kurokumo

Hello followers! Sorry I just dropped off the face of the deviantART earth. This is to let everyone know that I've just created a new blog to accompany my art website. I will be posting regular updates and it'll include content such as finished illustrations, doodles, work-in-progress screenshots, info on upcoming events and newly published work. Check it out here and feel free to subscribe!

Ciel-Art Blog!

My dA updates will be scarce as I'm not very active on this community any more so I apologise for not replying to any comments or Notes! If you really need to get in contact with me, please send me an email instead (which you can find on Ciel-Art.com). Thank you~

Sorry for not writing a journal in ages! I've been really busy and have been consumed by life, basically. I will summarise key events below since last year:

Published Work
• Eyeko Manga - I spent 2 months drawing a web comic for Eyeko Beauty, which was updated weekly. You can read it exclusively on the Eyeko website here: Eyeko - My Manga Makeup
A copy of the manga was given to each customer who purchased something from the Eyeko stall at the London Expo in October 2009. It's a limited edition printed booklet and the web comic is currently on hiatus.

• Secret Colours - A full-colour 90 page artbook showing the process of artwork from sketch to completion from various artists. Two of my images are featured - one is an old piece 'Lilith's Blue Rose' and the other a new piece 'Monochrome Dreamer'. It is available to buy online, if you'd like a copy please see Kairi-Moon's journal for ordering details~ ^^

• Talking to Strangers - An anthology of short stories written by Fehed Said and illustrated by various artists. I drew the art for the story "Static". For more details please see the Official Press Release!

• Genki Gear - A vector design of my original character "Lilith", featured on t-shirts, hoodies and jackets by Genki Gear! The t-shirts are available in RedxBlack, Maroon and Aubergine colourways~


Art
Sadly, I have been so busy that I haven't had time to do any personal artwork, hence the lack of updates in my gallery ;_; I have tons of unfinished pieces sitting around my PC so I hope I can get round to doing some illustration stuff again soon~


Social Life
I actually have friends and I actually go out 8D Last year I started dressing in lolita fashion (cute frilly dresses from Japan for those unaware XD), attending as many conventions and meetups as I could. I got to know a lot of really awesome friends that way, which has made me feel much happier in recent months~
The first half of 2009 was a really crappy time for me, so right now I just want to focus on being as happy and carefree as I can. I used to get so caught up on being serious and hardworking and worrying about everything, which stressed me out a lot and made me feel miserable. I just want to take a break right now and have fun. I'll get back to reality and be boring once I sort things out.

Will try and update my dA journal again soon! Writing journal entries is such a chore, so much easier to Twitter and Facebook XD See you guys around~

Hello all! I'm now an in-house designer & illustrator for Eyeko Beauty! For those who are unaware, they are a London based cosmetics company selling various products with a focus on cute Manga-inspired packaging. Their makeup is available to order online (with free shipping anywhere) but also available at most Superdrug stores.

Eyeko made their first promo appearance at IMAF (2004 or 2005, I forget...I recall seeing their brand for the first time at one of those events) and attend London Expo regularly.

It has been 2 weeks since they hired me, and in that time I've been really busy doing a lot of graphic design stuff and preparing new products for the Japan Expo in Paris happening on the 2 - 5th July 2009 (tight!!).
I'll be attending this expo and selling goods at the Eyeko stand! I'm really excited, I've never been to Paris before o__o

If you wanna know how I got the job, here's a little story: I entered Eyeko's Manga Competition (I submitted mine for the original May deadline!). Eyeko saw my entry, and noticed the link to my website in my signature. They saw more of my work at Ciel-Art.com and really liked my stuff, then arranged to meet up with me and view my portfolio. We got talking and they offered me the job there and then XD I couldn't believe it. This is exactly the kind of job I've been wanting to do forever, and it just landed in my lap.

My very first task in this job, was to update the Eyeko head logo. They wanted to improve it, not change it entirely. Here's the new version which I've created, and all of Eyeko's products will gradually switch over to the new logo~!


Although my main role is designer/illustrator I also have tons of other responsibilities such as updating/managing all their social networking accounts (Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, Vox, YouTube), uploading/managing new content for their main website, answering people's enquiries about the Eyeko Ambassador program, promoting the brand on various forums, researching any and all relevant manga events to exhibit at, appearing at these events and selling products at the Eyeko booth, liaise with suppliers, write the theme tune, sing the theme tune...

Since I'm now an Eyeko staff member, it means I'm disqualified to win the competition *sob..lol* Contest now open til the end of June, so good luck to everyone else~~!! I will be working closely with the winner in creating the packaging for the limited edition Eyeko product. I look forward to finding out who the winner is ^^

So yeah...that's my exciting and epic announcement! Thanks for reading.