My heartfelt thanks and appreciation for all your love and words of encouragement over my loss. I know many of you were deeply sadden by the news especially those who have known Nono through my blog and drawings over the years.
A lovely lady wrote me this:
'I hope you find peace in your heart knowing that I enjoyed seeing him in your art, I hope you don't stop.'
It means alot to me knowing what I do bring joy to people. Although Nono had left us physically, his spirit remains. So no, I wont stop drawing him. I hope his mischievous antics will continue to bring smiles to your face. :)
Well, I've no doubt my boy is having the time of his life above now.
DOGs Campaign Update
Hello everyone!
We managed to raise a total of US$1219.40 + S$260 (less Indiegogo and Paypal fee) for our very first campaign. Yeah!! And this wouldn't have been possible without you. So thank you for your kind contribution and support in any way!
Although the fund raised was only 52% of my targeted amount, I'm very happy, not because of the result but for the experience. Raising the money for printing these postcards is never my main intention of initiating this campaign, but rather;
1) To challenge myself to do something out of my comfort zone. This is something I would not have done in the past. People who know me well would know about my lack of confidence in my works and social anxiety issue. Even doing the monthly bazaar at MAAD is enough to make me so nervous I want to cry. BUT I managed to break through these barriers, one after another (with the encouragement of friends and fans of course!).
2) I'm hoping to get more people to know about my works and to interact more with them. In the past, it'd have been contented for me to hide behind my desk and communicate with people from my laptop but I felt it's time I show you how much I appreciate you by connecting more closely.
3) I'm pushing myself to commit to the cause I'm passionate about (animals). This will motivate me to continue to improve on myself and my skills. By knowing that I'm able to make a difference to the life of simply one more being, I know this is all worth it. On the other hand, it changes the negative thoughts I've on what others think of me/my works into something greater. I realised once I got this perspective shifted, I was able to give of myself more freely as I no longer worry about other's opinion. So you see, it's a two-way thing. I'm not the one helping these animals. They help me grow too.
Through this campaign, I was able to count my blessings. People I know and those I've never even met in real life. It also made me realised who are the ones who genuinely love and want to support me. I even got a surprise from one Backer! This lovely couple, Mr and Mrs Bechard, made a contribution to my campaign and dropped me some words of encouragement on Facebook. Little was I aware then that Mr Gorman Bechard is actually a film director, producer and writer in America! All I knew was they're really sweet and are animal lovers. They even went out of their way to promote my works. Boy, I'm SO honoured!
I hope you can check out this latest documentary by Gorman Bechard, A Dog Named Gucci.
"A DOG NAMED GUCCI is a feature-length documentary that looks at animal abuse laws in the United States, told through the compelling story of one determined man and one loveable dog who made it their mission to change the laws in their state."
Here's how you can support the campaign of this moving documentary, https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/a-dog-named-gucci.
I've sent the 6 DOGs illustrations for printing yesterday. Because it's holiday season, our printer requires a little more time for printing. Hopefully I'll be able to get the postcards by next Friday and mail them out the following week.
As mentioned, a portion of the cards will be donated to various rescue shelters for fundraising and I'll be selling the rest online, in consignment stores and art fair. Half of the profits will be donated to a local dog shelter, Save Our Street Dogs (SOSD). In fact, when you purchase ANY of our DOGs merchandise, 50% will go to them, not just the postcards.
10% of our profits from other merchandise and commissioned assignment will also be donated to SOSD. Feel free to check out our merchandise range or contact me for customisation,
Etsy- https://www.etsy.com/shop/dollgift. (art prints, postcards, tumblers, etc)
Redbubble - http://www.redbubble.com/people/dollgiftbyrheea (ipad/phone cases, pillows, totebags etc)
The end of this funding project doesn't mark the end of this campaign. The journey to promote the welfare of animals has only just began.
Do stay tuned for more updates!
PS: I've emailed all our Backers to get your choice (design) for the Perk since a few days back but I've yet to get a response from a few of you. Do check your spam/junk mail if you've not received my email.
Thank you!
❤ Blessings, Rheea
More exciting Perks (4 days left)!
Time is running out... We're down to the last 4 days of our campaign but still far from our target. Please continue to donate and help us spread the words! Help us help more animals!
We've added a few interesting Perks too - You can now have a portrait of your pet or any animal of your choice drawn in my style.
You can also personalised a balloon house art print with your name(s), and add in a significant date!
