Ryu's Blog

Learn and Create

Recent Posts

  • Anime: Look Back

    A beautiful anime about the friendship of two girls aspiring to become manga artists, showcasing their struggles, doubts, and the hard work often unseen by others.

    I always thought drawing was a solitary activity. However, if one is fortunate enough to find a like-minded friend who shares the same passion, working together can make the challenges more bearable, while appreciating each other’s efforts and works can make the process more enjoyable.

    Life is short. Finding connections with likeminded people can be one of the most rewarding experiences.

    Here’s a review with spoilers, and here’s one without.

  • Piano Recording: Schumann’s Träumerei (Reverie)

    Robert Schumann composed Kinderszenen in February and March 1838, during a separation from his fiancée Clara Wieck. He writes to her: “Perhaps an echo of your words when you wrote me, ‘I sometimes seemed to you like a child.’ In short, it was as if I were clothed in wings when I wrote the thirty droll little things, of which I selected about twelve and named them ‘Kinderszenen’ … they make quite an impression when I perform them, particularly on me.” Clara was also impressed: “It’s true, isn’t it, that they belong only to the two of us? I simply can’t put them out of my mind, they are so simple, so heart-warming, so very much you”

    More on Schumann’s Kinderszenen.


     

  • Piano and Violin: Summer of Farewells

    First duet with my son Sky, playing one of my favourite anime theme songs:

  • Cardboard Drawing: Saito Hajime from Rurouni Kenshin

    “A man that can’t hold on to his beliefs can only be pathetic, dead or alive.” – Saitou Hajime

    “Hey, I’ll have you know that I almost really did kick the bucket during that training, so don’t you dare sum it all up in one word, even if it is a nice one like “potential.” – Sanosuke Sagara

  • Comic Strip: Work From Home (with kids)

  • Comic Strip: Absurd Hobby

  • Cardboard Drawing: One Piece TCG

    I mistakenly bought some tiny Shikiji boards online, but it turns out they are enough to draw One Piece card portraits.

    “You can’t see the whole picture until you look at it from the outside.” — Trafalgar Law

    “The thing I’m most afraid of…is being consumed by this country, and becoming a completely different person.”— Sabo

  • Comic Strip: Distractions

  • Comic Strip: Zen

  • Comic Strip: Entertainment Overload