sup cheri?

Want to win some AWESOME Gamer Gear?! HEYCHERI teams up with MADCATZ!

Fri, 01 Jul 2011 21:52:03 GMT

Oh snap! Another day of awesome giveaways?!
Today, I’m teaming up with Mark Julio (@MarkMan23), Product Manager at Mad Catz Inc (@MadCatzInc) to bring you even more awesome Gamer Swag! This contest ends on Sunday (July 3) at MIDNIGHT PST — so you have quite a bit of time to enter! The contest is open INTERNATIONALLY! Which means everyone can freaking enter! HOLY CRAP. This is madness! MADNESS, I TELL YOU!

Here’s what you can win:

Grand Prize:
Street Fighter IV: Arcade FightStick Tournament Edition

Second Place:
TRITTON AX 720 Headset

Third Place:
Golden MadCatz FightStick Key Chain (Super Limited Edition)

Now, these are some seriously dope prizes worth quite a bit of money, so the rules this time are, understandably, just a bit more complicated. But that’s okay! You’re all smart little cookies — we’re quite confident that you’ll be able to figure it out. ;)

With that said, here are the rules:

You must be a follower of @heycheri, @MarkMan23, and @MadCatzInc on Twitter! We will be contacting winners through DM’s.
Send us a picture of you (in an @reply to @heycheri & @MarkMan23) with your best puppy dog eyes or “PICK ME” face!

Example:
Post “I WANT TO WIN A MADCATZ PRIZE -@YourTwitterUsername” on my Facebook Wall here! https://www.facebook.com/sherilynnmacale
RETWEET our original Tweet that lead you to these rules! If you can’t find it, here it is — http://twitter.com/#!/heycheri/status/86915576265588736

That’s it!
Failure to complete one of the rules will result in disqualification from the contest. I can’t stress this enough! It always sucks major balls to randomly select a winner, only to see that they’ve failed to complete one of the rules. It has to be fair for everyone, so make sure to double check that you’ve followed the directions thoroughly!

Remember that the contest deadline is Sunday, July 3rd at Midnight PST, so you only have a few days to send in your pictures and post your crap all over the place. And hey, if you feel like sending us more than one photo, who are we to stop you? ;) Make us laugh, make us cry, and most of all, GET CREATIVE. These prizes are seriously badass and we want to give them away to the best of the best.

We will be selecting three winners. The first person we pick will get to decide between our prize selection (if he doesn’t want the Arcade FightStick, he can decide on the headset or the keychain). The second person then picks from whatever is left over, and so on and so forth!

If you have any questions about the rules or need any sort of clarification, please just leave a comment and I will happily get back to you as soon as I am able. With that said, good luck, and we can’t wait to see your entries!

Free shit rules,
XOXO Cheri XOXO

Originally published at HEYCHERI. Please leave any comments there.

Want to win some badass gamer gear? HEYCHERI teams up with JINX.COM!

Thu, 30 Jun 2011 23:34:19 GMT

Guess what, Gamers & Geeks?
Thanks to the badass mofos at @JINX, I’ll be giving away $150 worth of giftcards every freaking month to score some sweet nerd loot from JINX.COM! In fact, depending on how well this contest goes, we might team up again to give you even MOAR rad gear! Maybe it’ll be $200 next time? Maybe $300?! MAYBE WE’LL JUST STRAIGHT UP GIVE YOU SOMETHING AWESOME.

Tell me that isn’t AMAZEBALLS?!

This time around, there will be 10 winners, each of whom will be receiving a $15 giftcard for JINX.COM to spend on whatever-the-hell they want. Buy yourself some underwear! Knock $15 off that sick Warcraft hoodie you’ve been eyeing! Pick up your favorite wallet & sticker set that just went on sale — whatever. We won’t judge you. IT’S YOUR FIH-TEEN DORRAS AND YOO CAN SPEND IT ON ANY-TING YOO WANT!

In fact, since I’m the one who gets to make all the rules (cackle), I will be personally selecting THREE of the TEN winners each month! Which means that if you’ve been a longtime fan of yours truly (you know who you guys are, and I love you!), you probably stand a really good chance of winning right off the bat.

That’s right.
I take care of my fans.
Always have and always will.

The other seven will be chosen randomly, of course!

The rules are super easy. And if you are incapable of viewing them on the rather large twitter screenshot above, here they are again for the visually challenged:

“LIKE” J!NX clothing on Facebook! https://www.facebook.com/JINXClothing
Follow @heycheri on Twitter and Retweet THIS TWEET!
Reply to @heycheri (and @JINX if you feel like it) on Twitter with, “I LOVE #HEYCHERI!“

Gawd, that was so easy.
Was that easy?
Looks pretty easy to me.

This particular contest will end at MIDNIGHT TONIGHT (12AM PST). So be sure to follow all of the rules, enter while you can, and basically — just be AWESOMESAUCE. You get extra points for awesomesauce, after all. It says so right here on my blog. That makes it real and stuff.

Oh, and look — it’s me in a bikini with @RichIGN. That’s cool.

Want moar bikini pictures?! Why not.
I can’t tell you who I was working for in this bikini (they respectfully requested I remove their name, as I am the number one search result for them in San Francisco — Oops! I’m all over that SEO, baby), but at least you can still enjoy the photos, right?!

Free shit & bikinis rule,
XOXO Cheri XOXO

Originally published at HEYCHERI. Please leave any comments there.

Dragon Age: Origins – A CheriTV Review!

Fri, 17 Jun 2011 00:31:31 GMT

Check out the video on YouTube here: http://youtu.be/6M0QDvbvv_g

I take a moment to discuss the real reasons why Dragon Age: Origins is so addicting, and how it’s completely taken over my social life. Warning: It’s a bit NSFW, so do try and listen with a set of headphones on, yeah?

XOXO Cheri XOXO

Originally published at HEYCHERI. Please leave any comments there.

Stop being such a pussy: Tell her you like her.

Thu, 02 Jun 2011 08:30:55 GMT

I definitely consider myself a blunt person.
If I have something on my mind, I will probably say it.
And I really don’t mean that in a fuck-you-you-have-to-listen-to-what-I-say-because-I’m-saying-it-and-I’m-super-important sort of way. I mean it like … If I think you’re gorgeous, I will probably tell you that you are gorgeous. If I’m worried about something you said, I will bring it up right away instead of letting it fester and turn into this huge ordeal.

Maybe blunt isn’t the right word for it.
Honest.
Honest sounds better.

* Also, before I continue, may I say that I am also fairly buzzed on a glass of Franzia (fucking classy) and if I happen to trip up grammatically, don’t hold it against me too much. Thanks. I’ll be refilling my glass throughout this entry.

That being said, I have to say … I’ve never understood why some people put so much pressure on the idea that we shouldn’t be paying each other compliments because it makes us seem “uncool”.

Personally, I enjoy compliments no matter who they’re from.
From a dating standpoint, I guess I can understand why someone who is interested in me would maybe not want to compliment me or say something positive about me to my face. Maybe they don’t want to echo what they think many others have said. Maybe they don’t want to feed my ego and make me think I’m too good for them.

But it just makes no sense to me!
If I’m attracted to someone, duh! I want to hear that they’re attracted to me too! I want to know that they’re also interested, and that I’m not the only one just sitting here fuckin’ wondering about whether or not they dig me! Often times, I’ll get so fed up with waiting around that I just dismiss the idea completely and move on.

That’s normal, right?
That’s what people do?
And if so, why do people continue to play “cool”?
Doesn’t it just serve the opposite effect?

I am not the sort who enjoys a guy who plays “hard to get” because I just genuinely do not like that game. If two people are attracted to each other, shouldn’t they just say so? I have better things to do, and these things do not include fantasizing about the what-ifs — especially if we can make those what-ifs actually happen.

It’s a different situation entirely, of course, if I am just genuinely not attracted to the person who is complimenting me. It doesn’t mean that he “slipped up” and came on too strong, or that he’s complimented me too much or something and scared me off.

I just. Don’t. Like him.
It has nothing to do with how smart or pretty he tells me I am. Trust me on that. I’m just not attracted to him on a basic level, and there’s really nothing he can do about it. It doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate his compliments either; I’m just not interested in him in a romantic sense.

That being said, for guys that try to play “cool” with me … Basically, it just pisses me off.
To me, playing “hard to get” or “cool” means that they have some sort of insecurity where they can’t own up to how they feel because they are afraid of how it might make them look. Which is just … Maddening, really. And actually, it’s incredibly unattractive and is one of the main reasons why I’ve stopped talking to so many guys who are probably perfectly datable, but ridiculously inept when it comes to understanding how I or anyone else works.

Do you really want to poison what could be an otherwise awesome relationship with self-doubt and uncertainty? How anyone can consider that situation “fun” is beyond me.

Probably the only exception to this rule is the shy individual.
The one who simply cannot open up to his or her feelings because they’re just so fucking cute and innocent, and just unused to the whole idea of dating or complimenting or, I don’t know, being attracted to or attractive to someone else. In the situation of the shy cutie, they’re not “playing cool” — they’re just adorable and don’t know what the fuck to do.

For the rest of the dumb asses out there who think it’s a good idea to act one way when you really feel another — STOP IT, IDIOTS.

When I like someone, I tell them.
If I’m attracted to somebody, trust me — I will let them know.
If I want to hang out with someone and spend time with somebody, I’ll probably bring it up once or twice.

But if I get mixed signals in return, then believe me: There will be a point where I just stop giving a shit, and you probably won’t be able to salvage it even if you wanted to because, hello, I DON’T CARE ANYMORE. Something in my mind has clicked and deemed you “not worth the struggle”, and it’s become cumbersome to me to deal with your bullshit. I also start to think that you’re fake, or not really who you say you are.

For men in this situation with girls that they like but are “playing it cool” with, the only thing you can really do at this point (especially after she’s thrown herself at you willingly and you haven’t taken advantage of it) is prove to her that you are worth the effort. Reciprocate the compliments, finally, and be proactive about pursuing her to gain her favor back. Because otherwise, she’s probably given up on the idea.

* Wow, I’m buzzed.
I didn’t even need to refill my glass.
Anyway …

What I’m trying to say is, if you are interested in someone, let them know. If you are attracted to somebody, spill the fucking beans. If they feel the same, they’ll be more than happy to hear it! And if they don’t, what’s the worst that’s going to happen? You move the fuck on and stop pining? Oh noes! The world has come to a fucking end!

Stop being afraid of rejection or of people thinking that you’re uncool because you failed to act a certain way — confidence is sexy! Be honest with yourself and, in turn, be honest with the people that you care about.

