PixelFucker Blog

A friend from work showed me an art workshop event which will be held this weekend. The style of art is paper block printing. I immediately got very interested after I read through the event’s synopsis. This exhibition’s titled “Little Prints” and is to start on Saturday at 2:00 PM. I told my friend to reserve a spot for me and my girlfriend right away.

Hence on Saturday, My friend, my girlfriend and I began our little art journey together. We arrived there a bit late (2:35 PM) due to various reasons. The place is located in quite a nice area which I didn’t know before (although the place is just a few blocks from my house—perhaps because I haven’t got out much lately).

Location of The Art House


By the time we got there, the demonstration and workshop have already started. The workshop’s managed by Thai-Japanese duo artists (Napapon Kurae and Tamawak Akimitsu). The duo’s also known as OTTOTTO. They were very nice in explaining every details about the process of paper block printing from conceptual planning, sketching, all the way to how to bind the illustrated pages.

The artist shows how to make paper block printing


The artist and his book


The artist at work


The artist prepares his print color


We also had a chance to lurk around the exhibition areas and took some shots of finished works by the duo art masters. The works really remind me of my childhood and how simple things can be so beautiful and fun.

In and around the Art House


One of the pieces up the wall


Finished works available for close examination


Bound and read for enjoying


Another finished work


Our friend also got her hands dirty and got a very nice 2-page illustration done complete with a cover.

Getting started


The cover of finiahed work


Look what's inside :)


I must say the whole experience was very insightful and fun. For those who’ve missed the event, you may enjoy the exhibition from August 1-32, 2004 at:

Address: Rajata Art House 52 Samsen 5 Road, Bang Khunprom, Bangkok
Tel: 0.2201.2115

Note: This entry of my blog has nothing what so ever with my normal subjects. But I’d like to keep a piece of my thought about a current event online.

Probably, by now, most of Thai people domestic and abroad already know about a Thai girl who was a porn movie actor and her movie (which was taken a few years ago and at that time she was 19 years of age) just became very well known to Thai public.

Just a bit of background information about porn in Thailand; it’s illegal for anyone to partake in a porno movie (I’m talking XXX rate and not about one of those movies that uses camera angle to hide the fake kissin’ and stuff) selling porno materials (including but not limited to porno VDO, VCD, DVD, and Sex toys) or even own a XXX porno movie. Despite the fact that selling porno flicks is illegal, you can go practically anywhere and buy one.

Well, I got my own thinking on this as I never thought of staring in a porno movie would be such a high crime or a big subject for that matter. The topic even went on air the other night (on a talk show much like US’s 60 minutes). I felt, however, pathetic toward the Police department as I think even if they want to rid of porn movies in Thailand, this is clearly the wrong approach.

I have no right and no voice to tell the department what to do. But the department has no need to make this matter such big news. It seems almost like the police dept wants to be famous for getting a big break on cracking the porn industry. I believe the investigation should have been conducted in a more discreet manner and somewhat protect her as a witness as well. From the television show, I got the feeling that the police has some prejudice feeling about the woman that she is not a decent woman and that she has been a porn star, therefore there weren’t much need to protect her. When you come to think of it, (at least from my perspective) her crime is quite minute comparing to murderers, corrupters, and thugs that seem to roam the kingdom rather freely and proudly. Some may even appear as a high-ranking officer or even as a politician. The department should be working hard on other matters instead of catching a helpless porno chick.

Another important point I wish to state is if the department’s true plan is to eradicate the problem once and for all, making this as a big news won’t do much good. Do you really think that the guy who had the movie shot would be around for the police to catch him? Hell no! He’s probably gone out of the country by now (assuming he’s in the country at all). All they will get is the lowest bottom of the porn chain industry and that’s people who are buying and selling porno VCDs--not the big guys.

My personally voiceless rantings

1. While they are conducting a quiet investigation with the porno lady, they should try to go up the food chain and try to get to the top. But the top guy could be one of your bosses in the government sector? :)

2. Nat, the porn star, probably know little or nothing about who was really behind the thing. She’s merely an actor. Don’t be so harsh on her!

