KPOP Suho Solo Mini Album

          Ever since I heard about Suho making his debut as a soloist, I’ve been excited. Suho is one of the amazing voices in EXO that always gets underrated because there are powerful voices like Chen and Baekhyun. I’m also a little sad because I think that this might be his goodbye gift to his fans before enlisting 😩. I waited to see how many versions there were going to be then I ordered them all. And waited...I waited a lot longer than usual for my albums to arrive thanks to the Corona Virus but they were finally here. I ordered the two versions and their posters. This is what they looked like when they arrived:

I forgot that I ordered unfolded posters this time because the last time I forgot to choose and they sent folded ones which really didn’t do the posters any good. 

These are the two versions. The one that has only one Suho on the cover is Archive Version # 1 and the one with 4 Suhos is Archive Version # 2. Each album came with 2 photocards, 1 postcard, 1 poster, and 1 accordion card. I’m not sure if getting two photocards is the norm because on the SM site it looks like you get 1 out of 4 so I’m not sure if I got 2 because I pre-ordered or if this is something to do with Kpoptown (the site I bout the albums from). So let us dive in.

ARCHIVE VERSION # 1:

1. Poster: 

2. Photocards:

These photocards are small but because I wanted to show them clearly I scan them and now they are huge lol.

3. Postcard:

I can’t believe how pretty this is...

4. Accordion: 

I scanned all the pictures in the accordion card but I will show you its size in a later picture.  

Now the actual album. 

This is the cover. 





Inside the album, there are tabs for each some with the tab page made out of card-stock paper.

Everything about this album is esthetically pleasing.

 

And this is everything that came with the album in actual size (minus the poster of course)

ARCHIVE VERSION # 2:

1. Poster: 

I really love this poster. Suho is a very handsome man.

2. Photocards:

Again not the actual size 😬.

3. Postcard:

I love how the postcards match the album covers.

4. Accordion:

These remind me of a lot of Junmyeon’s Instagram photos.

Now the actual album: 

I'm not going to explain each picture again because it is arranged exactly like the other album.

Both albums have beautiful pictures, but if you look at the samples I provided you'll realize that all the pictures are in poses that appear to be self contemplative or meditative even. That is the feel of both albums and they fit the theme of the album really well. From what I hear Junmyeon had a lot to do with the album and it kind of shows because  I kept getting Suho Instagram vibes.

Now let us talk about the album songs. I always buy thy digital albums as well as the physical albums because it takes around 2-3 weeks for my physical albums to arrive. Plus I like to support the artists I stan as much as I can.  So I've been listening to the album since the day it dropped. I honestly don't have a favorite in this album because depending on my mood it changes. All the songs are just so beautiful. In an interview with Billboard, Suho talked about the inspiration behind the album, 

The inspiration was drawn from Vincent van Gogh’s “Self-Portrait.” I first saw it in Switzerland and Paris, and for van Gogh, it probably meant a lot to him as a person. Since I’m not a painter, I wanted to paint something in my album as a self-portrait, per se, similar to how it was for van Gogh to share his own view of himself. "

There are 6 songs in the album, 5 of which Suho helped write and one (the title song) was completely written by Suho. 

1. O2

2. 사랑, 하자 (Let's Love)

3. Made in You

4. 암막 커튼 (Starry Night)

5. 자화상 (Self-Portrait)

6. 너의 차례 (For You Now) ft. Younha

There is also a special track called Writer's Note: Behind the Self-Portrait and Suho talks during this title. I'm going to be honest and say that I don't know all that he is saying but I love the way he talks. He is motivating me more and more to really apply myself to my Korean studies.

Take a listen to some of the songs here:

But this is not my favorite rendition. This is...

Again I prefer the live session...

To be honest, do your ears a favor and just listen to the whole album, both the CD version and the live sessions. It is worth it.

RESOURCES Art

In this post I'm going to share some of my favorite YouTube channels, Instagram accounts, Udemy courses and Skillshare courses related to art. It will probably be mostly about watercolors, and mixed media though there are some courses and channels that talk about journaling, sketching and teach you actual drawing techniques.

YouTube Channels:

1. Helen Colebrook: Helen is from Journal with Purpose, www.journalwithpurpose.co.uk My channel will show videos about my bullet journal, regular journal and creative pursuits.

2. Watercolor Misfit: (**This is one of my favorites and highly recommended channels) Carrie is a Watercolor Misfit-also known as a mixed media watercolor artist.On this channel you'll find watercolor tips, painting tutorials, and a lot more fun content revolving around art! If you are interested in painting with her, join her latest watercolor beginner course, which you'll find the $10 off link on her about page on YouTube. You'll also find many drawing templates that go along with the videos on her channel at her ESTY shop! They are similar to adult coloring books-but for watercolor, but help you skip the drawing process.

3. Kirsty Partridge Art: Over the past few years Kirsty has been posting educational art videos to help improve drawing and painting skills. She loves using watercolors, colored pencils and charcoal to create artwork with.

