Before I forget, after we went to Stickerrific to restock my items last weekend, we went to Putrajaya for a walk. We found an abandoned place called "Royal Floria" not so far from the Masjid Besi, from Google Map, it is called "Anjung Floria".
I did some research and found their website - the final update was from last year's event and maybe it was left unmaintained for awhile now.
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There was something eerie about the place. I didn't take the real condition of the place, so these pictures that I took looked quite decent in this blog. But I did put it up on my IG story when we arrived there. Wild plants, broken facilities, dirty, torn paper castle, and no one was around. It was really bad. Like we suddenly found a hidden forgotten park in such a well-developed city.
I'm sure they use the place on every Floria Putrajaya - BUT there was no Floria this year and the place was a bit abandoned and unmaintained, I'm guessing they didn't have the budget to maintain and organize the event ?
It was quite sad, really.
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Anyway, if you are curious about the place, you can take a look here :
So to avoid the crowd, we went on the first day (Thursday) - which was still a work-day and I know through out the weekend there will be more crowd. Like I told Af "I love event2 keramaian yang tak ramai orang", so we can have the place for ourselves. Af was still tired, because we went there right after he arrived home from work. But this was our only chance to go to avoid the crowd.
The crowd was still acceptable (not too big, not too small), you can still get decent photos but you have to wait for your turn. I don't think you can do the same during the weekend. We even parked near the dataran (Parking Lot next to the mamak's junction).
There were food trucks along side of the road, and also huge food center with hundreds of food stalls - so there won't be any issue with food. But you can hardly find anything healthy. Hah. I think there will be fireworks on the final night for the new year celebration (so you can also plan for that). I never went out on any new year's celebration for all my life because I'm not comfortable with crowds and it makes sense now.
Note : Some places were pretty dark, some places were so light and because I have some issues with my eyes, I found it quite uncomfortable for my eyes. Again a reminder for myself, I need to do my eye check-up.
Here are the photos that I took, Af took a lot of video snippets to be compiled later :
2 weeks ago I doodled stuffs that introverts like (I referred to what I love) - so perhaps I did a bit of stereotyping here. I'm sure a lot of people love the same things (shoutout to fellow extroverts & ambiverts !) but I think most introverts can relate to this.
As introverts, we love the solitude we can gather in our own house/room. We love being alone, we love the silence, away from all the dramas and distractions. I'm not saying that my lifestyle is healthy, but for the past 9 months I've been so happy and calm. I love working at home, I love the freedom and the silence. I don't expect anyone else to understand, as long as my husband is okay with my choice of living (btw, he is also an introvert so he understands).
So here are the things that I must have :
Books (as distraction from the hectic world we are living in)
Hot drinks (I love my hot Neslo in the morning, and green tea throughout the day)
Favorite pen + pencil , and also doodle book (to write about my thoughts, to doodle, to find previous inspiration and references)
Laptop with movies/series (Anything worth streaming - currently I'm watching : The Crown and Riverdale)
Pets (in my case, my lovely fat cat; Awan)
Comfort foods (Sometimes sweet, sometimes salty but never healthy)
The doodle I did in my book using my current favorite pencil colour from Pilot Color Eno:
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Images I edited for the shops :
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I also made a simple process video of it and posted it on my Youtube :
Just to share to people the process of turning an illustration into something (in this case a postcard + sticker). I'm planning to make a new mini project every 2 weeks. I'm already working on the next one related to foods ! ❤
I thought I prepared myself for my first Comic Fiesta.
I did, but it was not enough.
The event was huuuuuuuge, huge as in 2 big halls in KLCC convention center, not including people outside, waiting at the park, super-packed alleys that you need to slowly walk, long queues of people waiting to meet their celebrity cosplayer or take turn to try out games, or even buy things. This was my very first huge event. The biggest one so far, and I've never seen such crowd :F
My booth was located at B-B01, so it was among the first booth at basic art booth, next to the premium ones. We bought extra ticket for Af as my assistant of the weekend, so we could take turn to walk and find nice beautiful things that people made.
