Gaby Can't Draw

Last bit of dry brush practice for the night!

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 23:26:19 +0800

Last bit of dry brush practice for the night!

Warm-up ink wash ladies

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 20:28:03 +0800

Warm-up ink wash ladies

In 1980, Dad got a box of Curly Tops as a gift for being the Art...

Sat, 23 Mar 2013 13:30:16 +0800

In 1980, Dad got a box of Curly Tops as a gift for being the Art subject medalist at his HS grad. Yesterday, history repeated itself when he gave me the same little box of chocolate for winning the same medal he won 33 years earlier!

heeey do you know where i can get brush pens? i can't seem to find them in national bookstore :(

Sun, 10 Mar 2013 22:22:20 +0800

Hi, sorry, all the brush pens I have were given to me by a friend who ordered them online, I think....

Do you like Carson Ellis?

Sun, 10 Mar 2013 22:07:00 +0800

Big fan! She’s a beast.

WHY

Sun, 10 Mar 2013 21:36:42 +0800

WHY

Just a few messages that’ve been sitting in my inbox for a...

Sun, 13 Jan 2013 16:13:13 +0800

Just a few messages that’ve been sitting in my inbox for a while. I figured it’s about time I got back to the people who sent them in:

luteti4 asked: Hello. I’m really interested in the BFA ID course of ADMU. But what exactly do they teach in that course? Thank you! :)

Hello! I’m not the right person to ask about that. I applied for that course based partly on the fact that some very good designers graduated with that degree. For details I think it’s best to read this.

nothingplaces asked: greatest inspirations in art and illustration? :)

The absolute best for me are:

My dad! He’s a visual artist and creative director and not to mention totally boss. I can always count on him to come up with (often and initially weird) ideas that end up really working. I cannot fathom what goes on inside that guy’s head. And I’m not just saying all this ‘cause he might stop feeding me if I don’t, but seriously! Da man’s a legend.
Jillian Tamaki!
Kali Ciesemier!
Andrea Kalfas!
Meg Hunt!
Dave McKean!
Marlo Meekins!
The dudes over at Vahalla Studios!
Tim Biskup!
Dan Matutina!
and Chris Thompson!
These are all just off the top of my head, but there are TONS more.

Anonymous asked: just wondering, is this a font or did you make it yourself? :) /post/26145762664/lo-and-behold-heres-the-cover-i-made-for-a

Made it myself :)

venotsoy asked: Oh hi Gab! Dropped by and I was amaze that you are so creative at your age, and that is sooo awesome!!! Sorry for being so OA, I am a noob from being artistic though I’m 18… coz I obviously suck at it. Anywayyyy, I love your pretty Merida hair :D

Oh hi! Thank you so much! Well don’t beat yourself up about it. Everyone’s got a little creativity deep down inside. Creative juices are like abs. If you work ‘em out everyday you’ll end up with a 6-pack, so if you think you suck at being artistic then I suggest you start get’n yer doodle powers on! And thanks, haha!

Sometimes when I shower I like to read French words off shampoo...

Sat, 29 Dec 2012 23:30:22 +0800

Sometimes when I shower I like to read French words off shampoo bottles in my best Parisian accent and pretend I’m Amélie.

I know Christmas is, well, TOMORROW, but for the record,...

Sun, 23 Dec 2012 10:30:30 +0800

I know Christmas is, well, TOMORROW, but for the record, here’s a list of things I’ve been jonesin’ to see under the tree or stuffed in a sock on Christmas morning:

Haruki Murakami’s 1Q84: 3 Volume Boxed Set
Field Notes Plain Paper 3-Pack
Ro’s Argan Body Conditioner from Lush
Smith’s Minted Rose Lip Balm
Pentel Pocket Brush Pen
Diana F+ Camera by Lomography
Singer 3323 Talent Sewing Machine
Benetint by Benefit
In The Light palette from Stila
Rachel Comey Penpal Boots in Camel
These (SOLD) vintage Tortoise Cateye glasses *sigh*
Adam Green & Binki Shapiro Vinyl
Boss RC-3 Loop Station Pedal
Canon 50mm f/1.4 USM lens
Chance Eau de Parfum from Chanel
Stay All Day Eye Liner by Stila

Fast food is the frenemy

Tue, 18 Dec 2012 22:28:47 +0800

Fast food is the frenemy

Gaby, your Highs On Lows poster is one of the coolest things I ever come across. It is truly a stunning piece of work- you are going to succeed in whatever you put your mind to. Your physical science brochure was also amazing- so professional and visually coherent. Best of luck with the college search!