4. The Mind of Watercolor: (**This is one of my favorites and highly recommended channels) Steve Mitchell has been a professional designer and illustrator for 30+ years but on this channel he's returned to his fine art roots. This channel is for watercolor enthusiasts where he shares tips and techniques in a quick, easy to digest fashion. He also does product reviews, offer challenges, look at other great artists' work and perhaps even have a few giveaways.

5. Maremi's Small Art: (**This is one of my favorites and highly recommended channels) This is my favorite channel for doing projects with mixed media, and crazy ideas that turn out amazing. Marta is a wonderful teacher and her projects are always interesting. She also does product reviews.

6. The Frugal Crafter:(**This is one of my favorites and highly recommended channels) Lindsay Weirich, AKA the Frugal Crafter, has videos that showcase a wide variety of crafts such as cardmaking, rubber stamping, art journaling, mixed media, sewing, knitting, jewelry making, crochet altered art and more.  Do you like to paint? I hope so because she has many new watercolor painting tutorials. How about storage? Do you want tips and tricks for keeping your art and crafts supplies organized? She has several craft room tours and tutorials on building your own storage solutions on the cheap.

7. The Art Sherpa: (**This is one of my favorites and highly recommended channels) The Art Sherpa, teaches art in live streaming, easy acrylic step by step painting tutorials. Lessons on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. With over 800 free video acrylic painting classes you can learn how to paint easily. Its safe, inclusive fun and friendly Art instructions for new painters of every age.

8. Sealemon: (**This is one of my favorites and highly recommended channels) Jennifer makes crafty videos to help boost your creativity! I find her voice relaxing, so if her videos help you unwind, that’s cool too. You’ll find a variety of projects on her channel including DIY decor, bookbinding, art tutorials, supply hauls, doodle challenges, bullet journal ideas and more fun crafts!

**Note: I just realized that all but two of the recommendations above are of my favorite channels...

UDEMY Courses:

1. How to Draw and Sketch for Absolute Beginners

2. The Ultimate Drawing Course - Beginner to Advanced

3. How to Draw Cute Cartoon Characters

4. Pencil Drawing for Beginners

5. Ultimate Beginner's Guide to Perspective Drawing

6. Watercolor Mixing for Beginners

7. Beginner's Watercolor Techniques with Geoff Hutchins

8. Beginner's Watercolor

9. Learn the Secret for Successful Color Mixing for Painters

10. Pencil Drawing - The Guide to Graphite

11. The Colored Pencil Drawing Course

12. The Watercolor Painting Series - The Very Beginner's Guide

**These are just some of the Courses I've taken through Udemy, there are many more that I have bought but have yet to try because I'm working through other things on there.

SkillShare Classes:

Originally, I was going to do a list of classes that I have taken though SkillShare but to be honest, compared to the indepth classes that I have seen on Udemy...I decided not too. Don't get me wrong there are some honest to goodness classes that I have enjoyed on there like the Christine Nishiyama Series and the Brent Eviston Series but the rest of the classes are just too short to qualify as real life classes.

Instagram Accounts:

1. Anna Koliadych: @dearannart

2. Peggy Dean: @thepigeonletters

3. Garima Srivastava: @mylittlebasil.studio

**These are the ones I follow on Instagram but I'm sure there are many many more.

I hope this helps you with your art journey and maybe make this whole social distancing a little easier. Stay safe everyone!

Course Review: Canva Graphic Design For Entrepreneurs

Full Course Title: Canva Graphic Design For Entrepreneurs Design 11 Projects

Platform: Udemy

Description: (From Udemy)

This online course will teach you how to use Canva to create PRACTICAL REAL WORLD projects for your business or brand.

• Do you want to create your own graphics for social media or the internet, but don't know where to begin?
• Have you spent time and energy Googling graphic design application tutorials online only to find out that it never covers exactly what you need?
• Is outsourcing your graphics to a 3rd party a hassle, especially when you have to go back and forth to make changes before the project is completed?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, you're in the right place! 

We know that it can be frustrating and time consuming to create artwork for your business. You can spend hours or even days trying to find the right tutorial online. Outsourcing the work can be an even bigger challenge just to find the right candidate to do what you need done, and expensive!

That's why we created this course - to teach people just like you how to easily get started with Canva.

Phil Ebiner and Jeremy Deighan have been using A for years to grow their business and have developed a system to allow you to learn just what you need to know, only when you need it. 

Have fun while learning! Learn by actually doing!

After enrolling in this course, you'll be taken through 11 projects you'll need to run your business. Follow along and practice while learning!

Canva for Entrepreneurs will show you the necessary tools as you apply them.

Course Projects You'll Learn How to Create:

1. Social Media Graphic
2. Blog Title
3. Facebook Cover
4. Facebook Post
5. Facebook Ad
6. Twitter Header
7. Twitter Post
8. YouTube Thumbnail
9. YouTube Channel Art
10. Google+ Photo
11. Pinterest Graphic

Whether you just want to enhance your Canva skills for business, or have a specific project you need done right this instant, this course is for you. 

We will guide you every step of the way and are here to make sure you succeed in your ventures. Both instructors are always available to answer any messages, discussions, questions, or feedback that you have.