Nothing good comes from wearing a mask.
How will anyone come to appreciate who you really are?
Stop being such a fucking pussy. You’re only young once.

Live your goddamn life,
XOXO Cheri XOXO

Originally published at HEYCHERI. Please leave any comments there.

Things we don’t care about.

Tue, 31 May 2011 22:33:29 GMT

I could *not (thanks, Ed) care less about politics.
I also don’t give a shit about sports, or guns and weapons, or cars, or … I don’t know. About other things that make me zone out when someone’s trying to have a conversation with me about them. Or about things that force me to feign interest and say things like, “Oh, that’s interesting.” When I clearly do not care.

These are things that are, of course, incredibly important to some people. So important, in fact, that saying you have no interest in them is actually offensive. Some people simply cannot comprehend how you are just not interested in the same things that they are and, as if it will magically make you suddenly find politics and sports and guns and cars the most marvelously fascinating thing in the world, they argue with you about them. They aggressively pursue the subject that you obviously do not give a shit about and think that in 5 minutes of good old fashioned arguing, you will suddenly give a damn.

In a situation like this, rather than being pumped about the argued topic, I tend to feel uncomfortable.
I feel irritated.
I feel like someone is forcing their viewpoints down my throat and is attempting to prove that I am somehow inferior to them simply because I do not care to be interested in the same bullshit that they are.

I assume this is because when I say that I’m not interested, this somehow translates in their mind to “She thinks I’m stupid”. Or, “She thinks that because I am interested in something that she isn’t, it makes me dumb.”

This is, of course, incorrect.
False.
Not true.

When I say I’m not interested, it just means that I don’t find the topic interesting. Fun. Amusing. Worthy of discussion. In fact, I find it bland and something that I just don’t care to partake in. It’s not that I find the subject stupid — it’s just not something that I would bring up on a normal day because I’m not excited about it in the way that someone else might be.

Let’s look at this again by taking, for example, our friends Joe and Sally:
Joe and Sally are going on a date. Sally digs makeup and fashion, but knows that Joe probably isn’t interested in those sort of things. So she asks him what he’s interested in! Joe says, I like politics. Sally, not really knowing anything about politics, admits that she’s not much of a political groupie, but would not be opposed to hearing a little more about it. Joe happily fills her in.

Now, let’s reimagine this situation:
Joe, after hearing that Sally doesn’t know anything about politics, is now completely turned off because, hello, this girl must be an idiot. How can Sally not like politics, he wonders? Is she just in her own little world? Does she not care about anyone but herself? Does she not understand how politics affect her? The idea that someone in this world is not into the same things that he is has now baffled him, and Joe, unable to comprehend this situation, dismisses Sally as stupid and ignorant, and treats her as such because of this.

Joe, Joe, Joe.
Take a breath, Joe.
It’s gonna be alright.

What Joe needs to understand is that in this world, different people are into different things. On this amazing planet full of so many contrasting ideas, it is rare that Joe will find someone that digs exactly what he digs. But this doesn’t mean that because someone disagrees with his ideas, it is his duty to convert this person. In fact, in a situation like this, I’ve found that the easiest way to solve the conflict is to just say, “Fair enough”.

For Joe, and for everyone else who is pissed off because I or someone else don’t like exactly what you like, or is not into exactly what you are into, I suggest that you learn and internalize the phrase, “Fair enough”.

Understand that if I am writing or talking about things that bother you, that you don’t care about, or that you have no interest in? It doesn’t mean that I’m forcing you to read it. I won’t be mad at you because you don’t like my fashion sense, my blog posts, or my Twitter updates. I won’t be pissed off that you’re not into my philosophies or way of living life. In fact, it doesn’t even bother me if you disagree with practically everything I say.

And why?
Because I’m not a Joe.
I’m a Sally.

And while I may not sit around wondering about politics all day, that doesn’t mean I’m not excited to hear about Joe’s passions. As a Sally, what turns me on isn’t the particular subject — it’s how excited Joe gets when he talks about it. How his face lights up when he brings up something he cares about. How enthused he is and eager he might be to include me in it. That is how I become interested in the things that typically don’t matter to me.

From friends to boyfriends to family members, there are tons of things that I never thought I’d dig, but have suddenly become interested in because it was inspiring to me to see how happy it made it other people. Subjects I never would have paid attention to suddenly intrigued me. And all because the people that I liked, the people that I cared about, were genuinely passionate about the subject and in such a positive way.

So, Joe.
How do you get someone interested in the things that you care about?
Be passionate about it. Be positive. Be genuine. Your excitement is sexy and inspiring and just so fucking cute. Sally digs that you are interested in things that she normally would never take a second look at — show her why you love it instead of forcing her to love it too. Don’t be afraid to be who you are, and definitely don’t get defensive or angry because Sally isn’t exactly like you. And in that same vein, don’t pretend to be absolutely enthralled by everything Sally is into. Trust me. She’ll see right through that. And it’s boring! Sally wants to try new things just like you do — so put some excitement in each other’s lives!

Be honest with yourself.
Be honest with each other.
Mellow out, and learn to coexist — people are not as ignorant and stupid as you might think they are. They just haven’t been approached in the right way. So share the love and show them why the things you care about are cool.

Oh, and don’t be such a hater.
People can surprise you. ;)

Respectfully,
XOXO Cheri XOXO

Originally published at HEYCHERI. Please leave any comments there.

Oh, just everything.

Tue, 31 May 2011 05:05:11 GMT

Remember how I said I’d update every Sunday?
Well, I’ve changed my mind. I’m not a big fan of this weekly update thing. It’s just no fun, really.

The beauty of updating whenever-the-fuck I want is that I can get immediate feedback on the things that matter to me at that specific moment in time. If something crazy happens to me in the next half hour, I want to be able to write about it right now and hear what y’all think without the whole, “Crap. I only update on Sundays” thing going on in my head.

Originally, I thought it would make writing easier for me since I usually have so much going on. But after taking this whole schedule thing for a test run, it turns out that it’s made my shit feel super “robotic”. Like I can’t even hear my own voice. Like I’m on some deadline for the one thing that’s supposed to make me happy, and it actually becomes more stressful for me.

Oh well.
I wouldn’t have known I didn’t like it if I didn’t even try it, right?

Which means … Yeah. I’m going back to the formula that’s always worked for me: Random updates whenever I feel like it. And actually, I’m pretty sure most of you agree with me. ;)

Recently, in an attempt to help pay the bills, I’ve been accepting a few modeling gigs here and there. And yes, I know, it’s been forever since I’ve been in front of a camera forreal. I go through these phases where I’m like, “I hate everyone! I hate the spotlight! I don’t want to be in front of a camera anymore!”

But uh. I’m good at it. It’s easy. And it brings in enough income for me to buy groceries and pay my utilities, so … I may as well do it, right? Why not? I already do everything else.

Besides. Modeling is the only chance I get nowadays to wear high heels in this freaking hill-covered city.

For those of you ladies who live out here in San Francisco, California and rock heels on a daily basis, answer this question for me: How the hell do you do it?! And where exactly are you going with those high heels, because whenever I throw them on, I feel incredibly overdressed. Don’t you?

My hair is getting so long, too.
I don’t know why I keep chopping it off — I always feel my sexiest when I can run my fingers through it and twist it in long spirals in my hands. It’s like this nervous tick I have or something. I am constantly playing with my hair. Actually, I’m pretty sure it’s the one thing everyone keeps telling me to stop doing in my videos (oops).

Example below where I’m showing off a new outfit of the day:

Those are some of my favorite pants right now, by the way.

There are Mediums and Larges left on Amazon for only $26.95 from BCBG Max Azria, so get ‘em before they run out!

Oh, and I am seriously obsessed with Boxed Wine.
I know. Classy, right?

I swear it’s like it never runs out, and I always have enough to go around when I have company. And with the amount of females marching through my apartment on the regular (between both my roomie and me), boxed wine is like a staple in our diet.

Don’t judge me — it’s delicious!
Not to mention it’s the perfect companion for a night of solo video games or a drunken tirade with Black Ops (which I happen to rule at, if you remember).

When you have a huge box of yummy wine in your fridge, a comfy bed, and an HDTV, it gets pretty tough to be productive (or social, for that matter). Trust me when I say that after spending my first night alone sipping the stuff, I realized why people become losers who hide inside all day drinking and playing on the internet instead of out and about doing something with their lives.

Fortunately, I have good friends who enjoy eating good food, and I’ve gotten out enough to try quite a few different places in San Francisco.

The fried bananas with coconut ice cream above are from Thai Stick, for example. But as a tip from me to you, don’t just rip off a piece and bite into it right away. They’re freaking hot and will definitely burn your tongue! So instead, chop it in half and let the steam out, stuff it with coconut, mango, or green tea ice cream, let it cool off for a few seconds, then nom away. Mmmm.

This burrito is from Beach Burrito, a Mexican food place in the Outer Sunset.
And I mean, I like burritos, but I’m not a big “meat” person when it comes to the stuff. So I’m always asking for just a hint of meat, with shittons of grilled vegetables, guacamole, and sour cream (yum).

Personally, I tend to judge Mexican Food by how tasty their tortilla chips and salsa are, and this place was … Meh. It was okay. I like my salsas and guacamole pretty hearty and chunky — this stuff was watered down and runny. Not my style.

But if you dig the streamy stuff, this might be the place for you. :P

After grabbing food at Beach Burrito, Ocean Beach is just a few blocks away, and it’s just beautiful.

I’ve only really heard of two beaches in the city: Ocean Beach, and Baker. And from what I’ve heard, Baker is the better of the two. But I dunno’ — there’s something so calming about going to a beach that’s dead empty. You can think out there. You can write, you can draw, you can listen to the waves.

Just bring a sun umbrella for sure if you plan on chilling for a while, because sunglasses aren’t gonna cut it in that light.

How’s everything else going for me?
I … Don’t even really know what I’m doing lately. Shit is so scattered for me, it’s ridiculous. I can’t decide what I want to do with the rest of my life.

I’ve definitely had a few offers to go full-time with a few companies who want to hire me on as their Social Media Consultant, as a Community Manager for various start ups, etc, but I don’t know … Do I really want that right now?

I’m sort of just enjoying this weird “vacation” that I’m on where all I have to do is model, freelance, draw stuff, write things occasionally, and lay around in bed playing video games and drinking wine. I know it’s not going to last forever, and I’m sure something crazy is going to happen to me where I suddenly need to get my shit together, but if I could just get by doing what I feel is “nothing” for the rest of my life, I think I’d be pretty happy.

