Tangly Lotus - WIP and finished.

A few weeks ago I was in deadline hell. Things concerning uni-work - that's not related to designing in any way -  completely occupied my mind.
Well, at least it should've.

While I do enjoy writing 40 pages long academic papers on battery chainsaws (...) procrastination seems inevitable no matter what. Funny how that always happens!
Anyways, I started working on some new ideas for Tekslus Design.

One of my ideas was a design based upon the lotus flower. I managed to keep a relatively good record of the drawing process with my smart phone and I have compiled a few photos with some text, which is what I will dedicate this blog post to.

So without further ado, let's move on to the WIP of the Tangly Lotus!

 

 Yes, I am definitely working on the workflow thing. Have to become a bit braver! :)

But no matter how frustrating it got I always had fun with it!

and then...

The feeling of finishing is always sooo good. Especially after an "eternal" piece like this. 

Here's what the design looks like after a little clean-up on the computer.

What do you think of the result?
Please leave a comment below :) I would really appreciate your feedback!

Tadaima! Fukuoka

Traveling to the other side of the world can be tiring to say the least. When I left Oslo airport I had about two hours ahead to Helsinki, 10 hours to Tokyo Narita (thankfully the wind was with us, cutting down the time to 8 hours), then a little over 1 hour bus ride from Narita to Haneda airpor, and finally around two hours by plane to Fukuoka. And then there was all the waiting in between the stops.

But all of that was so worth it. Because when I arrived in Fukuoka city it was as if I had returned home. People from four years ago still recognized me. The bar I had a habit of ending up at when I was a Japanese student welcomed me with a hug and tequila shots.

By midnight on my first day back in town, I had met old friends and found new people to hang out with. Just like four years ago Fukuoka's spirit is still very friendly and welcoming.

 On my way to Haneda Airport.

Back in Fukuoka <3 Haruka and I went to Keith Flack's lounge party where we had some wine before we headed over to The Dark Room to say hello.

Haruka with her phone.

I have many, many more photos from this trip, and I will post them here soon-ish.
Just need to make time for more editing and writing :)

Back to Japan

Exciting times ahead! Tuesday next week I will once again travel to Japan. It's a visit long overdue with it being a little over four years since last time. The destination is the same as last time: Fukuoka City. One would perhaps think that I would a least pop by Tokyo this time, but no. Unless you count a 60-80 minute bus ride from Narita Airport til Haneda Airport popping by ;)

I fell in love with Fukuoka during my three months stay in 2011 and I've been longing to go back ever since. Unfortunately I only have about 10-11 days to spend this time around, but I am sure I'll  have many new experiences by the time I have to go home. And lots of photos!

Speaking of photos, here are a few from my last trip:


Lovely view of the city and mountains in the distance from Fukuoka Tower <3


Night life.


I love how you can get a scene like this just a 15 minute boat ride from the city.

Late March - early April is cherry blossom season which means I'll be there just in time to see them this year! 

Needless to say, Japan has been a lot on my mind lately.
I started packing already a week ago, perhaps subconsciously thinking it would speed up the waiting time. (it did not).

Japan has also managed to sneak its way into my sketchbook and designs for my Zazzle store.
I made a design with the kanji for cherry blossom (sakura) with some flowers surrounding it.

 

You can find it in the store if you're interested :)

I know I keep saying this, but I really will try to update this blog while I travel ;)

Can't wait til I get there <3

From the forest

Some updates on my online store

Sometimes I almost forget I have an online store. 

The last few months have been rather quiet and I sold nothing. 

Until a couple of weeks ago that is. Because all of a sudden the sales went up again! 

Oh joy. I was so excited. 

So excited in fact that I found motivation to start designing again. 

For some reason I really wanted to do something with feathers. Lots of feathers. 

I ended up researching those fantastic native American headdresses and figured I'd try and make something like that.

Now, I wish I had more WIP-photos from this project. But unfortunately this is all I have:

At least you can get a look of the design before I started filling it in.

Aaaand here's the final result!

  

It took me a long time to finish it. The pattern sections may look random, but they're not. 

I always try my best to make conscious choices regarding where I draw certain patterns, hoping to create balance in my designs.

All in all I am very happy with how this drawing turned out!

If you are interested in buying something with this design you should head over to www.zazzle.com/tekslus,

as there should be all kinds of different products available pretty soon :)

A melancholic moment in spring

My good friend Silje and I were out on a walk around the Campus park one late evening in the early spring. As the sun went down I suddenly felt really inspired to shoot some photos and Silje ended up as my model, or should I say my victim. Haha

The bleak light of twilight gave the photos a slight melancholic vibe, sort of overshadowing the atmosphere of the earth waking up from its winter hibernation.

I decided to use this melancholic feel and then further enhance it in Photoshop.
The result is this:

Now, what kind of bugs me is that blogspot has slightly changed the colour of the photos and I'm not really sure what to do about that. Anyone else got this problem?

Body of the soul

“What men call the shadow of the body is not the shadow of the body, 

but is the body of the soul.”
― Oscar Wilde, A House of Pomegranates