Get a Certificate of Completion when you finish the course!

What you’ll learn

• Create 11 different and practical projects that can be used to help your business or brand.
• Build specific graphic design elements for social media and the internet by utilizing templates and tools specific to the platform needed.
• Save time and money by easily creating your own artwork, quickly and efficiently.

Are there any course requirements or prerequisites?

• Students who want to follow along with the projects should have Canva installed.

Who this course is for:

• This course is geared towards entrepreneurs who want complete control over their branding, but don't have time to learn complex graphic design applications.
• Beginner, intermediate, and advanced users of Canva can find tools and tricks to help speed up their workflow when creating graphics for businesses.
• Anyone who is looking for a complete Canva course that explains every tool and facet of the application should not take this course. This is a course that provides practical projects for entrepreneurs in real world settings, so not every tool and function will be explained.

The Instructors: Jeremy Deighan has an extensive background in different forms of art and design and an associates degree in Computer Animation. He has worked with various production houses to create awesome content. Adobe Photoshop has been a staple of his arsenal since he was 16 and uses it faithfully to this day.

He also has a history in live visual arts, specifically lighting design for music events, festivals, theaters, and corporate gigs. His passion for the visual arts has helped him become a master in understanding lighting, color theory, and composition.

Phil Ebiner in 2011, he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Film and Television Production at Loyola Marymount University . While there, he was fortunate to make documentaries in Switzerland, Germany, Mexico, and India. After graduating, he worked at Participant Media shooting and editing short-form documentaries for their website TakePart. He followed that stint with a contract at Stanbridge College where he discovered online learning and helped pioneer their online school there. After that, he spent 2 years working at University of California Berkeley with the media team.

My Review: I have not finished working though this course however, I've done enough to know that the course does exactly what it says it will do. It gives you an introduction into how to use Canva to make your own posts for Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. I've even used Canva to make a graphic for this blog post (as you can see above). Here are a few examples of what I made so far using the information I learned from the course and Canva.

I've also done a post for Oh Sehun (from EXO) on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Instagram

Facebook

Twitter

I'm really enjoying this course and the things I'm learning from it. I'm only playing with the Canva set up right now and my stuff looks good (It isn't great yet but I'm sure the more I use it the more my work will look better.) I highly recommend this course if you are looking to make your brand pop or if you are at a loss as to how to make your posts stand out in social media. Or if you just want to spruce up your social platforms.

Journal Update.

    If you remember in a previous post I told you about my journey with journalling and keeping a bullet journal. And how I planned on doing things this year. I also talked about my Cultivate What Matters Powersheets and how I planned on using them. Well now I've been using these 4 notebooks for 3 months now and I'm ready to give you a new update on them.

1. The Four Notebook System.

I am no longer using 4 notebooks. That system just was not working for me. I no longer use the notebook reserved for the study programs. It was not something I looked at because due to first getting sick in January and February, then the Corona Virus situation that escalated big time in March, those programs are on hold or canceled and now I just do as I can. The second notebook that I got rid of was the notebook that I was using to add my weekly and monthly tasks too. I kept forgetting to look at it and things started to slip past me. It was a total mess. So now I only use my daily journal which also has my daily tasks in it. And my Powersheets which have the month in view of my tasks and any future tasks get added to it.

2. Daily Journal

    The daily journal which I use both as a bullet journal now for my daily tasks and also as a way to keep record of my day, is still the one I got from Ferris Wheel and which I have reviewed here. I'm still using the one which looks like the Traveller's notebook. Although the notebook itself is of good quality I have to admit I'm not a Traveller's Notebook type of person. I won't be getting that size again.

    The first thing I did this month was figure out the kind of colors I wanted to use so I picked out some stickers and a washi tape that I will be using through out the month of April. You can see both below.

    I also decided that my tracker for last month was perfect so I will be keeping that as well as my Blog idea page, however, I will be adding a section on Books Read on the Blog Idea Page.

March 2020 Blog Idea Page and the Tracker

    This is what my cover page looks like for April. I postcard that I liked on one side and some stickers and washi tape on the other with April 2020 written down. I also added a tab sticker which has a tiny calendar on it but it is not shown in this picture.

April 2020

This is what my Tracker, Blog Idea and Books Read pages look like.

April 1, 2020 Daily Page

Finally this is what my daily pages look like. The date on top, tasks underneath, and then my daily activities that I want to write about.

3. PowerSheets

    One of the main things I love about Powersheets is that every 3 months you get a few pages that make you look at the previous three months and assess where you are at with respect to your goals. This is the time to change your mind or adjust things where they need adjusting.

    This is what I took the time to do during a lull at work at the beginning of April. I looked at my goals, re-evaluated myself and what I can realistically do. My goals stayed the same but they are a little more realistic now.

    These previous pages were all the work I put into re-assessing myself and my goals and I really enjoyed working on them. Next is what needed to be focused on in April and how to work on them.

April Monthly Task list

April's Monthly, Weekly, and Daily Tending list.

For now this is my journalling setup, whether it will be streamlined more in the coming months is yet to be seen.