There was a time in my life where all I wanted was to be in the spotlight, or be in front of the camera, or be somewhere where I could just be me and people would love me for it. But I think I’ve reached a point where I’m kind of happy with where I am and don’t really need anything else.

Can’t a girl just have good food, good friends, good drinks (and as a bonus: good sex), and have that be totally fine?

Humor me: What if I stopped trying to be this super successful person because I was already satisfied with where I’m at right now? What if all I did was ramble (like I already do, actually) about the mundane things that happen to me every day, and stopped trying to throw myself into the lime light? Would that be alright? Would I be crucified for not being as successful as I sometimes hope and dream I might be someday?

Because uh … I like where I’m at.

I like that I’m not in some psychotic relationship with some crazy person who drives me batshit insane. I like that I’m able to survive in the city under fairly affordable living expenses. I like that there are cute boys everywhere that I can date or flirt with without being pressured to be in a relationship. I like that I can shop and dress the way I want. I like that I can write on my blog and pretty much say whatever I like because, duh, it’s not like I’m a celebrity or anything — no one really cares what I say, right?

I like being complacent with the idea that I’m “nobody”, because it’s when I start to think that I’m “somebody” that I suddenly feel stressed.

I enjoy being able to disappear. It’s nice.
I like not being a popular topic of conversation.
And actually, I like the me-time I’ve been having.
I like being alone in my room with no one bothering me.
I happen to find it relaxing.

Basically what I’m saying is, if nothing spectacular happens in the next few weeks from now other than a few articles published to various news sites and a few modeling photos, that’s cool with me. :P I’d rather have that than some kind of drama rollercoaster.

Anyway, let’s just end it with this since my friend requested it:

‘Nuff said,
XOXO Cheri XOXO

Originally published at HEYCHERI. Please leave any comments there.

I’m sick! Ugh. But at least I can blog.

Sun, 08 May 2011 16:01:16 GMT

Of course I’d be home sick on a weekend where I’m basically free of obligations and actually have time to go out and enjoy myself. Funny how things seem to work out that way, huh?

I don’t have a fever or anything; Just a sore throat (my left tonsil is swollen and giving me neck pains – cue blowjob jokes). But it’s enough of a red flag to warn me against romping around and getting wrecked tonight. Besides, if I continue at the same level of activity that’s been propelling me all week, I’ll definitely be so sick that I won’t even be able to do any freelance work. Sigh.

Damn you, responsibilities.

Actually, I’ve been feeling fairly ill since my parents came to visit. They spent the night last Saturday so we could do an Ikea run the next morning, but seeing as my room only has a twin bed … Well. I let them have it together, and I slept on the floor.

But Dad snores like a dinosaur.
Mom talks in her sleep.
And my floor isn’t exactly this big comfy mattress.

When you combine that with the fact that we had to wake up early the next morning to get to Ikea when it opened, that I got absolutely zero rest, and that I spent the next few days exerting myself by building tons of freaking furniture, unpacking all of my crap, doing a few massive loads of laundry, and simultaneously humoring friends who wanted to hang out, it’s not difficult to imagine how I’ve managed to get myself sick.

So while I may be all comfy and cute in my pajamas now, the last few days have been pretty intense for me.

Example, my girls recently treated me to a Ke$ha concert at the Warfield here in San Francisco, and I just couldn’t turn them down!

Check it out, we were even featured on SF Weekly! Ha.

Getting ready was fun. I love doing dark makeup looks and rarely get a chance to dress up here in the city since every event or party I attend is usually so casual. It’s actually been one of my main qualms about living in San Francisco, ha!

But after dressing up a little for @RichIGN’s birthday, I’ve gotten back into the habit of just wearing whatever-the-fuck I want. I think I was in a huge funk there for a while after the whole debacle with my job situation, and the panic of not having enough money to make my rent, combined with the stress of searching for a new place to live.

Things are settling down now, though.
I’m happier (or at least, more complacent) than I have been for a while, and I’m starting to feel really comfortable here in the city, as well as with where I am in my life. I’m learning to take things a bit more slowly instead of trying to rush ahead and meet my goals ASAP. I’m learning that things take time, and that I can’t just snap my fingers and have everything I want in an instant. In fact, the whole struggle of trying to make money for my rent has taught me a lot about humility, about working hard, and has helped me realize my own potential.

Though admittedly, being forced to rely on my raw talents was really scary at first. I thought to myself, what exactly am I capable of? I guess I can write. I suppose I can draw a bit. I’m something of a Social Media fanatic. And I am definitely a networking freak of nature. But what good is any of that if I can’t put it to use, right? What good is any of it if no one notices? How does that help me if I can’t monetize my own abilities or experience?

I beat myself up for about a month feeling absolutely useless.
All of my efforts seemed to be going unnoticed, I seemed to be failing left and right, my savings were being sucked dry, and the pressure – god, the fucking pressure – of always feeling like I need to be perfect was really starting to wear me down.

I know I say that I’m no role model. I know I’m always going on about how I fuck up often and that no one should ever attempt to mimic my bullshit. But behind all of the denial, I am almost always wrestling with the idea that I need to set some kind of example for the few who might look up to my nonsense (and believe me, I know who you all are, and you’ve all been so fantastic in your constant support of me).

It is actually this very realization that often drives me to excel. I think to myself, I can’t look like an idiot in front of all of these people. I need to work harder. I need to do better. I need to succeed.

Motivated by my own pathetic failures and by the idea that I can’t let down all of these people who I know are rooting for me, I started to push myself.

Hard.

I guess you could say that I’m a fairly strategic person when it comes to success. I enjoy being excessively prepared for shitty situations so that, when the time comes, I will always have two or three backup plans.

In the case of my job situation, after I’d completely exhausted my business and personal network for positions and opportunities, I realized that I could only rely on myself in order to remain living within the city. No one was going to help me, and no matter what anyone did to try and help me, the responsibility ultimately fell on me to survive, not anyone else. So if reaching out to my network wasn’t working, I had to try a different approach.

Art, for example, has always been one of my many hidden talents that I’ve managed to neglect through time and distraction. But after being recognized by IGN for my ability and having my work selected for an exclusive Zelda feature, it gave me a huge boost of confidence.

So I began there.

First, I reworked my entire website layout in order to present myself in a way that would better speak for my artistic abilities. I began putting together my illustration portfolio, churning out shit tons of new original art pieces, showing off what all I was currently capable of doing, and also showing how quickly I am able to learn and master new techniques. I also hauled my ass out to conventions where I could network with other artists, comics publishers, and like-minded people in order to get a good grasp on who my competition was and what I’d need to do in order to succeed.

Pursuing art was good for me.
It put me on the path to positive thinking (something that I had been severely lacking — you can even go back a few entries and see all of the depressing shit I had been writing about how much my life sucks, ha!).

My friends were, unexpectedly, extremely supportive of my revealed passion for illustration. And the surprising amount of encouragement I received from fans, readers, and followers (or even just random artists on Deviant Art) was surreal.

When I timidly began to accept commission orders for custom art pieces, I was shocked at the reaction. People were snatching up my art like hot cakes! People were framing my pieces and putting them up on their walls! People were talking about my work – both negatively and positively – and the buzz was spreading about my stuff! I was selling my art all on my own, and making my rent.

Here are some photos sent in by fans of my work printed and/or framed:

You can’t even imagine how good it felt to feel like I was succeeding at something again – anything – after spending so long doubting my abilities and myself.

I felt like my vitality had been renewed.
It made me realize my own strength. It made me realize that I couldn’t rely on anyone else to help me get through tough times. That at the end of the day, all I can do is channel my own talents and make the most of them. That hard work pays off, and that being on the brink of absolute failure is really just a way for us to prove to ourselves what we are capable of.

My friend said to me once, “You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have.” And she was right.

Art, for me, has always been this old talent that I’ve always been able to fall back on during tough times. And now knowing that I am able to survive on my art alone, even in the face of being unemployed, is this huge weight off of my shoulders. If there is some secret Art God out there, or some kind of Art Guardian Angel watching over me – thank you so much for looking out for me. I can’t tell you how grateful I am. But if those things don’t exist and it’s really just me and my own talent, then shit. I feel incredible.

Anyway …

About 1,500 words into this entry, and I realize how long it’s becoming.

But fuck it. I’m home sick, this is my blog, and it’s been a while since I’ve really vented like this anyway, right? My blog’s been so full of pictures, pictures, pictures, art, art, art – the writing part of it all has sort of been set aside.

So to those of you who aren’t here to read, I apologize (not that you’ve made it this far anyway). And to those of you who enjoy my babble, thank you for coming this far as I still have quite a bit more to say. Heh.

For now, let’s just leave this entry at “To Be Continued,” shall we?

Inspired by Death Note, I’m actually setting up a publishing schedule for my blog so that, in the event that I become extremely busy with freelance work (or get sick and have too high of a fever to write or publish), or even if I just become swamped in general (like I have lately with all of the moving and unpacking I’ve had to do), my blog will continue to publish art, comics, and blog entries on a set schedule.

I’m thinking … Sundays?
Sunday seems like a good day to read my blog, right?

So let’s take this schedule on a test run. From now on, every Sunday my website will have new content on it for you to enjoy. Sounds like a plan to me.

Until next time,
XOXO Cheri XOXO

Oh, and PS! Don’t forget that if you have any questions or need any advice, you can always just Contact Me via the form on my website. There’s always a chance that I’ll feature your email or letter on my blog! You can also use the form just to send in your letters of support. I appreciate it more than you know. Also, when you get a chance, don’t forget to check out my recent article on G4TV’s The Feed. Leave comments, share it, retweet it, like it on facebook, etc!

QUICK EDIT: OH!! Happy Mother’s Day, everyone. Please do something awesome for your mom and make her feel special. She deserves it! :) After all, she did carry you around for 9 months in her belly suffering through back pains, getting fat because she’s eating for two, and then raise you to adulthood. All a mother wants to know is that you appreciate her — so show your mom you love her today! Call her, send her flowers, cook for her, take her out to eat if you can, do a little song and dance, whatever! :) And have a great Mother’s Day, everyone. <3

Originally published at HEYCHERI. Please leave any comments there.

I’ve moved to a new apartment!

Tue, 03 May 2011 05:33:59 GMT

Oh, hey there.
Yeah, it’s me. I know. Surprise and stuff. First, a warning: Do not expect this entry to be a perfect example of my writing prowess — this is just a time-killing post while I wait for my roomie to get home and help me lift this ginormous fucking wardrobe that I built all by my goddamn self.

