Proposed t-shirt designs for SFL Dumaguete

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A tribute to Tita Eve

Below is a short reflection I shared during a memorial service of Dr. Evelyn Tejada who died battling against breast cancer last October 27, 2010.

I remember Tita Eve saying in one of her sharings that she wasn’t scared simply because God was with her.

Yes, we came to know Tita Eve in this community as a servant fighting against cancer. So, it was as if it was our calling to enter the SFL (Singles for Family and Life) community, at the same time, join Tita Eve in her journey with cancer. The first time we knew about her condition, we couldn’t get any hint of sadness and discouragement.  Instead, she shared and declared this suffering to us with a big smile and full of hope and love.

I believe the moment she knew she had a cancer, it was not something she had to prepare for a battle. It was more of an important mission given to her by God to not stop serving Him, and use this as a tool to inspire people.

Tita Eve was like our second mother in this community. And every single time she addresses Tito Boy as “AMAHAN”, and us as “Mga buotang bata”, our household felt like a complete family already.

I think the last prayer or service meeting we had as a household was held in their house. And the agenda was the recently concluded CLS (Christian Life Seminar).

In her last abled strength, she was there for us together with Tito Boy, throughout the CLS. It was like she wanted and waited to see the new Singles to graduate and grow as a community before she departs. And true enough, we are growing. This is the only gift we could ever offer to Tita Eve and to Tito Boy as well.

The very last time we saw her was in the hospital few weeks ago. She was already weak and can barely open her eyes. Together with Mama, Papa, and my wife, we prayed over her. And as we were about to leave, she opened her eyes widely, and waved goodbye with a smile. We didn’t realize that was the last time we would ever see her especially her smile.

In the midst of all these, her passing away should not be filled with much sorrows, despair and sadness. Rather, we should celebrate. We learned a lot from this experience with and through her.

She may have lost the battle against cancer, but we should also realize that what’s more important, she has carried out her mission as a servant of God victoriously.

Tita Eve truly is a symbol of hope, strength, dedication, and inspiration to our community and to everyone else around her; that her condition was not a huge deterrent to serve God; that indeed, faith should never fade in times of great ordeal.

Tita Eve, we will miss you. God bless you all.

 

this is it!

Wow! It’s been what? 7? 8 months since I did some updates on this site? Poor blog, you’re all covered with dusts! LOL!

So yeah, here I am again… I’m back! I just realized how outdated this site is. You see that blog infomation on your right? Yes, it’s been updated just today… right before I’m making this post. See previous content below — just a snippet of it actually — and you’ll know why:

A webmaster by day and a freelance artist by night…

It’s embarassing, right? Nah. At least you get to track my career path… NAKS! 

Anyways, this  post is not just about reapprearance of me after a long hibernation. I’m here to share the project I’m working on right now. There’s two of them, but I’m not allowed to divulge the information of the other one. So now, I can finally show one of the things that really keeps me super busy. Check it out below:

Yup, the comic’s main title is The American Mastiff. That’s the 1st Chapter, and we’re now on Chapter 2. Wohoo! The layout (second image) is a screenshot of the site… an ingenious way of telling a story. Kudos to the author, Jose Quiñones, who did the layout. Yes, this is an online comicbook. So, it’s free! Visit the site here: www.theamericanmastiff.com. Enjoy, guys. By the way, I did all the pencils down to final coloring. I’m really enjoying this job hehe!

I’ll share more details about The American Mastiff soon. For the mean time, you can head over to its main site. Enjoy!

a dream come true

So many good things have happened to my life since I resigned. Oh, by the way, some of you may not know, but, yeah, last October 9, I just quit my full-time day job and decided to go freelance, particularly on taking commissions as a mixed media comic artist. Yes, it was considerably a bold move and a very risky decision to make — knowing that I’m already a married man, but I took my chances all for the sake of ambition, or shall we say… lifelong DREAM. And you know what? It was worth it.