New things I prepared for Comic Fiesta :
2nd version of 'Game Nerd' enamel pin (almost sold out before the event)
1st version of 'Book Nerd' enamel pin (sold out before the event)
'My Doodle Book' zine (not so many people bought)
Sticker sheets x 4 (so - so, people like the Harry Potter fan-art sticker)
Things that were sold fast :
The remaining enamel pins sold out in the first few hours
Japanese sticker pack version 2 + 3
Laser-cut 'Game Nerd' keychain
Laser-cut charms
and several more MesinWood + Eureka stuffs.
From this event, I can conclude that the audience love movie - series - anime related fan-arts. I didn't make as many fan-art stuffs as other booths, so we didn't get as much hits. If I want to attend more events like this : Comic Fiesta, Comic Art Festival KL, Animangaki, etc - I need to make more fan-arts, it is what sells compared to original illustrations. Some people even came and asked whether : "There are characters that I know of ?" or keep calling the 'Game Nerd' stuffs inspired by the original Game Boy as "Beemo" from Adventuretime. I never felt so old.
But anyway, the sales was so great - we reached the highest sales for any events I've ever attended so far ! It gives us hope and kinda show me that my hard work almost paid off. I love selling my stuffs and creation to people, even how 'syok-sendiri' it might seems sometimes. But without people keep on buying and supporting, I would never be this far.
Thank you - for every support, every money spent on buying the things that I made, for every visits, for every 'hello - I'm a fan'. You have no idea how hard I work throughout this year as a full-time independent illustrator and designer just to pay my bills and prove that I never wanted anything so bad. I love every single day I'm working for the past 9 months, creating, planning, and making stuffs. I am so happy guys, thank you. Thank you for the wonderful 2017 journey !
PS - You can also support me on my Patreon : https://www.patreon.com/azreenchan ❤ Where I share more detail stuffs on the projects I'm working on, on current life and thoughts and tips + tricks.
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And here's for the things I bought from illustrators and comic artists at Comic Fiesta !
You know, I took so many short trips to finish both 2 halls :
because the halls were so big
and there were too many people, so it was a slow-paced, taking turns kinda thing
and sometimes so many people came to our booth, I can't just leave Af alone :F
But I told Af, that I've been waiting to join these kind of events and it is just once a year thing - so I need to explore and find great illustrators. It was the only chance to be surrounded by so many inspiring people ! Here I bought a LOT of printed stuffs to be added into my doodle book. This made me so happy ❤ I tagged almost all comic artists and illustrators, please do follow their work on Instagram.
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Like chibi stickers by Foxkunkun and name card from Meyoco (there was nothing that I can buy from her booth that was not out of my budget) :
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Lokamade was everywhere in bookstores, so it wasn't as exciting as meeting Ashionglee from Indonesia in person ! He is an Indonesian National Graphic Illustrator and I asked for his signature. Super inspiring. I also bought the 'Passion Pays' sticker from my partner ; Eurekartstudio.
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A colouring book from the legendary Kidchan/Cyanparade !
Two things that I love from this series :
Black/White stroke - no colours, so I can see just the beautiful strokes without getting distracted by colours
Symmetry
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I also bought a 'Thor' sticker and an art-print inspired by Rogue One from Machodoodle/Amelia Lo from Indonesia. She got a lot of cool stuffs, but I had to limit my budget and not get too many things at one place :
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Weiliwonka and Pottetto were 2 local illustrators that I found from the previous CAFKL. I was super excited to see different kind of strokes and styles being used in illustration (because most booths were anime/manga-based style). I didn't buy anything Pottetto because the sticker set from her 'Stranger Things' fan-arts were sold out (too bad) :
Yeap, my best friend got married not so long ago ❤
While I draft this post, she was about to get married - she got married - she went on a honeymoon to Osaka - and she got back as well (to show that I usually keep my drafts for long - biar kepam).
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Wedding-card Making :
I helped with their wedding card several months ago. From the designing of the card, choosing the type of paper, sending it to print and later sending it for hot-stamping. Everything manually :F
New things I learned :
to search for paper factories in town,
how to choose papers + send it to cut according to my chosen customized size,
how to prepare hot-stamping file and send it to the factory,
that making customized cards are cheaper (yes, it is way-way cheaper) but time-consuming and a bit fussy (especially the ones when we need to be there to : select papers, pick-up paper/card, send it to other factory, and such). Af said maybe because we are not used to the whole new process, so things were a bit slow (because I took 3 weeks to get everything ready).
