May 20, 2012

Istanbul, Sea Turtles & The Beastie Boys

Well I think this will be a fairly long post. I returned from Istanbul about 2 weeks ago, and OMG it was sooo much fun! What an AWESOME city, seriously - it's like an artists heaven with all the gorgeous Byzantine architecture and is a nice blend of old, new, European and Asian culture.

I did a lot of drawing in my sketchbook and visited 2 art galleries to see exhibits by Rembrant and Goya, saw the Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, ate lots of food, walked and shopped a lot, and enjoyed the beautiful weather (it was 10° Celsius with bright sunshine)!

Here are some sketches from there:





I had taken a calligraphy pen with me to draw with and I really enjoyed using it! Must get more of these ...

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And now, here are some photos from there. Yes, I used cheesy Instagram filters. Leave me alone, I'm a hipster.

So below is the Blue Mosque, or the Sultan Ahmed Mosque. It's a nice blend of Byzantine and Islamic architecture. It's called the Blue Mosque because of it's blue interior. Top left piccy is me pointing like a dork, top right is the gorgeous dome interior, bottom left are the giant columns supporting it and bottom right are some stained glass windows.
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The next set below is about the beautiful, deep blue Bosphorus Strait that separates European Turkey from Asian Turkey and links the Black Sea and Aegean Sea. Top left is a view from Oto Köy, which is where I was staying. Bottom left is a pic of me looking cute, so I had to throw that in. Bottom right is one of the ferries that takes people back and forth from either side.
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Next set is when I visited Sakıp Sabancı Museum to check out the Rembrant exhibit. The exhibit was called "Where Darkness Meets Light," Rembrant and his Contemporaries," So it was basically a collection of paintings by Rembrant and 59 other master painters such as Johannes Vermeer, Frans Hals, Jan Steen and Jacob van Ruisdael. And they let me take photos - totally awesome! Top left and right are some paintings by the artists. Bottom left is a sketch by Rembrant ... so beautiful, I love his line quality. And bottom right is my favorite oil painting, titled "A Hare and Other Game, 1967" by Jan Weenix.

The fur in that rabbit is so freaking insane. In fact, here's a close up:

Ack, I can't resist. Here's another one of my favs. An oil painting by Karel du Jardin, titled, "Portrait of a Man with Two Hounds, 1670." The detail in that sleeve is making me wild! Do you see the intricate work in the gold lace and the white fabric? Totally gives me an artgasm. *Sigh* I think my next post will have to be devoted to all the artists and paintings I saw there.
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So next set is all about the food. Turkish cuisine is a nice mix of Ottoman and Middle Eastern cuisine. I have to say, it's some of the healthiest, and tastiest food I've ever eaten. Top left is a pic of me wearing giant sunglasses and holding a cup of Turkish tea. Top Right is Simit, a common donut bread with sesame seeds, sold by street vendors all around and next to the simit is a meat filled pastry called Börek. Bottom left is black Turkish coffee, which is some serious hardcore caffeine, they serve it with a glass of cold water and a sugar square. And finally to the bottom right is Ayran, a cold yogurt drink - it's so refreshing, I was drinking it everyday!

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Next set is the Hagia Sophia, the epitome of Byzantine Architecture. I had studied it in Art History, about how it used to be an Orthodox church and later converted to a mosque by Constantinople in 1453. Even though you can see large images of Islamic scripture everywhere, you'll still see small mosaics of Jesus and Mary around. Top left is an image of Jesus. Top Right is the entrance to the building. Bottom left is my small head, proof that I was there ... lol.
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Next set is all about Goya, an exhibit I got to see at the Pera Museum, in Taxim. It was titled, "GOYA, Witness of His Time - Engravings and Paintings." Now this was a real treat for me, as I've always admired for his dark themes and rebellious nature. There were three floors of his work, and I think I'll talk about it in my next post, as I could just go on forever.
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And finally, my last photo set from Turkey. It's all about the Kittehs. One of the most awesome things about Istanbul is how the stray animals are taken care of by the locals. Everywhere I went, I'd see healthy dogs and cats being fed every morning by the restaurants and butchers. Top left is this sweet old guy I'd see every morning on my way to the Kabbatas Subway - he would be selling lighter refills by the stop light and would always be snuggling his little kitty in his arms --- AWWWWWW!!!! Top right is a kitty chilling at the Whirling Dervishes Lodge. Bottom Left is a kitty sleeping in the Hagia Sophia ... yes, in it. He was just chilling on the podium upfront, and all the tourists were taking more pictures of him than the building! Bottom right is me trying to get a kitty to sniff my finger at the SSM Museum.
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So yah, that's it and I barely even skimmed the surface! Istanbul is an amazing place, everyone should visit, especially if you're an artist. I'm definitely going to go back.

