Interview with talented Illustrator Danielle Pioli

Hello everyone, today I'm interviewing my first illustrator, Danielle Pioli caught my eye with her beautiful, adorable illustrations so, who is she? 

lets take a closer look 

First, introduce yourself... 

My name is Danielle Pioli, I'm a character designer and illustrator based in Brazil. 

 

Who inspires you in term of arts in general and illustration?

I can say that animation has been my #1 inspiration for a long time now, but lately I've been finding inspiration in a variety of medias, such as movies in general, classical paintings, music, comics... And also in things that are not about art. Life itself is very inspiring, and I'm a person who questions and pays attention to stuff, so inspiration comes eventually.

What is your favorite style of illustration? 

That's a tough question! I love too many different styles and my favorites keep changing from time to time. I'd say that what really sticks is a cartoony style of characters, environments and props. I love cartoony stuff.

What style of illustration do you find challenging ? 

When it tend to be more realistic is a lot more challenging for me. It requires a lot of practice to do things realistic and visually correct, such as anatomy and lighting for instance.

Name other illustrators you admire... 

There's a whole bunch! It's hard to say, there are old artists like the Disney's 9 old men, very known artists like Loish, Nicolas Marlet and Pascal Campion, fellow artists like Justin Rodrigues, Zac Retz, Amanda McFarlane. The brazilian artist are also extremely talented! Julio Cesar, Limetown Studios, Gabrielle Schauerhuber, Sabrina Eras. I can never think of them when I need. But just go through my Pinterest and you will find all of them around there!

Who are your biggest supporters? 

I can say I have receive a lot of support through my journey. My boyfriend and my family have always supported me and I appreciate that so much!

My audience / tribe also are sweethearts and they often make my day with their support!

What do you enjoy doing other than illustration?

Like I said, I'm a person who questions. I do a lot of research in the subjects that interest me, such as new age spirituality, witchcraft, psychology, wellness and a bunch of other stuff.
I also enjoy being a normal person and binge watching Netflix. 

What are your favorite films/TV shows/ books and musicians that keep you inspired?

I don't know of things that keep me inspired. Inspiration comes to me when I manage to keep myself in a good state of mind. Then it seems like the world opens up to me and I see inspiration in whatever comes.

Animation movies, "the Art of" books, though they can be very inspiring, they can be overwhelming as well. I love them a lot, but sometimes it's too much and get me from inspired to self conscious about my art. Anyway, I love seeing other artist's sketchbooks and all "the Art of" (like I said before).

I get inspired a lot by stories. When I watch something that tells a good story in a very nice way, it turns a switch on inside me and I feel like producing something.

Music is also a good way to get inspired since it's usually relaxing or releasing. But when you get to understand the story behind a certain band, a certain album or a certain song, that's what takes you to the next level, you know?

To name a few things I like and keep me inspired:
Music: Patti Smith, The Beatles, David Bowie, Bob Dylan, Grateful Dead.

Tv shows: Game of Thrones, Adventure Time (I watch a whole lot other series, but these ones are inspiring for me in their own way).

Films: I like horror movies and one that opened up a door to me was The Witch. But I love The Lion King and the teachings in Pocahontas are amazing. Series and movies are a hard topic to talk about, I watch and love too many!!

Books: Just Kids (Patti Smith), Women Who Run With The Wolves, The Art of... (specially Tangled), Man and his Symbols.

What scares you the most? 

Living a meaningless life. Not doing what I love, not saying what I have to say, not exploring all I have to explore. That shit is scary!

You share a lot of teaching materials, have you ever thought about publishing a book? 

Yes, I have thought about that! I don't feel like I can teach artists anything at all, but I like sharing what I know and how I see things.

The tips I share are stuff that helped me and I hope will help others as well.

Let's see about the book :)

Whats your favorite thing to draw? 

Female characters. I just love the feminine world and all the depths of a woman.

Can you say that you have your own style? and what do you call it? 

I think a style is something you do your way based on all your references. I can't say I have my own style, or that I even want to have. I do different styles from time to time and it's good to be able to vary from one style to another. But I believe that with time we put a bit of ourselves in any style we draw. And I think that is the important thing.