With that said, have some pictures of some stuff I did recently because I have nothing relevant to say right now and I enjoy writing run on sentences that end in colons leading to pictures:

Here I am surrounded by some of my favorite people in the city (follow them on Twitter: @on3nightstan, @ctz, @warrenprice — I have no idea who that dude in the very back is). Yes, I know, I am the skinniest person on the goddamn planet, I have no tits and no ass, and the only reason I look semi-tall in this picture is because I have 5 inch heels on.

Also, I am absolutely wasted in this shot after downing quite a few vodka redbulls in celebration of @RichIGN‘s birthday.

It.
Was.
Awesome.

… Moving along.

Here I am being a perfect daughter with Mom and Dad. No idea why Dad isn’t smiling. They’ve been in the city two weekends in a row now just visiting and helping me move to my new apartment, stocking my fridge with shittons of groceries, and helping me snag some cheap new furniture from Ikea since I am, of course, vehicle-less.

Aren’t we just adoraaableeee?! @CTZ and I managed to trick quite a few people into thinking we were a couple by setting one of these shots up as my profile picture. It’s amazing how much gossip a stupid default pic on Facebook can cause, isn’t it? Don’t be surprised if I start putting up pictures that are designed to feed the trolls.

Here I am looking like a homeless person with my torn jeans and clothing-filled garbage bags. I was in the process of moving out of my old apartment and decided to take some final pictures in my room before I didn’t have access to it anymore. :3

These are delicious Asian snacks that my parents bought for me while they were visiting. They also helped me stock up on potato chips which, if you didn’t know, are my absolute weakness! Sour Cream & Onion, BBQ, Cheddar & Sour Cream, Jalapeno, Salt & Vinegar — whatever! I. Fucking. Love. Potato Chips.

Surprise! More camwhoring. Betcha’ didn’t expect that one. My ability to bewilder crowds is over level 9,000.

I tried those world-famous Swedish Meatballs from the Ikea Restaurant while I was there with my parents shopping for furniture. And uh … They really weren’t that great. Y’all are overreacting when it comes to food rating. *Snub*

Here I am after discovering a new camwhoring angle that makes me look sexier than I really am (dat ass!). Clearly I had a ball with this one.

This is that wardrobe I built that weighs a million fucking pounds. I hammered and pieced it together all by myself because, if you haven’t guessed by now, I am amazing.

And more pictures of me just in case you forgot what I look like.

I mean, really, the whole goal of camwhoring is to burn my image into your head so if you spot me on the street, you’ll be like, “OH MY GOD. Are you Cheri?! Are you that blogger?! OHMYGOD. I totally subscribe to your YouTube, like your page on Facebook, and follow you on Twitter! Like ohmygod, take a picture with me, please!!”

But you guys. Lemme’ just ask you something.
Why is it that every time I run into one of you on the street, I ask you to send or tweet me the picture that we took together, and you’re always like, “of course”, but when I check my Twitter and email, I NEVER GET THE PICTURE FROM YOU?! C’mon people. Stop sucking. Follow through. That’s what winners do.

And uhh … Yeah. o_o *Slinks away*

Tired from moving and building shit,
XOXO Cheri XOXO

Originally published at HEYCHERI. Please leave any comments there.

Subscribe to and Watch CheriTV!

Fri, 22 Apr 2011 01:31:48 GMT

What’s this?! An awesome-sauce YouTube Channel all about Gaming, Geeking, Technology and Gadgets?! And h’ohh SUH-NAPP! The content includes exclusive interviews with games & tech industry superstars, booth babes, cosplayers, and even covers events as well as general nerdy babble?! SIGN ME UP.

Also, as you can no doubt tell, I am in need of an Intro Animation/Logo/Etc, as well as some sort of upbeat pop/dance-ish type music to slap into my videos. If you happen to know someone who can do any of the above, or are, yourself, a fantastic DJ or Graphics Designer, then please! Feel free to send me your stuff & contact me!

And uh, yeah.
Enjoy. ;3

Higher quality videos coming soon,
XOXO Cheri XOXO

Originally published at HEYCHERI. Please leave any comments there.

My Puppet Zelda Artwork is Featured on IGN.com!

Thu, 21 Apr 2011 09:43:25 GMT

About three or four months ago, before I had even made the move to San Francisco, my friend Carlos sent me a Tweet linking to a blog post that Rich had posted about a Zelda Artist casting call.

I, of course, immediately applied to be one of the artists by shooting off an email to Rich (keep in mind that I had no idea who Rich was at the time, and vice versa).

Below, you’ll find my “audition” email:

Being the annoyingly active overachiever that I am, I also began harassing him via Twitter in an attempt to get his attention. I mean, he was probably looking at hundreds of artist applications! How else was I gonna stand out, y’know?! I couldn’t just sit here and do nothing.

So uh … I went for the shock factor.
I’m pretty sure I tweeted and asked him if I could draw Princess Zelda & Shiekh making out or something, and he was like, “Uhm, that’s not exactly what we’re looking for, as awesome as that would be.” And from there, I may have pestered him relentlessly into checking out my email so he could lay verdict on whether or not he found my style passable for the Zelda tribute.

And well, lucky me, I guess he thought I was pretty good. :3 *Blush*

Sidenote: I seriously just spent the past 30 minutes or so scrolling back through countless tweets on my feed in an attempt to find the Twitter conversation I had with Rich about this, and then it stopped loading right before the day I needed. AAAAH!! — OH WAIT. I can check his! O_O! DUMB!

Behold, the entire Twitter conversation that lead up to landing this feature:

I was pretty serious with this suggestion, actually.
If you can’t already tell from my current gallery of work, I enjoy
drawing hot women in provocative poses. :P

I totally did, too.

I’ve said this before, but I love villains.

When I received the Tweet hinting that I check my email, I was like, ZOMG!! Heart attack, girly squeal, etc!

XD!!!
… So of course, I tweeted a response. :3

And so our conversation moved to emails where we could discuss the secret project in more delicious detail. Obviously it would’ve been crap to reveal the Hyrule’s Most Wanted secret feature to the public 4 months before it was actually supposed to launch, so precautions were taken! And who knew it would end up being such a huge project full of so many amazing artists, of which I have the honor of being a part of?!

Followup Emails below:

Side Note: FUCK YEAHHHH!!! XD!! *Dance Dance Dance*

It is such a trip looking back at these Tweets, at these emails, and at everything that’s transpired since January.

For one, Rich has become one of my favorite people on the planet, and we’re kind of ridiculously close now. And for another, I’ve obviously learned how to color my lineart. So seeing the extremely plain image above of Puppet Zelda reaching menacingly towards the viewer just makes me cringe in disappointment! I should have colored it. :( I mean, it’s too late now, since it’s already up and in the system. Which means I’ll probably just end up coloring it in my spare time so I can throw it up here in the blog for peace of mind.

Enjoy a few close-ups for more details:

Do you know how difficult it was for me to keep this project a secret?!
How torturous it was for me not to share a piece that I was working on?!

On my Tumblr alone, I am constantly posting “Work In Progress” pictures of the various projects I’m attacking. I really value the feedback I get on my work, as it serves to drive me and motivate me. So being unable to share my progress was totally a pain!

It feels good to finally reveal everything.

The full-size Puppet Zelda piece prints out at 20″ x 30″ and took about an hour or two to complete.
You can also view a larger version on my DeviantArt, check out my page on IGN’s feature, or browse the entire list of villains (still being updated)! You can also check out Rich’s blog discussing the Behind The Scenes of the project — be sure to leave him comments as well!

Enjoy,
XOXO Cheri XOXO

Originally published at HEYCHERI. Please leave any comments there.

Commission: Krista & The Zombies!

Thu, 21 Apr 2011 03:21:31 GMT

Holy crap this took forever!
You have no idea how many times I’ve redrawn this image over and over trying to decide what I wanted her to look like, what pose she was in, whether she’d be holding a weapon or not, etc!

I’d say all in all, I’ve spent over 9 hours or so on this image just trying to get it exactly right. And the funny thing is that the commissioner (Krista) didn’t even pay for a fully-colored image! I’m just one of those artists who, if I know that I’m taking forever to finish a piece, I’ll throw in a bunch of extra shit (like coloring, etc) because I feel bad that I’ve taken so long. -_-!

Anyhoo, this piece prints out at a beautiful 20″ x 30″, and I’m sure Krista’s going to be pleasantly surprised with it. View a larger version on my DeviantArt!

Check out some close-ups of the finer details in this images below:

It’s sad how much the image loses when it’s shrunken down like this. The full blown print is the only way you’d ever see all of the cool shit and brush-work and little details I added to it. Sigh! If she ever gets it printed, I’ll be sure to update you guys with some photos.

Anyhoo, as usual, take a look at my work-in-progress shots below!

Here are the various ways that I’ve redrawn the image over and over. Holy crap. It was really tricky for me because, number one, she paid for the piece, so I obviously didn’t want to disappoint her. And number two, I’ve never drawn zombies before! So how do I draw my typically adorable characters interacting with them?! AAAH.

After scrapping piece after piece, I finally settled on the redraw to the very right. Heh.

This is a cool trick I do. Basically, I’ll pose however I need to illustrate the character I’m working on via my MacBook’s webcam, and then draw a kind of rendition of that into my piece. This is how I nailed the poses for the zombies (as well as a few of the gruesome expressions, haha — thus, the blurred face, LOL).

Then someone on Twitter said that the anatomy was off on my Zombie, so I was like, whaaat?! No way! She’s supposed to look like that! But just to be safe, I distorted her arms even more and added mutation-lumps all over her. It’s a shame you can’t really see these details in the finished piece unless you really stare at it, but the point is, I DID IT! And it took forever! SO PFFF!

Zombies are grossss! X_x
It was pretty difficult to come up with different ways to make people look decayed, decomposed, disembodied, etc. I didn’t really know what I was doing. -_-” So while illustrating the hoard of zombies coming for the main character, I just kept in mind that I’d probably make the background colors really dark so you wouldn’t end up focusing on how badly drawn it all is. HAHAHA. ^_^;;

For the coloring on this image, I actually used a combination of two different programs: Paint Tool Sai, and Photoshop.

I know you can’t really tell since my coloring looks essentially the same as it always does (unless you’re a massive critic and can see the minor differences like I can), but the process of coloring this image was really just an experiment for me to see if I could master another art program.

I had to save my Photoshop lineart on my MacBook, then transfer over the image to my PC (since Sai only seems to work on PC’s), and began to color it there.

