I Hunted Monster in the Wilds
both irl and in-game
First half of March flew by with me being so sick, I had whiplash when I realize my March newsletter was due in 3 days (I set a reminder on my calendar for this exact situation lol). Thankfully, I touched a lot of grass and sunshine in the second half of February, followed by a lot of that as well in Monster Hunter Wilds during my sick week. What can I say, I’m an all-rounded Hunter.
I’ve been going to the gym 3-ish times a week since end of January. Mainly for fitness, and to achieve my goal of having a body so strong, I could climb Mt. Fuji with my friends and still smile at the end of it.
As it was my first time signing up for ActiveSG (a fitness initiative to promote healthy lifestyle), I received SGD$100 as free credit to sign up for classes. So I purchased the SGD$80 annual non-peak hour gym pass, which basically mean I’m going to the gym for free?! Kinda insane.
I was finally seeing progress at the end of February, but then I was hit with this strange virus. My family suspected it to be some form of covid, but honestly, I think I’m just getting old so the common cold is hitting harder? It started off with sore throat and slowly creeped upwards, rendering me half deaf in my right ear for an entire week, coupled with horrible pressure and constant migraine. I couldn’t even think straight most of the time, it was terrible o<-<
Now for some snaps of the wilds —
The Chinese Garden @ Jurong East
I’ve only managed to explore part of the Chinese Garden unfortunately. It felt like it needed more time to cook — for trees to mature and plants to fill up the gaps between their plantings. It’s a bit bare and concrete right now, but since they’re building the new Science Centre near it, I assume it’ll be ready for a re-visit by the time that’s done! Perhaps next year? Overall, still a really beautiful and serene spot to drop by.
Rainforest Wild ASIA @ Mandai Wildlife Reserve
I absolutely love the new zoo concept they did here. You’re free to take the traditional pathways, or hop onto the trails outside of the paths for an adventure. This takes me back to venturing in Canada’s beautiful trails!
Since nature didn’t bless Singapore with hiking-worthy landscapes, they really just said, ‘Fine, we’ll make our own.’ Every cave you see here? Man-made.
McDonald’s Queensway (Ridout Tea Garden) & Arting
Someone took a whole zen garden, tossed in a thousand turtles, morphed it with McDonald’s and yeah, I’m… lovin’ it. (Sorry, had to.)
Felt a bit surreal with a double cheeseburger and fries in one hand while I painted away by the pond, fully immersed in the peaceful cafe ambience. Tbh, we might make this spot the spot for hanging and arting once in a while. My wallet would be happier too, to skip the pricey cafes hehe.
Trying to get back into watercolour and traditional sketch-booking in general. I really enjoyed it back in school. It was one of the mediums that I felt like I could connect with and have it move how I’d want it to. I think I just got impatient after I started working — piling on so much pressure to churn out work as fast as I can that I forgot to slow down, enjoy, and just create. Well, never too late to get back into it!
Some other misc. snaps of fluffy clouds on an evening bike ride, an otter devouring a crunchy fish in the waterway behind my home, and a huge crybaby blind box pop-up event!
Another sneak peek of something I’ve been working on—playing around with shapes and character design in a clean lined style + a bonus wonky lined sketch.
That’s it for this month! I sat and thought about how this year is almost 1/4 over (I screamed internally while typing that), and how you’ve all read my chaotic yappings for 3 months?? (I’m so sorry(?) lol) (✿ᴗ͈ˬᴗ͈)⁾⁾
It’s not quite the amount of art I’d like to share yet. I’ve just been running around exploring the world (just Singapore, really) and bingeing MHW while I was sick. I know I talked about the food illustration last month, and will definitely get back to it. And I’m also working on ideas for some sticker sheets/postcards as rewards for paid subs—which I think I’ll share my process next month for a more structured art post?
As always, thankful for you being here and coming along for the ride! Seeya next month ʚ(*´꒳`*)ɞ .｡✧･ﾟ:* ~♡
I really miss Singapore, thank you for sharing a piece of your life there! Love all the illustrated vignettes 🥹