***WHY ALEXANDER MCQUEEN IS ONE OF THE COOLEST FASHION DESIGNERS EVER !***

Hey everyone, Pixie McQueen here, the boldest fairy of the Internet ! 🙂

So, first, happy nex year and I wish you the best ! Apparently you can wish people a happy new year until mid february, so whatever ! haha

Today I wanted to talk about one of my favorite fashion designers ever: the one and only Alexander McQueen !He was a provocative, in-your-face genius that dressed the biggest stars such as Lady Gaga, Céline Dion, Bjork, Nicki Minaj or Beyoncé ! Plus, his brand is well-known as a couture reference worldwide.

Lady Gaga dressed in McQueen at the 2010’s VMA. She wears the armadillo shoes, that are pretty, but also extremely incomfortable due to its shape but also those 9 inches heels !

His death anniversary is in less than a month, February the 11th and I would like to pay a tribute to this talented designer that inspired my name. 🙂

1/ A young man that went from rags to riches

Young Lee Alexander McQueen 🙂

Lee Alexander McQueen, before his became one of the best designers of his generation, was a young man that dropped out of school when he was 16. We could think that he was a failure, but not at all ! He left school to go where he was the best: fashion. So, he became an apprentice at Anderson & Shepard, Prince Charles’ tailor, then at Gieves & Hawkes who are masters of tailoring. All of that allowed him to work for very well-known brands such as Givenchy. That goes to show that despite his humble beginings, I went wher he was supposed to be.

We can learn 2 things from that:

• It’s not always a bad thing to drop out of school/quit your job if it doesn’t match what you like, success may be somewhere else ! 😉 Follow your dreams !
• It’s important to learn your job. Being a fashion designer isn’t all about glitz and glam ! McQueen was specialized in fashion and was taught by the best to become extremely competent, particularly chen it comes the technical aspect of tailoring.

2/ He was not afraid of being authentic and to say it like he meant it

Exactly !

If we know Alexander McQueen very well it’s also because of his big mouth haha ! Indeed he was not afraid to say what he had to say even about the most respected designers. When he worked for Prince Charles’ tailor, he was said to have embroided “I’m a cunt” on Prince Charles’ suit. Also, he became very contreversial when he said that Hubert de Givenchy was “irrelevant”. I disagree with that but I love this boldness because no one can make him shut up.

However, he avoided journalists all the time, because he didn’t like to talk to them. He couldn’t be forced to talk neither. In a nutshell, he was a very strong man that could not be tamed.

3/ A very talented designer

Of course, his talent is what made him famous, because no one could compete with him. His provocative and dramatic creations won’t be forgotten ! “The hooligan of English fashion” knew how to push boundaries very creatively, making what we call ‘the plumber’s smile’ in French (when your pants are to low and we can see your butt crack :D) glamourous.

McQueen’s bumster

My favorite McQueen fashion show is the Spring 2005 one, presented as giant chess game. My favorite outfit is the knight one worn by Erin Wasson.

I really love the ponytail (no pun intended) associated with the ‘riding cap’, as well as how the best is done.

Anyway, I could go on and on, but I think that’s a wrap for today !

Check (that) mate !

Pixie McQueen 🙂

***HOW TO MAKE IT IN THE FASHION INDUSTRY OR THE GREAT STRUGGLE***

Hey everyone! 🙂

I think that when you are someone that wants to make it in the fashion industry or any other artistic industry (music, cinema,etc…) you’re a bit of a masochist ! Speaking of that, I am a part of these people !

I was thinking about that because while I’m looking for an internship in fashion, I become more and more aware of this tough reality !

Indeed, this industry is so competitive that you need a lot of determination and hard work. Particularly when you learn on your own and when you start your carreer like me !

Also, you always face this same ol’ dilemma : heart or reason ? Should you follow your passion or choose a safer career ? And people that tell you to follow your dream while others are scared of you possibly failing don’t help you make up your mind.

And all of these questions: “Do you have what it takes ?” “Are you talented enough ?” “Why would they notice YOU ?” All of these questions don’t have a single, specific answer since the answers can be so subjectives !