And dude, Sai is freaking awesome! All of the brush strokes that take me forever to craft and fake on Photoshop are built into Sai! So I don’t have to do any annoying blurring, or layering, or opacity tweaking — it’s such a simple and easy to use program! If you have a PC or are looking to get the coloring style down that I have, I definitely suggest giving Sai a try!

Freckles, zombie color washes, blood spatters, eye coloring begins, etc.

And then I drowned out the background a bit just to bring the character to life, signed it, added my signature glowing adorable highlights all over the place, those random strands of hair I like to draw in, and BAAAMM!! FINISHED!! XD FUDDDGEEE THIS TOOK SO LOOONGGGG FMLLLLL. But I’m so proud of it and it looks great (in my opinion). Like, this is a piece I can actually send to Krista and feel satisfied with, y’know!?

… Actually.
Looking at it now, I can’t help but think I should add blood spatters to the girl as well. -_-” Oh well. That’s easy enough to add! Heh. Hope you enjoyed!

Perfectionist Workaholic,
XOXO Cheri XOXO

Originally published at HEYCHERI. Please leave any comments there.

Huge Update: A little of everything.

Tue, 19 Apr 2011 22:54:02 GMT

Uh oh.
It may or may not be a good thing that I’ve learned how to animate my own images, as you will probably be seeing my blog flooded with these types of shots pretty soon (much to the dismay of those who get easily annoyed by pictures of yours truly — just another conveniently accessible form of torture for my biggest fans! XD).

Here’s this zombie board game that I convinced myself into picking up about a month or two ago. I have yet to play it! Which sucks because it’s a game that you’re supposed to play with a bunch of people, right? And I keep telling myself crap like, “Yay, I’m in San Francisco now and there are nerds everywhere! Everyone will totally want to play this with me!” But my dumb ass keeps leaving it at home.

… And also, I just keep thinking that if I bring it out with me, people will look at me like I’m crazy.

“Cheri, we’re at a party, and you want to play a zombie board game? … Uhhhhh.” Hahaha-haaaa. Sigh.

Cheeeese!
If you didn’t know already, I am very much a PS3 gamer. I personally believe that the PS Online community is much nicer (and definitely more mature) than the XBOX Live community. In my experience, gamers on PS3 will actually make an effort to talk to you versus cursing at you, throwing around racial slurs, or making rude jokes & comments like they typically do on 360. This isn’t to say that all of XBOX Live is full of douchebags, but c’mon — you have to admit that the majority of players on that system are fairly rude.

Before moving to San Francisco, I basically had no one to play with (as I come from a very small town where “gaming” isn’t a huge part of the area’s culture). PSOnline was basically the only place where I could make friends who were into what I was into and not feel like a total dweeb for preferring to play Call of Duty rather than go out drinking.

It’s different here in the city where I am obviously surrounded by tech-loving and geek-culture-embracing folks, but I still prefer my PS3 for my online friend-making, heh.

Trucker hats! I feel so gangsta when I throw this on. It’s my only “baseball cap” type of accessory, as I normally feel like these don’t look very good on me, haha!

XD!! These are just shots from yesterday of me showing off my makeup (since it’s been a while since I’ve done anything as colorful as this — waddap, MakeupByCheri YouTube fans!!). I am typically neutral with my eyeshadow colors, as I don’t like to look too “unnatural” and shock people when they see me without a fully painted face, ha. So throwing on a little pink & purple was a fun experiment!

Also, I totally realize that this entry is completely scatter-brained and not at all up to par with the typical posts here on my blog. Sorry! XD

Rich and I seriously hang out, like … What — 3 or 4 times a week?
Which is amazing, actually, because I am such a freaking hermit that I almost never leave my apartment. I don’t care who’s calling me or inviting me to come out — I typically refuse to leave the comfort of my room. And there’s actually only a few people that I do go out with now and then, and it’s only because I’ve hung out with them enough to feel more comfortable & safe around them. But other than that … If I don’t know you very well, and you’re not persistant? I probably will never hang out with you unless we’re in a large social situation. -_-” I suppose I enjoy my privacy?

Anyway, since moving to the city, Rich has quickly become one of my best friends and is definitely the first person I think to call if I need company, or if I am feeling gloomy (I wonder if he’ll be completely embarrassed by this entry, haha). Which is nice because, well, moving to this huge new world three months ago, I knew practically no one. I felt uncomfortable, I felt unsafe, and I was definitely nervous about exploring the city on my own.

Rich was the one who showed me around when I first got here. And actually, he’s also the person who’s really helped me to reconnect with all of the geeky, nerdy shit about myself that I pretty much kept as my dirty little undercover secret back when I lived in Stockton (for fear of being ostracized in a tiny town).

Rich is even the one who introduced me to Death Note which, if you’ve been keeping up with me, is my obsession. I’ve seriously watched the entire anime series with him from start to finish (god, we sound so lame, LOL), and I’ve just now seen the live action movies (totally cried my eyes out, by the way). Now I just have to read the entire manga and watch the spin off series, which Rich happens to have collected and never seen himself. LOL!

I. Love. Death Note.
And I’m sure he feels like he’s created a monster.
Lmfao.

He’s also the person who has really helped motivate me into getting back into my art. He’s a huge comics and art fan (seriously, you should see his collection of stuff — everything from figurines to prints to entire collections of graphic novels and comics — his apartment is like freaking geek heaven, and I could seriously spend forever there just going through the amazing junk he probably hasn’t touched in I don’t know how long), so we’ll sit there and spend forever just critiquing and talking about it (we flipped through James Jean’s book of 75 Fables Cover Art Illustrations, and pretty much thoroughly discussed each painting). And it doesn’t feel like a competition, y’know? Like, it’s not this “who knows more” verbal battle or anything that I’ve experienced with other know-it-all-artists in the past. It’s just this mutual appreciation for a subject that we’re both passionate about, and it’s incredibly freeing.

He’s also introduced me to the world of comics shops.
AND IT’S AWESOME! There are so many comic book shops in the city! Holy crap!

Check out these horrible cellphone pictures I took while out and about with him:

Harleyyy! My favorite villain ever.
If you didn’t know, I’m not so much a Super Hero fan as I am a Super Villain fanatic. I would totally collect villain figurines! This one is particularly amazing. Heh. But uh … Just a bit expensive. :3

Poison Ivy!! Also freaking awesome. My second favorite villain and, coincidentally, also from Batman. Heheh.

CUTE MINIATURE THINGS, AAAAAAHHH *Geeking out*!! I want them all!!
They’re so freaking adorable!! I didn’t know they had these things in comics shops! I’m obsessed with tiny shit. X_x Omg. Lmao. Want.

There’s everything from fingertip sized chocolate cakes to full plates of sushi rolls as small as a marble. I WANT!! I’m seriously going to start collecting these, hahaha! XD Can’t help it. Just want them. Don’t know why — just do. Tiny things … So … Cute … No one will stop me! BAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

… Calming down, now.

Hanging out in comic shops, talking nerd smack with Rich, surrounding myself with people in the tech and games industry, putting all of my effort into pursuing a career in some sort of related field — It feels good to just be myself, y’know? It feels good to not feel like a loser for digging anime, or manga, or video games, or art, or be obsessed with the internet, with social media, technology, with networking, or any of the other dopey crap that I used to be ashamed of liking back home. :/

I never want to go back.
I feel like I don’t fit in there.
I don’t feel happy in that environment.

But here … Here, I can be myself, and no one makes fun of me.
In fact, I can actually be successful for being a geek here, ha! Amazing how that works, right? Opportunities galore. I love San Francisco!

So yeah. If you’re not following Rich on Twitter, you should. Because number one, he’s awesome sauce. Number two, I just told you to. And number three … Uhhh. What else. He’s the shit? And I adore him? And I just wrote a ton of crap about him because I appreciate him to death? And if you do follow him on Twitter by my recommendation, be sure to tell him I had you do it! XD I’m sure he’ll love that.

Anyhoo, here ya go — have a few more vain pictures of me.
I seem to collect them in my cellphone. :3

Yeeeeah.
This is a fairly picture-intensive post, isn’t it? :3

And finally, some of my recent art for your enjoyment.
Can you tell I’m left handed from my anatomy practice sketch? Ha.

Oh! And I made Vodka Gummy Bears last night by following the instructions on this website! And uh … They were pretty strong. Lmao. I can see myself liking them if I actually liked the taste of vodka, but uh, I don’t. So … Maybe these aren’t for me. Lol.

Luckily, there’s also a Skittles Vodka recipe that I plan on trying next. ;)

One of my best friends from back home also came up to visit me recently, and I miss her so much! Having her up here definitely helped remind me who I was (I miss all of my amazing, gorgeous, and crazy friends), and it sucked so hard to have her go. :( Fortunately, she’s almost as camera-obsessed as I am, so naturally we took a bunch of pictures together to commemorate her visit, haha.

The exciting thing about learning how to animate things (I’m sure I’ll get more creative in time — these are just little test examples of me experimenting with it) is that I can now probably make simple animations for my artwork as well! Won’t that be exciting?! Can you imagine what I’ll come up with?!

… Knowing me, it will probably be something perverted.
O_o … *Whistles innocently*

Don’t mind me,
XOXO Cheri XOXO

Originally published at HEYCHERI. Please leave any comments there.

Should I buy a MacBook Air?

Sun, 17 Apr 2011 08:07:32 GMT

When it comes to making large purchases in the gadget-world (I consider anything over $500 to be “large”), I like to lay out the specs for myself. Sort of like a “Pros and Cons” chart of why this item should or should not be added to my technology arsenal. I enjoy making “smart” buys, after all — the sort of investments that satisfy my needs without leaving me disappointed.

In fact, I spend a lot of time researching, comparing, and fishing information from the internet before I settle on any one thing. And in that same fortunately convenient vein, I also have a blog where I can do just that and receive feedback from an entire slew of awesome readers who are always willing to gab with me about whatever it is that I happen to throw up on my website (thank goodness for you guys).

With that said …
Should I pick up a MacBook Air?

First, let me tell you why I’m even considering it:

Living in San Francisco, I spend a lot of my time toting things uphill, then downhill, through public transportation, and then up even more hills all just to be able to visit my friends at their apartments, or even simply to sip a cup of coffee at a nearby cafe while also being able to get my work done on the go. And in case you’ve never been in a situation like mine before, that can get pretty tiring fairly quickly.

