New suit, new style, new year. Let's go!
Stay up,
~Cyph
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Eve of a new year
2010. It'll be bananas I'm sure! Quite excited about the adventures that I'll be having with the Baybayin movement/community. Last year of this time I was just getting my feet wet with scribbles and random acts of Baybayin vandalism. Now I'm knee deep and am about to make a cannon-ball splash onto the Baybayin and graphic design scene.
New suit, new style, new year. Let's go!
Stay up,
~Cyph
New suit, new style, new year. Let's go!
Stay up,
~Cyph
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Spoken Word Sunday: Intelect
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Translation Tuesday: "Ch-" Sounds
Welcome to the last Translation Tuesday episode of the year! My, what a journey 2009 has been... to compare my entire mindset, attitude, and Baybayin style in January to now, it's night and day! I learned alot, built with many people, and 2010 is only going to be bigger and better!
But first thing's first. Today's Translation Tuesday episode addresses how to achieve the "Ch-" sound, such as in "Chuck" or "Peaches"...
Again, thank you to all that have made 2009 so memorable and have supported the Baybayin movement! 2010, WE GOT THIS!
Stay up,
~cyph
But first thing's first. Today's Translation Tuesday episode addresses how to achieve the "Ch-" sound, such as in "Chuck" or "Peaches"...
Again, thank you to all that have made 2009 so memorable and have supported the Baybayin movement! 2010, WE GOT THIS!
Stay up,
~cyph
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Happy Humbugs
In this day and age of self awareness regarding consumerism, the echoes of colonization through Christianity, and general ideals that oppose the face value of Christmas, I can't help but still feel happy about the holiday season. I guess I can blame it on all on the great Christmas' that my parents could have afforded both my sister and I as children. I can blame it on the unity that my family had to congregate with the cousins and our ability to get along with each other, play, and give gifts. I can blame it on how much my family cares for one another with genuine smiles and cries.
But I am aware that it ain't all good in the hood. I know there are broken families that make being with them intolerable around this time of the year. I know there are people with no families to confide with throughout the whole year. I know there are those who can't afford to be a participant of the heightened consumerism culture for the holidays.
But I see you, brothers and sisters. I know you're there. For some, Christmas is the worse time of the year because it reminds them of what they don't have, much like Valentines is the worse for some because it reminds them of WHO they don't have. But stay strong, my brothers and sisters. You don't have to have a happy holiday just to be HAPPY. You're alive and breathing, and hopefully eating. I see you and I'm with you.
Happy holidays, stay up.
~Cyph
But I am aware that it ain't all good in the hood. I know there are broken families that make being with them intolerable around this time of the year. I know there are people with no families to confide with throughout the whole year. I know there are those who can't afford to be a participant of the heightened consumerism culture for the holidays.
But I see you, brothers and sisters. I know you're there. For some, Christmas is the worse time of the year because it reminds them of what they don't have, much like Valentines is the worse for some because it reminds them of WHO they don't have. But stay strong, my brothers and sisters. You don't have to have a happy holiday just to be HAPPY. You're alive and breathing, and hopefully eating. I see you and I'm with you.
Happy holidays, stay up.
~Cyph
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Translation Tuesday: Twin (Kambal)
This week's Translation Tuesday is quite different. It's been a while since I did a walkthrough-video of myself creating a Baybayin art piece, so when a client called in to render the word "Kambal" (Twin) into a Baybayin piece, I thought to kill two birds with one stone...
Props to my brother in rhyme, Stimey, for assisting with the videography! So, here's the text: According to Filipino mythology, the supreme being Bathala one day sent a lightning bolt to strike the largest bamboo plant on earth. This split bamboo plant gave two beings, the first man and first woman. The man was named "Malakas" (strong) and the woman "Maganda" (beautiful). I always thought that this symmetery and close relation with god, earth, nature, spirituality and this overall harmony in the Filipino creation story was quite interesting. The idea of natural compliments is the essence of the balanced equations that ties all sciences and theories together. So what about life? What about emotion? These questions are raised in this 24" x 36" poster...
The bamboo, representing the whole idea of Filipino spirituality finding compliments and harmony in nature are represented by the symmetrical patterns around the border, and the two large bamboo poles. Complimenting hues, orange and blue, are each tinting half of the poster. In the middle however, is a hodge podge of colors. I always felt that visually, colors can represent so much simply because there are so many depths to interpret, much like emotion. So, I wanted each dash of color to represent an emotion, and the essence of this ball of emotions is a soul. But if everything truly IS complimentary, and everything essentially has a twin, what is a twin to a soul? A soul mate? A kindred spirit? A best friend? I don't personally know, but whatever they call it, "Kambal" (Twin) seems to be one of those names by which we call such a beautiful pair. On the Baybayin characters I included repetitious strokes to further resonate the idea of "twin". And lastly, the characters in red, which as a color has historically been used for either love or war. Many poets have compared and contrasted the two, but they indeed compliment each other regardless of their extreme outcomes...
Perhaps we're on this planet to find our twin? Our soul mate? Our optimal genetic match? Surely, if the universe is self complimenting with matter to antimatter, 0 to 1, on to off, then perhaps it is our mission/destiny/fate to search for our twin. But to realize our choice as to who our twin is would be a lifelong adventure. If you're lucky enough to actually identify who your twin is, then love with loyalty and leave with honor.
Stay up,
Cyph
Props to my brother in rhyme, Stimey, for assisting with the videography! So, here's the text: According to Filipino mythology, the supreme being Bathala one day sent a lightning bolt to strike the largest bamboo plant on earth. This split bamboo plant gave two beings, the first man and first woman. The man was named "Malakas" (strong) and the woman "Maganda" (beautiful). I always thought that this symmetery and close relation with god, earth, nature, spirituality and this overall harmony in the Filipino creation story was quite interesting. The idea of natural compliments is the essence of the balanced equations that ties all sciences and theories together. So what about life? What about emotion? These questions are raised in this 24" x 36" poster...