What's the best advice you can give to all the art lovers out there? 

The things you love are the things you should be talking, drawing, writing about. Find what you love to do, to study about, to watch, listen, read about and make your own world with those elements of interest.

Everyone will tell you to practice and that IS important, but also know what you are practicing for.

With the modern day technology and gadgets, what's your favorite drawing related gadget? whats your favorite app or program and have you said good bye to pen and paper? 

I still use pencil and paper a lot. And I also use new technology gadgets like my Wacom Cintiq and Photoshop.

I think it's nice to balance and get to know it all. There are a lot of art materials out there that I haven't touched yet that could be a nice add-on to my art in any mean.

What's your favorite illustration by you? 

Good question. Hard to say but I think it might be my Viking - Shieldmaiden piece.

What's your favorite illustration by someone else ? 

Oh I can't choose one! Don't make me do it! haha
Recently I've been studying Loish work (revisiting it, again and again), and I simply love the "Blossom" one.

Where can we buy your art ? 

This is my international Etsy shop: http://etsy.com/shop/daniellepioliart
And for the brazilian people, this is my brazilian shop: http://daniellepioli.iluria.com

You can find Danielle in her links below:

My website, you can find averything there: http://daniellepioli.com
Instagram: @daniellepioliart - http://www.instagram.com/daniellepioliart

Facebook: Danielle Pioli ART - http://facebook.com/daniellepioli

Tumblr: http://daniellepioli.tubmlr.com

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/daniellepioli

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/daniellepioli

Twitter: https://twitter.com/daniellepioli

Behance: http://behance.net/daniellepioli

Periscope: danepioli

Snapchat: danielle.pioli

Start Where You Are a Journal of Self Exploration By Meera Lee Patel

Welcome back to my blog...
Today I'm bringing you a happy, sweet and bubbly fluke. a little while ago I went to the bookstore with an aim of finding something that would inspire me and make me want to work on myself and my blog more often. I picked up a number of books that are written by my favorite motivators. As I was browsing books I heard the announcement that the store was about to close, and just as I was leaving my eyes met this beautiful little book with a beautiful watercolor design on it and I had no idea what it was but I had a good feeling about it. On my ride home I opened the book and was in love with it, every page, every idea just made me turn one page after the other and today I will sum it up to you!

The mind behind this beautiful piece is a beautiful illustrator named Meera Lee Patel whose a self-taught artist raised by the New Jersey shore, where she swam the bright waters and climbed cherry blossom trees until she grew old enough to draw them. Her illustrations are inspired by the magical mysteries of nature, the quiet stories that lace through everyday life, and the bold colors of her native India. 
Her first book, DAILY ZEN, was published by Ulysses Press in October 2014. 
Her second book, START WHERE YOU ARE, was published in Fall 2015 by Perigee (Penguin USA).

Now let's beak down this book!

So, this book is written and illustrated in watercolor. on each page there's a beautiful illustration with a quote and on the opposite side of the page there's something for you to do. 

while going through these little tasks you'll see that you're starting to think about things a little differently and possibly you come to realize the small things a little more.

flipping through this journal is an unstoppable motion I pretty much finished it in one day and wanted more!

While researching Meera I found this video of her paining as a collaboration between her and Free people. it's beautiful to watch.   

These beautiful illustrations and more can be found on Meera's Etsy 

Check out Meera's Website

Follow Meera on Twitter - Instagram  - Facebook 

 Buy her book from Amazon - Indiebound - Powell's - Urban outfitters -

My final thoughts about this book is it's a beautiful, thoughtful and very deep personal book. although it can give the illusion that the targeted audience are young adults, I enjoyed it a lot and it really put a smile on my face and was a great inspiration! I give this five stars and will buy this as a gift to a loved one. 

for more information you can email me at reemwrites@gmail.com 

don't hesitate to tweet me at @reemsjournal    

Something Blue: things to train your brain that are blue :)

Today I wanted to talk about a number of things that have two things in common. the first is that they train your brain and make you feel great and the second is that they happen to be blue!



First on my list is my new addiction the Elevate App!

