The Carver's House

So far, I've over 20 images in my Color Kiddies website, where nice people can download free coloring pages and free clip art. 20 images isn't a lot, but we all have to start somewhere, right? Anyway, I'm thoroughly enjoying this little distraction, since it gives me a chance to practice my drawing and coloring skills. I was supposed to upload these updates last weekend, but I ran into major tech trouble. Now with that being water under the bridge (crossing fingers as I type this), I present to you three more fantasy-themed coloring pages for free download. Click on each image to go to their respective download pages! As always, you can also download free drawing pages and clipart! Enjoy!

It is no secret that there's a lot about living in the Philippines that we don't like, moreso in the present circus... I mean, socio-political situation. So much so that a number of my friends have quipped, either in jest or sarcasm, about leaving the country and settling in less stressful territories. New York-based Mercer Consulting annually surveys the world's cities and draws up the "Best Places In the World To Live" list, based on myriad factors including political and social, economic, health, housing, and natural environment. For 2009, Filipino favorites Canada and New Zealand figure prominently with five cities landing in the top 20, namely: Vancouver (4), Auckland (tied at 4), Wellington (12), Toronto (15) and Ottawa (16). And if Australia entices you, Sydney (10) and Melbourne (18) sit comfortably in the top 20. If living in Asia is still your thing, Singapore has the 26th spot. Incidentally, if city infrastructure (traffic, public transport, telecom fac...

Some of you may have already seen this illustration over at the Zaturnnah Facebook page . I'm reposting it here, the before and after versions. (Click on image to enlarge) Incidentally, Zsazsa Zaturnnah: Ze Muzikal earned seven nominations from the 2nd Philstage Awards for the Performing Arts. The Tanghalang Pilipino hit musical is vieing for the following awards: OUTSTANDING MUSICAL PRODUCTION OUTSTANDING ENSEMBLE PERFORMANCE IN A MUSICAL OUTSTANDING FEMALE LEAD PERFORMANCE IN A MUSICAL Eula Valdes OUTSTANDING MALE LEAD PERFORMANCE IN A MUSICAL Nar Cabico Joey Paras OUTSTANDING MUSICAL DIRECTION Vincent De Jesus OUTSTANDING MUSICAL COMPOSITION Vincent De Jesus Congratulations to Tanghalang Pilipino! See the complete list of noms at Gibbs Cadiz's blog .

People who know me well can tell you that I've been one to lock my psychological age at 26. In fact, I've been "26" for about nine years now, and the fact that people tell me that I look far younger than 39 seems to prove that age is all in the mind. Sure, I've been noticing more lines on my face, plus the onset of sagging cheeks, coupled with a few aches here and there, but I've otherwise never really felt my age. Not that I know what my age is supposed to feel like, but the words "I'm too old for this," never factored into the way I went about my life. But lately I've been ill-at-ease of a different sort--more irritable, impatient, less motivated, easily distracted, lethargic. For someone who's predisposed to feeling this way, I can say with some authority that this new attack is really different. So I've done a bit of research, including consulting with someone older, and have more or less confirmed that, yes, I am indeed going thr...

Shown here are two panels I'm quite proud of (click on the image to enlarge). I took some time thinking about how to compose them and what sort of props would go into them, down to the pattern on Gwyneth's goblet. I also like how cleanly my lines ended up, like Ada's hair and the little basket filled with sewing thingies. I wish all the panels of the book would come out this way. The punchline? These panels are "rejected." They will never see print. Not to say that they're not good enough. It's just that they didn't fit anymore. When I painstakingly reworked the script, a very draining activity, this simple event -- Gwyneth talking to Ada and Dodong in the living room -- didn't happen. Sort of a "Sliding Doors" moment, and the rest of the first two chapters changed for the most part. Hopefully for the better of the whole. There are times when we need to change the way we do things if we intend to move forward. The first way, the most comf...