The bamboo, representing the whole idea of Filipino spirituality finding compliments and harmony in nature are represented by the symmetrical patterns around the border, and the two large bamboo poles. Complimenting hues, orange and blue, are each tinting half of the poster. In the middle however, is a hodge podge of colors. I always felt that visually, colors can represent so much simply because there are so many depths to interpret, much like emotion. So, I wanted each dash of color to represent an emotion, and the essence of this ball of emotions is a soul. But if everything truly IS complimentary, and everything essentially has a twin, what is a twin to a soul? A soul mate? A kindred spirit? A best friend? I don't personally know, but whatever they call it, "Kambal" (Twin) seems to be one of those names by which we call such a beautiful pair. On the Baybayin characters I included repetitious strokes to further resonate the idea of "twin". And lastly, the characters in red, which as a color has historically been used for either love or war. Many poets have compared and contrasted the two, but they indeed compliment each other regardless of their extreme outcomes...
Perhaps we're on this planet to find our twin? Our soul mate? Our optimal genetic match? Surely, if the universe is self complimenting with matter to antimatter, 0 to 1, on to off, then perhaps it is our mission/destiny/fate to search for our twin. But to realize our choice as to who our twin is would be a lifelong adventure. If you're lucky enough to actually identify who your twin is, then love with loyalty and leave with honor.
Stay up,
Cyph
Thursday, December 17, 2009
FREE SWAG THURSDAY: Christmas Edition!
Be sure to follow The Bathala Project on either Twitter or Facebook for your chance to win a very special FREE SWAG THURSDAY prize: The Baybayin Christmas Card - Magellan's stocking
What you see is poor old Magellan, finding a lump of naughty coal in his Christmas stocking. Above him reads "Maligayang Pasko!" which is Merry Christmas! in Tagalog, written in Baybayin (Nordenx's Baybayin Round font). The colorway of Magellan's garb was inspired by historical documents:
Sort of... So again, be sure to follow The Bathala Project on both Twitter and Facebook for your chance to win this 4"x6" Holiday card print!
Stay up!
~cyph
What you see is poor old Magellan, finding a lump of naughty coal in his Christmas stocking. Above him reads "Maligayang Pasko!" which is Merry Christmas! in Tagalog, written in Baybayin (Nordenx's Baybayin Round font). The colorway of Magellan's garb was inspired by historical documents:
Sort of... So again, be sure to follow The Bathala Project on both Twitter and Facebook for your chance to win this 4"x6" Holiday card print!
Stay up!
~cyph
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Teka muna...
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Spoken Word Sunday: Under Pressure
So, I know I've been rather quiet this past week, but that's because I spent the most of that week rushing to finish this video piece, "Under Pressure".
Music recorded, video edited, and motion designed all in 3 agonizing days by yours truly. Good looking out to my brother in rhyme, Stimey, for shooting the video! This piece was my first real project using Adobe After Effects, to see what I can get done using pre-edited video without green screen or track markers (or money). In three days too! THE POSSIBILITIES ARE THERE, AND THEY ARE NUMEROUS! I can't wait to start working on some Baybayin-incorporated motion work, as soon as I figure out an idea to display modern Baybayin in practical design application...
Stay up,
Cyph
Music recorded, video edited, and motion designed all in 3 agonizing days by yours truly. Good looking out to my brother in rhyme, Stimey, for shooting the video! This piece was my first real project using Adobe After Effects, to see what I can get done using pre-edited video without green screen or track markers (or money). In three days too! THE POSSIBILITIES ARE THERE, AND THEY ARE NUMEROUS! I can't wait to start working on some Baybayin-incorporated motion work, as soon as I figure out an idea to display modern Baybayin in practical design application...
Stay up,
Cyph
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Rebuilding...
While I assess the Baybayin projects that I've lost, which ones I'll just drop anyways, and which ones I'll recreate, here's a non-Baybayin related piece I finished just before my hard drive crashed that I uploaded to my flickr. It's a photochop of me, smashing atoms the old fashioned way. Consider this my "I'm working on it" picture...
Stay up,
cyph
Stay up,
cyph
Saturday, December 5, 2009
This might take a while...
It's been said that the universe is always self-preserving, as is the nature of everything. So, when my harddrive crashed, taking along with it several projects that I didn't back up with it... I can only assume that whatever benefits I get out of this are going to be so grand and fantastic, it will make whatever I lost seem trivial in comparison...
But to my old operating system... it was hard to say goodbye, but I have to admit, Windows 7 is pretty damn sexy. So, my dearest XP, though we met long ago when I was a freshman in college and we shared many secrets, laughs, and cries together, this is an official farewell.
Spoken Word Sunday and Translation Tuesday will be on hold for a minute, as will other works; give me a second to regroup, and I'll get back at ya...
Stay up,
~cyph
But to my old operating system... it was hard to say goodbye, but I have to admit, Windows 7 is pretty damn sexy. So, my dearest XP, though we met long ago when I was a freshman in college and we shared many secrets, laughs, and cries together, this is an official farewell.
Spoken Word Sunday and Translation Tuesday will be on hold for a minute, as will other works; give me a second to regroup, and I'll get back at ya...
Stay up,
~cyph
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Baybayin Modern
A great blog post written by Malaya Design on the modernization of Baybayin. Here's a snippet, but check out the whole post here.
The future is now, it just needs to be thought out before it's implemented. Like the creative designer mantra goes, "Think more, design less."