3. What have the police department done up until now has been aggravating the situation as people are even more curious about the girl and how to acquire the flick. You are saying you are trying to crack down and bust the people who are distributing the VCDs, at the same time you are creating the demand for it. Before this thing went red, I bet less than 10% of Thai population probably has seen the film. But now I think almost all has probably seen some forms or parts of the movie.

4. This issue will probably last for a few days or weeks before it went away and all the Thais will forget about what ever happened.

5. Porno materials should be legalized. This I’m talking about not only the movies but also the toys and whatever adult materials you can think of. But you should legalize it with a system to support it. It should be created so that there are supervising organization and rules to govern it. As for example, the material can only be sold to an adult (18+). And the law should be strict enough. I believe such system has been working perfectly fine in many civilized countries and will continue to be so. By doing so, porn materials can be taxed and the country will even get revenue & profit out of it. (Much like how I’d like Casino and alike to be legalized)

6. For Nat, I’d like to say that although you have been in porn movies and photo shoots, It was your decision and your decision alone. You may regret about it and I also feel deeply sorry for you. As I know no one would want to be in your shoes. I really liked it when you admitted firmly about what you have done and willing to take the full responsibility. Keep on the fight, and be strong.


Here are some pics of her which are being posted everywhere on various News sites:

It's been awhile since my last doodle as recently I've been putting a lot of time and energy to my book project and photo trips. Last night, however, I felt compelled to draw something differently from Vector and Painting versions of Himapan Creatures. My favorite subject for drawing and sketching has always been figures of woman. I think female body's very beautiful and very interesting to draw.

I did this piece entirely in my G5 machine. The entire paint session was done in Adobe Photoshop. The rough sketch was created in about 15 minutes and the actual paint process was done in about one hour. The original document's 300 DPI and 8" x 10" in dimension.

I was planning to visit the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew again to get all images of mural paintings last Saturday because last weekend the place was overwhelmed by tourists. A friend of my, Soon, picked my girlfriend and I up and headed to the place. Reached there at around 9:00 AM but it seemed like the place was even more crowded than previous weekend. So we decided to visit Wat Pho first and gave time to let tourists leave the vicinity. Spent about a good 1 hour at Wat Pho and took some pictures around the temple.

Wat Pho (Wat Phra Chetuphon Vimon Mangkala Ram)



Beautiful Prangs within Wat Pho



Ancient Massage Diagram



After that, we walked to the Grand Palace and do our photo mission. Again the place was infested with tourists. We tried to take some photos but no luck at all as there were too many people walking left and right. This makes taking photos of the murals an impossible task to do because some tourist just don't care whether there's someone trying to take a snapshot..they just walk across the shooting Len. I was a bit pissed but we were outnumbered 1000 to 3. So I suggested our team to skip Wat Phra Kaew and go directly to Wat Ben instead.


See how crowded it was at Wat Phra Kaew


I think it was a field day for some students too! But why did they have to sit there and block the walk way?



Wat Ben or Wat Benchamabophit was very nice temple and there were very little tourists that day. The temple has European influence on Thai architecture. In some parts, however, you can feel the presence of Chinese style as well. Although there weren't many Himapan arts here, you can still spot a couple of Singhas statues within the temple.

A Beautiful Metal Statue of Singha


Best of all, there are 53 Buddha images collected from all over Thailand located in the cloister.

The most revered copy of Phra Buddha Chinarat



Various postures of Buddha













What I have learned today:

A friend of mine at work, Kung, brought up an issue about snakes and legs. So I search and found this:-

Do Boa Constrictors Really have remnants of hind legs?---(Source: Boastore.com)
Boas are among the most primitive of existing snakes. They have visible claws near the base of the tail, which some scientists believe are actually remnants of hind legs. In the males, not only are the claws highly visible, they are used in the seduction of the female.

I'm not much of a Harry Potter fan, but I just happen to notice a creature in the film to be quite interesting and similar to what I'm doing for my Himmapan (Himapan) creature book. The animal in the film Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban named Buckbeak is a part eagle-part horse creature. The official name to this creature is "Hippogriff" which is
a combination word derived from 2 words; "Hippo"(which means horse) and "Griffin".