This kind of industry has a tough reputation: “You need connections/a name/a lot of money/a pretty face/to sleep around to make it”, “there are so many people that want to make it big and that do the same as you, how can you make a difference ?”

Hell yeah, I can say that when I saw Shera Kerienski’s  video about how she wanted to become a fashion designer but she first lost herself along the way because of people’s expectations, I definetly identified ! For those who don’t know who she is, she is a super cool French fashion/lifestyle youtuber that got popular thanks to her videos about curly hair tips. It felt as if she was telling my story except that my dream didn’t come true…yet !

It starts coming to life thanks to this blog ! I haven’t been able to show my fashion creations online yet, but I’m still learning and I’ll do it when I am ready !

In a nutshell, I don’t want to complain, actually because every hardship that has been overcame is a step closer to success. I’ve always done it and I’ll always do what I like: sewing, drawing, creating whether professionally or as an amateur, after my day job !

I hope that this article will encourage anyone that has a dream and wants to fulfill it, no matter what !

Handbags and Stilettos !

Pixie McQueen 🙂

**IS YOUTUBE BECOMING BORING ?**

Youtube, a lot of people talk about it, even those that know nothing about (hi news channels trying to stay relevant !). As far as I’m concerned, I’ve been watching videos on Youtube for at least ten years (already ?!) Yeah, it was the good old times when I would watch crazy Snow White or Dora the Explorer parodies (my mind was already corrupted by the Internet haha).

Snow White looks kinda sick, here !

Anyway, what I like the most about Youtube is the no-limit mentality: raunchy humor is acceptable but not only ! We can just express ourselves freely on this platform, in general ! Or, at least, we could… I thought about this when I saw this new video from Le Rire Jaune, a very popular French youtuber. His video is called ‘If I were a dad’ where he talks about how he would raise his kids,etc… as a dad. What makes this video interesting is that it’s second version of this video, since the first one was considered as too dirty by Youtube, so they put an age restriction on it. All that jazz because we could see a dild…duster in it !

DAT swaaagg !

I can undesrtand that, in a way because Youtube wants to appeal to the most people possible (even very young people) in order to satisfy advertizers so they can reach larger demographics and get all that ching ching, if you know what I mean. Consequently, according to Youtube, all the videos that contain “Sexually suggestive content, including partial nudity and sexual humor” and “Controversial or sensitive subjects and events, including subjects related to war, political conflicts, natural disasters and tragedies, even if graphic imagery is not shown“.

The thing is we’re not watching a kid’s website ! All of those things I’ve just quoted are the core of what I like to call the ‘Youtube humor’. When I talk about ‘Youtube humor’, I mean the recurring kind of humor taht we find in viral videos, that’s accepted and understood by the majority of the Youtube community. Do you think that Jenna Marbles, Shane Dawson, Tana Mongeau, Onision became popular because nice little jokes about the last Care Bears  episode? I don’t think so. Youtube may lose it’s soul, its authenticity and brutal honesty that made it so relatable. That was were we could really express our opinions, but also our talents. We could have a plateform where we could showcase our skills no matter what they are (music, directing, acting, etc…)

The perfect example of a talented Youtuber that could be credited for what she did best thanks to her videos. Rest in peace Christina </3

So, in addition to lose its soul, Youtube is selling its freedom. Yet, there would be ways to reconcile financial matters with creative freedom, like having a warning before a video that doesn’t match the criteria instead of censoring it. Of course you can make a living but do you have to sell your soul ? If we go this way, only identical, politically correct beauty gurus and boring unoriginal podcasts will remain and that’s not a good idea !

In the end I would say that it challenges freedom on the Internet, in general. Youtube is so influencial, if it gets to controlled, that could influence other websites to do the same and the Internet would be completely corporate. That would mean that we, Internet children, would become some kind of orphans in a way, sniff…

Anyway there’s so much left to say, but I’ll stop there for today !

Nyan Cats & Annoying Oranges

Pixie McQueen 😉

***ODE TO HALESTORM OR CONFESSIONS OF A FANGIRL***

Hey everyone ! 🙂

One of the things I like the most beside watching old Shane Dawson videos, pretending I’m Jimi Hendirx with my electric guitar (but I’m still not able to play with my teeth !) and drawing, is fangirling !