You can frame it up and give it as a wedding/ anniversary gift!
AND even have your beloved pet drawn in!
The best part is, you can get these while helping other animals!
More images and details can be found here, www.indiegogo.com/projects/dogs-postcard/x/8916509. Hurry, you only have 4 days left!
Meanwhile, you can start to pick your choice for your Perk if you've already made your contribution. All the 6 illustrations are in! :)
For those of you who have not and would love to get any of these illustrations or all 6 of them, you can find out how to do so here, www.indiegogo.com/projects/dogs-postcard/x/8916509. But I have to remind you that you only have 4 days left, so hurry!
Please continue to help us spread the words too.
Thank you!~
❤ Blessings, Rheea
DOGs 6th Illustration
Completing the 6th illustration of my DOGs series with a night mood. I hope you like it!
Thank you for all the new shares and funders for our campaign over the past week. If you'd like to show your support but haven't done so, you only have 6 days left to do so. Every little support will mean alot to us and the dogs we're helping. Here's all the detail on how you can get our merchandise while supporting a good cause, https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/dogs-postcard
Please continue to help us spread the message!
Thank you and have a wonderful week.
❤ Blessings, Rheea
DOGs 5th Illustration and Updates
FINALLY, here comes our 5th DOGs illustration! I'm really sorry for the delay. It took me quite some time to come out with the desired 'look' for this piece. I hope you like it!
Hide & Seek
Art Print available on Etsy, https://www.etsy.com/shop/dollgift
Thank you to all my new funders and your sharing on social media about this campaign! I can't tell you just how much I appreciate the constant encouragement and support I'm getting right from the start of this campaign - people I know and people I've not even met before. Thank you for putting your trust in my works and for your love for the dogs.
I'd spent my Sunday at a local dog shelter Save Our Street Dogs (SOSD)'s flag day event. Seeing soooo many adorable dogs make me wish I can bring them all home! Unfortunately I'm not able to do that. But what I CAN do is help in small little ways such as promoting the welfare of animals through my drawings and donating a portion of my earnings to aid them in running the shelter. I hope I'll be able to do more as time goes by.
We're down to 12 days before the end of our campaign. Have you already made your contribution? You can donate as little as a dollar or more to receive one of our Perks. Half of the sale proceeds from this campaign will go to a local dog shelter. Every dollar counts!
Find out how you can get one of our adorable DOGs illustrations while supporting a good cause here, https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/dogs-postcard
Please continue to help us spread the message too! Thank you~
❤ Blessings, Rheea
It's that time of the month
HELLO~
It's that time of the month again! That's right, we'll be at MAAD again this coming Friday, 7 Nov. Our DOGs art prints will be ready for sale too. Do come by for some shopping and to say hi!
We're left with 19 days to the ending of our campaign and still very far from our target. :( Please continue to help us spread the words. Every little contribution will go a long way in helping our fur-kids.
Here's a snippet of what you'll get for our 5th DOGs illustration.
By the count of 10. 9, 8, 7, 6..........
Oh and did I mention there's a new Perk added to our list just today? I'm sure you wouldn't want to miss our special *1 for 1 Perk* - 14 postcards, 2 signed art prints and 2 greeting cards. All for the price of 1!
Find out how you can get this amazing reward while supporting a good cause here, https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/dogs-postcard
Thank you very much in advance!
❤ Blessings, Rheea
More about our DOGs campaign
Our DOGs campaign is now live on Indiegogo! As mentioned, the objective of this campaign is to promote the welfare of dogs through a series of adorable dog illustration merchandise, starting with postcards. I'm doing this to also challenge myself to take my venture to the next level by contributing to a cause I'm really passionate about.
A portion of the postcards will be donated to a few dog shelters for their fund-raising events, sold on Etsy, consignment stores and art events in Singapore. Finally, half of the sale proceeds from this series will be donated to a local dog shelter.
Below is the 4th illustration of this DOGs series that you'll get to see printed. You can make a contribution for as little as $1 or contribute more to receive one of our exciting Perks! Every amount will go a long way in helping the next dog.
Click on the link for full details of the campaign >> here.
Pure Bliss~
The art print is already available for sale on Etsy as with the rest of the illustrations.
Thank you in advance for joining us on this beautiful journey.
I'll be posting more updates as we go along, so stay tuned and continue to spread the love! Have a great week ahead~ <3
❤ Blessings, Rheea
About DOGs project and my last basic illustration lesson
On Saturday, I attended the last lesson of our basic illustration course.