My time is the priciest part of the card-making process, and I did this for free because my best friend was getting married ! 😃 Some of the hard things in this process are : to find suppliers and factories, see their options, request for quotes and decide on things : so I prefer not to share these collected lists to random strangers asking in DM/PM about where I do this and that. You need to go and do the hard work, guys.
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Laser-cut Wooden Magnet :
I also helped with her bridesmaid's little gift : the customized lasercut magnets of each bridesmaid with the bride + groom. She sent me images of her bridesmaid and I turned it into a chibi-version :
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Videos :
Af also did several videos for her events, like their engagement, the pre-wedding (collaboration with me) and their nikah + reception video highlight. I worked as Af's loyal assistant as always.
and here is the pre-wedding video that was supposed to be shown during the reception dinner :
We managed to shoot everything in one day at Putrajaya (we were busy on other weekends for our Nov's events) - the ideation was roughly from our discussion on making the sweetest and informal video of them as who they are. I wanted to capture their personalities, so that after 10 years, they can look back and see a younger version of themselves when they were about to get married. Plus a narration of them talking about each other (because I love narration) :F The shooting, directing and editing were all AF ❤ I wish we had more time.
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The Wedding Day :
We went out as early as 8 am and we had to leave Af's mom and little cousin at home for the whole day (they came the day before for school holiday). We were early, so Af started shooting while I stand awkwardly after I greeted Tasy and left the room. Wedding is my least favorite event/place and I already saw several familiar faces :F
I still wear my favorite kurung that I bought around 5 years ago because it is one of my most comfortable kurung and I like it that much 😀 Thank God, no one cares about what I chose to wear or how I look like (not only that, I chose to let my face bare and make-up free) - I did feel a bit under-dressed and worried that people might think that I didn't make any effort to look nice.
BUT, in my defence, being there for one whole day was a huge thing for me and I did make an effort to stay throughout the whole 2 events + I don't really own any make-ups. Hah hah hah.
The morning event ended beautifully.
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On social anxieties & awkwardness :
Later we went back to take Af's mom and little cousin out for a short lunch because I didn't have time to cook. We had to go back to the next venue soon after lunch time and Friday prayer for the rehearsal. I didn't have any part in the rehearsal, but Af had to be there *he is the official videographer now and I promised to be there with him* and Aja was one of the bridesmaid. So we stayed, we even changed at the bridesmaid room - and I was forever awkward, trapped in a room with beautiful ladies getting ready for the reception.Again, I chose to be make-up free and chose to wear my previous Raya kurung because I usually feel more self-conscious when I can't be myself, so I avoid doing things that I'm not used to just because.
Plus, knowing that I would be facing so many former schoolmates after 13 years.. :F Awkward hellos and handshakes and random babbles about current life.
This was how I looked. Aja helped me with my tudung because yes, I don't even know how to wear scarfs other than tudung bawal :
But I survived !
Tasy put us together with my whole family and several other former schoolmates that I greeted awkwardly. I failed in random chit-chats and updates, I failed at trying to make long conversation throughout the event, I failed at group photos, and I failed at goodbyes. Mostly I talked to my mom and my siblings. I did feel guilty for not mixing around in a social event, but boy the stress was real.
We went back a bit later, after Af wrapped up with his video-taking and I joined in for the official group photo (I know Tasy would be really mad if I chose to not participate in their official stage photo with the bride + groom). So to avoid having all the drama to make excuses, I just went in for the photo on the stage.
To Tasya :
Thanks for being my one and only best friend (other than Af), for staying - despite my awkward social anxieties phases at times, for keeping up with this blog when no one really read blogs anymore, for letting me be me and still be my friend since we were 16 ❤
Congratulation on your wedding !
I would like to spend a day with people who are interested in doodle journaling + illustrating. This is more like an informal class where we could get to know with each other, spend the day doing activities, sharing session and have a guided doodle practice along the way. More like when an introvert wants to share knowledge and skills to people but in a very controlled environment (compared to my previous doodle class with 30 kids for 8 long hours).
Class Detail 😘 :
Weekdays in December + January
10 am - 2 pm
In KL area, various places based on the selected day
There will be activities to help you with your day journal task : eg - a day out in Aquaria / Bird Park , chit-chats at a cafe, etc.