Elevate App as described in their website is a new type of cognitive training tool designed to build communication and analytical skills. Members are provided with a personalized game-based training program that adjusts over time based on performance.
Elevate has been selected by Apple as the App of the Year for 2014. Since launching in May 2014, Elevate has been downloaded more than 10 million times on the App Store and Google Play.
for me this app is so much more!
First of all, the app is very elegant. the graphics are so crisp, clean and simple. the layout is pretty easy to figure out on your own. 
After you download the app, you are required to create an account which only takes few moments. after that you are free to use this app! 
Everyday you take three different tests and they vary between math, writing, memory and focus and more! 

After each test your result are kept to determine your progress over the weeks. you can schedule your sessions according to your plans and choose to be notified when the sessions are available.
when you finish your sessions, you can still practice the same categories that same day. however the next day is usually a different one! 
with time you will find it easy to go through each session with minimal mistakes. this app not only made me develop skills I needed, but also made me more confidant and happy with myself.



                                                                               ...

Next app is my all time favorite and will forever be << maybe that's a bit much but I'm like that

it's Monument Valley

it's described as an illusory  adventure of impossible architecture and forgiveness . its a puzzle game developed by USTWO .
You lead princess Ida ( the main character) through mazes of optical illusions that are beautifully 
 inspired by Japanese prints, minimalist sculpture, and indie games Windosill,Fez, and Sword & Sworcery, 
and was compared by critics to M. C. Escher drawings and Echochrome.

 The art was designed such that each frame would be worthy of  public display. After a closed beta test, it was released for iOS on April 3, 2014, and was later ported to Android and Windows Phone.

The game received generally favorable reviews. Critics praised its art and sound design, but noted its lack of difficulty and short length. It won a 2014 Apple Design Award, was named Apple's best iPad game of 2014, and sold over two million copies by January 2015.

why is it good for your brain? 
this is not a game. it's an experience. the graphics, the music and the simplicity made people all over the world fall in love with this beautiful piece of art! so many people loved the story line of this game that they decided to create fan art about it. the official Monument Vally Tumblr account shares fan art from all over the world.

                                                                   an example of fan art by painted castel 


                                                                             ...


My list can not be completed without a book! 

and my little Blue book is called : This book will make you mindful by Dr Jessamy Hibberd and Jo Usmar . 

what this book is really about is how to be mindful. how to live in the moment and really enjoy it. how to have better control of your emotions and feelings. 
I recommend this to everyone who'd like to have a better life emotionally and truly live in the moment.
full book review coming up soon! 

Thank you so much for reading this. I really hope you enjoyed it! 

please don't forget to follow my
 instagram @reemwrites 
and my Twitter @reemsjournal 
leave me a comment or email me at reemwrites@gmail.com

February favorites 2016

This month I'm posting my favorites on time because I'm better than the person I was last month :P

So this month my favorites are pretty random so..., Let's get going

  My first item this month is an Old Navy sleep shirt. I bought it two sizes bigger to feel cuddled by it.

I pretty much live in it these days! I usually pair it with a fluffy robe I got from New Look and a pair

of thick socks.

My next favorite is an activity! I'm finding my passion for cooking! Believe it or not I'm starting to enjoy creating healthy and yummy meals. I'm obsessed with food network and cooking blogs! I found this blog with very easy recipes! Take a look 

.

Another food related item is organic greek yogurt with rhubarb by Rachel's. I am fighting pneumonia at the moment and I felt like crap for the past week, just yesterday I ate an entire cup of this and felt a lot better after that! I do recommend it!

My next passion is adult coloring books! I know it seems so un-adult like but it's quite soothing and relaxing! My favorite is art therapy coloring books for adults. It comes with a very detailed illustrations for you to color. Some pages come with few details already  colored to help you decide your color scheme and others are 100% all on you!

an unfinished picture 

the work I'm so proud of 

The only thing that made me a little upset was the fact that the papers can not handle Pro Markers and I have a small collection of Pro Markers that I'd like to use but I can't because it bleeds through and that means that you lose the page on the back and with that said I can say that my next favorite item is my faber castell watercolor pencils artist grip 36 pencil set. I love this so much! What I love about it the most is the fact that you have the choice to use it as colored pencils or paint over them with a damp brush to blend the colors beautifully. I'm kind of addicted to it but it is truly relaxing and therapeutic.