However, at first, everything wasn’t very easy. Major adjustments had to be hurdled. And I was constantly shrouded with fears and anxieties because techinically, I am unemployed wherever you put it. Honestly, I almost reached the point of being drowned with regrets. But I held on and continued striding. I remained optimistic on all these and coupled that optimism with prayers. Eventually, I passed through all trials with perseverance and God’s grace.

Now, blessings keep on pouring. And I’m so grateful for all these. Yes, the trials are still there, but praise God, I’m doing good so far. Currently, rhardozed grip studios — yeah, my own independent one-man studio — is handling two independent comicbook projects and the other one is still on pending status. Indeed, this is a dream come true. It’s hard to believe that I have finally  reached this phase in my life where I’d be doing my true passion. And ever since I pulled myself away from regular daytime jobs, God, the Provider, has never abandoned me.

And yeah, I know, it’s still early to celebrate, and there’s more bigger waves to come. But give this newbie a chance and just tolerate the super “shallowness” for a while, alright? hehe!

That’s it for now! Havhugudey!

rhardozed hirit:

I’m so excited to share what I’m working right now, but I’m not allowed to disclose the information just yet. So, lips are tightly sealed wihihi!

why praise if you’re not faving it?

Hi, guys. It’s been a month or so since I last updated this blog. Luckily, I was able to find a good topic to post.

Anyways, yesterday, I made a post on twitter with regards to faving an artwork on deviantart. And here’s what I said:

Not to complain, but i just wonder, why do some people at deviantArt give out very positive comments like “excellent job!” but not faving the piece? Just curious.

Yeah, such online activity is still an enigma to me. I mean, basically, if you fave an art piece, it means to say you like or love it. And leaving a comment is even considered a good praise for the artist. But, if it’s the other way around… I don’t know… it’s kind of ironic to think that one expresses his/her “great” appreciation on the artwork in like seemingly “shocking WOW” manner and not hitting the fave button at all. Personally, it’s ok when someone says “Good job!” or “Nice one!” and then leaves the faving part. But phrases like “Excellent!” or “Great piece!”??? I mean, it’s really simple logic: You are liking the piece that’s why you sometimes leave a comment. And you fave it ’cause you “really really” like it. Simple.

Sometimes, I can’t help but question the sincerity of some people who give “uberly” positive comments and not faving the piece. Not that I am complaining. It’s just confusing and odd to me. On the other hand, I’m not generalizing. And somehow, I was enlightened by few fellow artists who responded on the matter. Check their answers below:

Taclobanon: There are ‘collectors’ in DA who comment on art they like but not fave it ’cause it’s not the sort they collect.

AaronTuron: Maybe they liked the work but not enough to please their eyes.

gilbertmonsanto there are two levels of success with an artwork. One is worth commendation, one is worth keeping.

katbanay  maybe excellent but not excellent enough to be faved. OR — they’re just too lazy to click the button.

Among the posts — though all have good points — what really struck me was Sir Gilbert Monsanto’s. He said:  “There are two levels of success with an artwork. One is worth commendation, one is worth keeping.” Great principe by a very respectable artist. It’s like… “That’s it! End of discussion!” I think this is the perfect answer. Somehow, it clears up everything. Though my opinion on the sincerity part is still there. Well, personally, it may boil down to the approach of the commentors. Nevertheless, I’m glad it doesn’t bother me anymore. And it won’t ever stop me from using deviantArt and most especially appreciating art. That’s for sure.

rhardozed hirit:

See, twitter is definitely a good place to discuss some sensible things. And no offense.

A small amount won’t hurt, right?

I’m so FORTUNATE.

I may not have the latest Nokia N-series cellphone, a high-end DSLR camera, a robust laptop, a badass Hummer, the coolest PS3… but I have my family and home. Others? They only have their selves.

See, how lucky and blessed we are?

For me, being BLESSED means you have something to give.

That’s why, I’d like to share some foundations or charitable institutions i know of which you can share your blessings with.

GMA Kapuso Foundation, Inc.
The GMA Kapuso Foundation runs a total number of ten projects under four umbrella programs (i.e. Health, Disaster Relief, Education and Values Formation).