According to Encyclopedia of Britannica, Hippogriff is a legendary animal, half horse and half griffin. Its father was a griffin and its mother was a filly. It is often found in ancient Greek art and appeared largely in medieval legends. It's however strikingly similar to a "Ussadorn Vihok" in Himmapan (Himapan) legend.

Buckbeak, a Hippogriff in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban


Ussadorn Vihok in Himmapan (Himapan) Legend



What I have learned this weekend:
1. The book I participated in is now being printed and will be in stores world wide by September 2004.

2. Thai measurement: 1 Yod (๑ โยชน์) = 16 kilometers.

3. You may go to Comixpress.com if you wish to have your comic printed. They provide comic on demand service. (Learned from reading a post on David Luscombe website

I periodically contribute illustrations to quite a number of magazine as it's a good way to practice my art skill and is a good way to get to know other people who work in the same field. This time is I contributed a piece to Vektorotika, an online PDF magazine focusing on Vector arts. The magazine's managed by Godot Guntoro who is a digital artist himself.

The latest issue of Vektorotika (Issue# 5:Toys/Games issue) is now available for a grab at vektorjunkie.com. You may click here to fetch the file directly.

This issue features works from various International vector artists including:
▪ Adith -Indonesia
▪ Aidil Muladha (egotime.alegodesign.net) -Indonesia
▪ Alejandro Pantoja (www.leplancton.cl) -Chile
▪ Almightyrobot -Sweden
▪ Christina Gakopoulou (www.cg-art.de) -Germany
▪ Christoph Reiprich (ww.leplancton.cl)
▪ Cristiano Ripanucci (www.mwgraphics.it) -Italy
▪ Damien Weighill (www.daddy-ears.com) -UK
▪ David Åberg (www.starmate.se) -Sweden
▪ Devon Wolfe (www.rabidpiranha.com) -Canada
▪ Dom2 -Indonesia
▪ Dying Angel (www.dying-angel.com) -Indonesia
▪ estudio IMG -Brazil
▪ Eugene Artsebasov -Russia
▪ Goncalo Branca -Portugal
▪ Ingo “tHIGHler” Fischer (www.byebyebabylon.de) -Germany
▪ Jan Hähnel -Germany
▪ Jara Cordero -Spain
▪ Lonnie Yordan (www.sweatyhand.com) -Indonesia
▪ Michael Shpaizman (www.digitalmutations.de) -Germany
▪ Nicolas Marchal (www.ovocom.net) -France
▪ Nine_c -Canada
▪ Pablo Gostanian (220experimental.com.ar) -Argentina
▪ Paul middlewick (www.paulmiddlewick.com) -UK
▪ Paulo Piedade (www.caracolas.net) -Portugal
▪ Pete harrison (www.wirestyle.com) -UK
▪ Peter Steineck (http://cloudcentral.deviant.com) -USA
▪ Purna Karya (www.kamikamu.com) -Indonesia
▪ Richard Ade Arifin -Indonesia
▪ Rudi Adrianto (www.distorsi.com) -Indoensia
▪ Sailormoon (www.sailormoonillustration.tk) -The Netherlands
▪ Sandra García -Colombia
▪ Shieko (www.supasoniksnailstudio.com) -Malaysia
▪ Sofus Graae (www.graaeish.com) -Denmark
▪ Stephen (www.popcornfactory.com.my) -Malaysia
▪ Tema Semenov (www.vectorizedme.com) -Russia
▪ The unknow John Doe (www.phato.cjb.net) -Italy
▪ Virginia S. van Slimming (www.vs2x.com) -The Netherlands
▪ Wynn Fermin (sexypixels.cjb.net) -USA
▪ Yongkiat Karnchanapayap (pixelfucker.net) -Thailand
▪ Yop -Indonesia
▪ Zulkifli (zoelqivlie.dk3.com) -Indonesia

Previous issues can be downloaded by accessing this page

Cover page of Vektoritika #4


An art piece by paulmiddlewick.com featured in Vektoritika #3

Because I'm engaging in a couple of projects about thailand, one about traveling in Thailand (for my work place) and one for my personal book, my friends and I decided to take a small one-day trip to take some photos around Thailand old city, The Golden Mount, The Grand Palace, Phra Kaew Temple, Rajanada Temple, etc. The result's pretty amazing. Besides my girlfriend and I, the team of photographers comprised of Soon, Keng and To. This entry of the blog will be more of a visual feast for those who enjoy Thai culture.