 Moving on to my film of the month

Room 

I wanted to see this movie for a while now and I'm so glad I did! This movie gave me so many feelings! The level of acting is amazing by all actors and this is the type of film that you can watch years from now and still love it!

Spoiler alert! Story line ahead

ROOM tells the extraordinary story of Jack, a spirited 5-year-old who is looked after by his loving and devoted mother. Like any good mother, Ma dedicates herself to keeping Jack happy and safe, nurturing him with warmth and love and doing typical things like playing games and telling stories. Their life, however, is anything but typical--they are trapped--confined to a windowless, 10-by-10-foot space that Ma has euphemistically named Room. Ma has created a whole universe for Jack within Room, and she will stop at nothing to ensure that, even in this treacherous environment, Jack is able to live a complete and fulfilling life. But as Jack's curiosity about their situation grows, and Ma's resilience reaches its breaking point, they enact a risky plan to escape, ultimately bringing them face-to-face with what may turn out to be the scariest thing yet: the real world. Written by A24

My next favorite is a new Tv seires at least to me called Wired Loners

It's a comedy about  four relationship-phobic people are unexpectedly thrust into one another's lives and form an unlikely bond in a townhouse in Queens, NY.This is not the type of show that you'd get anxious if you miss an episode. This is the kind of show that you'd enjoy while multi-tasking. It's funny, kind of awkward and sometimes even very relate able.

My list can not be completed without a book and this month my book is also a comedy!

I've been a fan of Shane Dawson  Youtube channel for quite sometime and when I got his book " I hate myselfie"

 I didn't expect much of it but I have to say I flipped through this book so fast! It's straight to the point, got that sassy sense of humor that many find offensive, each chapter pretty much a different story and as a bonus Shane actually included fan art into the book. Each artist was giving a preview of a chapter and was told to create a fan art about it.

I really like this book. It's pretty easy to read and quite personal! Stay away if you're easily offended 

though buy the book here.

Things to come :

I'm looking forward to start working on some of my Keri Smith books. Also I'm still obsessing over Game of thrones that I'm latterly having dreams about it!

Thank you so much for reading this. I really hope you enjoyed it and don't hesitate to leave me a 

comment or email me at reemwrites@gmail.com

Have a nice day!

    

  

January Favorites 2016

I welcome you back after being gone for almost a year. can you believe it?!! A WHOLE YEAR!!
well, I honestly had so much to do and those who are close to me knows well why.
anyways, since its February I decided to make a January favorites (First time ever!!)before its too late. I know my blog is all about photography but this year I'm shifting things around! Don't worry I will still throw an interview here every once in a while.
now, where were we?! ... oh yeah my favorites for the month of January!
Lets do this...

So the first item is something I got last year and still love so much.
my Massimo Dutti clutch bag with a gold chain. what I love about this bag is the amount of details in it, the exterior and how it looks perfect worn in either side.
the inside is also just as impressive with a built in card holder that can hold up to six cards. there's plenty of space to hold your cards, some cash, your phone and a bottle of perfume and even some make up items!

speaking of make up! my next favorites were a happy fluke! I had a fashion emergency and went to a drug store for some make up and found my favorite lip liners and lipsticks!
the shades I love are every shade people are wearing right know. the nude pinks and the nude browns aka Kylie Jenner signature colors. these lip liners are by a company called GOSH (I just heard of them) and they are pigmented and Matt.
the first shade of lip liner is called 001 Nougat crisp it's a nude pinkish lip toned color, the most natural color there is. I love pairing it with a lipstick in the color 003 Antique for  brownish nude lips.
for a nude pink lip  the color combo is lip liner 002 Antique Rose and lipstick in color 002 Rose. these colors are a great replica for the Kylie Jenner lip ket, in my opinion any good Matt lip liner and lipstick will do as long as you apply them the right way. what I love the most about GOSH Matt lip liners is how long they last and how well they go together. I totally recommend them for all skin tones.

here are the swatches 

the first combo will give you this Kylie look 

and the second combo will give you this look 

My next favorite make up item is Benefit They're real Gel eyeliner.

the photo from their official website 

 It comes with this magical applicator that makes winged liner easy for girls like me (aka girls who have one dominant side) you twist the bottom of the liner and it pumps the liner into the applicator and voila! there you have it! its also a long lasting water proof wear so enjoy.