Of these ten, Bisig Bayan, Kalusugan Karavan, Give-a-Gift: Alay sa Batang Pinoy, Give-A-Gift: Cancer Kids, Give-A-Gift: Feeding, Give-A-Gift: Surgical and Unang Hakbang sa Kinabukasan are conducted regularly within the year.

Operation Bayanihan and Kapuso School Rehabilitation take place when there is need for them since both are natural and man-made adversity-based projects.

Finally, the Sagip Dugtong Buhay and Kapuso Para Sa Kalikasan are special events programs designed to heighten public involvement and volunteerism from among the Kapuso.

ANAWIM LAY MISSIONS FOUNDATION
ANAWIM is the home of 55 abandoned elderly plus a few orphans and physically and mentally handicapped persons. Click on the button below and become a ANAWIM Partner and help us help the poorest of the poor.

ABS-CBN FOUNDATION INC. Sagip Kapamilya
ABS-CBN FOUNDATION INC. envisions a better world for the Filipino child. As the socio-civic arm of the ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corporation, one of the Asia’s media conglomerate, AFI offers programs for children, their families, and the community.

The outreach programs provide assistance to child abuse survivors and disaster victims, child care, and support for educational and environmental initiatives.

Panaghoy Children’s Foundation
The Panaghoy Children’s Foundation (PCF) is a nonprofit, non-stock and tax exempt non-government organization. Our mission is to bring relief to poverty-stricken children in Bohol by providing ample food, assistance in their education and address other needs which may help improve the children’s lives.

Lingap Pangkabataan Incorporated
LINGAP PANGKABATAAN INCORPORATED Care for Children], Is a non-government, non-stock and not-for-profit, faith-based, social development organization established in 1981 committed for holistic development of children and youth, together with their families and communities.

Of course, there are lots out there. But I chose the ones with a local bank account so I can conveniently and instantly deposit donations online — plus, having a bank acount adds credibility to a foundation… meaning, it’s real and can be trusted.

So, there. I’m making this a regular charitable thing now. Trust me, it feels good to help others… absolutely fulfilling!

SHARE AND BE BLESSED!

rhardozed hirit:
You can also help those “Parking boys” on streets by leaving a small parking or labor fee. Attending or watching over someone else’s motorcycles and cars is considerably a noble job than just plain begging for alms

mickey’s new badge collection… MARVEL!

If there’s any “epic” news for geeks out there, this should be it! Disney just bought Marvel for $4 billion! This was announced last August 28, 2009.

That means, all 5,000 characters of Marvel universe are now under the golden shelf of Walt Disney. So, what does this entail? See for yourself… check image below

Brilliant, isn’t it? hehehe! That’s art by Jose Jalapaneo, BTW. All kidding aside though, I think this big decision will surely bring significant mutual benefits between the two big companies. I call this merger “MarNey” or “DisVel” — the latter sounds more bad-ass to me, so I think I gonna stick with that one. So, it’s offcial — I really hate to say this but yeah — DISNEY OWNS MARVEL.

Now, what was my initial reaction? PURE SHOCKER! I mean, it’s Marvel… D MARVEL that I ultimately idolize in the comics world for more than a decade now… was bought by a considerably on a different league DISNEY! That’s totally bizzare to me! — although I do love most of the Disney animated movies. Look… Mickey and Spider-Man… do you see any connections at all?

Point is… Disney is Disney and Marvel is Marvel. It’s like planting a camote beside a Gumamela flower. They’re different from each other!

BUT. Upon skimming through the net and doing some quick readings of DisVel, I realized I may be wrong. “It’s actually not that bad after all,” I said to myself.

Joe Quesada, editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics, also tweeted some reassuring posts:

“If you’re familiar with the Disney/Pixar relationship, then you’ll understand why this is a new dawn for Marvel and the comics industry.”

“Everybody take a deep breath, all your favorite comics remain unchanged and Tom Brevoort remains grouchy.”

“I haven’t seen this much excitement in the Marvel halls since… well, ever!”

