I knew it was us.

She still looks as beautiful as the day I asked her to be mine.

To My Dearest Mika,

Love Chuck

Never think you’re too old to try things you haven’t tried before (especially things you secretly want but feel to old to try out). As it often brings one to a realization that life shouldn’t be taken too seriously, no one gets out alive anyway.

We set off quite early that morning hoping to be able to beat the rush hour commute (Luckily we did! What took long was the line at McDonald’s).

Located an hour away from Manila was the country’s one and only theme park, The Enchanted Kingdom. Of course this was no comparison to the likes of Six Flags, Universal Studios, or Disney Parks, but it was the only one we had so we made do.

Arriving at noon on a weekday (Look ma! No lines!)

We arrived close to noon and there was barely anyone there albeit a few tourists. That plus the cheaper rates and student discount we got was just too hard to pass up. We lined up and psyched ourselves for what would be a memorable day!

A final wave before the drop (That’s Sonny Thakur!)

We took the quickest ride first, just to get those jitters out for those who haven’t ridden a roller coaster in a while. Sonny being the brave soul that he is, took the front seat and exclaimed some random words I barely understood.

Here we go!

As the cart forced its way through the wind and the exclamations of refusal from some of the riders, one gets a breathtaking view of the entire park. I took a few snaps and then held tight.

After less than a minute we were done! We took a quick lunch break afterward since some lost their McDonald’s breakfast during the ride (me mostly) and then we proceeded to the next ride.

View from the swinging ship, Anchor’s Away

The next ride was a bit of an up and down affair, a swinging ship called Anchor’s Away. Taking the seats closest to the edge would guarantee the full force and experience of the ride. Which needless to say nauseated some people.

Here’s the crew, with Sonny going wild and me screaming my head off

There would have been quite a few more photos from the other rides, but I had to leave my camera in the lockers as the others insisted we take the rides that involved getting wet and sticky.

I hope you enjoyed this week’s post! More to come!
Remember, be a kid! Be Immature! Its usually more fun that way!

“Love the fun, love the fun that you have. If you over do it, there’s still the rehab.”

The color pallets you see above are primarily all i used and there is nothing fancy but simple layouts. The pencils were done by my art director Yuri Timg a professional illustrator who handled toy designs at Art Asylum and Dig Deep Entertainment.

This particular storyboard was for a project that never pushed through where I was assigned to put some intricate details in some of the panels as only layouts and instructions were provided for me when the plate was given to me. Again well following instructions may seem simple from there but believe me its kinda hard to get the exact idea of what the art director wants and thats the objective of the job.

As you can see the drawings are not much of detail as it only requires the director to understand what he’s trying to shoot when the production phase begins. Despite its simplicity it is actually an important and need i emphasize on that since most of our media industry (“especially the filmmakers”) neglects the importance of such in order to produce quality. Storyboards are ESPECIALLY important when doing an animations as it is the backbone of its entire production which is usually thicker than a live action’s already bible like storyboard lengths.

More often than not animation productions demand high quality illustrations such as the one shown below.