Stay up,
Cyph
Modifying, modernizing the Baybayin is a debated issue between some writers. Some don’t see a problem with using the Spanish modification by placing a + sign under a character to cancel out a vowel, but some do. It is both right and wrong at the same time, depending on who you are…yeah, it’s vague. I am a traditional practitioner that has evolved to include a variation of it by placing a kudlit above and below the character. I didn’t make it up, I saw it someplace and had an “error 404” episode.And in case Wordpress gets wonky on me, here's the reply comment I (tried to) put up:
Does that mean I condone the use of cancellation kudlits? Yes, to some extent, but I will not bastardize the writing system just because of an individuals ignorance. If anything, I hate seeing transliterations that are blatantly wrong because either the writer or the person wearing the script just didn’t take the time to research and ask questions. There is no “system restore” for this mishap.
Very insightful and well put!
I do believe that modernization of Baybayin is the way to go, however, who would be responsible for doing so? Who should be held responsible to commit to the task of amending a writing system? The Baybayin artists? The tribesmen that still use an iteration of it? The Philippine government? College professors, academics and intellectuals? Consider a similar scenario in which the increasing Spanish-speaking population in America may one day deem it necessary to add the Enye (~n) letter to the American alphabet. Who would be responsible in doing so? And how would such an amendment be standardized throughout the country? Then how would this be distributed to the academic institutions? I suppose one can look at the politics behind the redefinition of Pluto no longer being a planet and being made into public intellect as a reference.
I understand that several Baybayin writers have tried to modernize the Baybayin script by adding new characters to express modern phonetics as well as reconfiguring the kudlits to become more expressive; however, I feel like most of these changes were done independently by the individual Baybayin writer thus becoming unlikely to be held as a standard. Without a cohesive agreement from the "Baybayin community", I think it would be difficult to bring forward a modern Baybayin character set if there are too many individual variations.
I think to successfully modernize Baybayin, several things must take place: First, a committee should be formed to discuss, debate, document and deliberate all Baybayin-related matters. By unifying efforts and collecting opinions, insights, and perspectives, macro-level changes of a writing system could have a stronger foundation to be built upon. Second, the 17 Basic character system should have it's character strokes finalized and standardized to be recognized by the Baybayin community; The problem with making changes to Baybayin I feel is that because of regional, stylistic and individual differences, it can be difficult to communicate the same idea when many are unsure if the character they're writing is founded on a standard character face. But once this has been defined, standardized, documented and distributed, I truly believe that modernization of Baybayin will be a much smoother, calculated and designed process.
As to what we do with this new Baybayin system is a discussion for another time...
~Cyph-----------------
The future is now, it just needs to be thought out before it's implemented. Like the creative designer mantra goes, "Think more, design less."
Stay up,
Cyph
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Friday, November 27, 2009
Black Friday
This is my first attempt at Dynamic Typography, and I realize that some of the frames and perspective shifts are pretty wonky; I'm not that dope at motion design (yet), so what can I say?
The audio is part of Bambu's verse from the song, Slave Thinking, from the Native Guns album, Barrel Men. Dope album, yall should check it out. Baybayin font used was Nordenx's modern script.
Stay up,
Cyph
The audio is part of Bambu's verse from the song, Slave Thinking, from the Native Guns album, Barrel Men. Dope album, yall should check it out. Baybayin font used was Nordenx's modern script.
Stay up,
Cyph
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Translation Tuesday: Happy Thanksgiving!
In this week's exciting episode of Translation Tuesday, we find out how to write "Happy Thanksgiving" (Maligayang araw ng pasasalamat) as well as "Happy Turkey Day" (Maligayang araw ng mga pabo) into Baybayin! Also, the translation of the mysterious RA sound is finally discussed!
Lastly, to purchase the Baybayin Turkey-Day greeting card, just click here! (available only this week!)
Stay up,
Cyph
Lastly, to purchase the Baybayin Turkey-Day greeting card, just click here! (available only this week!)
Stay up,
Cyph
Monday, November 23, 2009
Giving thanks, getting turkey
A week or so ago, I made this typography poster, experimenting with brush styles and trying to fake a 3d look:
So, using similar methods for the type, and with the American holiday of Thanksgiving day coming up, I wanted to make a Baybayin greeting card I could give out to friends. And here we have it:
It reads "Maligayang araw ng mga pabo!!!", or literally, "Happy day of turkeys!!!" I opted for "happy turkey day" rather than "Happy thanksgiving"... I'm not exactly sure why, but I guess it was just funny at the time. That, or I didn't want to let my hand-turkey drawing go to waste.
SO, I'll be special sending these out to family and loved ones, BUT, if YOU want one, just send me $5, which will cover the envelope, printing and shipping, to me and I'll be sure to send you one :-D
Stay up,
~cyph
So, using similar methods for the type, and with the American holiday of Thanksgiving day coming up, I wanted to make a Baybayin greeting card I could give out to friends. And here we have it:
It reads "Maligayang araw ng mga pabo!!!", or literally, "Happy day of turkeys!!!" I opted for "happy turkey day" rather than "Happy thanksgiving"... I'm not exactly sure why, but I guess it was just funny at the time. That, or I didn't want to let my hand-turkey drawing go to waste.
SO, I'll be special sending these out to family and loved ones, BUT, if YOU want one, just send me $5, which will cover the envelope, printing and shipping, to me and I'll be sure to send you one :-D
edit: SOLD OUT
Stay up,
~cyph
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Spoken Word Sunday: They Say...
At the risk of losing fans of The Bathala Project, I'll opt for flexing some honest expression. Finally, after what seems like forever, an original spoken word piece of mine: They Say...
Like many Second-generation Filipino Americans, I was raised Catholic; and like many of my own generation, I would later become a skeptic...