We start off the trip (late at around 11:20am) by visiting Wat Theptidaram. Pictured below is Sala tree (Couroupita guianensis Aubl.). According to Buddhist tale, Sala tree is the tree which Lord Buddha was born under)

Sala Flower


Here at Wat Rajanaddaram, we saw the one of a kind metallic castle (Loha Prasada) built in the year 1846.

Loha Prasada


Then we took a walk upward to take some photos of the Golden Mount.

The golden Mount at Wat Sraked


After sightseeing around the area, we decided to take off for the beautiful complex of the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew. On the way we took a snapshot of the Democracy Monument.

The Democracy Monument


Here at the Grand Palace complex, we experienced rich and amazing cultures, from traditional Chinese stucco statues, Finely detailed mural paintings, and best of all the beautiful Thai style architectural buildings.

Stucco Statue of a lion


Mural painting depicting the story of Ramakien


Mural painting depicting the story of Ramakien


Wat Phra Kaew (Temple)


The palace within the complex



What I've learned this past weekend:

1. Wisdom teeth. Have you ever wonder why would they call these molar teeth "wisdom"? After all, besides being totally useless, they cause nothing but pain pain and pain. Here's what I've been told: They are called "wisdom teeth" because they noramlly emerge during a person's late teens or early twenties, which has been called the "age of wisdom".

2. Code names of OS X versions are named after felines.
▪ Version 10.0 -- Cheetah
▪ Version 10.1 -- Puma
▪ Version 10.2 -- Jaguar
▪ Version 10.3 -- Panther
▪ Version 10.4 -- Tiger

On Friday night my work colleagues and I decided to go see the newest Hollywood flick, I Robot staring Will Smith. This movie’s said to screen in Thailand a day or two before other countries. We reserved 15 seats the furthest rows possible in order to be able to see the screen clearly. The movie’s pretty all right for me. Since I never really had a chance to read the classic book, which was written by Isaac Asimov, I can’t really tell if the story has been twisted or not. But over all, I liked the film and I can care less about what other critics may say.

Also I got belated B.D. present from a friend of mine today consists of a series of 6 illustrated books by a great illustrator, Jimmy Liao. Such a great present and will be a great keep for me.

Sound of Colors


A Garden in My Heart


Love in the Cards


Pourquoi


Mr. Wing


Blinking Seconds





What I have learned today:

1. “.tk” is a domain name for Tokelau. You may also get a free domain name at www.dot.tk

2. Because I’m going to get a DSL soon, I read up a few articles and info on the net. This one is quite a good read, Cisco's doc on DSL

3. On the way home, a friend of mine phoned me and told me that he bought a new DVD. The thing is when he was about to buy a DVD there were 2 choices for him, 5 and 9. He didn’t know what are the differences between the 2. So he ended up buying 9 as it’s more expensive so it should be better. I told him that main difference is just the capacity limitation.

Came home, I researched some more to get the full list of currently available sizes:

▪ DVD-5: single sided, single layer, 4.7 gigabytes (GB) – Common in Thailand
▪ DVD-9: single sided, double layer, 8.5 GB – Common in Thailand
▪ DVD-10: double sided, single layer on both sides, 9.4 GB – Sometimes you see this 2 sided disc in Thailand.
▪ DVD-14: double sided, double layer on one side, single layer on other, 13.2 GB – Very rare in Thailand market.
▪ DVD-18: double sided, double layer on both sides, 17.1 GB – Very rare in Thailand market.

