I submitted an entry for a drawing contest, specifically the Pandas and Friends Contest held by #welovepandas on DeviantArt this afternoon. It’s the first time I’m entering a drawing contest and furthermore, it’s a topic I really love – Pandas. I thought I would share my inspiration behind this drawing.
This was suppose to be a panda island and not the entire globe but somehow I feel that showing the whole universe in the drawing gives a stronger appeal than just an island. The globe was inspired by the illustration used in my previous post, fishing for designs kills all the creativity. The rest of the ideas came from the fictitious panda stories created by Chewy.
According to Chewy, there’s an island owned by the panda clan and on this not-so-little island lives all the pandas in the world. I kind of change the island to world in this case. While I was drawing, I am thinking what would a world with only pandas and no humans look like? Would it be the same as what we are looking at today? City? Cars? Computers? Or not? I remembered Chewy once told me that pandas are peaceful and quiet animals (though I’m not sure if that applies for the real ones). I’m pretty sure a place with pandas wouldn’t be too developed so no cars nor computers. A boat sounds like a good thing to have to visit the neighbours?
On this island, there are 4 main characters, the panda flying the kite who lives in the blue tower is Pete. His house reminds me of the Weasleys’ house in Harry Potter, he spends most of his time keeping the orange kite flying. He doesn’t really do anything. Pete lives with Farmer Fred, a gardener who enjoys spending his time in the fields. He doesn’t get tan though. Fred has a gluttonous brother (surprisingly, he’s not a pig) who spends 24/7 in the bamboo forest not far off from Pete’s island. We also have Mary (a very uncreative name, I know). Mary loves pink. She lives in the candy house and travels around via the boat. She doesn’t own the boat, it belongs to everyone. The pandas community is full of sharing, care and love. She is easily recognise by the big pink bow on her head. Lastly, the huge one doing the introduction is Gem (he’s a male).
The end. Have you felt asleep? I think I can start writing children story books in the future. :P Check out my entry at DeviantArt and if you love it, please favourite the entry and show your love! All comments, suggestions and favourites are very much appreciated. Thanks for reading this story! 
Before I start, be forewarn that this post is extremely photo-intensive! So, let the story begins. Last Friday was one of the most anticipated day in recent years because I went Universal Studios Singapore with my mum and Sissy! I have been telling people around me how excited I was because it’s the first time I am visiting a theme park in 22 years of my life. The main attraction, Battlestar Galactica was closed since the day before. As I wasn’t planning to take the ride in the first place, I wasn’t too disappointed. Dayna is not a fan of thrilling rides because my fragile heart simply couldn’t take the suspense. I didn’t want to risk myself having a heart attack on any of the rides so roller coasters are a big no for me.
We arrived at about 9.30am and the place was pretty packed. I had not expected such a big crowd since it wasn’t a weekend or school holiday. I was very impressed with the architectures, buildings and design because they are gorgeous! I don’t feel like I’m in Singapore once I stepped into the park. The friendly staff directed our ways to collect the dining and shopping vouchers and we started our day via taking a picture with my favourite animal in the world – the famous Kungfu panda, Po. 
Honestly speaking, I don’t really like this photograph because I’m so tiny in it. I can’t even see my own face clearly. The shot taken by the cameraman of Universal Studios Singapore did a better job and we ended up purchasing the photograph which cost us SGD 10 from the photo studio; The Dark Room. Quite a creative name instead of the usual “Kodak Express” I see in the malls!
Continue reading "My first trip to Universal Studios Singapore"
Valentine’s Day falls on Chinese New Year this year and I’m pretty sure most Chinese will be celebrating the occasion early. Hence, I wish everyone an early Happy Valentine’s Day! I read from the Chinese newspapers that there wouldn’t be any flower delivery service on the 14th of February since most shops will be closed during Chinese New Year. Chewy and I have no plans yet. We will most probably just have a simple dinner since he will only be free during the evenings.
I made the wallpaper above during one of my study breaks. These wallpapers can be found in the resources section and if you want to send some love over during Valentine’s, you can buy the prints over at deviantART.
While working on the wallpaper yesterday, I was thinking of things associated with the occasion. Things and words like hearts, love, balloons, teddy bears and the colours red and pink. I cannot figure out the connections between teddy bears, balloons and love. Does everyone who is in love owns a teddy? Or maybe they always held on to balloons when visiting theme parks? The latter is always the case in Korean dramas. When the protagonist fall out of love, they will usually be shown letting go of the balloon and the poor balloon will fly away. It reminds me of a scene in Princess Hours.
I can understand balloons during Birthdays but why Valentine’s? Are balloons considered sweet things for ladies? Balloons are sometimes also used to signify freedom thus explaining the release of the balloon. Releasing a balloon may also meant that the protagonist is letting go of the relationship. Am I wrong to think that it’s an inverse relationship with love?
My teddy bear
Teddy bears again reminds me of scenes in Princess Hours whereby the male lead gave a teddy bear to the female lead or the bear is a representation of one of the leads and they fell in love. Why bears? Pandas are adorable as well and most robots are cute. However most of the time, bears especially teddy ones are used. Why do you think that’s the case? What makes teddy bears so special?