Before you start debating and soap boxing your opinions, know this; I believe that there's no empirical proof that a god doesn't exist, however I also believe there's no empirical proof that a god does exist. This piece is about keeping an open mind, and to look past what you've been told to find what you find true to yourself. The word "Bathala" itself means the "supreme being", and was the name that the ancient Filipino people used for their god, before the Spanish came and replaced it with the word "Dios".
Stay up,
Cyph
Like many Second-generation Filipino Americans, I was raised Catholic; and like many of my own generation, I would later become a skeptic...
Before you start debating and soap boxing your opinions, know this; I believe that there's no empirical proof that a god doesn't exist, however I also believe there's no empirical proof that a god does exist. This piece is about keeping an open mind, and to look past what you've been told to find what you find true to yourself. The word "Bathala" itself means the "supreme being", and was the name that the ancient Filipino people used for their god, before the Spanish came and replaced it with the word "Dios".
Stay up,
Cyph
Thursday, November 19, 2009
The count is up...
Sometime last week I posted that if at least 50 people chimed in, regarding hosting a live video web-chat to have a free Baybayin consultation/translation/QA session, I'd do it. And how many people chimed in throughout my different avenues of communication??? The total number is... *drum roll*
8 replies.
Well, that's that...
Lately I've been trying to post more regularly, but I would rather concentrate on putting together a nice Baybayin piece for you all to see rather than just posting random schlop. So peace out for now, tune in Sunday for a new Spoken Word Sunday feature!
Stay up,
Cyph
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Flirts With Shirts
Humpday. Let's take a break from Baybayin bombin' for a second.
My path in art has been a rather erratic one; graffiti vandalism, stencil art, photo manipulation, vector art, graphic design, acrylic paintings, and every once in a while... t-shirts. I remember the very first time I ever saw a shirt being "custom designed" was when a 4-yr old version of myself gleefully brought home my cub-scout shirt-kit: an orange polo and an iron-on-patch of the cub scouts logo. My grandfather would happily iron on my cub-scout patch onto that husky pumpkin-orange polo shirt of mine... it was magical.
Later down the road in high school, one of my cousins would be the first on the block to bootleg Nike shirts and Reebok tees for himself by printing out their logos onto iron-on print-out sheets. Printable iron-on sheets was new at the time, so it was kind of a big deal. Forget that they were just logo-tees, they looked pretty legit! Around 2003, I very much wanted to buy an "I *heart* Hip Hop" shirt, but could never find one of the right font or heart shape to my liking. But what I did have was a grip of white tees, a printer, and some iron-on print sheets...
No, I did not intend for it to look grunge-ish with the type, that's just how it looks like after 6 years of existence... and sadly, it's been lowered to undershirt status. But every now and then, it sees sunlight. The next year, when I joined the Purdue Filipino Association, I was of few members that had access to Photoshop at the time and thus became the designated graphics guy. The 2004-2005 PFA shirts would then come to fruition:
Horrible... but it was cool at the time. The next year, I would redeem myself with the 2005-2006 PFA baseball shirt (aka 3/4 length sleeve shirt):
Later on the same year, word through the bamboo would travel and I would later get picked up to do the Asian Student Union Board's first logo design and shirt design as well, to commemorate ASUB's "spring olympics"... which I never attended. Also, this shirt is the cleanest one too, as it's always been too small and thus never worn.
I graduated from Purdue in 2006, so that was the end of the student organization shirt designs... or so I thought. Earlier this year, as my work with Baybayin education throughout the Fil-Am collegiate community would build, I'd try my crack at it once again with Indiana University's FSA shirts:
And lastly, my most previous efforts came to realization earlier this week for The Boxing Club at UCLA:
People always ask if I'm ever going to put my Baybayin work on clothes, and I always tell them that the market isn't there... but it is. Baybayin can be stylized into abstract beautiful goodness, or it can be turned into the next trendy-eye sore. My main issue is this: I have ideas, but I feel like I'm not quite as articulate with design as I'd like to be to fully express and present something I'd be proud to show. I'm not going to sell any piece that I'm not proud of, regardless how many people claim to love it... My latest shirts, the UCLA boxing tee and the I.U. FSA shirts show me that I'm making good progress, and I'm almost there... almost... f*cking almost. But oddly enough, I'm satisfied that I'm unsatisfied; it shows that my taste is still clear enough to tell when my own work isn't where I'd like to be. And thus... I fear the day when I'm in love with my own shit.
Stay up,
Cyph
My path in art has been a rather erratic one; graffiti vandalism, stencil art, photo manipulation, vector art, graphic design, acrylic paintings, and every once in a while... t-shirts. I remember the very first time I ever saw a shirt being "custom designed" was when a 4-yr old version of myself gleefully brought home my cub-scout shirt-kit: an orange polo and an iron-on-patch of the cub scouts logo. My grandfather would happily iron on my cub-scout patch onto that husky pumpkin-orange polo shirt of mine... it was magical.
Later down the road in high school, one of my cousins would be the first on the block to bootleg Nike shirts and Reebok tees for himself by printing out their logos onto iron-on print-out sheets. Printable iron-on sheets was new at the time, so it was kind of a big deal. Forget that they were just logo-tees, they looked pretty legit! Around 2003, I very much wanted to buy an "I *heart* Hip Hop" shirt, but could never find one of the right font or heart shape to my liking. But what I did have was a grip of white tees, a printer, and some iron-on print sheets...