“G’ morning, Marvel U! Welcome to this moment in history. Everyone relax, this is incredible news and all is well in the Marvel U.”

These are definitely forehead-sweat-wiper statements for all Marvel fans out there… hehe!

And here’s more straight from big peepz:

“We believe that adding Marvel to Disney’s unique portfolio of brands provides significant opportunities for long-term growth and value creation,” Iger said.

“Disney is the perfect home for Marvel’s fantastic library of characters given its proven ability to expand content creation and licensing businesses,” said Ike Perlmutter, Marvel’s Chief Executive Officer. “This is an unparalleled opportunity for Marvel to build upon its vibrant brand and character properties by accessing Disney’s tremendous global organization and infrastructure around the world.”

How about from a fan’s perspective? My own perspective? Ok, here’s what I believe would most likely happen…

… more Marvel movie line-ups
… more Marvel animated TV series
… more TV series
… more comics production
… and, of course, more CHA-CHING!

So, everybody’s happy, right? But let’s just see. What does DisVel have in store for all of us? What could be their next move… acquire the rights to Superman since he’s technically on a free-agent state? Who knows?

Can’t wait for any new DisVel developments to pop up… please don’t disappoint us… EXCITE US!

new rhardozed logo

If you are one of my watchers/followers on Deviantart and Twitter, then by now, you should notice my new avatar — or mascot? hehe!

Yes, i’ve been meaning to change my look, as far as online activity is concerned, these past few months. And I finally was able to come up with a new one. Really satisfied of this one. See image below.

As you can see, it still has my “g” logo in there. Although this time, it’s been shrinked to a smaller size so it would fit in the headband. I chose gray as the skin tone. Why? Simple! It’s my favorite color… duh! — and it blends well on DA interface. And how about the eyes? Why the black color? No idea, but they’re cool to look at. So, that must be it.

There… my new rhardozed avatar. REALLY LOVIN’ MY NEW LOGO! WOOT!

rhardozed hirit:
actually, the same logo was also used in an old website that i created few years ago — and the logo is still there — only with a different color scheme and headband mark. but no worries, the creator is still me. hehe!

forget about blogging and start tweeting?

Yeah, I have finally jumped on the Twitter bandwagon. Aside from the fact that my boss is in my FB friend’s list — I actually prefer twitter over Facebook  when it comes to updating status and tracking/checking out what peepz have been doing and thinking at a near real-time set-up.

At first, I just found Twitter stupid and illogical. I mean, you update your status, and then what? It’s already public? And there’s also that question, “So, WHO CARES?”

But slowly, I began to appreciate its purpose.

Microblogging is such a good outlet where you can blurt out almost anything… more of letting your mind speak freely. Everything is instant and thoughts can manageably be accommodated to a 140-character post. This is also the very reason why I haven’t been updating this blog for a month already.

Yes, it’s been keeping me away from this site. I even tweeted about this. “i.ph: ur not blogging anymor. rhardo points @ twitter: bird’s fault. it’s makng me post some 140-char topics intended supposedly 4 blogging.” See? LOL.

I don’t know, but shorter posts seemed perfect for people like me who hate composing long entries or simply do not enjoy writing.

But Twitter will always remain what it was really created for. And whether you like it or not, a 140-character post isn’t enough. You’ll always go back to blogging, am I right or am I right? And you can’t post images in your posts, so this simple fact gives you the reason why you shouldn’t stop blogging. But then again, I’m talking about Twitter here… how ironic! Anyways, you get the point, right?

Here are some of my posts on Twitter that I’d like to share with you. As of this writing, I’ve already made 929 tweets in a few-months’ span. NUTZ!

“aside from d whole-day power hiatus yesterday, wasnt able 2 get a gud nyt’s sleep due to “ideas” constantly poking my head. i’m going nutz!”

“not 2 sound judgmental, but 8s too early 4 Noy2x to run for higher office. VP, yes, acceptable, but not 4 Pres. Cory Magic isn’t politics.”