Will be conducted in a very small group (1-5 per class)
Fees : RM 100 (not including ticket passes)
Things you will learn :
Basic doodling skill
How to start doodling
Doodle tasks to help you with your doodle diary + journaling
101 - Your personal zine-making
Things that will be provided :
16-pages of 'Things you can Doodle' zine - that you will use for your doodle tasks
Free gift bag + goodies
Foods at the selected cafes
I'll also bring zines + self-published books by international illustrators for reference
Washi tapes 😍
Things you need to bring :
Your doodle notebook / diary
Favorite stationary
Water
Suitable for :
Beginners
People who love to draw + doodle
People who want a doodle date
Fresh from the oven designer/illustrator/doodler
No experience in doodling necessary, just your interest + passion in learning a new skill or hobby.
If you are interested, please book your class from my e-store here.
Note : Date & activities will be discussed via email after booked.
November was a busy month. I joined 2 events in a week, activated the Etsy discount month for Christmas and we had a fully-packed weekends throughout the whole 2 months until the mid of December (because Comic Fiesta also coming real soon).
Preparation :
The preparation took around 3 weeks, to restock all my sold out items from Jesselton Artisan Market and Machi Mochi Market during the previous month's events. I am still hand-cutting some of the sticker sets (not all anymore), pack all the items and hand-paint laser cut stuffs, so I'm pretty much occupied almost every day.
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Comic Play, Publika :
I think it was a 5-days event, but I joined for 3-days including the weekends under Animangaki(there were several organizers for the event) - is it fair to say that I never really know about them before this because I'm not fully into the anime/manga fever as I grew older?
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Things that happened at Comic Play :
On the first day, we lost our parking ticket and we had to pay RM 60 for the fine. It was a lot of money, and I felt really sad thinking that we've been working so hard. Never keep parking tickets in your pant's pocket ever again - lesson learned.
I forgot to bring the pencil leads so I can't doodle in my book on the first day.
On the second-day, as a present for ourselves for the hard work, we bought lattes. I had the worst stomachache and diarrhoea afterwards because Af bought for me a venti green tea latte at Starbucks - I am now lactose intolerance and I shouldn't drink that much milk on an event day. I rushed to the toilet at least 3 times on that day - lesson learned.
I met a lot of old friends - I hardly meet people that I knew at events so it was a bit uncomfortable for me.
There weren't many interesting things for me to buy, so I just bought several cute stickers to add in my doodle book.
I was excited, been waiting for Etsy Made Local since I applied (because it is a yearly event, and I've been using Etsy for almost 7 years now). But the worst thing happened, I had another episode of vertigo (the sensation of whirling and loss of balance, dizzy and nauseous). This was the third time this month, I'm not sure the exact reason yet (I need to do an ear check-up if this continues). I didn't feel good, because the world was spinning so bad, I get nauseous and I can't walk or function like a normal being. Of all the busiest days of the month, it had to chose to appear on Etsy Made Local day :F
So I had to prepare the booth with Af's help, all my strength and patience to slowly put out all the items on the table. Every few movements lead to me feeling like I was going to fall down or puke. It was really bad, so I had to ask my sister's help (she took care of the booth, while I went back to rest and sleep for awhile, then came back to pack everything later that evening). I felt better after the sleep.
Here are some photos I managed to snap when I came back later (the place was beautiful !) :
I didn't felt like I joined the event because I wasn't there most of the time.
But Aja said the crowd was over-whelming, we got a lot of supports and love, and our sales was really great. Thank you so much to Af and Aja for helping me with the event (I never thought I would be sick on my important day, I always thought I was some-what invincible) :F
Honestly I've never been to a fancy brunch session, because :
I hardly do any social gathering
I don't go out that much *I stayed at home gathering fats on my thigh
On Miss Chin, travel + travelogue :
My one and only friend, Tasy asked me to join her in meeting our former teacher from our high school; Miss Chin. I don't have many people from school that I'm still in contact with, and Miss Chin is the only teacher that we still meet every few years for 'borak2'.
She's also my favorite teacher, I don't think she knows it. I love creative writing and English since I was in high-school, so I sometimes send my stuffs to her to let her read and improve - she was my EST teacher. She is also an avid traveller, she travels every year, and once she let me do her Europe travel scrap book during my holiday - where I collected all her photos and do cut + paste with her small notes & trinkets. THAT, was where I get the idea to record all my travelling experiences, because I felt really inspired by her travel stories. By 15, I already decided that I wanted to travel as much as I could and by 17, I decided to share my travel stories in my writings + photos (but I found writings alone will be a bit boring to read, so I doodle + illustrate).