Wed, 12 Dec 2012 00:33:19 +0800

Wow, thank you so much! I don’t think I’ve ever had anyone call my work stunning and...

where do you plan to study college?

Mon, 26 Nov 2012 17:40:16 +0800

I took the liberty of including my program choices just in case you’d want to know On the...

For art class at school! The point was to create a...

Sun, 25 Nov 2012 21:45:07 +0800

For art class at school! The point was to create a “stationary decorative object” and incorporate a logo you made in the previous term into your design. Nearly sliced myself from all the X-Acto knifing but through it all I have trained myself enough to become a pro samurai should zombies attack me (and if said zombies were half a foot tall)

I didn’t know I’d end up putting this logo on a lamp when I made it so I had to make do with what I had. It was either this or “SugaMama Pastry Shop” — ‘nuff said.

Considering I’ve never made anything legit-legit like this lamp before, I guess you could say I was pretty happy with how it turned out! Definitely gonna try making another when I’m not too busy.

Angie did the research, I did the pimpin’, and we ended...

Thu, 22 Nov 2012 22:18:00 +0800

Angie did the research, I did the pimpin’, and we ended up with a schweet project for our Physical Science class! My marks for this subject aren’t very high, so when I found out we’d be designing a brochure as an assignment, I jumped at it - hopefully I did a good enough job of making the words Butylated Hydroxytoluene less exhausting to look at.

Pre-made-clip-art free and type-heavy: those little doodle squares were drawn by me and all the fonts I used came from extended periods of bombarding Lost Type Co-op. Click the second one for hi-res and enjoy!

I helped shoot and edit this trailer** for High on Lows, a...

Thu, 08 Nov 2012 20:58:49 +0800

I helped shoot and edit this trailer** for High on Lows, a short stage production my section is presenting this Monday! In front of tons of people! Can you say exciting!? It’s only a term project for English class but each section’s going head to head in the hopes of winning Best Story/Trailer/Poster/Theme Song (give ours a listen!)/what-have-you and the competition’s been pretty intense. Needless to say, I can’t give the entire story away so I’ll leave it to you to try to figure out what happens.

I made our poster too!

* That is an unfortunate thumbnail (dang it, Youtube)
* Song: Intro by Alt-J (∆)

Hi! :) Just wanna know, how long did take for your sva catalogue to arrive? And what other art schools in the US are you planning to apply/have you applied for? Thanks! :)

Wed, 07 Nov 2012 19:55:46 +0800

Hi! It took a little over 3 months to get delivered from New York to Manila. As of now, the schools...

Hey Gaby, have you submitted uni applications? Which uni do you most likely to go to? I'm guessing ADMU under BFA-ID? You'll do fine wherever you go anyway..just curious. -big fan of yours

Mon, 05 Nov 2012 20:32:00 +0800

So far, I’ve applied to Ateneo (yes, for Information Design!), UP Diliman for Visual...

where do you update yourself with your music? :)

Sat, 03 Nov 2012 22:46:58 +0800

All sorts of places! Sometimes I’ll be listening to the radio, or watching TV, or at some hip...

Gaby, you are seriously talented! I'm a senior in high school looking to study Illustration, and I am blown away by how mature and gorgeous your illustrations are. They really remind me of Jillian Tamaki's work- good stuff! Haha this isn't an "ask", more just fan mail. Please keep up the awesomeness

Fri, 02 Nov 2012 17:53:47 +0800

Oh my gosh, this is by far the best compliment I have ever received! Jillian Tamaki is my absolute...

Yet another Girl Scout poster for next Friday’s gig! This...

Fri, 02 Nov 2012 02:00:00 +0800

Yet another Girl Scout poster for next Friday’s gig! This is the product of at least an hour-and-a-half’s worth of hardcore tinkering with Curves and Contrast after I decided that the original color scheme I came up with wasn’t punchy enough. If you like the color green, though, I think the first version is worth a look:

It’s free, it’s fun, and it’s next Friday so by all means FREAKING GO!