“… my apologies everyone, but that’s what i see here. colleagues taking advantage of the cory magic while people can still feel it.”

“@MaRoxas, my respect for u just went up higher. never have I seen a man of politics so humble & sport… d kind of leader the country needs”

“MarNey… don’t know if I should be happy or not. but. good luck! still a big fan of Marvel.”

“Marney/Disvel’s next move… buy the rights to Superman. just a speculation.”

“@neverdainty dis guy carelessly utters sam words esp bhind ppl’s back. actly, 2tally d opposite of being reluctant wen it comes to dis.”

“@neverdainty yeah. read dat one last nyt. i dont know, i have a bad feeling bout this. Marvel must be really careful not 2 lose their NAME.”

“shameless question from a sillimanian: open pa ghapon ang booth tonight?”

“new restaurants are seemingly sprouting everywhere in dgte in an unusual fast rate. no wonder people are not getting any smaller. kidding.”

“First page of Salakay online komiks will be up soon… but have to come up with a cover first. hmmm…”

“@neverdainty WANTS vs NEEDS… which of the two will win you over for the long weekend?”

“scavenging the insides of my wallet again… checking and hoping if there’s any bills “deeply” hidden… but to no avail…”

“keep those strides and you’ll go places…”

“bravo zulu means “well done” <– got it. karon lang ko kaencounter ani. another just-now moment.”

“funny how a simple looking logo would turn out to be difficult to recreate.”

“doing the “what-does-this-button-do” on flickr. yeah… still a newbie there. hehe!”

“preoccupied of a pending work i left at home. wel at least, its rathr mor of a feelng of antcpation & xytment than being obliged 2 fnish it.”

“”A simple response won’t harm, right? at least, have some courtesy to reply. It’s a bit disrespectful when you ignore comments.” <– SHALLOW”

“… i will make a final decision this weekend. actually, gonna talk it over with my wife.”

“i mentioned about tonight’s watch list… crap! missed all of it. but i had a blast with friends anyway. hehe!”

“good thing i discovered #deviantART after college, otherwise i prolly would have quit schooling hehe!”

“… and the worst part is, the sliding door going to the CR is jammed (for the nth time). had to squeeze myself through the partial opening.”

“arrrgh… the pain of drinking coffee afterwards. i kept on hitting the CR. do u experience this kind of caffeine after effect?”

“having mentioned the watch list, shall i declare a self-imposed hiatus as fas as work is concerned? hahaha!”

“tonight’s watch list: Survivor Phil (GMA), Asia’s Titanic (Natgeo), and Lost Tapes (Discovery Networks)”

“done updating negchron. imma chill for a while. and prolly watch tonight’s episode of survivor phil. then back to “banatan” afterwards.”

“Mar Roxas and Noynoy Aquino could make a good tandem.”

“didn’t realize up until now… 1 more week and a couple of days and it’s the start of BER months.”

“trying to boost the morale of a fellow artist at DA. he said he long retired from drawing and shifted to writing instead. why not do both?”

“i’m really this close to giving up a thing and pursue what i believe i was born for. but wouldn’t want to dive totally blindfolded.”

rhardozed hirit:
… and here’s my Twitter account: http://twitter.com/rhardo — FOLLOW ME! HEHEHE!

new commish category

This is a sample piece for a new commish category of rhardozed grip gallery. I call this, the “Versus commish“. What you will get from this piece:

- An arcade-like versus match-up piece between 2 characters of your choice (full body)
- Colored with simple and uniform background (same BG color and design)
- You decide who’s in the red corner and blue corner with a close-up view of the face.

So, that’s it. For the rate and mode of payment details, just head over to my DA journal.

My schedules will surely go crazy as I am accepting requests again for standard commissions and other collaborations this month — best of luck, rhardo! You’re in for a wild ride.

Anyways, there you go. If you’re interested, just shoot me note at my DeviantArt account: rhardo.deviantart.com

See you there!

rhardozed hirit:
Hey, it’s August 1… and I got a  new post for the first day of the month… very unusual here in rhardozed blog… hehe!