4. While doing the research on that DVD thingy I came across a list of abbreviations for numbers. I think it’s quite useful as you will know how big it actually is when someone say “This disc holds 2.4 exabytes (EB)” :)


▪ Kilo (K) = 1024 (2 to the power of 10)
▪ Mega (M) = 1,048,576 (2 to the power of 20)
▪ Giga (G) = 1,073,741,824 (2 to the power of 30)
▪ Tera (T) = 1,099,511,627,776 (2 to the power of 40)
▪ Peta (P) = 1,125,899,906,842,624 (2 to the power of 50)
▪ Exa (E) = 1,152,921,504,606,846,976 (2 to the power of 60)
▪ Zetta (Z) = 1,180,591,620,717,411,303,424 (2 to the power of 70)
▪ Yotta (Y) = 1,208,925,819,614,629,174,706,176 (2 to the power of 80)

I’m about to say good bye to the old 56k and the annoying modem connection sound forever (I hope). As TelecomAsia (Thailand) suddenly changed its name to “TRUE” and also have special promotions for high speed internet which will eventually allow me to surf the net unlimitedly with up to 256kbps for meeker 590 Baht/month (Approx US$15). I know it doesn’t sound a lot to those who live in USA and/or other civilized countries, it will indeed be a blessing to how I surf net at home for sure.

I ordered the service about a week ago and they said they are able to arrange a technician for line installation (free new telephone line with extra 350 Baht as labor cost) in a week. But since the billing system will be PRO rate that means I will pay the first month in full yet only able to use for 15 days. Being a stingy that I am, I decided to let them install on the 1st of next month.

What I have learned today:

1. Google, a company that never ceased to amaze me, has recently added a new service (http://answer.google.com/answers/) allowing net users to ask any questions and get relevant answer(s) back within 24 hours for US$2.50. I think the fee is rather expensive but hey I think people this system could work. I think I have seen this kind of implementation a few years back but don’t quite remember what site was that.

But for me, just the knowledge readily available within the google search system itself is more than enough for my simple brain.


2. It’s not possible to post direct links to my website (pixelfucker.net) on Pantip.com,the biggest Thailand online community, due to the fact that the URL contains the “F” word. I can only use the IP based temporary URL given by my host provider only.


3. The place where you can request an ISBN (to write and publish a book you need one) in Thailand is The National Library.

Last night I had a chance to review myself as I decided not to do much after posting a blog. I laid down and thought of various projects which have yet to complete. There are quite a few things which still need to get done because I hate starting up a thing and unable to finish it. Putting Himapan project aside, first and second thing that came to my mind were the comic project and the bliss board game project.

The comic project:


Since I was a child, I was always dreaming of becoming a great comicker someday. That dream is yet realized! At the time (around 1980s), I was still a child, I used to draw and scribble along page gutters of my school books. As some of my friends may know, my parents are of traditional Chinese folks. They didn't seem to think that using the blank spaces around school books is a good idea. They insisted that being an artist's not a good idea. As there are more striving artists than successful ones. They wanted me to aim for more "concrete" careers like an Engineer, a Medical doctor, a Teacher or something. I tried to accept their idea, but in the back of my mind drawing comic would be the thing I'd choose.

By the year 1995 I thought Computer field is pretty hot. They agreed with me. So I majored in Computer Science. While studying in this field, I started messing around with digital painting and now have some hope to become a comicker like I wanted to. Thinking back on this issue, if I had a chance to go back in time I would have chosen the same thing again. Because I think if I chose to go for comic at that time, I might have been a computer-phobic and I might not have discovered digital painting at all :0. I'm plannign to do this comic thing again after the Himapan project is over-which could be a year or so from now.


The Bliss Board Game:


This is a long overdue project for my personal Bliss, female clothing line, which photon, a friend of mine, will assist in programming. My girlfriend and I are responsible for the graphic part. It's been on hold for quite sometime. Now I want to resurrect it. Photon seems to be busy at the moment but I'm sure someday he will complete it ;)

Let's hope these 2 projects will soon be complete...

While today’s my birthday and I suppose to be relaxing and all, my girlfriend’s sister just sent me a picture of her hand-drawn caricature. So my friend and I came up with an idea of doing an online caricature service. I think we might start it slowly as I still want to dedicate my life for my office work while having enough time to do my Himapan project. Maybe I have to think it through and see all possibilities with caricature illustrations. What do you guys think about this piece of illustration?

