Hello Friends, we’re back!

We’ve been gone for quite a while and a lot has changed. There are new art styles and new creative pursuits. Oh and we got married. Imagine that.

Caleb’s been doing more illustrations and comics (and a lot of fantasy, Dungeons and Dragons stuff)

Rorie recently tried her hand with weaving and has been doing amazing, colorful things.

There’s a lot going on, what with everything that’s happening and we really just wanted to share things that might help people feel better during this weird and toxic time.

We’ll try our best to keep this page updated as regularly as we can.

Keep safe and God bless

-Calorie

Free Calories: New Year Motivation

It’s the New Year!
Hope all of you had an awesome Christmas and an amazing New Year!

Since we missed all of you (here’s hoping you missed us too), here’s a free wallpaper from us to help motivate you to keep pursue your goals and resolutions and hopes this 2016.

Download Wallpaper

All the best!

Calorie

 

Journey Story Exercise

Some time back, Compassion International, an International NGO that ministers to children in poverty through sponsorship, asked me if I could help them out with something they were working on. Compassion’s Global Advocacy Team was going to go to different places in the world to partner with local churches and organizations. The team wanted to help train these churches and organizations with their ministries with children, specifically children at risk.

Although the team was composed of people of different nationalities, they were still challenged with complexities and nuances of the languages of the people and places they would be partnering with. During their previous trips, the team noticed that while they had to account for the nuances in spoken and written language, people almost always found it easier to communicate through images. So after talking and working with the team, we agreed that it would be helpful if they had a short animated video that would help in their discussions.

They would later have the video translated into different languages, but because the images in the video were easy to understand and universal enough, it helped in reaching and equipping more and more partners all over the world.

And just for a bit of fun trivia, that’s Rorie doing the voice over. (And that’s me talking Simlish).

If ever you’re curious to learn more about Compassion International’s ministry, or if you’re interested in sponsoring a child, you can go here.

Free Calories: Jack Johnson Wallpapers

There’s something about listening to Jack Johnson. There’s an oddly calming feel to his music and his lyrics that makes you want to smile as you sit back or while you work. Since we love his music and his words so much, we decided to share some of them with you.

Here are some Jack Johnson inspired wallpapers for your Mac, PC, iOS, Android, and, Windows Devices to get you into that chill, Banana pancakes kind of mood.

Better Together – Black

Better Together – White

Angel – Blue

Angel – White

Banana Pancakes – Blue

Banana Pancakes – Red

Banana Pancakes – White

Better Together – Watercolor

Oh and here’s a song to help you get through the day

Boldly Gold

I am quite hesitant to make an entry about this particular editorial because I’ve shared (about) it several times on my Instagram and Facebook accounts already; BUT yesterday, the editorial got featured in Bride and Breakfast and so now, I have a new reason to share.

A few months back, Blue Trumpet Events asked me if I would like to design the invitation suite/stationery for an editorial that they are doing. My blink response was ‘yes’—a nervous yes. When I saw their pegs, the elf workers in my head instantly moved.

Geometric shapes, black, and gold. People close to me know my love for geometric patterns, so the concept rung with a certain familiarity. I remembered the diamond paper ornaments that I pinned to my “The Day Someday” board and used it as inspiration for the main elements of the invitation suite. The foil texture, on the other hand, was inspired by Blue Trumpet’s cake peg. The font Manhattan Darling also came as a blessing, as it tied so well with the rest of the elements; and Bodoni was perfect for the ‘glossy magazine’ look I have in mind (in my opinion at least). The geometric heart on the save-the-date card (which they also translated into a backdrop) was inspired by paper-folded hearts that I saw on the internet. Caleb also helped me with the brush illustration on the dress guide.

This project gave me an adrenaline rush like no other. If I didn’t have work the next day, I would have finished the entire look in one sitting! I guess what they say about doing what you love is true.

I continue to be thankful to/for those who trust in the work that I do and those who appreciate. I will always remember this “Boldly Gold” project as the time I boldly went for something I really like doing.

