Friday, December 20, 2013

Elsa Drawing

Part of my Disney Character Series!

Friday, November 29, 2013

My Comfort Food

A memory: It is 2006, and my brother has flown over from college in Korea to visit home. After days of patiently watching him sleep like the dead, he finally takes me to the movies like he promised he would. We walk to the local movie theater on Burrard Street in Vancouver, Canada. Mom has wrapped us in one more layer than necessary and we are both a little sweaty as we trek through the snowy streets. We enter the warm theater and immediately the bright concession stand lures me over. As I approach the stacks of candy and the popcorn machine pumping out fresh yellow popcorn, my brother whispers, “pick anything you want, just don’t tell mom.” I feel as though I’ve won the lottery. For the entirety of my life, I had been surviving under my mother’s whole wheat, brown rice, sugar-free reign over the household. But my brother was paying now. I get a pack of Sour Patch Kids, a box of M&Ms, a Medium size bag of popcorn gleaming with butter, and an apple juice on the side. As I sit with my arms full in the red velvet seats, I am as comfortable as I will ever be. I ask my brother if he wants some of my M&Ms and I am relieved when he says no. 
            After I fell in love with the concession stand at the movies, my brother dutifully took me to the cinema with every visit and allowed me to eat whatever my heart desired. The experiences, although they may not be filled with wholesome food, were ones like no other; they were truly the best kind of dinner and a show that I could imagine. Even now, as he approaches his thirties and I prepare to take on my final year of high school, I am stubborn in my dedication to movie theater junk food. I have come to incorporate my beloved cinema snacks into the changes in my life; whenever I move to a new neighborhood or city, my first order of business is to find a large movie theater with plenty of food for my brother and I to enjoy. Through all the moves, from Korea to Canada to America, knowing that my brother would take me on our secret binge of overpriced yet delicious movie snacks is what always seemed to tether me to some vague sense of security.
             A December or two ago, when my brother and I last went to the movies, I didn’t think about that snowy day and the experience that started our glorious tradition. But as I watched the cars whiz by and the heard explosions blast around me in the darkness of a new theater in a new city, I took solace in the fact that I was experiencing something familiar; that these short moments I spent with my brother were as gratifying as the snacks I got to eat while with him. 

Friday, August 30, 2013

Drawing of Orlando + Flynn Bloom



So I recently saw this photo of Orlando Bloom holding his son and I thought it was super cute! So since I haven't one a lot of realism in a while I decided to do a graphite sketch (: 

Sunday, August 18, 2013

Giraffe Drawing!



Just thought I'd share a quick sketch of a giraffe that I did last night!
Hope you like it (:

Saturday, August 10, 2013

Exciting News: You Are Special!

I have exciting news! So I recently entered a competition held by Cartoon Network. We were told to write a short story about anti-bullying and draw up a couple pages of storyboards to go with it. My story, called You are Special, was selected! 
After I received the good news, I proceeded to draw up over 70 pages of storyboards and write a full script. Cartoon Network then provided me with the amazing opportunity to voice some characters with my friends and even have some voice actors come in to work on this project. Tara Strong (voice of Bubbles from Powerpuff Girls) and Jeff Bennett (voice of Johnny Bravo) also were nice enough to come and work on my cartoon. 
Anyways, the link is below, and I hope you enjoy watching it! We all worked very hard on it! 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SEP1oNcBVk

Thanks for watching!


Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Book Review #32 ~ The Alchemist

As much as I love reading, I have to say that the only reason that I read this book was because it was on my summer reading list. Although it was tedious to read at first, I thought that the book became increasingly interesting as I went on. So here goes:

The Alchemist ~ Paulo Coelho

The alchemist is a Fantasy novel by Paulo Coelho about a shepherd boy named Santiago who has a dream about finding treasure. He is compelled to follow his dream of finding hidden treasure among the pyramids in Egypt. This is all about trusting in the Soul of the World and believing that there are forces in the universe that want us to be happy. The soul of the world is a sort of spiritual unity that binds together everything in nature, from humans to even rocks. In order to find his happiness, Santiago first has to discover his personal legend (what he is meant to do in the world). In order to accomplish your personal legend, you have to learn to connect with the soul of the world. This is all about Santiago’s journey to pursue his personal legend and fulfill it. During Santiago’s travels, he meets an alchemist, who is a very rare being that knows how to turn any metals into gold. The alchemist is incredibly in touch with the soul of the world and nature around him. He gives Santiago advice on how to be courageous and trust his heart. One of the central themes of this book is the danger of fear. Fear comes up several times throughout his journey, and each time Santiago must put that aside in order to truly pursue his dreams. Fear is also a large issue in the Alchemist. The greatest obstacle that usually stands in Santiago’s way is his fear that something will go wrong. The author even includes a character in the book, the crystal merchant, who is deeply unhappy because he has allowed fear to stop him from achieving his dreams.Another theme in this book that comes up very often is achieving your dreams (personal legends). Dreams constantly come up throughout the book. Almost every character is following his or her dream, and the author is really encouraging the reader to follow his own dreams and to count on the universe to help them achieve their goals.There is also one other issue that comes up in the alchemist, and that is the issue of love and its importance compared to your personal legend. Santiago falls in love with a girl on his journey to find his treasure, and he really must battle with what is more important – continuing to work to fulfill his goals or stay with the girl that he loves.
Overall, I genuinely enjoyed the author’s style in this book. He uses very simple and easy to understand language and there’s not much that you have to sit and ponder over. He usually makes the messages he’s trying to get across very obvious. It is written almost like a biblical parable, and contains many simple yet very profound statements.Although the fact that The Alchemist is often on core reading lists might make readers veer away, it is definitely worth a read! 

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Movie Review #7 ~ Argo

So as I mentioned earlier, I am always very late to catch up on things that people have seen or read a long while ago. Which explains why I only just saw the movie Argo. 
This movie opens in Iran at the United States embassy; it is being seized by violent Iranian protesters during the height of the Iranian Revolution. Meanwhile in America, the CIA is busy trying to get the Americans hiding in the Canadian ambassador's home back home to the good ol' USA. This is when Agent Tony Mendez comes in to save the day. They come up with a brilliant plan to sneak into Iran safely and sneak out with their lives. Within a matter of days, they come up with and publicize a fake movie, ARGO, that they will pretend to film in Iran in order to get the Americans out. As Agent Mendez risks his life and goes to Iran, they go through a series of turbulent events that make your heart race and your toes curl up. 
I thought that the movie was excellent. It was very good at making the audience hold their breaths as the characters overcame obstacle over obstacle. The actors were very well selected and the characters were portrayed quite well. The graphic scenes of the horrendous things going on in Iran at the time were very authentic and helped me to visualize just how terrifying it must have been for everybody. I do have a bone to pick with the plot of the movie itself, however. I do agree that coming up with the whole 'fake movie' idea was brilliant and pure genius, but honestly, the whole movie is simply them creating a fake movie, going to Iran, and getting the people out. Literally, that is all that happens in the movie. I understand completely that it was the whole intention of the movie, however I wished for a little more denouement. What happened to the movie, for example. But other than this, I thought it was definitely a movie worth watching; it was also quite informative and taught me quite a bit about what happened during the Iranian Revolution. 
P.S. I love you Ben Affleck (:

Monday, July 8, 2013

Book Review #31 ~ Rebecca

Hey Y'all. First off let me apologize for the lack of posts lately... I have been so busy with summer school. :\
Anyways, one of the books that I got a chance to read was:
Rebecca ~ Daphne Du Maurier
True, it was a requirement for our summer reading list, and yes, I acknowledge that in the beginning I thought the book to be incredibly dull. But as I read on, I found that the book was a lot more intriguing than I thought it was. WARNING: the following may reveal some important plot points... but you find out near the beginning anyways. 
The book opens with our main character, a shy girl who is paid to be a companion to an unpleasant woman, Mrs. Van Hopper. They are vacationing in Monte Carlo when they run into Maximillian de Winter, a wealthy man, owner of the famous Manderley Mansion. The young lady (who, by the way, remains nameless throughout the entire novel) and Maxim get to spend their mornings together in Monte Carlo, and inevitably, she finds herself swept off her feet by this much older man with money, possessions, and a complicated past. 
Rather abruptly, the two decide to get married and with that, Maxim takes his bride to live with him in Manderley. The young woman feels quite out of place at her new home; everybody seems to be comparing her to Rebecca, Maxim's first wife, who had drowned not a year ago in the nearby sea. Rebecca was a charming, beautiful woman whom everyone missed dearly, and it was very disconcerting for Mrs. de Winter #2 to see that everywhere she turned there were memories here and there of Rebecca in the mansion. Everything is kept the way that Rebecca used to run it; it feels to her as though she is merely a visitor in Rebecca's home. And to top it all off, Mrs. Danvers, the housekeeper, despises her. Simply because she is not Rebecca. And so, the Rebecca that seems to haunt the mansion and everyone in it begins to haunt her too. 