My favorite nail polish forever is by Essence and its called grey-t to be here. I love this color I think it compliments me and looks good with everything.

 and here's a photo of the dress from the official Zara website 

Since we are still in fashion mode my next item is actually a dress! 

I got this dress from Zara and I love everything about it. the fabric is soft and a little stretchy so it complements any curves you have, the colors are just beautiful and at the back there's a sexy back slit as a surprise. I paired this with maroon leggings and brown suede boots.

I decided to join everyone and actually try the magical hair brush that straightens your hair and ever since I got it I couldn't stop using it! it saves so much time and gives that natural straight look to the hair when used properly. I won't be making a review since everyone in the internet already did.

Perfumes are my favorite things in the world. for this month I have two favorite perfumes. the first is Poppy by Durance.
I just love how soft, romantic and feminine this perfume is. its very simple and medium wear. works perfect for people who cannot stand strong perfumes. also, this company became my go to for perfumes because of how simple and elegant most of their products are.

Prodigieux® le parfum by Nuxe is my next favorite this month. if you are familiar with this company you'd know that this perfume and about everything else smells like a beautiful garden! this perfume is very luxurious and rich but yet subtle and soft. I have a bottle of this in my bag at all times.

For skin care I can never give this product enough praise. the bioderma sebium purifying facial foaming gel for acne prone skin is perfect for those bad skin days. it keeps the skin fresh, it gently cleans it with absolutely no irritation . I usually use this product along with the intensive purifying cream for best results.
for removing my make up I use the facial cleanser Sensibio H2O for sensitive skin by biodrema. it removes pretty much all the make up in one wipe and keeps your skin refreshed and soft for the rest of the day!

This month my favorite app is blendoku. it's a puzzle game where you try and figure out where each color should go. It's beautiful, challenging and perfect for artistic people or anyone who loves colors.

The book of the month is the hardest thing for me because once I start talking about a book its almost impossible for me to shut up. the book I picked is called (The power of the heart): Finding your true purpose in life by Baptist de Pape. the thing I love the most about this book is you can learn from eighteen of the world’s greatest spiritual thinkers, writers, and scientists, including Maya Angelou, Deepak Chopra, Paulo Coelho, and Eckhart Tolle. all these amazing mentors giving advice in this one book. this book made me feel excited about life again. no matter who you are and what you do I guarantee this book is going to benefit you one way or the other.

P. S: actual book reviews coming soon!

The movie of the month goes to (The Revenant). While exploring the uncharted wilderness in 1823, legendary frontiersman Hugh Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio) sustains injuries from a brutal bear attack. When his hunting team leaves him for dead, Glass must utilize his survival skills to find a way back home to his beloved family. Grief-stricken and fueled by vengeance, Glass treks through the wintry terrain to track down John Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy), the former confidant who betrayed and abandoned him.
YES! Leo did it hopefully an Oscar this year!

I Have to shamefully admit that I started watching Game Of Thrones about two months ago ...SHAME!!

but I watched all five seasons and now I feel empty waiting for the final season. so the show is about  several noble families in Westeros at war , the children of the former rulers of the land attempt to rise up to power. Meanwhile a forgotten race, bent on destruction, return after thousands of years in the North. << this is the most non- spoiler way to put it since I've seen so many spoilers for the past five years. what I have to say about the show is there's a lot of killing, blood, nudity, sex, creepy family members seeing eachother naked, power and money. but there's something about that show that made me want to see more. this is the first time that I watched something of this sort but I can't wait for the next season.

and that's all folks! I hope to post next month's favorites on time!
thank you everyone for reading I hope you enjoy this. Don't hesitate to share :)

for more info contact me on my email reemwrites@gmail.com