And... lastly, back in Dubai, I went to the beach the other day to see a bunch of baby sea turtles being set free into the ocean. The local environmentalists had found them a while ago, malnourished and covered in barnacles, so they took care of them until they were ready to get back to real world. So cute!!
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And before I end this post, I'd just like to take a moment to talk about the Beasite Boys. Upon returning from Istanbul, I was devastated to read about the death of Adam Yauch (MCA). I have been listening to these guys since I was 8 years old! I first heard them when visiting my sister in Austin, Texas in 1992, where she was studying at UT. My sister was pretty cool back then and was listening to the album, "Check Your Head" and I remember hearing "So What'cha Want" and totally being blown away. After that, my 8 year old butt wouldn't stop singing that song. So thank you, Beastie Boys, thank you for the childhood memories and for making me cool. RIP MCA.

Apr 16, 2012

Emperors, Trip Hop & an Interview

So I was listening online to Indie 103.1 and they were playing some cool music from my high school days. Remember when "Trip Hop" was so cool in the 90s ala Morcheeba, Massive Attack, Sneaker Pimps? I used to lie in bed and listen to Portishead while conference calling like, seven of my friends at a time. Oh ... high school memories.

Anyway, so below are some sketches for a new personal project I'm working on. It's my own take on The Emperors New Clothes. Here are the sketches for his castle:



Will post some character concepts next time.

So here's something nice -- I was interviewed for our national newspaper about girls in the game industry! Yay! Check me out:


Read On:

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Game, girl!
by Megha Pai

6 April 2012, 7:06 PM
In the usually male-dominated world of video game development, Dubai-based game concept artist Sarita Kolhatkar is a bit of a rarity — and she’s aware of it. She was from just a handful of girls graduating from her animation and illustration class of 2007 at San Jose States School of Art and Design in California and the only female team member at her job as a game concept artist in a Seattle-based company afterwards.

Hooked onto gaming since the age of eight, when her parents gifted her a Nintendo for Christmas, Sarita talks about her love for gaming, why it is here to stay and why more and more women should take up the profession.

Take us back to the beginning. What made you pursue gaming?
I was born and raised in Dubai. From a very young age I loved to draw. When I was about eight years old, my parents gifted me a Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) for Christmas. And after that, my life changed completely. I would avidly play Mario Brothers, Contra, Donkey Kong etc. I would even draw the characters in my sketchbook! It was around then that I knew I wanted to work in gaming.

Why are there so few female game artists and programmers compared to men?
Video game development is generally considered a typically male domain where men make male-oriented games for male gamers. Female game developers represent a distinct minority in the industry but encouragingly this now appears to be changing. In 2005, for example, fewer than 10 per cent of gaming jobs were filled by women but the latest research suggests that the number of women working in the games industry has increased to 15 per cent worldwide. This shift can be attributed to more and more women taking up casual gaming, thanks to “cutesy” games like Angry Birds. And the gaming industry is waking up to the need to recruit women in order to get a female perspective in and capture the new group of women gamers.

How are female game concept artists different from their male counterparts?
Not to stereotype, but female artists and programmers bring a completely different flair into the industry. For instance, some men tend to draw a lot of big-busted, semi-naked women, buildings and cars in their work. Some women, on the other hand — or at least I — love drawing cutesy things instead. Cute works really well in a lot of games today, especially the casual games on Facebook and iPhone. And these games aren’t just popular with the women; men are avid casual gamers too. The idea is to make games that are cute but not too emasculating so that they attract the men as well.

What are the skills that are crucial to working in the video game industry?
Creativity, communication, dedication. You need the creativity to have a vision, see what will make a game fun and create a great experience. You need the communication to articulate that vision to other people and get them to do what you think needs to be done. And you need dedication to see your vision through — to work your way through the disappointments and failures. When you’re three months from shipping, working until 2am, you need to be pretty darn dedicated.

Where do you get the ideas and inspiration for your designs?
I read a lot of stories and folktales, so I use that as an inspiration for creating my concepts. In addition to the actual work I do for a studio, I need to have my own artwork for my portfolio. I’m always making new artwork and game studios need to see that I’m always inspired, and always updating my portfolio on my website (BubbleRockets.com). Also, a lot of my work is inspired by animals and nature; I think they’re wonderful creatures and I’m just in awe of their beauty and tenderness. Plus, I think animals are a great way to connect with children, whether is trying to get a message across or reading them a story.

What are the good aspects to video games?
I’m from the video game generation and spent most of my early years playing video games. I know people usually jump to the conclusion that “kids are spending too much time playing video games. They should go outside and play. These games are too violent. We need more wholesome entertainment.” But the basic fact is, video games are here to stay. The same generation that grew up with a Nintendo or an Atari is now raising a family, complete with a PlayStation 3, Wii, or the X Box 360 for their own kids. Take the Wii. That is a perfect example of a game system that makes an effort to produce family games. They have games like tennis or golf, which allow the gamer to jump around and play with their family members and friends. Also, games like Rockband and Guitar Hero give normal folks like us, the perfect chance to feel like a rockstar! Video games don’t have to be restricted to one type of person anymore. The gaming platform has expended immensely, allowing all kinds of people to participate and live out their innermost dreams.

