DeviantArt

I recently made a DeviantArt account. To see the art I have posted so far, look up "hiroko-bena". :)

Madame Butterfly

So I have a fun piece to share with you guys today! It's been a while since I've done step-by-step pictures, and I thought I would show this technique.
I have learned from Leilani Joy that you should take pictures of yourself for reference. That way, you have a more unique piece and you are not working from copyrighted photos.

So I first drew out my design and then transferred it to watercolor paper using a light box. Then on my original drawing I drew where the most basic shadows would be. To figure this out, squint at your photo and only copy the shadows that you see.

 I then transferred the shadows using the light box and filled them in with black Copic marker.

And here is the final finished piece! I hope you learned something about how to do this technique! :)

 

Japanese Sewing Addiction

I've gotten addicted to Japanese sewing! Today I finished a Japanese bag I was working on, recycled from an old pair of jeans. It took me two tries to get it right because the tutorial was in Japanese. The tutorial can be found at http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_513215b201017o4h.html. The pictures make it easy enough to follow.
Also, if you want to pick up Japanese sewing you can visit http://www.japanesesewingbooks.com/. This girl guides people with Japanese sewing patterns.
And here is the bag I made!

Another Geisha Girl :)

So as shown by the title, this is another geisha girl. I don't have a name for her yet. This was one of my more time- consuming pieces. It is Copic marker, pencil, origami paper, and watercolor on BLICK paper.

Keiko and Kael

This took a while to make! I chose a Japanese name (Keiko) for the mermaid girl because of the koi fish. Hope you all like it!
And hopefully the next post I make will be about an altered Chinese dress (cheongsam) that I'm making.

Snow White Tattoo Design

This is a design that wasn't supposed to look like a tattoo but it did. I ended up really liking it in the end and did some cool effects on it!

By the way, 1937 is when the Disney movie came out.

Plum Blossom

Hey everyone!
This is a practice Chinese brush painting that I did before painting on rice paper. I've done a few practice paintings but this is the first one that I feel proud of and want to show. The writing on the side is my name in Chinese. I got a kit on Chinese brush painting for Christmas from my friend, Pauline. The only tip I would like to give is that I personally like to use watered down acrylic paint instead of black ink, and it gives the same effects while for me, being easier to use.
By the way, I am also learning Chinese!
再見 or goodbye!

Collage!

This is a collage that I made the other day. I really like it and am very proud of it. Sorry it's sideways. :)

First Ink Drawing!

For Christmas, I got a set of Copic liner markers. For those who don't know what Copic markers are, they are a Japanese brand of markers that are awesome! For my first ink drawing, I drew a tiger.

 First, I drew out the design in pencil to be erased later.

 Since it was my first time using these markers, I made a little key in the back of my sketchbook.

 Then, I started to fill in the design. I also used the Copic blending marker at this step.

 And here it is all finished! It is now living happily in my portfolio!

 

<3 Cassie

Untitled

This is an untitled "found poem". A found poem is when you take a book and only keep certain words and make a poem. This one is from my favorite book Shanghai Girls.

Women
Unimportant
What does it matter?
Who cares?
Illness
Sorrows, pains
War, poverty
Small, insignificant

Men
Fight battles
Perfect
Strong, brave

Women
Endure
Bear agony

Men's hearts
Fragile
Crippled
Broke
Shattered Easily bruised
Tragedies

Dolldelight

Dolldelight is a brand that Cyril Lumboy, who moved to America from the Phillipines created. She designs and makes her own lolita dresses. She's awesome! As of now, I am actually working on a picture inspired by one of her photos.

 A Marvel comics dress that she made.

A gothis dress; one of my favorites!

Memoirs of a Geisha

The picture s kind of small and blurry, but this is Sayuri from Memoirs of a Geisha. I drew her last week. Right now, I am reading a book called Shanghai Girls. So maybe I will do a drawing of the two sisters, Pearl and May when I'm done. :)

Lolita Skirt

Long time no post! My current work in progress is a classic style lolita skirt. It is white with pink roses and green leaves (very vintage looking.) I'll post pictures when it's done!

Amigurumi Bunny

I'm finally putting pictures up of an amigurumi bunny that I made. It's in the same color as the bear with a purple nose.

Newest Inspiration

My newest inspiration is Lolita fashion. I 've been designing Lolita outfits and I found this website called lolitafashion.org with all the styles of Lolita.

Stylish Alice

This is a stylish Alice in Wonderland that I drew and then loaded it into pixlr and gave it a background that I found on photobucket. This Alice was partially inspired by Leilani Joy and partially by a youtube video that I saw.

Photography

I took this picture of a tree  while ago and I decided to edit it. I like how the tree is a shadow and the background is different colors in the blue family.

Alice and the Mad Hatress

This is a painting of Alice and The Mad Hatress that I did a couple of weeks ago. I wanted it to have really bright colors with a really simple, dull backgrond.

Amigurumi Bear

This is an amigurumi bear that I made. I used a pattern for a graduation bear http://allaboutami.tumblr.com/post/6345151773/graduationteddypattern and just made the bear part. It's pretty cute!

The 5 Elements

These are my latest works in progress. They were inspired by Leilani Joy's 5 Elements paintings: chi- earth, sui- water, ka- fire, fu- wind, and void. She used the Japanese names to name her paintings, but I will be using the English names so that I'm not stealing her work. But, I will be using the Japanese symbols!

 earth

fire

water

wind

void- I think she needs a little work. I'll probably changee the hair.

I'll post pictures of all of them when they're done!