I dropped by the Metro Comic-Con last Saturday for a little go-see. Despite the Megatrade Hall being a bit too spacious, the event appeared well-attended, though I didn't stay too long. After so many years of not having any major project to promote, I felt a bit like a fish out of water. In between chatting with Wilson Tortosa, Syeri Baet, Lyndon Gregorio and Johnny Danganan, saying hello to Budjette Tan and Gilbert Monsanto, and taking pics with Gio Paredes and Gener Pedrina, I picked up a few comics here and there. While I do enjoy reading the works of my fellows, there comes the occasional tinge of quiet envy, like I've been lax at this whole comics-making thing while the others religiously keep the pages coming. I do have that six-pager in the first Komikero Komiks anthology, and I'm submitting an eight-pager for its third issue. There's also another Graphic Classics assignment due in a few months... But I neeeeed to get a big, fat book out. It's like a deliciou...

I was lying in bed when I was inspired to do this--I was given instructions to simply depict a comic book creator. You'll soon find out where this will come out. But, for now, I just wanted to share a behind-the-scene peek of how I do things. (Click on the image to enlarge.)

Happy New Year! First off, thanks to everyone who wished me well because of my recent cholecystectomy (the gall bladder is apparently called the "cholecyst"). And thanks to those who spared precious time for me throughout the harrowing period. I'm scheduled for a check up this week at Medical City, and I'm wishing that the hospital's pathology department hadn't found anything malignant in the extracted specimen. A week after the operation, I'm feeling better, though being totally out of the woods won't happen after another month or so. I can't exert myself physically, can't eat fatty or fried food, can't climb long flights of stairs, can't a-whole-lotta-things, also for at least a month. Yesterday, I was at SM City Marikina for the first time to get a few groceries and take a whiff of the fresh mall. Accompanied by my sis and niece, I was sluggishly walking around like I was seventy, particularly difficult since I'm one speed walke...

Spent a chunk of this extended Yuletide break in the hospital. My gall bladder had swollen to three times its normal size and had to be "ectomied." So... ummm... that's this week's bit of news on Carver end. It's not so bad. There weren't any complications. No hitches or road blocks. Just a simple procedure that required an incision beneath my right rib... and a catheter in my peepee. Note that I have to make special mention of the catheter in my peepee (which is essentially having a small tube inserted into your urethra to facilitate the involuntary discharge of weewee while you're under general anaesthesia) for the immediate jewel novelty of this event among my limited experiences in life. Anyway, I'm still in one piece. I'll be home in less than a couple of days. Happy New Year to All!

Concluding my talk at DLSU, I told the class that if there was a way (not the only way) for comics to regain a strong foothold in a society that has grown to prefer film, television and novels for their entertainment, it has to up the ante in some way. The three aforementioned media have their own unique and obvious strengths, and these strengths can easily trump the comics medium straight in the face. The three factors that influence the effectiveness of a medium are the comics creator's playground. However, the accessibility factor is dependent on cost, and the approval factor is dependent on an audience's specific tastes. So the factor over which a comics creator has the greatest control is content quality. Content quality. My thinking is that people generally don't really care much about medium as much as they do content, unless two media are pitted against one another over the same material. This has led to numerous debates over whether a movie was equal, if not superi...

In a previous post, we've listed down the three factors that gauge the effectiveness of a communications medium. Again, our current media-heavy environment has blurred the lines between what one medium can do over another, so the focus has shifted more towards effectiveness, with greater involvement of the recipient of the communications message. At the core of these three factors is audience, which is an integral part of the communications cycle. Without an audience, there is no communication. There won't even be a reason to communicate at all without the awareness of an audience. (Unless, of course, the audience is oneself.) The three factors: 1) Accessibility. There was a time when radio was the medium of choice. It was cheap, and you could get all the information you thought you needed over the lifespan of those 20-pound Eveready batteries. But radio gave way to television. Television evolved from a few channels to a few dozens on cable. Then the internet changed the media...

Last week was light at the office, so I took Thursday off to go to my alma mater and give a talk about the value of comics as a medium. (I had wanted to go to a talk at the UST, but it was scheduled for later this week--crunch time for Real Living .) The questions I was supposed to answer were, "What are the unique qualities of comics?" and "What can comics do that other media can't?" The first question was somewhat easy to answer, since it didn't entail any comparison with other media. The second question, however, gave me a headache. In today's cross-platform option-riddled multimedia world, I was hard pressed to come up with a strong case for the comics medium. Because, truth to tell, the web is a powerful medium in itself, boasting the capabilities of all media and then some. Through the web, one can watch videos, listen to music, read text of all kinds, play games, get an education, and fiddle with the loads of interactive opportunities thrown in. P...