No, I did not intend for it to look grunge-ish with the type, that's just how it looks like after 6 years of existence... and sadly, it's been lowered to undershirt status. But every now and then, it sees sunlight. The next year, when I joined the Purdue Filipino Association, I was of few members that had access to Photoshop at the time and thus became the designated graphics guy. The 2004-2005 PFA shirts would then come to fruition:
Horrible... but it was cool at the time. The next year, I would redeem myself with the 2005-2006 PFA baseball shirt (aka 3/4 length sleeve shirt):
Later on the same year, word through the bamboo would travel and I would later get picked up to do the Asian Student Union Board's first logo design and shirt design as well, to commemorate ASUB's "spring olympics"... which I never attended. Also, this shirt is the cleanest one too, as it's always been too small and thus never worn.
I graduated from Purdue in 2006, so that was the end of the student organization shirt designs... or so I thought. Earlier this year, as my work with Baybayin education throughout the Fil-Am collegiate community would build, I'd try my crack at it once again with Indiana University's FSA shirts:
And lastly, my most previous efforts came to realization earlier this week for The Boxing Club at UCLA:
People always ask if I'm ever going to put my Baybayin work on clothes, and I always tell them that the market isn't there... but it is. Baybayin can be stylized into abstract beautiful goodness, or it can be turned into the next trendy-eye sore. My main issue is this: I have ideas, but I feel like I'm not quite as articulate with design as I'd like to be to fully express and present something I'd be proud to show. I'm not going to sell any piece that I'm not proud of, regardless how many people claim to love it... My latest shirts, the UCLA boxing tee and the I.U. FSA shirts show me that I'm making good progress, and I'm almost there... almost... f*cking almost. But oddly enough, I'm satisfied that I'm unsatisfied; it shows that my taste is still clear enough to tell when my own work isn't where I'd like to be. And thus... I fear the day when I'm in love with my own shit.
Stay up,
Cyph
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Translation Tuesday: Filipino Pride
A very common request I get is how to translate "Filipino Pride" (or some iteration of it) into Baybayin (Alibata). In today's exciting episode of Translation Tuesday, we'll learn how to write out "pride"...
You might notice I kinda had the sniffles in this video... I got a fun little project soon to be posted up, hopefully finished by this week. It'll be something to ring in the holiday cheer!
Stay up,
~cyph
You might notice I kinda had the sniffles in this video... I got a fun little project soon to be posted up, hopefully finished by this week. It'll be something to ring in the holiday cheer!
Stay up,
~cyph
Monday, November 16, 2009
Sunday, November 15, 2009
We win, I lose...
Friday, November 13, 2009
XOXO
An older piece from the vault, the "Yakap" card:
Yakap means "Hug" in Tagalog. When I was a toddler, I recall my mother telling me that 5 hugs a day keeps a heart healthy. So before I'd fall asleep, I'd try to make sure I'd get my 5 hugs in... somewhere along the line, I guess I forgot about that.
The characters "Ya-Ka-P" were used, however back then, the way I stylized my P's were pretty funky; kinda looks like a Ta character... ah well, "It was cool at the time." This piece was done on card stock, painted with spray paint and acrylic brush. I made it as either a birthday or a happy-graduation card for someone dear. I bring this all up because for this Thanksgiving, I'm trying to clutch together a special design to be given (and if you ask nicely, maybe for you to purchase!).
Stay up,
Cyph
Yakap means "Hug" in Tagalog. When I was a toddler, I recall my mother telling me that 5 hugs a day keeps a heart healthy. So before I'd fall asleep, I'd try to make sure I'd get my 5 hugs in... somewhere along the line, I guess I forgot about that.
The characters "Ya-Ka-P" were used, however back then, the way I stylized my P's were pretty funky; kinda looks like a Ta character... ah well, "It was cool at the time." This piece was done on card stock, painted with spray paint and acrylic brush. I made it as either a birthday or a happy-graduation card for someone dear. I bring this all up because for this Thanksgiving, I'm trying to clutch together a special design to be given (and if you ask nicely, maybe for you to purchase!).
Stay up,
Cyph
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Basically...
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Death March
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Translation Tuesday: Aimee
I forgot to go over a major point in the video, the lack of disambiguation between an "E" or "I" sound, and between an "O" or "U" sound. Traditional Baybayin is a very bare-bones writing system, which when taken to its most literal sounds in context to modern pronunciation, can not fully express all the sounds found in a spoken language. Ancient Tagalog was pronounced slightly differently than what we hear today, such that the differences between the "O" and "U" sound (and "E" to "I" sound) weren't as separated as they are today. Thus, the same diacritic indicators (kudlits) are used to express E-and-I and O-and-U...
In the video, I mentioned "E-Mi" would make a good phonetic estimation for "Aimee" (Amy), though I was pronouncing it as "Eh-Meh". Really, I was pronouncing the "Mi/Me" character strictly as "Me" (Meh), forgetting to mention that this can also be pronounced as "Mi" (Mee). It's also a very close translation to the sound of "-Mee" in the name "Aimee". Vice versa, the same characters used to express "E-Mi" (Eh-Mee) also also be read as "I-Me" (Ee-Meh).
With this in mind, I really do think that "E-Y-Mi" (Ey-Mee) is the closest phonetic estimation to Aimee; however, this is of the few times I'd actually rather opt for a traditional, cross-kudlit-less translation, simply because nothing much is really lost or gained by including the "Y" sound. There are times when a cross kudlit could completely change the meaning of a word, as is the case with "Pata" (tired) and "Patay" (to kill). This isn't one of them.
Stay up,
~cyph
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Spoken Word Sunday: Abet Speaks
So... I know this isn't a "real" Spoken Word Sunday post, as it isn't an original piece of my own or even captured by my own camera. But, for my lack of activity, I pull other talent to the spot light. Abet isn't new to the Spoken Word Sunday series, so you know she's quality! Check out her latest piece, Superwoman & Vulnerabilities
Aside from the goodness above, she recently dropped a fresh original melody that's been stuck in my head for a minute... sorry if it gets stuck in your head too!