I will leave you with some photos (taken by the brilliant Zeus Martinez), but you can view the rest of the editorial here.

“Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask for or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” –Ephesians 3:20-21

Excess Calories: Greetings, Goodbyes, and General Geekiness

Just a quick post to share what we’ve been up to the past weeks apart from the whole name and branding change.

1. I got hired to address envelopes, and in the process, spilled ink over the couch. Hooray!
2. We got to visit A-11 Furniture and Design Gallery in Pasay. It’s beautiful! The textures make it a photographer’s dream; my sister’s actually considering it for her prenup photo shoot. (Watch out for that cause we’re being tapped to help out with the design stuff – Caleb)
3. We went to the Manila International Book Fair, and nope, we did not hoard.
4. Caleb gave his stingy self an early present by going to the 1st AsiaPOP Comicon Manila. He went with his brother, so I didn’t get to watch him nerd out. (I’ll be posting some pictures from this soon – Caleb)
5. I got to design a Save-The-Date card for a friend who will have a spring-themed wedding early next year.
6. We sent off a good, good friend. Look for my foot on the flat lay!
7. We discovered a nice Vietnamese coffee shop near my place: DiCoFi. Coffee and ambiance were good, but we wanted to offer to redesign their signage.
8. I finished reading a really, really good book that reflects God’s love and sovereignty.
9. We celebrated Caleb’s 26th by going to a buffet restaurant. Some of the restaurant staff sang for him and he got awkward.
10. Caleb hosted a Board Game Night in celebration of his birthday. People didn’t exactly go home happy. They lost in Dead of Winter. Thanks to the birthday boy who just ‘plays for fun’.
11. Caleb’s parents got him an elegant weapon for a more civilized age. He was the happiest little, big boy. Haha.

Pretty eventful (and tiring!) last two weeks and we enjoyed every bit of it!

Blue Trumpet Events Logo

There is a new events company in the Philippines and we got to do their logo!

It’s the first time that Caleb and I worked on a non-personal project since this blog, and it continues to amaze us how opportunities like this just open up. Cliché adages seem to make a lot more sense recently too: God’s timing is perfect. Follow your passion. Work hard. Make hay while the sun shines. Yada yada.

Anyway, new events company and their logo.

Blue Trumpet Events is a newly established events company offering full event planning, styling, and production services. It’s founded by three veterans in the Philippine wedding industry: coordinator Joed See of Joed See Events, florist Dylan Gozum of Vatel Manila, and event stylist Kathleen Dela Merced of Spark + Twinkle. They are just some of most sought-after personalities in the Philippine wedding scene and to have them all in one package is truly a treat. With this powerhouse cast working on your event, I bet you it can’t go wrong.

Getting tapped to do Blue Trumpet Events’ logo was extremely flattering. When Joed See approached me for this project, I got excited and nervous at the same time. Excited because who wouldn’t be? And nervous because they knew exactly what they wanted to see—they even had a sketch!

They wanted a line-drawn Blue Trumpet flower as the central feature of their logo, which I volunteered Caleb to do. So basically, he drew, and I watched and annoyed him with my staggered comments.

Oh the staggered, off-the-cuff side comments! – Caleb

Those are Caleb’s practice sketches. He intentionally drew three leaves for representation. The one in the middle is heavily inked because Caleb tried to address all of my requests: Make it look elongated. Nope, not that angle. It looks long now but the petals have to be bigger. Make the leaves smaller. Blah. Blah. Blah.  I had fun! Caleb did too—when I stopped talking. Haha.

Following his practice sketches, Caleb came up with that. We both liked the proportions but the lines weren’t thick enough, so Caleb had to push it a bit more.

Caleb arduously finished the illustration with beautiful shading. We finally got the output that we wanted. And so, off to my (simpler) part of the job: digitizing and lay-outing.

We offered them three lay-out options, and they chose the one we preferred the most:

Tada! The official Blue Trumpet Events logo, a Calorie first.