Ok, definition: according to Wikipedia, AKA the-most-reliable-source-in-the-world-and-you-know-it, “(fandom slang) A female fan who is obsessive about a particular subject (especially, someone or something in popular entertainment media).”

I think we all have a fangirl phase but some pull it off better than others haha.

So yeah, I LOVE Halestorm, an amazing americain hard rock band, and I’m one of their fangirls. I listen to their songs litteraly EVERYDAY, but I have good reasons:

From left to right, Joe Hottinger (Lead Guitar), Lzzy Hale (Singing and Rythm Guitar), Arejay Hale (Drums) and Josh Smith (Bass).

1/They rock on stage!

Joe’s guitar solos, Arejay’s energy at the drums, Josh’s groove at the bass and Lzzy super powerful voice are perfect 99% of the time ! I mean, it’s a must for rock bands, to play LIVE (Hi Britney sorrynotsorry ❤) ! They always play live, no tracks, autotune and that’s so refreshing in a world full of technologies designed to artificially improve the artists’ performances.

2/ Their upbeat songs are as good as their ballads !

One of the reasons why listen to their music all the time is that whatever your mood is, there’s always a song for you ! You feel ***flawless like  Beyoncé ? ‘Daughters of Darkness‘, ‘You Call Me a Bitch Like It’s A Bad Thing‘, ‘I Like It Heavy‘ will be perfect ! You feel melancholic ? ‘Familiar Taste Of Poison‘, ‘I’m not An Angel‘, ‘Break In‘ will satisfy you ! There’s a good balance between the ‘Mz Hyde‘ side: badass, confident and super charismatic and the more fragile, sentimental side of their rock ballds. They even won a Grammy Award in 2012 for the best rock/metal performance thanks to ‘Love Bites (So Do I)‘!

Mz Hyde, Lzzy Hale’s badass alter ego. She is for Lzzy what Sasha Fierce is for Beyoncé. (DeviantArt Credit: IceQueen1186)

3/ Their covers are dope !

In addition to their awesome original songs, they have pretty dope covers. My favourite one is the’Bad Romance‘ one, I think it’s the most well-known. By the way, Lzzy’s voice is so deep during the verses of this song that I thought it was a duet with a male singer…until I saw her singing that live !

Other than that their covers of ‘Get Lucky‘ by Daft Punk, ‘All I Wanna Do‘ by Heart, ‘Shoot To Thrill‘ by AC/DC or ‘Empire State of Mind‘ by Jay-Z and Alicia Keys are as amazing !

One of Halestorm’s 2 cover EPs

4/ Their bring more fun to rock !

What differenciates Halestorm and other big bands like them (I mean, big in the rock/metal community) is that their rock is much more upbeat ! In opposition to bands such as Evanescence, The Pretty Reckless or In This Moment (bands that I really enjoy, btw ^^) that are very dark when it comes to their lyrics or visuals, Halestorm brought that 80’s vibe à la Joan Jett, Lita Ford or Bon Jovi !

Lzzy Hale (on the left) et Lita Ford (on the right)

5/ LZZY FREAKING HALE !!

And last but not least: Lzzy Hale ! It’s true that she’s very beautiful but she’s also very talented: she has a good vocal technique, her charisma on stage is obvious and she can play the guitar and the piano. It may not seem much to some people, but actually it is, it’s always nice to see female singers that don’t only rely on their appearance to sell records!

Also, she’s very inspiring because she’s a solar woman that embraces her sexiness. She embodies the strong rock chick that can inspire us to be an independent woman ourselves, in today’s society where feminism and girl power are taking over. Moreover, she stands for what she believes in, such as tolerance, pretty recently.

Bonus fact: She has her own signature guitar in collaboration with Gibson ! She has the double neck version in the picture with Lita Ford above and the regular version underneath.

In a nutshell, I think I’m right to fangirl over Halestorm ! I pray to be lucky enough to see them in concert someday

I hope you enjoyed this article and see ya !

Electric guitars & Studded Bracelets !