It's when I see artwork like this that I heave a sigh and suppress the desire to swear. This wonderful piece is by Gerry Alanguilan , no less--set to appear in the fourth and last installment of his Elmer limited series . His is one of the styles that I, during those moments when I question my artistic ability, try to take apart to discover its secrets. Apart from the art, Elmer has one of those stories that grab the gut. You couldn't believe the kind of emotions you'll feel from a family of talking chickens. Gerry'd better compile Elmer soon. And if he does get this compiled, y'all non-comics readers do yourselves a favor and get a copy.

When I appeared in Angels In America over a decade ago (my debut in professional theater), the reviews about my performance weren't very encouraging, so much so that I cried, nearly bawling my eyes out. I only got one glowing review--from the Manila Chronicle--which likened my performance to William Holden on Sunset Boulevard. While that piece of positive feedback did elevate my spirits, it wasn't enough to convince me that my performance was worth something in the entirety of Tony Kushner's opus. I only resolved to do my best in the remaining performances, and accept the truth that I was the "professional newbie" who didn't have years of hard theater acting experience compared to my fellow cast members. And there have been no regrets--1995 was still the best year of my life. (The image below was lifted from The Bachelor Girl . That's me on the top left--yes, I had hair. Also in the picture (clockwise, from top left): Tami Monsod, Lorna Lopez, Ebong Joson...

When I was in my mid-twenties, I applied for a position in a company that published catalogs of Chinese products for industrial clients as well as a business magazine for managers. During the interview, I was asked what my five-year goal was. And I, in want of a decent answer, resorted to the clichéd "setting up a business." The interviewer, an American, then asked what kind of business I wanted to get into, and I said that I wanted to put together a business magazine that catered to young adults in their late-teens to mid-twenties. It was to be the "for dummies" type of magazine that covered the basics of setting up and operating a small business--think Entrepreneur meets Chalk . I had more conviction over that magazine idea, because back then I had already been buying World Executive's Digest on a semi-regular basis (it was my secret guilty pleasure apart from Tagalog melodramas and kungfu flicks), depending on how much money I had at the time. The magazine,...

From pretty Laya . Thanks, dear. :-) Rules of this award are : 1. Put the logo on your blog. 2. Add a link to the person who awarded you. 3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs. 4. Add links to those blogs on yours. 5. Leave a message for your nominees on their blogs And this award goes to... 1) Angelo . One of the most sincere people I know. 2) Gwyn . One of the most affectionate people I know. 3) Tuxqs . One of the greatest listeners I know. 4) Coni . One of my few fellow Big Dreamers. 5) Angela . One of the most dedicated people I know. 6) David . One of the most creative people I know. 7) Reia . One of the strongest people I know.

It's the oddest thing: I have all these thoughts in my mind, but I have nothing to blog about.

This whole acid reflux thing is interesting. Before I went to the doctor, the only symptoms that bothered me were the lump in my throat and the occasional chest pain. I never noticed how often I burped, or the tingling sensation in my tummy whenever I'd eat. It was only after the doctor had made these symptoms known that I started paying attention to them. Burp. Oh, no! A symptom! Damn, there's that funny tummy feeling... Okay, I wonder how I'd feel if I ate this? So how did today go? Floating brain, floating brain. I only had eight sticks today, a vicious cut from my usual pack-a-day addiction. (I can't do what my father did. He quit cold turkey.) I didn't take coffee at all, save for a few minutes ago--just half a cup. I slowed down my eating pace, and paid careful attention to my portion sizes. Right now, I'm cold-sweating like anything, which I heartily welcome. And the lump in my throat isn't as bad as it used to be. Like last night, I will sleep with m...

I love spicy food. I love coffee. I smoke. I stress myself out on a regular basis. I tend to chow down a lot during some meals, then hold back on others. I drink a fair share of sodas. And apparently, the combination of the above has recently been causing me some difficulty in breathing, some chest pains, unusual nausea and fullness in the stomach after eating, plus the feeling of a lump in the throat. What's this called? Acid reflux! It's still a mild case, according to my doctor, but this calls for a lifestyle change! I expect to be irritable over the next few days from withdrawal symptoms. *gasp!*