I've decided to join the ~MySecretValentine thing going on, just so I'd have a reason to draw.

As the exchange requires, here are my requests:

To my Secret Valentine,

I would love to have the following as my wonderful gift:

Couple 1 – Allelujah Haptism & Soma Peries (Gundam 00) – [link] , [link]

Couple 2 – Zechs Merquise & Lucrezia Noin (Gundam Wing) – [link]

Couple 3 – Tieria Erde & Mileina Vashty (Gundam 00) – [link]

Additional notes: feel free with regards to clothes, setting -- as long as devArt allows it! And I'm not picky with the couples either -- as long as one of them captures your fancy.

Bonus points for the following (but not compulsary. ):
- Couple 1: "It's not an OTP, but an OT4."
- Couple 3: Sweet, cute, sibling-like affection.

Thank you so very much! Here's to a lovely Valentine season!

~ Cielo

..: ♥ Friends, Watches and Clubs ♥ :..

Hello everyone! I'd like to wish everyone watching this journal -- and to those who happen to drop by my page and see this entry -- a very prosperous 2009, full of love and blessings!

I would like to apologize for by absences lately -- and I'm afraid I won't be as visible as I'd like to be on dA. My two jobs and real-life happenings take a lot of my time.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank those who have passed by page, who left kind words here and on my work, and of course, those who have ed my pieces. I'm sorry I can't thank you "personally" like I did before, but know that I am most grateful.

Much love to my dA friends who make my stay here pleasant and memorable -- you know who you are.

To my new ers, welcome to this humble space on the web! Hopefully I'll be able to give y'all something to look at pretty soon.

'Til next time!

~ Cielo

..: ♥ Friends, Watches and Clubs ♥ :..

The second semester at the University I work in started this month, and has kept me busy. In my other work, the internet connection was down, so I couldn't do any of the usual online things I do during my down time. By the time I get back home, I'm just too tired and quite sick of the computer to turn it on and do something.

By the way, I'd like to plug a few things for the Gundam 00 fans out there:

The Gundam 00 Community @ LJ (where fans converge, converse and have a good time. )
The Mechaphiles Fanfiction Archive (where one can find quality G00 fanfiction.)
The Mechaphiles Forum (where serious business and madness come together. ^_^)
SuperSoldiers, the Allelujah x Soma/Marie LJ community.

... I want to make an AMV but I don't know how to.

This is it for now! Anticipating the holidays, I am.

Tchuss!
~ Cielo

..: ♥ Friends, Watches and Clubs ♥ :..

"Latest" Deviations
Soma in Green
Allelujah and Soma's Red Couch
Afterglow (Alle x Soma, MATURE CONTENT WARNING!)
Hetero Meme
Gundam 00 Meme
Reading in Bed (for ~smirks105)
Marina Ismail
In his Clothes (Soma is my new muse. )
Meisters Under the Sea (... because I like Spongebob too. )
Graffiti Girls.

Hullo everyone!

Semester's over -- I've given my final exams, calculated grades and submitted them to my department, ready for viewing by my students. I'm happy to say that I'm very satisfied with their performance, leaving me with a very memorable first semester of teaching.

I'm really sorry for not doing drawing memes -- but worry not, as soon as I find the time and drive to answer the questions in them, I'll be working on them.

I've taken to practicing digital inking and digital "cell-shading." It's very challenging to be honest, but it is definitely something that I'll pursue. Here, we have an original character of mine, Jeanne St.Claire:

Lineart
Colored/cell-shaded

Of course, I don't leave another medium that I just love working with -- watercolor & watercolor pencils:

Gundam 00 - Soma in Violet

Stringing from the latter deviation, I have also explored the use of stock photography as references. I find that it helps a lot in making poses look very natural, and helps in planning lighting. Elementary, you may say, but I really wish I've discovered this "trick" before.

On a lighter note, I've had a brainfart -- since the world of seiyuu is such a small world, I've inspired myself from seiyuu who have cosplayed as their characters, or the characters drawn in the clothes of the seiyuu. I hereby present a little series entitled Gundam Meister Seiyuu Cosplay :

Setsuna F Seiei as Yagami Light (Miyano Mamoru) of Death Note
Lockon Stratos as Allen Schezar (Shinichirou Miki) of Vision of Escaflowne
Tieria Erde as Kouji Minamoto (Kamiya Hiroshi) of Digimon Frontier
Allelujah Haptism as Hibiki Tokai (Yoshino Hiroyuki) of Vandread
Compiled, no-background versions

CHALLENGE !!
I urge you guys to partake in a challenge I've put up in the Tieria and Allelujah deviations. I don't have any extravagant prizes, but this is a chance to get a request out of me. Details are in the deviations.

And last, but not the least, I've decided to add to my "Meister Pinup" series:

Gundam 00 - Dress-up* Graham

_{*... or is it dress down?}

Hope you all enjoy! 4 years in dA, and going up to 14k hits -- here's to more years and hits of artistic growth, exploration and discovery for all of us!

Cheers!
~ Cielo

..: ♥ Friends, Watches and Clubs ♥ :..