CALORIE is good for you.

Rorie and I are really excited by great art, great design, and great stories. We always had our own projects at home and at work, but we were always reluctant about putting our stuff out there. Art, design, and storytelling were things we loved, so we decided it was time, for better or ill, that we put our work out into the world. So for the past few months, we’ve have been playing around with our little pet project, The Guhit Unit.

As we went about with The Guhit Unit something interesting happened along the way. Friends, family, and some really gracious people we’ve yet to meet took notice and gave really kind words. They liked what we were doing. And most of them, especially friends and family, told us that they never knew we were into art and design and storytelling.

You may have noticed that we haven’t been posting as much as we used to. That’s because in the past few months, we’ve been getting messages from people asking us to do some work for them.

It’s an exciting and entirely welcome development. And that brings us to this. When we started this out, we just wanted a place where we can post our practice work. But the Lord has surprised us with how things are working out. So after these past few months, Rorie and I decided to change our name from The Guhit Unit to…

CALORIE is a portmanteau of our names. We decided to use our names because wanted to show that each project we do will have our own personal touch. We won’t publish it if it isn’t something we’d be proud to sign our names on.

The APOSTROPHE is a symbol of ownership and possession. We chose it as our logo to reinforce our commitment to do each project passionately and personally, and to be as invested as you are in the project.

The APOSTROPHE also doubles as a SPEECH BUBBLE, because we know that great art and design only works when you have a great story to tell.

For the Secondary Logo of the name, we wanted it to look like NUTRITION FACTS LABEL, because  it’s clear and direct to the point. Also, because the name sounds like something you find on the back of your cereal box.

Finally, and most importantly, we chose to have the APOSTROPHE above our names, so people will be reminded that we’re the workmanship and ownership of a Far Greater Artist and Storyteller, Jesus. We hope to be able to do great and awesome work so “they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”

We hope to put out personal and work projects that excites us and challenges us. And that we hope, you’ll love, and be excited about as well.

(Cliché) Reasons for Being MIA

We’re finally back!

We know we’ve been far away for too long, but we bet we’re not the first people you know who suddenly disappeared without a word. We’re sure you can instantly name someone who just went MIA. Do not worry, it’s not you; it’s us. So today, we’re going to explain why we disappeared in the most familiar (Read: Cliché) ways possible.

So the reason why you haven’t heard from us (and that MIA person in your life) in a while is because… Yes! And because of that…  Everything got really, really tough, so we… And while searching, we came across this idea:  this–you and us–isn’t any good. We actually… We struggled with the thought. We thought about it a lot and found out we… But maybe, it was really because… NOT!

The honest-to-God truth is that, we just… and we had… So we’re really sorry guys. But we’re here again, so HELLO!

We also hope you hear from your MIA friend soon.

Pinto Art Museum and Six-Word Stories

The past weeks were pretty busy; thus, the inactivity here. But we have time today, so hooray! Today’s set are photos from our visit to Pinto Art Museum last April. Last April! These photos sat on our hard drives for almost two months. We couldn’t post them right away because we were trying to find the best way to organize them. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to keep track of all the artist and gallery names, and we didn’t want to just flood you with random photos. We thought of posting our top picks, but scratched the idea because there were too many things that we liked. We stumbled upon the idea of this entry during a random conversation over fish balls. We’re not sure anymore who came up with the idea first, but we found ourselves sharing our favorite stories from sixwordstories.net. Then we went over our Pinto photos and challenged ourselves to attach six-word stories to them. It’s a fun creative exercise although what we came up with were all pretty sad. See for yourself…

Sculpture by Alab Pagarigan

Painting by Joven Mansit (Surface Tension)

Installation by Steph Lopez (Usapang Babae)

Installation by Stephanie Lopez (Palabas)

Believe us, we are happy people. We really are! We hope you liked this post and we encourage you try the exercise too. We’d love to see your photos and read your stories. 🙂