Pixie McQueen 😉

***THE SECRET OF HAPPINESS***

Hey everyone ! I’m back with an unplanned article (so it’s gonna be a little messy ^^) that I decided to write even if there already are a crapload of articles on this video/subject, I wanted to talk about it too because it’s been eye-opening for me concerning a problem I’ve dealt with for a long time (and maybe you too): way too high expectations.

Yesterday I stumbled upon an old Jenna Marbles video about the importance of having low to no expectations in your life. This video reminded me why I love Jenna : she super funny, of course, but she also has amazing ideas when it comes to more serious subjects !

Basically, she says that the secret to be happier is not to have any expectations about the consequences of our actions. And I thank it’s so damn true ! We all at some point have this problem: we want to succeed absolutely and never fail AKA perfectionnism ! But we all know that it’s as realistic as travelling the world riding a flying llama ! Despite this fact, we keep clinging onto this illusion as if we could not survive without it…

What she said was like an electric shock for me. No need to be stressed anymore, we have to go with the flow of life and keep appreciating the learning process by working passionately. In a nutshell, live in the present moment et give the best of you AKA Hakuna Matata, but in a more realistic way ! Yeah, I mean, you cannot spend your life tanning your butt and eating worms haha !

She also explains that you can also have high standards, as much goals as you want and that you should work the best possible towards your goals… without expecting anything! Like sending your intentions somewhere in the Universe without really knowing where it’s gonna lead et accepting the fact that you only have control on your own actions but not on what they’ll make happen.

I have to admit that it seemed pretty difficult and idealistic for me at the beginning, but when you start by little things it’s completely possible and that allowed me to avoid so much disappointement and negative feelings !

That’s also exactly what Bruno Lallement, a French best-seller author and motivational speeker said during one of his speeches “the art of using your thoughts” .Sorry it only exists in French and there are no English subtitles but basically, he quotes Benjamin Franklin “I always prepare myself for the worst, so I’ll never be decieved.” His explanation completes what Jenna says since he affirms that when you’re too scared of failure, you put all of your energy in fighting against this fear instead of your own working process. The idea is to get prepared to fail. He even says that you have to get familiar with bad things that could happen (even death) so you’re not paralyzed anymore about what may/may not happen !

To go through this process, you need a lot a bravery but in my opinion it’s the best thing to do since you cannot control those things. It allowed me to understand that we’re all equal when it comes to life’s ups and downs because everybody go though them, but the ones that can surf on these crazy waves in this ocean of possibilities do better in life (and they probably have a similar mindset to Jenna’s ;))

Even if we can’t control the world around us, we can control ourserlves, always progress and live our lives the way we want if we allow ourselves to do it (this was probably the cheesiest conclusion I have ever written haha !)

Skittles & M&M’s  !

Pixie McQueen

***MY BLOG ANNIVERSARY !***

Today my blog has been out there  for a year : I didn’t even see it coming ! *sniff, who cut onions in here ?!*

I never thought I could take this step, start my own blog ! I may seem like it’s nothing but just the idea of doing something we wanted to do for a while for real is so great !

So, for this anniversary I wanted to go for a top 5 of the reasons why having a blog is amazeballs !

1/ Writing about whatever you want

Nothing feels as good as freedom ! I could write about cutting bangs to your hamster to make it look like Kate Moss and nobody could say anything ! You can develop your creativity with no limits and create your own world you’ve been dreaming of !

2/Getting used to write

No, you can’t be a man/woman of letter like Shakespeare overnight ! But having a blog and writing it regularly (not like me these days) can help you find your own way to use your words, what you like to write about, managing the lengh of your articles,etc… Thanks to this blog, I start to realize that I tend to write a lot to say not that much, so I try to be briefer in my articles.

3/ Investing your time in doing something fun

Having a blog can teach you how to be rigourous if you want to write regularly. It’s an amazing investment that also shows you how to be your own manager doing what you like… And I kinda struggle with that xD

4/ Sharing your passions with the world just with a few clicks

That’s the reason why I prefer to write online and not on a sheet of paper. With the Internet you can share your content on social media and b eing able to talk with other bloggers, read their articles, being more open to others and the world. I mean, what’s the use of being connected together if we can’t get to know/understand each other ?