I currently own a 15″ MacBook Pro (which I love), and it completely suits all of my needs! Blogging, photo editing, internet browsing, art and illustration, email-checking, light gaming — I’m pretty much set when it comes to my at-home computer. The 15″ MacBook Pro is large enough to handle my personal projects, but also light enough to tote around with me short distances (like, say, from my bedroom to the living room, ha!).

However, long distances studiously clutching the MacBook Pro to my chest (or even shouldering it in some sort of carrying case) are not ideal for me. And yes, I realize that this thing only weighs, like, 5 or 6 pounds a the most! But dude — I’m a 5’1 Asian girl who weighs in at 93lbs, and this shit is HEH. VEE (heavy)! Call me a pussy, whatever. But you’d understand if you knew the miles I’ve trekked just lugging this monster around with me. I even have calluses on my hips where I’ve had to rest it against my side just to take the weight off of my arms (seriously).

When you have girly and bony little hands the size of a small apple when clenched, you start to realize that something a grown man considers “light” is actually pretty gargantuan in comparison.

I also own a 64 Gig iPad with 3G, but come on — that thing can’t handle all of the crap I need it to do. It’s basically just a virtual portfolio that I bring around with me in the event that I need to show off my artwork or scroll through a few RSS feeds. It’s definitely not powerful enough (or even capable of) serving my current needs in terms of laptop portability.

So taking into consideration how small I am, how often I need to tote my hardware with me, the amount of crap I need to take along (my purse with all my girly bullshit, my laptop, my Wacom Tablet, my sketchbook, and whatever other nonsense I might need that day), and the distances at which I need to travel? It becomes obvious why I have my eye on the MacBook Air.

For one, the MacBook Air weighs in at 2.9 pounds at the most (for the 13″ model, anyway), while the 11″ MacBook Air weighs in at only 2.3 pounds — wow! And if you’ve ever been in the Apple Store or are fortunate enough to have a friend who owns one of these conveniently sized wonder machines, you’ll know just how thin and easy they are to lift, carry, transport, store, and work with in general!

And I won’t lie.
I’m an Apple fan for sure.

I own everything from iPod Shuffles and Nanos to iPhones, iPads, iPods, and obviously own a MacBook Pro as well. There’s just something so gorgeous about the machines themselves (they have a very modern look that I love), as well as how quick they are, how they’re so easy to use, how they almost never get viruses, how streamlined they appear across the board, etc! They’re just incredibly reliable pieces of equipment, and I am a seriously biased shopper because I already know to expect awesomeness when buying something Apple made.

That being said, yes. I’ve definitely considered something like a netbook to tide me over on these long-distance treks.

This little Toshiba Netbook, for example, is 10.1 inches, weighs in at 2.9 pounds, and only costs around $300! Totally a steal, right? Plus it has more space than the stock MacBook Airs, and from owning my own 15″ Toshiba Laptop, I already know to expect quality!

… But can it run Photoshop for my heavy editing and illustrations while I check my email, surf the internet, chat on Skype, run multiple applications and broadcast live video & audio streams?

My own awesome mom owns her own Netbook, and from toying with hers for a bit, I appreciate that it’s so light and easy to use. However, it’s definitely a lot slower than the MacBook Airs I’ve tested, and definitely does not compare to the speed or power of an Apple product. Maybe it’s the model she has? Maybe Macs are just magical pieces of equipment? Who knows.

But from being able to test and play with the different toys out there, the MacBook Air has impressed me the most.

A few friends of mine who already own MacBook Airs swear by them and definitely recommend that I pick one up. For example, Mark Julio (Product Manager at Mad Catz) tweeted me the following:

This immediately intrigued me, as he seems to be in the same situation as me! Also, he’s in the gaming industry and works with physical products for a living, so I naturally assume that he knows more than the average twitter-going replier (though this is just me having a regular tendency to credit people with wisdom and respect).

I hit him up on AIM in order to dive into a deeper conversation:

Sounds about perfect, right? A machine capable of handling everything from video editing to live streaming, and is light enough to pack away in a travel-bag without having to pull it out at airport security; How convenient!

And actually, the Twitterverse has reacted fairly unanimously when it comes to the MacBook Air:

I even took it to Facebook where the reaction from one particular Joseph M Crespo was very similar:

And with reactions like this across the board, it’s easy to see why I’m learning towards an 11″ MacBook Air, right?

But of course, and I repeat, I am horrible with making decisions when it comes to large purchases. So I’m here to ask for your help as well via my blog!

What I’ll be using the MacBook Air for:
Live streaming (on such programs like TinyChat, BlogTV, etc), photo editing or digital illustration with the use of a Wacom Intuos 4 tablet, blogging or freelance writing, checking emails, surfing the internet (like Facebook, Twitter, my RSS feeds), chatting on various messenger programs, and possibly listening to a little iTunes or Pandora Radio.

Where I’ll be using the MacBook Air:
Anywhere not at home. Meaning, I’ll be taking it with me to friend’s houses, during travel, to coffee shops, and anywhere I’ll be needing it on the go.

Why I want a MacBook Air:
It’s incredibly light and easy to store away with my other tech while not weighing down my bags. I’ve tested it out already and know from experience that it works just as quickly as a MacBook Pro for the minor needs I’ll need it for. And I just trust and know Apple products at this point.

So with everything I’ve said in mind … Should I pick up a MacBook Air? What size should I grab? Should I opt for the largest amount of Hard Drive space? And if you don’t think I should get a MacBook Air, what other light netbooks or small laptops can you recommend that would be great for someone on-the-go like I am? Something powerful enough to do what I need it to do, while not performing at frustratingly slow speeds (like my mom’s netbook)?

And as usual, thanks for reading.
XOXO Cheri XOXO

This post has been X-POSTED to ONSUGAR, MYIGN, and DEVIANTART.

Originally published at HEYCHERI. Please leave any comments there.

ART: The Forgotten Lover.

Fri, 15 Apr 2011 19:11:51 GMT

My most beautiful artwork only ever seems to flow from me when I’m in an emotional state of mind. The whole idea of the “tortured artist” is very true, and is definitely the case with this piece above.

In my more fervent works, the notion of being “forgotten” seems to be the prevailing theme (from children being left behind, scared and alone, to the abandoned lover, beautiful and yet mistreated). Even my nightmares reflect this fear. My most traumatizing dreams are often negligence-centric. Maybe it stems from not getting enough attention when I was younger (I was the middle child)? Maybe it stems from a painful history of unhealthy relationships? Who knows, really.

The only constructive thing that seems to come from this haunting and irrational phobia is my art.
Which is fine, I guess.
… Sigh.

Drawn completely with a BiC #2 0.7mm Mechanical Pencil on the first page of my brand new Moleskine Sketchbook (I picked up two yesterday), the final image can be scanned in and printed as large as you like. Unfortunately, I don’t have access to a quality scanner and am only able to photograph my traditional pieces, so forgive me if these aren’t up to parr with what you might expect to see.

To view a larger version, head to my deviantart and favorite it there.

Here are some close-up shots of the finer details (again, photographed with my camera — my apologies!):

References of real flowers were most definitely used to produce the floral sketches. And no, I have no idea what sort of flowers I drew — I just sort of googled “flowers”. Hur.

Below are some shots taken with my cellphone of the piece in progress.

Drawing with pencil again is an incredibly freeing feeling. I seriously forgot what it was like to not have to change your brush size over and over, and to not have the luxury of an “undo” button on a digital pen tablet. Ha. I forgot how effortless it’s always been to scrape in the tiniest details with graphite, versus having to zoom in on photoshop just to etch in a wash of shadow or shading. It feels like I’m “sculpting” an image with my hand.

I’m glad I picked up these sketchbooks.
They seem to keep me grounded.
And it’s nice to feel like I’m able to disconnect from my computer every once in a while.

Deep in thought,
XOXO Cheri XOXO

Originally published at HEYCHERI. Please leave any comments there.

Ask A Hot Girl a Gaming Related Question!

Wed, 13 Apr 2011 22:33:56 GMT

If you’ve been keeping up with me, you’ll know that I just recently started a Games & Geek-Culture channel on YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/cheritv — Subscribe Now!). And for my first video (after I film my intro, anyway), I have a pretty sexy friend of mine coming over who happens to have incredibly large breasts (try to have a sense of humor, people)! So I put two and two together and thought …

Well, I like big boobs (according to the article I wrote for G4TV.com, this should be common knowledge), and I’m sure YOU guys like big boobs … So wouldn’t it be awesome if I could somehow combine big boobs and video games yet AGAIN, but allow you guys to participate?!

So send in your questions for Ask A Hot Girl!
Examples: Why do you think most girls don’t game? Or would you ever date a gamer? Etc etc.

So before she gets here, send in some questions for my frighteningly intelligent and gorgeous best friend. They can be as ridiculous, stupid, serious, or in depth as you want! I’m sure she’d be happy to answer them for you. ;)

Oh, and she looks like this:

Always happy to entertain,
XOXO Cheri XOXO

This post has been X-Posted to IGN.COM/BLOGS.

Originally published at HEYCHERI. Please leave any comments there.

Stay Up To Date!

Wed, 13 Apr 2011 01:25:53 GMT

Care to see what sort of freelance nonsense I’ve been up to across the world wide interwebs? Check out the list below for an awesome selection of recent articles I’ve contributed to various tech & gaming networks, as well as a few miscellaneous blogs and posts. Leave comments so the big bosses know you’re reading (it makes me look good), share it across your favorite Social Networks, and enjoy!

High Flyer Death Defyer – Hands On Preview [Destructoid.com]
Cheri’s Guide to Organizing your Social Accounts [Onsugar.com]
Website of the Day [Onsugar.com]
Poll: Which Mini Video Camera Do You Prefer? [Onsugar.com]
Cheri’s Geek Tip: Google Reader [Onsugar.com]
Cheri’s List of 9 Must Haves for the Digital Artist [Onsugar.com]
HeyCheri fills out the GeekSugar Q&A [Onsugar.com]

And for those of you who only read my blog because you’re thirsty for pictures of yours truly (you know who you are!), feast your eyes on these beauties! And then quit complaining that I’ve stopped taking pictures of myself. I’ve been busy, okay?!

And for those of you interested in seeing what I’ve been doing illustration-wise for pleasure, here are a few ridiculous sketches that I did while goofing off with a friend of mine.

Each sketch is about 4″ x 5″ and took me approximately three minutes to complete for each. I doodled them on my friend’s notebook while waiting for him to get out of the shower, and he shot them to me via picture message over texting. :3

And some live drawings I did over FlockDra w (this cool service online that allows you to live draw while your friends either watch or join in!). I first started off drawing pretty serious stuff like Zelda-type Fan Art.