And the negatives?
The obvious is the gaming addiction. But then again too much of anything is bad and it applies to everything, not just gaming. When done in moderation it can be great therapy.

Read online at Khaleej Times

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Mmmm some more local news... if you live in the area the first Middle East Comic Con is happening in Dubai! I tried getting a table, but didn't make it in time. Oh well, next year.

*Yawn* time for bed and a new Game of Thrones episode.
I'm going to end this post with some Sneaker Pimps:

Apr 8, 2012

Lions and Bunnies

So my Bella recently had a trim, and now she looks like just Kimba the White Lion!


As I mentioned in my previous post, Bella was an abandoned Ragdoll we found in our neighborhood. Once we decided to keep her, I took her to the vet to get all her vaccinations taken care of. When I left her for her second set of shots, I made an appointment to get her neutered as well. I got a call from the doctor an hour later, saying that Bella was under anesthesia right that second, but they called to let me know that she was pregnant and whether I still wanted to get her fixed or not. So, after a tough decision, my family and I decided to go ahead with the neutering, which also meant that we would be aborting her kittens. I know it sounds awful, but she's only 6 months old and far too young to be a mommy. Also, what we do with all those kittens? Nobody is adopting in Dubai right now. There are so many abandoned cats, no one would have taken her babies. I cried a lot that day. I just felt so awful about what we did, but I know it was the right thing to do. Anyway, once we got Bella back from the doctor, she was like a whole new cat! When we had found her, she had a very quiet and reserved personality, and we assumed she was naturally a timid cat but I know now it was just her pregnancy. Only an hour after her surgery she was hopping around the room, acting like a kitten. And now she's bubbly, noisy and extremely playful. I'm glad this little munchkin is in my life. Anyway, just wanted to get that off my chest.

Below are some sketches I did inspired by Bella's new trim:
And while we're on the subject of lions, if you haven't already, please check out this song by Wolf Gang called "Lions in Cages" - it's pretty awesome. And the lead singer is really hot.

So Easter is this Sunday! Yay! I thought I'd do something different this time. Below is a funny illustration I did of a Bunny eating a chocolate egg.

And ... here is a free downloadable blank card for you! Yay!
Please print on 8.5x11" paper, card is 10x7" and folded is 5x7".
The PDF file is 9mb because I'm too sleepy and impatient to make the template in Illustrator.


Download the PDF template HERE. Download the JPG template HERE.

It's 1:30 in the morning and I'm totally going to fall off my chair any second, but before I fade into the dreamworld, I really wanted to share this article from Time Magazine called "How we can all be Creative Types". It's an interview with author Jonah Lehrer about the importance of frustration in our creative process. It's totally awesome. Just read it.

Time for bed. Going to sleep while watching the new Game of Thrones episode ... ZZzzzzzzzzzz


Mar 4, 2012

Dance! Dance! Dance!

I hope everyone had a wonderful leap year! Anyone do anything crazy? Reckless? Something you won't do for another four years? I didn't do anything special ... just went shopping and bought a lot of clothes. Lol!

So I've been drawing like crazy these past few days and I've totally been inspired by dancers. One of my childhood friends is a phenomenal professional dancer and I used to go see all her dance shows when I was younger. I used to love drawing dancers then, and I still love drawing them now. I was watching some old episodes of So You Think You Can Dance, and did some quick and fast 10-20 second gesture drawings.


Below is a quick sketch I did of a ballet dancer (she's sad because her feet hurt ... I think)

On to some interesting news, I got another cat! *GROAN* That's my third cat now ... but whatever. I'm not a crazy cat lady, I swear. This little cutie was abandoned by her owners so we decided to keep her. I have like, zero experience when it comes to taking care of long-haired cats, so she looks a little ragged right now ... but I guess it suits her since her breed is a cream pointed "Rag-doll" cat! Okay okay, I apologize for that bad joke. Anyway she really reminds me of Duchess from Disney's "AristoCats". But that name was too long, so I decided to call her Bella. Yes, Bella. From Twilight... *runs and hides under the table*. Whatever, I'm totally not embarrassed (okay, maybe a little)! But I know that every girl out there secretly loves that movie!


Anyway, let's change the topic. On another fun note, if you haven't already, PLEASE join Pinterest. It's like the coolest thing since chocolate-covered bacon! All the cool people are doing it ... I've been posting all kinds of art on there that inspires me! Check me out --> my PINTEREST.

Happy Pinning!