5/Getting to know yourself better

This my last but not least reason of having a blog ! I’ve noticed that writing this blog, is that when you create content, think about how you will express your ideas, get everything together, etc, you learn a lot about yourself, about your vision of things but also what it becomes once confronted to the world…

Raspberry gloss & salted butter caramels !

Pixie McQueen ^^

***WHEN LOOKS MATTER WAY TOO MUCH***

Hey everyone ! Pixie McQueen, here, the boldest fairy of the Internet ! =P

Lately, I’ve been realizing in my daily life that we’re judged on our looks so much for pretty much every single reason possible ! I know what you’re gonna say: “thanks, I already knew it, Captain Obvious! What a ratchet intro ! ”

No, for real what I mean is that I can get it when you have no clue about who the person you have in front of you is. It’s human to judge a person when you don’t know her because it’s HELLA scary when you don’t know anything about him/her, he/she could be a psychopath or something, you know. But I think there’s a huge difference between judging very quickly and then let go of all those judgements as you get to know the person and COMPLETELY rejecting you because you don’t fit in the beauty standards !

All of this pisses me off because if it’s an influent person (like a somewhat narrow-minded employer, a teacher that doesn’t want you to have your chance, whatever) you can miss huge opportunities ! And no, it’s not just about young, mean kids that can be mean, mocking kids ! And no, teens in middle/high school aren’t the worst, contrary to what is shown in movies like ‘Mean Girls’, because at least Regina George is fictional ! No, everything keeps going with adults, too !

The Devil in its most beautiful form… Meryl Streep aside, of course ! 😉

What do I mean ? With adults it’s worse because it’s even sneakier. Yes, maybe they’ll laugh at you directly less often but you could be ignored because you’re not what everybody wants you to be ! You could be the most beautiful person inside, if they  think you’re not beautiful outside, you won’t be accepted !

A lot of people say: ‘What can you do? That’s the way it goes !’ HELL TO THE NO ! Why couldn’t we change that ?

However, I think we live in a very interesting era where things change, we can see more and more colorful hair colors on people that don’t have eccentric styles (punks, emo, goths…), models with Down Syndrome, dwarf actors… But, for the moment these people remain exceptions. They could be precursors if we could be bold enough to be who we are too !

Harnaam Kaur, the bearded woman

I’m not saying we should have a violent revolution but I just wanna say that we’re not made to fit in the mold ! Why would we all be born with different caracteristics and DNAs if it was meant to be that way ?

Lizzie Velasquez, ‘the ugliest woman in the world’, according to some people

Moreover, we can see that beauty is generally very hard to achieve because the caracteristics or the combination of them that is valued is rare. For example, the current ‘badonkadonk’ trend à la Nicki Minaj or Kim Kardashian (large breasts, thin waist, juicy derrière) is hardly achievable naturally. So, how can we make people fit in those beauty standards when it’s rarely even possible ?

Beauty standards in the world since Antiquity

Actually, I think beauty is not a probleme, there’s nothing wrong with knowing how to appreciate it (without sexually harassing pretty ladies, you guys ! =P) Beauty, whether it’s found in an object, an animal, a poem or a human being, is not superficial itself. I wanted to clear that up because people that are considered as beautiful seem to be considered as superficial way too often, while it’s they’re not always that way !

According to dictionary.com, beauty has several definitions but only the first one drawss my attention for this article, we can break it down in two parts :

• “he quality present in a thing or person that gives intense pleasure ordeep satisfaction to the mind, whether arising from sensory manifestations (as shape, color, sound, etc.)” : PHYSICAL BEAUTY
• “a meaningful design orpattern, or something else” (as a personality in which high spiritual qualities are manifest).: SPIRITUAL/EMOTIONAL BEAUTY

And I think that’s the confusion we make between those two definitions that mess it all up ! The problem is that the word ‘beauty’ refers to two things that are completely different and don’t always go hand and hand with each other : the match to aestethic criteria and the admiration caused by a moral or intellectual quality/act. Basically, we always unconsciously associate them. Like Jenna Marbles says in her video ‘What Disney Movies Taught Me’ (at 4:15), since we’re young, with cartoons like the ones from Disney, we’ve learnt unconsciously that people that are not ‘beautiful’ (young, skinny,etc…) are mean because villains tend to correspond to this description.