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On the brunch + beautiful foods :
We set the meeting a week before, so I had already put a mental note on going to meet Miss Chin during the upcoming weekend without no excuse. I can be annoyingly super-anxious and cancel last minute, but I tried not to because I really wanted to meet Tasy & Miss Chin that weekend.
So Af drove me to Tasy's house on Saturday morning, we bid goodbyes ❤ and Tasy drove her car to Pavillion. Miss Chin was already there by 11 am, and I think we arrived 15 minutes late like a proud Malays 😅 . It was my first time in 'Wild Honey', so I didn't know what to order - they suggested to try the 'European' breakfast set (consisted of poach eggs, slices of chicken ham, roasted tomatoes and a lot of juicy mushrooms), Tasy ordered her 'Canadian' set (layers of pancakes and honey + jam) and Miss Chin ordered the 'Berkley' (greek yogurt and a lot of fruit compote and berries).
They are vibrant and full of nice colours, I really love how they are presented. So I had to take some photos of the blog. Here's our lovely foods photos :
Note : If you don't do fancy places much, just ask people to suggest the meal for you and you can read up the description to see whether you might like it. It's okay to ask, don't feel inferior 😅
So you know about the bike services that they provide all over the city?
We downloaded the app and we used the one in Putrajaya 2 nights ago, we were happy and excited, the night felt exciting after a long day of work. We planned to go to the 'Friday pasar malam' behind the Palace of Justice. So with empty stomach, the three of us rode there from the mosque where we parked the car.
There was no dedicated parking space for the bike near the 'pasar malam'. We decided to : lock the bike at a safe place near the pasar malam, go buy and eat dinner, and later come back for the bike to ride back to our car. So there shouldn't be any issue of leaving the bike all over the place like an irresponsible person.
We hunted for food, I bought a nice chicken wrap *(later I decided that if I want it healthier, I should ask the one with no mayo, no sauce - because boy, they put way too much in there). Af ate 'nasi berlauk' as predicted and Aja ate 'yong tau fu'.
We went to our bikes back with a full stomach and happy faces.
Here are problems that came next :
now, to unlock the bike you need to verify your account (*no early notice whatsoever)
to verify your account, you need to pay refundable RM 69 through the app
we didn't have RM 69 x 3
to leave the bike, means leave the bike at non-dedicated parking spot
leave bikes at non-dedicated parking spot means deduct -20 points from your account
it also means we need to walk back 2.5km to our car with a full stomach
Happy night turned sour.
We had to leave the bike like an irresponsible person (Now I understand why some people left their used bicycle at random places. We thought we just need to leave it for 15 minutes and we will come back for it, later to find out we need to pay RM 69 first) 🙁
And because of how I'm wired and I can be super 'pembaris' about something, I feel bad and super disappointed in myself because I didn't follow the rule and I left the borrowed bicycle at random places :
Another short noticed event that I joined this year : Machi Mochi Market at Sunway Velocity on the 21st of Oct (Saturday). The organizer asked me to fill-in an emergency Saturday slot for 'Apom-apom' because they can't join on that day. I knew the organizer, so I'd said 'yes' 😃
I'm quite happy to learn that local illustrators are emerging slowly, I saw several new faces at the event among old faces ❤
Here are the stuffs I bought from my fellow participants (more stickers + artprints) :
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The event took place at the 5th floor of Sunway Velocity, it was quite a nice space with cute lights, dedicated space for sharing sessions, artisan booths and small workshop. But the crowd wasn't as much as I anticipated (maybe because this was their first event) :
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Anyway, other worth mention : 'Seven Cups' cafe (an artisan cafe near our event). I bought an iced Matcha Latte from the cafe and I felt like I was in Japan again.
Image from their Facebook
I bought my own Matcha powder several months back so that I can make my own matcha latte at home. But it didn't taste as good as the ones at the cafes, and so I asked my brother "why is that?", later I found out that it is because I refused to add sugar in my own drink :F
"Everything tastes better with processed sugar, love ❤ "
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Next events in Nov + Dec :
Comic Play, Publika ( *still in application process )