Stay up!
~cyph
Aside from the goodness above, she recently dropped a fresh original melody that's been stuck in my head for a minute... sorry if it gets stuck in your head too!
Stay up!
~cyph
Saturday, November 7, 2009
I see I.D.
New video ID using the updated logo:
Pretty simple, and yes, I know the soundless space in the beginning is wierd, but keep in mind I always have some kinda instrumental music playing in the back at the end of my videos anyways. The font is Helvetica NT medium and Bold, made in Adobe After Effects cs4. 10 secs in length.
Stay up,
Cyph
edit: Now in Vimeo glory!
Pretty simple, and yes, I know the soundless space in the beginning is wierd, but keep in mind I always have some kinda instrumental music playing in the back at the end of my videos anyways. The font is Helvetica NT medium and Bold, made in Adobe After Effects cs4. 10 secs in length.
Stay up,
Cyph
edit: Now in Vimeo glory!
Thursday, November 5, 2009
That New New'
The "logo" that I've been using to represent The Bathala Project was never intended to be a logo at all. It was actually a tattoo design for a lovely young Filipina out in the U.K. who wished to have "Bahala Na" tattooed. A couple of days later, I sent her this:
It might be pretty and all, but as a logo, it fails at several things:
Mono-weight line to match the accompanying monoweight text (Helvetica and Gotham), simple "two color" contrast, recognizable circle geometry, and an overall modern aesthetic to communicate what it is I do with Baybayin; ancient script with modern styling.
Word.
~cyph
Which later got refined to this:
And, out of laziness to script something of my own, made it into this:
It might be pretty and all, but as a logo, it fails at several things:
- It's too detailed, such that at very small scale, the detail is lost.
- For an artist that openly uses the cross-kudlit, writing "Bahala" instead of "Bathala" is rather inconsistent of myself.
- Because Baybayin is generally not a recognizable shape, if presented on a piece of paper, the viewer may not know which way is right side up
Mono-weight line to match the accompanying monoweight text (Helvetica and Gotham), simple "two color" contrast, recognizable circle geometry, and an overall modern aesthetic to communicate what it is I do with Baybayin; ancient script with modern styling.
Word.
~cyph
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Cheat Sheet
Finally uploaded a Baybayin character reference sheet for all to download. Click here to download!
Sample of what it looks like...
A link will, from now on, always be available on the right side of the page. Hopefully this can get you guys started off right!
Stay up,
~cyph
Sample of what it looks like...
A link will, from now on, always be available on the right side of the page. Hopefully this can get you guys started off right!
Stay up,
~cyph
Monday, November 2, 2009
Translation Tuesday: Mabuhay
I hope I can keep up with making this a weekly web video series...
I've been meaning to start this a long time ago, but it's only till recently that more and more people are emailing me with Baybayin translation requests, slowly making the production of tutorial videos a necessity. I'm always willing to go to conferences, festivals and other forums to present and educate about Baybayin history and methods. That's actually what the Bathala Project is mostly about; education through proliferation. However, lately I've been getting e-mails/messages asking me to translate-this or translate-that with neither a formal introduction or a "please & thank you".
Give a man a fish, he'll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish, he'll eat for a lifetime.
Usually with these e-mails, I'll first inquire if they're requesting me to do a commissioned piece for them (ala custom name cards, digital prints, canvas pieces, etc). But I'll always include telling them which characters for their translations to use, hoping that by showing them the break-down process, they could figure out for themselves how to translate their desired word into Baybayin. I know it can seem daunting if nobody has explained it to you before, and failure is always an option, as evidenced in my short story in the video. Still, some persist and reply back to me along the lines of "I DON'T WANT TO BUY ANYTHING JUST TRANSLATE IT FOR ME." Yeesh...
So, I hope doing these tutorial videos can weed out translation fiends and help build an online, interactive community to educate and interact with each other. I'm not sure how I'm going to make these videos interactive yet. Maybe I'll ask people to post up videos of their own translations and we'll have a translation critique session? Who knows...
Stay up,
Cyph
I've been meaning to start this a long time ago, but it's only till recently that more and more people are emailing me with Baybayin translation requests, slowly making the production of tutorial videos a necessity. I'm always willing to go to conferences, festivals and other forums to present and educate about Baybayin history and methods. That's actually what the Bathala Project is mostly about; education through proliferation. However, lately I've been getting e-mails/messages asking me to translate-this or translate-that with neither a formal introduction or a "please & thank you".
Give a man a fish, he'll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish, he'll eat for a lifetime.
Usually with these e-mails, I'll first inquire if they're requesting me to do a commissioned piece for them (ala custom name cards, digital prints, canvas pieces, etc). But I'll always include telling them which characters for their translations to use, hoping that by showing them the break-down process, they could figure out for themselves how to translate their desired word into Baybayin. I know it can seem daunting if nobody has explained it to you before, and failure is always an option, as evidenced in my short story in the video. Still, some persist and reply back to me along the lines of "I DON'T WANT TO BUY ANYTHING JUST TRANSLATE IT FOR ME." Yeesh...
So, I hope doing these tutorial videos can weed out translation fiends and help build an online, interactive community to educate and interact with each other. I'm not sure how I'm going to make these videos interactive yet. Maybe I'll ask people to post up videos of their own translations and we'll have a translation critique session? Who knows...
Stay up,
Cyph
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Friday, October 30, 2009
Freaky Friday
It's that time of the year, once again, when people can dress up in ridiculous costumes and nobody would mind. Even though it seems to be that way all year around in front of Hollywood and Highland, for the rest of America (and participating countries), Halloween is usually their costume dress-up day of choice. Aside from joining the candy collection coalition or going to sexy Halloween parties, some people like to get a good fright off of a nice horror flick.