I rather enjoyed reading Rebecca. I have to admit that in the very beginning I often rolled my eyes and wondered just how boring this book would get, but as the plot got more and more complicated and situations became twisted, everything got so much more interesting. The book has an eerily beautiful mood to it; almost creepy, but still beautiful. I've got to say, the only thing that bothered me was the fact that the second wife's name is never mentioned in the book. Not once. Mrs. Du Maurier seems to taunt us by describing the name, but she never reveals it. I suppose this is because she wants the name Rebecca to ring out when you finish then novel. Rebecca and only Rebecca... o.o 
I would definitely recommend this novel to people who like a mix of mystery, horror, and romance. This is the novel you want to curl up with by the fireplace on a rainy day. 

P.S. There's a movie in black and white too. If you want to watch that (:

Friday, March 1, 2013

Book Review #30 ~ Perks of Being a Wallflower

Unfortunately, I happen to be very slow to catch up on trends, hence the late book review. -.- 
Recently I finished reading the famous:
Perks of Being a Wallflower by Steven Chbosky.
Overall, I thought that the concept of the book was very relatable. It was a short, sweet, and sad story. The book is written as letters to an anonymous pen pal. 
The story is about Charlie, a 15 year old shy, awkward boy just starting high school. He is fighting through the stress of the suicide of his best friend, his first love, and his own mental illness. As he struggles to get through high school, two seniors, Patrick and Sam, come to his side and takes the vulnerable boy under their wings and befriend him. They show him around parties and help him to get used to the real world. Time goes by and Charlie becomes a stronger person leaning on his friends. Charlie's final letters close with a feeling of hope and determination for the future.
The characters in the book are very interesting, making the book enjoyable to read. Although I wouldn't give it as high a rating as most others, I thought that the book was overall okay. One thing that I thought I would've liked better was a more concrete plot. Overrated, but enjoyable.

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Book Review #29 ~ The Call of the Wild

So I've been reading classics lately, and one that I came across was:
The Call of the Wild: by Jack London.
I normally think that classics can be a bore, but this book was definitely an exception. The book is written from the perspective of a dog, Buck. He is a physically impressive dog who lives the good life in sunny California. His luxurious world is turned upside-down when he gets stolen and put into dog slavery. For him, this means pulling a ridiculously heavy sled through miles and miles of frozen ice with little or nothing to eat. To top it all off, he gets frequent beatings. Buck is completely bewildered until he begins to adapt to his surroundings and learn from the other dogs.There are no rules or morality of any kind. He lives with a kill-or-be-killed way of ruthless thinking.
As he becomes stronger in this new environment, he works his way up to the leader of the pack; and as he makes the long, never-ending journey, he finds friends to support him.
I thought that this was a very interesting book, and very well-written considering that it was written from the perspective of a dog. I happen to love adventure novels, so this book was perfect for me. The only thing that I may have to criticize is that as the story progressed, some things were repeated so many times that it became slightly boring. (for example, the beating of the dogs... although I suppose that it was somewhat significant, I thought that it was described to a great detail over and over again.) All in all, I thought that the book was great; definitely worth a read!!

Sunday, February 10, 2013

Movie Review #6~ The Magic of Belle Isle

The Magic of Belle Isle DVD CoverSo I'm back from watching another amazing movie that I just felt I needed to share with you guys.
It's called The Magic of Belle Isle, starring Morgan Freeman. (You can't go wrong with a Morgan Freeman movie. You just can't.)
The movie is about Monte Wildhorn, an old, grumpy, alcoholic man confined to a wheelchair. He used to be an incredibly talented author, but after losing his beloved wife to cancer and after taking up drinking, he gave up writing. Hoping to recapture his creativity, he rents a small cabin on beautiful Belle Island for the summer. He just happens to rent the place next to a friendly family next door--A very stunning single mother and her three young daughters. As he strikes up a tender relationship with the family, he finds the inspiration he needs.
Oh goodness, this movie was absolutely touhing. I thought it was a beautiful movie, how Monte touched the lives of so many people. It was really amazing to see Monte change from a bitter old man to a friendly companion; The movie was definitely worth watching.
It was a cute story, with cute kids. Hope you find the time to see the movie someday~~!

Friday, February 1, 2013

Drawing Blog

Hey Y'all!
So I've decided that since I enjoy drawing so much, I might as well set up a whole blog with all my drawings on there.
http://thedrawingdreamer.tumblr.com
There's the link to my drawing blog; hope you enjoy! :)
*As a sidenote, I won't be posting my drawings on this blog anymore; it's going to be strictly writing! So if you're wondering, "Hey Sherryn, where's all those awesome drawings?" They're going to be on the link above. Thanks for sticking around guys!!

Thursday, January 31, 2013

Seahorse S

So. I thought I'd share with you another art creation of mine ^^
I drew up an Seahorse in the shape of an S and it turned out a lot cooler than I expected, so hope you enjoy~~ hehe