Creative Essentials
A creative brand and a spunky brainchild of Gail and Jen, I was no stranger to the locally produced label, Punchdrunk Panda, having previously heard of it through fellow creatives who have also designed for them. When I first came across the brand, I immediately developed a deep admiration for the products they create — particularly their collaborative concept with local artists to produce a line of functional items, graphically printed on totes, cases and other cool shenanigans.
So when they reached out to me late last year for a collaboration proposal, I was totally down with the whole idea. I have always dreamed of my illustrations to be a produced as a merchandise and to have them come to life early in the year is just magical. That goes to say that collaborating with Punchdrunk Panda has been a long-awaited wish.
For this creative work, I was commissioned to design a tropical theme with a jungle landscape as its main concept. I was happily hopping up and down like a little bunny because animals were my thing and this naturally aligns with my aesthetic and style. My design is currently on an on-going production and plans of future production are already in the making. The first release, which came out last month, is this organizer. Sewn with a handful of pockets, it's an epitome for the neat freak creatives like myself. These compartments can hold sketchbooks, A4 sized papers, and other essentials needed for day-to-day artistic work. Needless to say, I became completely smitten with it.
Being a creative on-the-go renders me to lug around tons of pencil cases and sketchbooks. I have at least two. (Yes, it's a handful of crazy, but definitely needed!) I knew the moment I got my hands on this that it would be a lifesaver, especially since I've been traveling frequently over the past months. It's flexible and functional making it distinctive. Alternatively, it can be used as a laptop tote which makes it conveniently better. Additional perk: it's water-resistant. So on days when the sun ain't shinin' and the clouds keep rollin', you won't have to worry about your anything getting wet other than yourself.
I weaved together a short teaser for you to get a feel on how I used my own organizer and the creative essentials that this darling can handle.
Creative Essentials
Here are my daily essentials as a creative, and my best friends when I'm out and about. For the curious ones, this is also a comprehensive list of the materials I work with:
Watercolor Brushes (Round and Flat)
Gouache Tubes (Daler-Rowney)
Watercolor Tubes (Holbein and Winsor & Newton)
Concentrated Watercolor Bottle
Currently Reading: Louder Than Words by Todd Henry
Film Camera
Specs by Sunnies
Loose Watercolor Papers (Currently: Daler-Rowney Langton Prestige)
Tracing Paper
Graphite Pencil
Fineliner Pen
Videography and Art Direction by Yours Truly