Personally, I've never gotten too much of a rise from horror flicks since I was 12. The only thing that really shocks me is when the movies have SUDDEN shock bits. So, I've been more prone to going to horror flicks to enjoy the gore. Though not all gore flicks are horror films, they seem to flirt (f*ck) with each other quite often. A favorite of mine is Robert Rodriguez's Planet Terror...
So, continuing with my entire "What if Baybayin was still an active mainstream writing system?" campaign, I bring to you, the Philippine-release Planet Terror ad-poster, Planeta Ng Kilabot
Comparison to Original:
Honestly, I'm not even sure if "Planeta ng kilabot" is a correct translation, but I'm just making due with what tagalog-english dictionaries are telling me. The tagline reads "Walang kayong pagasa dito", or "You all shouldn't be here." Some of you may recognize that phrase as the first line from Bambu's song, Pull It Back. The model is my friend, brother in rhyme, fellow Wise Intellect, Stimey. He kinda got a zombie lookin thing going on while keepin it gangsta. Though I could EASILY make this as a poster and print, I think Trademark might be an issue? Unless I have some disambiguating fine print on the poster; that might work. If you're interested, let me know by either leaving a comment here, on twitter or facebook, and I'll consider sending some out.
Be safe, play safe, and stay up.
~cyph
Personally, I've never gotten too much of a rise from horror flicks since I was 12. The only thing that really shocks me is when the movies have SUDDEN shock bits. So, I've been more prone to going to horror flicks to enjoy the gore. Though not all gore flicks are horror films, they seem to flirt (f*ck) with each other quite often. A favorite of mine is Robert Rodriguez's Planet Terror...
So, continuing with my entire "What if Baybayin was still an active mainstream writing system?" campaign, I bring to you, the Philippine-release Planet Terror ad-poster, Planeta Ng Kilabot
Comparison to Original:
Honestly, I'm not even sure if "Planeta ng kilabot" is a correct translation, but I'm just making due with what tagalog-english dictionaries are telling me. The tagline reads "Walang kayong pagasa dito", or "You all shouldn't be here." Some of you may recognize that phrase as the first line from Bambu's song, Pull It Back. The model is my friend, brother in rhyme, fellow Wise Intellect, Stimey. He kinda got a zombie lookin thing going on while keepin it gangsta. Though I could EASILY make this as a poster and print, I think Trademark might be an issue? Unless I have some disambiguating fine print on the poster; that might work. If you're interested, let me know by either leaving a comment here, on twitter or facebook, and I'll consider sending some out.
Be safe, play safe, and stay up.
~cyph
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Smokin' Mama
Since Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor album cover, the entire floating in black space with clouds/smoke/galaxies floating around thing has been done hundreds of times over, but still, some people continue to make it fresh and interesting.
I'm on a late pass.
That's the Ma symbol written in glowy light strips. Don't expect to see too many more of these however, but I'm still digging the general style and see potential. The little sprinkles are actually numbers, letters and general roman characters as if they're being derived from the Baybayin Ma character, and slowly settle down to comprise the MA roman characters. I'll probably end up turning this into a print, and if it sells well at a festival/booth, I'll consider adding it to the online shop.
Stay up,
~cyph
I'm on a late pass.
That's the Ma symbol written in glowy light strips. Don't expect to see too many more of these however, but I'm still digging the general style and see potential. The little sprinkles are actually numbers, letters and general roman characters as if they're being derived from the Baybayin Ma character, and slowly settle down to comprise the MA roman characters. I'll probably end up turning this into a print, and if it sells well at a festival/booth, I'll consider adding it to the online shop.
Stay up,
~cyph
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Accented Identity
Not too long ago, after posting up my video interview with Baybayin.com, someone pointed out that I was pronouncing "Bathala" wrong as I was saying the "Th" sound in an English manner. Really, it's said as "bat-ha-la" (Soft a-). So, with this in mind, I give you, Ba-T-Ha-La: (click for full size)
Baybayin Modern Print font by Nordenx, expect to see more designs using his fonts in the near future, that is until I finally create my own. With this piece, it's just big, bold, modern design on Baybayin. Scattered about is my last name, written in Baybayin, as if to say that's me still trying to wrap my head around the big picture of "Bathala". My last name characters are a PS brush, which I first tested in this design:
Anyways, expect to see the BATHALA available as an 8x10 print in the shop very soon.
Stay up,
~cyph
Baybayin Modern Print font by Nordenx, expect to see more designs using his fonts in the near future, that is until I finally create my own. With this piece, it's just big, bold, modern design on Baybayin. Scattered about is my last name, written in Baybayin, as if to say that's me still trying to wrap my head around the big picture of "Bathala". My last name characters are a PS brush, which I first tested in this design:
Anyways, expect to see the BATHALA available as an 8x10 print in the shop very soon.
Stay up,
~cyph
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Irrelevant
Some recent non-Baybayin works...
Stay up,
~cyph
Far East Movement DVD concept
I imagine this must feel nice
Put your face on
Green monster
~cyph
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Indiana Banga
A while back I submitted a design for IU's Filipino Student Association's shirts and jackets. Today, via the Indiana University Filipino Student Association's website (IU FSA):
I'll be honest; yellow wasn't what I had in mind, as yellow and black are quite close to Purdue colors (gold and black), and IU being our rival school... well.. hehe. I designed the back of the shirt. The idea behind the shirt design was to make a graphic symbol that represented both an academic atmosphere, with some Filipino heritage. Coat of arms, as it seems, is a common theme amongst older universities, and using the shape of a Philippine warrior shield I thought would have some cultural resonance. On the left of the shield is a stylized form of "Pilipino" in Baybayin, on the right is IU's school logo. The griffin flourishes in the back pay tribute to ibong adarna and the Philippine eagle, both birds representative of Filipino culture and history. IU's traditional colors are cream and crimson, so here's how it would've looked like as so:
But perhaps the yellow is to help better represent this year's MAFA theme, the sun and stars of the Philippines, which are also yellow? Anyways... if you're a college student in the midwest and would like to check these shirts out in person, learn about Filipino culture, mingle and swerve with some fly pinoys and pinays, then be sure to come through the FACT Conference (FOR FREE!) It's at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. Check out the BakitWhy.com article for more info!
