September 2016 Roundup

It seems like September is another slow month for me in terms of the number of reviews that were published. I was busy getting married, then I went on a short honeymoon with my wife to Hong Kong (again). That explains why I was missing for a few days. Thanks for all your congratulations when I posted the announcement video on Youtube.

Looking at the number of new books coming out in October and the number of books that I have yet to review, next month is going to be extremely busy. There's probably going to be a book featured every day.

Books

1. Beginner's Guide to Digital Painting in Photoshop: Sci-fi and Fantasy
2. The Art of Broken Age
3. Walking TOKYO Sketches of Popular and Memorable Sites
4. Urban Sketching Old San Juan - Puerto Rico
5. Pulling Your Paintings Together by Charles Reid
6. Suicide Squad: Behind the Scenes with the Worst Heroes Ever
7. Mattias Adolfsson Sketchbook 31
8. The Art of Painted Comics
9. Painting by Design: Getting to the Essence of Good Picture-Making by Charles Reid
10. The Urban Sketchbook: Get Out, Walk, Observe, Draw, Lose Yourself, Create
11. Eva Goes Solo
12. The Complete Guide to Pokemon Go
13. Drawing & Painting Portraits in Watercolour
14. The Art of Jock
15. Sketching Times 2: Inspiration from Artists Sketch Collection
16. The Art of Magic: The Gathering - Innistrad

Videos

My schedule for Youtube is currently down to putting out a video every other two days. I hope to get it back to 5 videos per week. Making videos consistently is much more difficult compared to reviewing books. I feel weird that I'm not creating as much videos, especially so when there are months I put out videos every day.

1. Sep 2016 Announcement
2. How to Draw this Interior from Observation (tutorial)
3. Book Review: An Illustrated Life and Journey by Danny Gregory
4. Pen & Ink Sketch Montage (Tutorial)
5. Review: Sailor Profit Brush Pen
6. Review: Canson XL Mixed Media Pad (300gsm)
7. Review: Walkstool Comfort (Portable Outdoor Stool)
8. Boat Quay Shophouse Sketch Timelapse
9. Review: Walkstool Comfort (Portable Outdoor Stool)
10. Peak Seah & Tras St Sketchwalk (24 Sept 2016)
11. Review: Winsor Newton Watercolor Sticks
12. Book Review: Tokyo on Foot & Manabeshima Island Japan

Art Product Reviews

1. Canson XL Mix Media Paper (300gsm)
2. Barebones Mini PCs for Graphic Design, Photo & Video Editing
3. Winsor and Newton Watercolour Sticks

In October, I'm going to try to get my hands on several products to review, namely...

Intel Skull Canyon: This is a mini PC with quad-core i7 processor. I'm waiting for the local seller here to give me a reply as to whether or not they can provide a review set. On paper, the specifications are quite good and there should be no issues when used for graphic design.

Dell UP3017 monitor: This is the new monitor that replaces the U3014. It's a relatively new monitor and there aren't many reviews out yet. I'll be reviewing this for use with graphic design.

Currently, I'm using the Strathmore 500 series Mixed Media Journal, Winsor & Newton Watercolor Markers and Pigment Markers. I've bought these many months ago but haven't used them until recently.

Few days ago, my friend asked if I ever had to put out unfavourable reviews. He had accepted some stuff to review and the manufacturer said that if the review is not favourable, it's best not to post anything. I put out unfavourable reviews whenever necessary, such as the recent one for the Winsor & Newton Watercolour Sticks. I've read online that many actually liked those watercolour sticks but I found the quality lacking. After I put out the Youtube video, I actually had people who thanked me for helping them save money.

That's the thing with my reviews. My duty is to help my readers and viewers understand the books and products I feature. My goal is to make my reviews balanced. If I hold back on unfavourable reviews, it helps the manufacturer make some money but does not help them improve their products. Most of all, it harms the consumers and waste their money.

Instagram

Are you on Instagram? Follow me too!

https://www.instagram.com/parkablogs/

Video courses

I've put out another set of video tutorial bundle for some urban sketching videos. That's set Sketching Tutorial Set #2. Check them out at https://gumroad.com/parkablogs

Patreon

Lastly, continue to support me on Patreon.

Any donation amount is appreciated. The money goes towards funding the web hosting, getting art products for review to prevent conflict of interest, sponsoring my bus trips to places where I make outdoor sketching videos. If I can go full-time with Patreon's help, I can make sketching videos every day. My dream!

You can see the rewards you can get in return for your support at https://www.patreon.com/parkablogs

And thanks to all who have supported me so far!