Quickly grew bored, sketched tongues onto the characters, and transformed one of them into a Pokemon. XD

And realized that with a little tweaking, Likitung(sp?) reminded me of a friendly purple dinosaur I grew up loving. :3

After which I erased everything on the screen, and sketched something that’s probably a bit NSFW (shield your eyes, children!).

Shame on you! Knock first! This stall is occupied. ;)
… Doesn’t look like she minds though. Pahahahaha.

And here, I censored it for you too (even though it might be a bit late for that):

And what else have I done lately?! *Rubs forehead* Gawd, I’ve been doing a lot of crap. For being unemployed, I definitely know how to keep myself busy, hmm?

I uhm … Converted my CheriTV Channel on YouTube into a Tech and Gaming Related show? And despite having zero videos up, I seem to have a pretty sizeable amount of subscribers & views! Check it out here. — And don’t forget to subscribe!

Also, in one day, my painting of L has managed to weasel it’s way into the collections and favorites of over 100+ DeviantArtists! Who knew fan art could be so popular?!

But okay! Enough working!
I have a few things left to do like writing this next article for G4TV.com, drawing up three more commissions that people have already paid for, and hopefully getting a good night’s sleep. … But only after reading this huge graphic novel, Blankets, by Craig Thompson that my friend let me borrow.

Phew!
XOXO Cheri XOXO

Originally published at HEYCHERI. Please leave any comments there.

Fan Art: L from Death Note

Mon, 11 Apr 2011 18:05:30 GMT

Strange, hunched, baggy-eyed and socially awkward L from Death Note has got to be the most amazing anime character ever crafted. This super-genius detective has seriously captured my heart, and I adore him so much! I never knew I could find myself so attached to any one character’s well-being, but the writing in this storyline is incredible and, if you’ve never seen it, now would be a good time to give it a shot.

My buddy Rich was talking shop with me the other day about different ways to take my art (he used to be the head of the Comics department for IGN, so he knows his shit). He was saying that while it’s great to do a lot of original pieces, it’s also a good idea to throw some of my own fan pieces into my work and do my different spins on characters that I already know and love. Characters that have inspired me in my work, so that when I recreate them myself, I put a lot of love into the art.

And that’s definitely how I felt when painting L.
As a drawn character, L is fairly simple to recreate. He’s unlike any other anime character I’ve ever seen in that he’s this gremlin kind of adorable freak of nature who’s far too smart for his own good. He’s not this typical “sexy” anime boy type — he has bags under his eyes from the lack of sleep he gets, he’s hunched over all the time because it supposedly increases his “detective skills”, he picks at his lip often and is incredibly awkward in public — but he’s just so freaking cool that you sort of forgive him for all of his weirdness.

I identify with how much of an outcast L is. He’s so dedicated to his craft that he’s completely shut himself away from the outside world and appears to be crazy. But he’s such a genius! Gah!

Anyway, I absolutely love this anime and I was sad when … Well. You-know-what happens. And I don’t want to spoil it for any of you who plan on watching it. But just take my word for it — it’s freaking awesome.

This piece prints out beautifully at a humongous 20″ x 30″.
To view a larger image, check it out here on DeviantArt (though you’ll have to purchase it from me to get the full resolution large print).

I tried to capture L’s weirdness with the coloring of the piece — giving his skin sort of a sallow, pale, sickly look (as if he’s anemic, since he rarely ever goes outside), and drowning the background color with a moody blue to reflect the dark environment you’ll typically see him in throughout the anime. But I couldn’t help adding the touches of glowing highlights here and there. X_x It’s my thing. And I felt like the piece wouldn’t have been complete without it, ha! So I had to.

Anyway, enjoy.
And if you know of any other really cool animes to watch, let me know!
Other animes I dig: Ranma 1/2, Sailor Moon, Dragon Ball Z, Pokemon, Love Hina, and Oh! My Goddess. I can’t think of anything else right now. :3

Some Work In Progress pictures:

I still think the background could have a little more something to it.
I always feel like I’m doing something wrong if I leave any part of the picture too plain. But ugh — it’s fine. I’ll just leave it. Ha.

Happy to be drawing characters I love,
XOXO Cheri XOXO

Originally published at HEYCHERI. Please leave any comments there.

Lol, Crappy Gift Art.

Sat, 09 Apr 2011 03:19:11 GMT

There’s really not much to say here other than … Uh, my friend’s “mascot” (or spirit animal, bahahaha) is a shark, and when I was blabbering on Twitter about how I draw too much, he was like, “DRAW A SHARK!!” And I was all, “Okay”, and then I vectored one out in like, 10 minutes (which is why it kinda looks like crap), because I just learned how to Vector and I’m obsessed with it now, and also because I apparently now write in run-on-sentences. :3

But PLEASE BE AWARE THAT THIS IS JUST PRACTICE VECTORING AND IT IS TOTALLY NOT WHAT I AM FULLY CAPABLE OF DOING!! … I don’t want you all running around thinking I suck at shit. -_-”

View it larger on DeviantArt Here.

That is all.
XOXO Cheri XOXO

Originally published at HEYCHERI. Please leave any comments there.

Woah. Experimental coloring.

Sat, 09 Apr 2011 02:04:46 GMT

So I’m watching this movie called “Brothers” right now, and there are these two little girls in it who inspired this drawing. But the coloring style of this piece is taken from the apple tree picture I drew earlier. After illustrating that, I kept thinking to myself — hey. It would be cool to do an actual character with this type of coloring! Not necessarily in the way that the game characters are drawn, but just be able to color stuff like that in general. Heh. View it on DeviantArt Here.

I actually kinda like it! It’s super simple stuff.
Just a lot of vector pieces, some eraser work here and there, but really — just simple blocking out colors and whatnot. It’s kinda fun. And it’s a huge change of pace from how I normally draw (considering I spend a toooon of time on my lineart, when this stuff is based more on the coloring!). View it on DeviantArt Here.

And actually, this is pretty exciting to me. The whole reason I rarely ever draw background for my art is because I hated how long the process was for scraping in the color. But now that I know how to Vector (which was seriously the most simple thing in the world to learn, LOL), I can do as many background pieces as I want!! OHHH SNAP!!

Oh, and also — check out this badass article my cousin sent to me over facebook: CLICK HERE, DUMMY. K bye.

XOXO Cheri XOXO

Originally published at HEYCHERI. Please leave any comments there.

2D Game Art Test – Apple Tree.

Fri, 08 Apr 2011 22:24:17 GMT

So I’m applying to work at this gaming company doing 2D art for them, and I was lucky enough to be asked to do an art test! (View it on DeviantArt Here).

They basically asked me to create some sort of object mimicking the art style that they have for one of their games. Essentially, they wanted something that they could just plop right into the game itself and it would fit right in — so uh … That’s what I did.

I couldn’t decide on what to make, so I chose an apple tree! :3 I have no idea if real apple trees have mushrooms growing on them, but whatever! MINE DOES! O_o …

There’s already an apple tree in the game, but mine has a little more design to it and finer details that their current apple tree doesn’t — or at least, that this screenshot of their old apple tree does. They may have been through some redesign recently. I guess that’s up to them to decide. It’s not like I can’t tweak it and redo it if they ask me to!

I work fast. Hurhur.
Betcha’ didn’t know I could do stuff like this, huh?! :3

Fingers crossed, right?
XOXO Cheri XOXO

Originally published at HEYCHERI. Please leave any comments there.

A wild Will Powers appears!!

Fri, 08 Apr 2011 02:16:54 GMT

What could be in the present?!?! Submit your ideas and we shall bring it to life through the magic of webcomix!! OH SHEEEEET!!

… But seriously. Some details about this strip:
Will Powers (you can check out his Twitter here) is my annoying friend who really does piss me off like this sometimes. Rofl. It’s all in good fun and he’s totes awesome, but he definitely picks on me enough to have me immortalize him in my comic strip as a condescending-but-adorable dude in my illustrations.

I wrote “Will” on his shirt because I seriously have so many friends that sport faux hawks (the hairstyle) that it would be impossible for you to distinguish them in comic form from one another unless I add in stupid and obvious details like that. So my bad if it’s like, “UHM DUHHH”.

Anyway, I’ve decided to just go with people’s real names in my comic!
… Unless the person I’m depicting requests otherwise. :3 Hurhur.

Anyway, help me decide what’s in the present?! I was thinking like, some sort of lingerie or something, and then Will would put it on and be all like, “OH MY GOD JUST WHAT I WANTED” and dance around the panel in lacey underpants with his ass all shiny or something — but then I thought, ehhhhhhh .. He might not like that.

So I leave it to YOU, my amazing readers, to decide!

Heheheheheh,
XOXO Cheri XOXO

PS. Oh, and I added a “Donate” button to the sidebar, since I’m not above soliciting you guys for money to help me pay my rent so I can stay in San Francisco. e_e … Yeah.

PSS. Oh, and reactions from Will:

Originally published at HEYCHERI. Please leave any comments there.

Cool. A web comic.

Thu, 07 Apr 2011 20:24:20 GMT

You would be surprised at how long something this ridiculous takes to draw. I even saved it at an insanely low quality JUST so it would load up easier on your browsers (even though it ruins it a little — but who cares). See it in better quality on my DeviantArt Here.

Anyway, I’m thinking that instead of doing a full blown comic, I’m just going to do a web comic or something? The panels are easy to illustrate, the characters can be as fucked up as I want and no one will really bat an eye, and I can churn them out pretty fast, so it’ll be easy to update often.

Whatcha think?
Good idea?
Want me to keep going?
Are you even interested in what happens next? O_o
Should I include my real life friends in it?!
Should I change everyone’s names?!
AAAHH — DECISIONS!!

… And now back to drawing crap that people have actually paid me to draw.

XOXO Cheri XOXO

Originally published at HEYCHERI. Please leave any comments there.

What have I been up to?

Wed, 06 Apr 2011 19:13:34 GMT

Y’know what I’ve realize after going on this recent design & illustration stint?
My blog has become less about posting millions of pictures of yours truly, and more about this now-feverish hunt of mine to discover some sort of “niche” to fit into. To harness whatever talents I have and scrounge up what’s left of my oh-so-important ego to nab a community management job here, a blogging role there, or a creative gig over there.

I’ve become this frantic thing hustling art to try and make a living while I shoot out application after application, rework my resume 10x over, and leap on every opportunity passed on by a friend to maybe land an offer through references alone.