Stay up,
~cyph
Today Carlos and Marisa picked up the new Filipino Student Association t-shirts just in time for the Filipino Americans Coming Together (FACT) Conference at the University of Illinois!
A big thank you to David Lazaro for creating the coat of armor design and X-Printwear for the great print job!
I'll be honest; yellow wasn't what I had in mind, as yellow and black are quite close to Purdue colors (gold and black), and IU being our rival school... well.. hehe. I designed the back of the shirt. The idea behind the shirt design was to make a graphic symbol that represented both an academic atmosphere, with some Filipino heritage. Coat of arms, as it seems, is a common theme amongst older universities, and using the shape of a Philippine warrior shield I thought would have some cultural resonance. On the left of the shield is a stylized form of "Pilipino" in Baybayin, on the right is IU's school logo. The griffin flourishes in the back pay tribute to ibong adarna and the Philippine eagle, both birds representative of Filipino culture and history. IU's traditional colors are cream and crimson, so here's how it would've looked like as so:
But perhaps the yellow is to help better represent this year's MAFA theme, the sun and stars of the Philippines, which are also yellow? Anyways... if you're a college student in the midwest and would like to check these shirts out in person, learn about Filipino culture, mingle and swerve with some fly pinoys and pinays, then be sure to come through the FACT Conference (FOR FREE!) It's at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. Check out the BakitWhy.com article for more info!
Stay up,
~cyph
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
P.O.W.E.R. Up
Sunday, I went to the P.O.W.E.R. event up in Fresno in support for the relief fund raising event for the victims of Typhoon Ondoy. Together with different fil-am orgs from Fresno state and neighboring schools, alongside the local community, held in the FilAm community center, the whole event was full of love and support... I've never held central cali in any regard, but after last weekend, they truly burrowed a spot in my heart for them.
This short video shows the jist of my trip: Left Saturday night, crashed at my cousin's place in Bakersfield. Sunday morning left Bakersfield, rolled through some ridiculous fog, and arrived at the POWER event in Fresno. Saw performances, sold some prints, then blazed on back to angel city.
Pictures, on the other hand, tell detail. On the way up, saw this gnarly gas station called "Gas War"... looked kind of sketchy though.
Sunday morning, Bakersfield to Fresno.
Setting up shop
The homie Marc, who was my main connect and invited me up to the event. Much love, bruddah! Sick DJ too!
Saw big homie doing some spoken word... I was starting to get the ITCH. hahaha...
Mahal
The set up committee were so accomodating, they even fed a brotha! And this... listen, I've never actually ate diniguan that I've cared for. However, after this weekend... I've a reason to crave the "chocolate meat". THIS RIGHT HERE? They actually USE MEAT! This was like, cubed meat and cartilage. FANCY!
The source
The claim. For the record, I would like to verify; it is true.
Performances
The host did a bang up job at keeping the party rockin and informed. Good job!
Oh, this girl... RIDICULOUSLY cute. When she saw my Bahaghari (Rainbow) piece, she was nagging her mom to buy it for her. This was toddler-level nagging, mind you, so you should only imagine what this little tyke was like! And with puppy dog eyes like hers, guess what she went home with?
UC Merced came through to represent and support!
When it was all said and done, the long drive home...
Thanks to Bakersfield, I am now aware that Texaco gas stations still exist
It was a great event, the group was so very accomodating, open and was on this level of "niceness" that I wasn't accustomed to... Next time I drive up to the Bay, I might actually slow down in the middle and catch some vibes...
Stay up,
~cyph
This short video shows the jist of my trip: Left Saturday night, crashed at my cousin's place in Bakersfield. Sunday morning left Bakersfield, rolled through some ridiculous fog, and arrived at the POWER event in Fresno. Saw performances, sold some prints, then blazed on back to angel city.
Pictures, on the other hand, tell detail. On the way up, saw this gnarly gas station called "Gas War"... looked kind of sketchy though.
Sunday morning, Bakersfield to Fresno.
Setting up shop
The homie Marc, who was my main connect and invited me up to the event. Much love, bruddah! Sick DJ too!
Saw big homie doing some spoken word... I was starting to get the ITCH. hahaha...
Mahal
The set up committee were so accomodating, they even fed a brotha! And this... listen, I've never actually ate diniguan that I've cared for. However, after this weekend... I've a reason to crave the "chocolate meat". THIS RIGHT HERE? They actually USE MEAT! This was like, cubed meat and cartilage. FANCY!
The source
The claim. For the record, I would like to verify; it is true.
Performances
The host did a bang up job at keeping the party rockin and informed. Good job!
Oh, this girl... RIDICULOUSLY cute. When she saw my Bahaghari (Rainbow) piece, she was nagging her mom to buy it for her. This was toddler-level nagging, mind you, so you should only imagine what this little tyke was like! And with puppy dog eyes like hers, guess what she went home with?
UC Merced came through to represent and support!
When it was all said and done, the long drive home...
Thanks to Bakersfield, I am now aware that Texaco gas stations still exist
It was a great event, the group was so very accomodating, open and was on this level of "niceness" that I wasn't accustomed to... Next time I drive up to the Bay, I might actually slow down in the middle and catch some vibes...
Stay up,
~cyph
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