To celebrate my birthday and other 2 co-workers who happen to have the same birth month, my boss took the whole company to eat at a fine Japanese restaurant. Too bad the place is a bit too small, so we have to split to 2 rooms with about 10 persons per room.

I ordered a U.S. Beef stake but it seemed like they ran out of American born cow......so I reorder another dish which suppose to be equally good, NZ. Beef ;). Meanwhile, I was nibbling on my friend's dishes. It arrived the second to last, by that time I was already full with other peoples' food. I had all kind of stuff ranging from various types of sushi, rolls, and teriyakis. It was indeed a good lunch. To top it off, my boos paid it all ;) Now that makes the dish even more delicious.

Here are some faces on my table:






It's almost time to leave, and is time to unwrap my present. My co-workers have all shelled out and bought me a book I've been yearning to get....LOTR-ROTK illustration book. The book contains a lot of very well drawn and designed illustrations for the last chapter of one of the greatest films ever made. Some were used in the process of creating the film. Now I'll have something to read or the next few weeks.

Here is the cover scan of the book:



More factual details about the book:
Title: The Art of The Return of the King
Author: Gary Russell
Book Format: C Format Hardback
No. of Pages: 192 pages
Height & Width: 28.7cm x 22.9cm
ISBN: 0007135653
Publication Date: 3 March 2004

Today is my birthday. I'm turning 27. I know it's quite a big number and many may think I'm quite an old man. Sometimes I feel like that. Other times, I think I'm still full of life and must try new things every day. I guess being old(er) has some goods and bads.

One of the good points is that I'll (hopefully) be smarter than last year. Actually last year I promised myself a resolution which is to learn a new thing for every dawn. I'd say I'm 60% successful in keeping that promise. In fact, I feel smarter than the day before...although just a tad bit. Some may not even be useful for other people except me. (^_^)

Let's see what I've learned within these past few days.

1. Yesterday, a colleague at work asked me a question about why her Internet Explorer wouldn't permit her to save a JPEG file except for .BMP extension. I knew that this problem had occurred to me once. So I did some research and realized that the problem's caused by a Damaged or Unknown program file (active or java) is downloaded to the downloaded program files folder. To solve such stupid problem you can simply empty the contents of the "Temporary Internet Files" folder, and then delete any files in the "Downloaded Program Files" folder that are listed as "Unknown" or "Damaged". Quite a nifty trick, eh?

The full solution was provided on the net and can be viewed at: TweakXp.com

2. I was informed that PayPal.com now accepts Thai as a support country. This means I can ebay like I used to while I as in the States ;).

3. This one is from my girlfriend. She taught me that if my teeth are really dirty (because of coffee stain or otherwise) even though you have brushed already, you can just use a few droplets of lemon to wipe the stains out. --This trick has never been proved by me though.

4. To get a credit card in Thailand you must have a steady income of more than approx. 8,000 Baht (That is around US$200).

Anywho...another great news is that illustrations which my girlfriend and I created are now in the process of printing by FontMonster.org. The book will be titled "Freeware" and should be available by the year end. Here's a sample illustration on the book:




'til next blog...

I bet most of my close friends know what I've been busy working on for the last 4 months. Actually it's no secret as the project will soon be known to the public. The project is the main reason for me to start blogging, because by doing so will help me get a better grip of the project especially on how far it's been done. Additionally getting some feedbacks from friends is quite crucial as well ;).

The project is about Himmapan (Himapan) creatures. Some may wonder what the hell is "Himmapan (Himapan) creatures". To get a better understanding, these are creatures which exist mostly in Asian literatures such as Garuda, Hongsa (Mythical Swan), and many other odd creatures.

The project started because I wanted Thai and foreigners to know more about Thai culture through Thai traditional arts. Although you will not only experience the traditional line art illustrations, but colorized figure paintings, futuristic line art design, along with original photograph and description of each creature will be included as well. There will be a total of 100+ creatures. Each will most likely have 3-5 illustrations. It's quite a big project for me.

But I have a partner who's helping me along with this project. This person can be no other but my long life soul mate ;) Gip.

Here are a few preliminary page layouts:





Stay tuned, I'll have more posted here soon.