I know I seem desperate.
And I am. I’ve said this already.
I don’t want to fucking move out of San Francisco — I love it here. I love my friends, I love the people that I’ve met, I love the things that I’ve done, I love the ample amount of opportunities available to me — It’s great!

So I’ve been doing what I can to survive.
Including restructuring the entire layout of my website towards art, just in case some gaming company or illustration-based recruiter stumbles onto my blog and thinks, “Wow — this girl’s got the stuff! Her art is great, she’s got a loyal following, and she can really bring something to the table for us!”

But the truth is, social media, community management, blogger, freelance writer, or “public figure” jobs aren’t thrown onto the table every day. And when they are, there’s probably millions of people tripping over their own feet for a chance to snatch it off the market. So while you and every other person might think I am the most qualified and capable person for the position (and I thank you all so much for your support over the years), my future employers still need that bit of convincing.

I mean, what can I do?
Do I have you all pipe up and send in emails and letters demanding that I get hired?
Do I have my entire Twitter following rise up in chorus?

How am I supposed to show that I’m someone?

I don’t know anymore.
I wish I had someone to tell me what to do, point me in the direction of where I’m supposed to go, and sort of lay out this plan for me on “how to be successful” — because try as I might, I don’t think I’m doing it the right way.

Art seems to be the only thing that can take my mind off of how bad everything else is suddenly becoming. It’s like, hey. At least I’m still good at this one little thing, ha! *Waves e-penis proudly, flips everyone off, flex, etc etc.*

And it’s not like I haven’t been propositioned for jobs or recommended by various friends for this or for that. Offers have even been made where the recruiter or hiring manager interviewing me would seriously psych me out with, “You’re getting this. The job is yours!” — But the lesson learned here, friends, is GET IT IN PAPER, OR THE OFFER DOESN’T MEAN SHIT.

Sigh.

Luckily for me, I am still in good health (I think?), and am still surrounded by people who I adore. And while I may not be snapping a million photos of myself like I normally do, I am fortunate enough to have friends who are as camera-happy as I typically am.

With that said, enjoy these photos:

That would be me on the left, drunk as shit on St. Patty’s Day. The only times I seem to will myself out of my apartment lately is to cavort with friends, guzzle down alcohol, and forget my troubles.

… Which seems to be a fairly effective way to build one’s character, I think.

Let’s play “Guess Which Asian I Am”? :3
Kidding. Here I am, again drunk as I don’t remember taking this picture, and apparently standing in front of a crepe stand (according to the oh-so-telling facebook captions).

From left to right, you’ll see Chi (a gaming girlfriend), Fran Mirabella III (IGN’s Director of Video Production), Me (the sadly unemployed yet still blissfully inebriated Asian), Linda Le (a hot cosplayer), and Warren Price (a Game Designer at EA).

I think we’re all trashed?
… I don’t know. I’m not a very good judge of drunken-ness when I am sloshed myself.

Oh look. A picture where I’m not drunk. That’s a new one.
This was taken earlier in the day at WonderCon 2011. I’m clutching my iPad where I was toting around my portfolio in an attempt to score some kind of art gig with whatever-the-fuck publisher would take me (and also freelancing a few articles for games press sites at the same time!). Like I said: Desperate. But hey — you gotta admire my “never give up” attitude, right?
RIGHT?!
RIGHT?!?!?!?!

… -_-”

Standing next to me, looking fucking smexy, is Hamza Aziz (Community Director of Destructoid.com) and Jonathan Long (Associate Producer at EA).

It’s funny how I can go from looking completely put-together in one picture, to looking like this after a gajillion drinks or so:

That would be me, clutching Kat’s pillow, wasted and passed out on her couch at her apartment after a long night of drinking, dancing, screaming, drunk-eating, and partying. PHEW!

And while we’re on this subject, let me warn y’all that I am prone to saying really stupid things while drunk that could probably get me into trouble if repeated at a more sober hour. So uh, if we ever drink together, uhm … Don’t mind my mouth. I get a little “chatty”. … Yeah. That’s the word for it.

Thankfully, the people I hang out with are awesome and are probably off doing and saying equally stupid things, so I guess I’m not too worried. ;-)

With that said, have a look at these other photos that don’t quite fit anywhere else in this blog entry but seem to cap it off pretty well at the very end! Herp derp:

Shut up, I know I’m blinking. I took this picture for my friend Rich, since we both watch The Amazing Race together, LOL.

And uh, yeah.
Keep smiling.
And whenever everything seems to be going wrong in your life, remember that mine sucks harder, and that I seem make up for it by having really cool friends. ;)

EDIT: Oh! Before I forget, here are some pictures of me in my room (when it was messy) that I posted via Twitter a while ago. If you haven’t seen them yet, it’s because you’re not following me and you suck. And if you have seen them, well … Then enjoy them again! XD

Chin up, emo-kids,
XOXO Cheri XOXO

Originally published at HEYCHERI. Please leave any comments there.

Commission: Baby Boy Portrait.

Tue, 05 Apr 2011 22:16:36 GMT

Awwwweeee!! Issa wil’ babyyyy! :3
… Surprise, this is the first baby that I’ve ever drawn in my entire life. Seriously. And this baby is huge, because like my other digital works, it prints out at 20″ x 30″. Kristopher took advantage of the limited price drop in my commission pricing and scored this print of his son! So adorableeee, heheheh. I am contemplating adding a spit bubble to the picture.

Commission: Imperial Officer Tattoo.

Tue, 05 Apr 2011 19:58:39 GMT

My buddy JC, who is apparently a big Star Wars fan (ME TOO, JC!), also took advantage of my recent price drop and commissioned this awesome Imperial Officer Star Wars PinUp Tattoo! The full size (when matted correctly) can either print at 20″ x 30″ as usual, or at 20″ x 24″ (or something like that — I suck at math). I left it completely as line art in order to give his actual tattoo artist the option to shade/color etc as necessary. Hope you like it, JC!

XOXO Cheri XOXO

Originally published at HEYCHERI. Please leave any comments there.

sup cheri?

Want to win some AWESOME Gamer Gear?! HEYCHERI teams up with MADCATZ!

Grand Prize:
Street Fighter IV: Arcade FightStick Tournament Edition

Second Place:
TRITTON AX 720 Headset

Third Place:
Golden MadCatz FightStick Key Chain (Super Limited Edition)

You must be a follower of @heycheri, @MarkMan23, and @MadCatzInc on Twitter! We will be contacting winners through DM’s.

Send us a picture of you (in an @reply to @heycheri & @MarkMan23) with your best puppy dog eyes or “PICK ME” face!

Example:

Post “I WANT TO WIN A MADCATZ PRIZE -@YourTwitterUsername” on my Facebook Wall here! https://www.facebook.com/sherilynnmacale

RETWEET our original Tweet that lead you to these rules! If you can’t find it, here it is — http://twitter.com/#!/heycheri/status/86915576265588736

We will be selecting three winners. The first person we pick will get to decide between our prize selection (if he doesn’t want the Arcade FightStick, he can decide on the headset or the keychain). The second person then picks from whatever is left over, and so on and so forth!

Want to win some badass gamer gear? HEYCHERI teams up with JINX.COM!

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Follow @heycheri on Twitter and Retweet THIS TWEET!

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Dragon Age: Origins – A CheriTV Review!

Stop being such a pussy: Tell her you like her.

Things we don’t care about.

Oh, just everything.

I’m sick! Ugh. But at least I can blog.

I’ve moved to a new apartment!

Subscribe to and Watch CheriTV!

My Puppet Zelda Artwork is Featured on IGN.com!

Commission: Krista & The Zombies!

Huge Update: A little of everything.

Should I buy a MacBook Air?

ART: The Forgotten Lover.

Ask A Hot Girl a Gaming Related Question!

Stay Up To Date!

Fan Art: L from Death Note

Lol, Crappy Gift Art.

Woah. Experimental coloring.

2D Game Art Test – Apple Tree.

A wild Will Powers appears!!

Cool. A web comic.

What have I been up to?

Commission: Baby Boy Portrait.

Commission: Imperial Officer Tattoo.

sup cheri?

Want to win some AWESOME Gamer Gear?! HEYCHERI teams up with MADCATZ!

Grand Prize: Street Fighter IV: Arcade FightStick Tournament Edition

Second Place: TRITTON AX 720 Headset

Third Place: Golden MadCatz FightStick Key Chain (Super Limited Edition)

You must be a follower of @heycheri, @MarkMan23, and @MadCatzInc on Twitter! We will be contacting winners through DM’s.

Send us a picture of you (in an @reply to @heycheri & @MarkMan23) with your best puppy dog eyes or “PICK ME” face!

Example:

Post “I WANT TO WIN A MADCATZ PRIZE -@YourTwitterUsername” on my Facebook Wall here! https://www.facebook.com/sherilynnmacale

RETWEET our original Tweet that lead you to these rules! If you can’t find it, here it is — http://twitter.com/#!/heycheri/status/86915576265588736

We will be selecting three winners. The first person we pick will get to decide between our prize selection (if he doesn’t want the Arcade FightStick, he can decide on the headset or the keychain). The second person then picks from whatever is left over, and so on and so forth!

Want to win some badass gamer gear? HEYCHERI teams up with JINX.COM!

“LIKE” J!NX clothing on Facebook! https://www.facebook.com/JINXClothing

Follow @heycheri on Twitter and Retweet THIS TWEET!

Reply to @heycheri (and @JINX if you feel like it) on Twitter with, “I LOVE #HEYCHERI!“

Dragon Age: Origins – A CheriTV Review!

Stop being such a pussy: Tell her you like her.

Things we don’t care about.

Oh, just everything.

I’m sick! Ugh. But at least I can blog.

I’ve moved to a new apartment!

Subscribe to and Watch CheriTV!

My Puppet Zelda Artwork is Featured on IGN.com!

Commission: Krista & The Zombies!

Huge Update: A little of everything.

Should I buy a MacBook Air?

ART: The Forgotten Lover.

Ask A Hot Girl a Gaming Related Question!

Stay Up To Date!

Fan Art: L from Death Note

Lol, Crappy Gift Art.

Woah. Experimental coloring.

2D Game Art Test – Apple Tree.

A wild Will Powers appears!!

Cool. A web comic.

What have I been up to?

Commission: Baby Boy Portrait.

Commission: Imperial Officer Tattoo.

Grand Prize:
Street Fighter IV: Arcade FightStick Tournament Edition

Second Place:
TRITTON AX 720 Headset

Third Place:
Golden MadCatz FightStick Key Chain (Super Limited Edition)