Besides imparting more Photoshop skills and tricks to us over the past few lessons, Jimmy also did paint-over demo over each student's assignment to show us how we can improve on our works. It was really exciting to see the transformation of each piece and more amazing to witness the improvement of each student in a mere 12-session course.
Here's what I did for my last assignment. A guardian mermaid of the ocean.
Version 1
Version 2
In conclusion, I'd thoroughly enjoyed this course conducted by Jimmy. I certainly feel more confident in working with a tablet now, using various brushes/ modes to create special effects and light source to make an illustration more dynamic. Therefore I'd highly recommend this course to anyone who wishes to take your Photoshop skill to the next level. If you've missed any of my post on this course, you may read them all >> here.
Those of you who have been following my works will know that I'm currently working on a project about dogs. Here's the 3rd illustration I'd completed for this project. You may see the previous two illustrations >> here.
Rain or shine it doesn't matter. As long as I've got you and you've got me, it's enough... <3
Under The Mushroom
Art print for this series are already available on Etsy >> here. Other products will be available soon so stay tuned!
A little more about this project:
When I started out my creative venture in 2008, I dreamed to put a smile on faces with my light-hearted drawings. Today, it’s even more rewarding knowing I can do more with this gift. I’ve always love animals especially dogs. Over the years, I often donate my works to animal rescue shelters for fund raising events and contributing a small portion of my sale proceeds to local dog shelters. As time goes by, this has become one of my greatest motivations.
This year, I got involved in designing collaterals for a dog shelter. I'm also working on a campaign to promote the welfare of dogs. The idea is to promote the welfare of dogs through a series of adorable dog illustration merchandise, starting with postcards. Half of the sale proceeds from this project will be donated to a dog shelter on top of the 10% from my other merchandise/ commissioned assignment. If everything goes well, I’ll work on another collection with various animals theme. Of course, your encouragement and support is very important!
Please join me on my journey towards helping more dogs (and animals). I'll post updates about this project as we go along, so do remember to subscribe to my blog by clicking on the RSS link below to make sure you don't miss out on any update. You can also follow us on Facebook >> here. Note: Choose the 'Follow' option when you hit the 'Like' button.
Thank you so much for your love and support! Have a lovely week ahead.
❤ Blessings, Rheea
Dogs Onboard & Basic Illustration Class - Lesson 8
It's sci fi time again! In lesson 8, we'd to create a stylized/realistic character for the media/gaming industry.
Besides looking a little stiff, I think she looks pretty cool (and hot?). What do you think? :p
Moving on to a totally different style...
Tiny little things are spotted on a boat carrying huge lollipops! Direction of where they're heading is still unclear.
I've always feel a strong connection with dogs and I really hope to do more for our fur buddies, be it raising awareness for adoption or understanding the importance of giving them a 'forever' home. I'll be creating a series of illustrations with dogs (lots and lots of them!) and having the illustrations printed on tote bags, postcards, calendar or t-shirts. Half of the sale proceeds from this project will be donated to a local dog shelter.
At this moment, I do not have alot of fund to start with so I'll have to look to collaboration or platforms like Kickstarter and Threadless for help. If you've any other suggestion, I'd love to hear them.
Thank you in advance for your support and your love for our fur buddies!
Meanwhile, art print for this piece is available on Etsy.
Have a lovely week!
❤ Blessings, Rheea
Updates and Some Desserts
Happy Monday again!
I know I'm supposed to be posting updates on my 3rd illustration lesson today... BUT I've actually DELETED the files from my thumb drive over the weekend thinking that I'd transferred them to my computer. OMG! Please pray that I'll still be able to retrieve the files on our shared desktop in school this Saturday. -____-'''
Okay, enough nightmare for today. Here's a latest piece I did. Anyone would like some desserts? ^^
I'm giving myself a pat on the shoulder for completing this entire piece with a tablet. All thanks for the practice during my illustration class! Heh.
If you've LIKED our Facebook page, do remember to hit on the 'Get Notification' button to ensure all our updates appear on your newsfeed. If you haven't, you may do so here, www.facebook.com/DollgiftByRheea
Also, I've added more designs to my Redbubble store. Do check it out! :) www.redbubble.com/people/dollgiftbyrheea
Have a great new week ahead~
❤ Blessings, Rheea