Well, I could continue forever, there is so much to say but I think it’ll be enough for today ! The next article will be funnier, I promise !

Care Bears & Fluff Balls !

Pixie McQueen xx

***CL, THE BADDEST FEMALE IN THE US: CAN’T WAIT !***

Hey everyone ! Pixie McQueen, here, the boldest Balckjack of the Web !

For this article, this won’t be the creative fairy that’ll talk but the huge Blackjack I am !

In this article, I talked about the K-Pop girl group 2NE1 (Blackjacks are their fans). But this time I will tell you about their super charismatic leader CL (Lee Chaelin) who’s  preparing her debut album which is gonna be the beginning of her american solo career !

So let’s see the context: the last album of the group is from 2014 (‘CRUSH‘) as well as CL’s last solo : MTBD. CL has only had two solos in her whole career: ‘MTBD’ and ‘THE BADDEST FEMALE‘ (2013).

So a lot of people saw her in 2NE1 but also collaborating with other big acts such as G-Dragon (‘R.O.D‘ or ‘The Leaders‘ that I absolutely love), Black Eyed Peas (‘Where Is The Love‘), Skrillex (‘Dirty Vibe‘) or, more recently Diplo, Riff Raff and OG Maco (‘Dr Pepper‘). And no, this collaboration is not her first single even if she wrote it !

By the way I love CL and she’s doing her job for ‘Dr Pepper’ but I’m not too found of the song because I think it’s too ssimple compared to all she’s able to do. The melody is quite monotonous and the lyrics very repetitive, that’s why it’s so catchy ! Also, the lyrics aren’t supposed to be committed or something, they aren’t worse than most of the songs we hear in the clubs.  It’s clearly not a song for Blackjacks nor K-Pop fans in general, but more for americn rap fans I would say ! Even the video bored me while CL is stunning with her new silver hair ! It’s all about the rappers rapping in front of the camera and then a bus (or maybe a very long SUV I don’t know…) with Dr Pepper cans everywhere and female dancers in black underwear twerking. Those dancers are objectified in a very useless way, which doesn’t bring anything interesting to the video.

CL looking stunning with her new silver hair !

But I’m reassured that she also said that her ‘cool’ image would remain and that 2NE1 wouldn’t stop, contrary to rumors ! =D I hope she won’t turn into a Nicki Minaj or Iggy Azalea copycat just to make it in America !

So she will work with Diplo (Major Lazer) and Scooter Braun (Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande’s manager) will take care of her career; I like Major Lazer, and even if I don’t like Bieber and Grande that much, I can’t wait to see how these new people will influence her music and career !

Diplo said in an interview with the Time that one of her songs would be called “Birthday” and it will be in English and Korean. He also said that another of her songs will be called “One” which will be pop, “childish and fun”.

It’s now time for Chaelin to stand on her own two feet and to show us all of her talent (rapper, singer, songwriter, composer) !

*Super hardcore fangirl mode ON* OMG, I DON’T KNOW IF MY BODY WILL BE ABLE HANDLE THAT MUCH AWESOMENESS ALL AT ONCE !  CAN’T WAAAAAAIT !! =P *Super hardcore fangirl mode OFF*

PREACH IT, CL !

Peacock feathers & Nutella crepes !

Pixie McQueen xx

***’DEAR FAT PEOPLE’ OR THE BIG CONTROVERSY OF THE WEEK !***

Hey everyone ! Pixie McQueen, here, the boldest fairy of the Internet !

This week at least half of the people on the Internet couldn’t stop talking about the video ‘Dear Fat people’ and I think I also have things to say about this. However, I don’t want to bash the author of the video because I don’t know her personal and I think it’s unnecessary but I’ll go back to that later.

First, the context: Last Friday, canadian comedian Nicole Arbour (that I didn’t know untill now) uploaded a video, well, not very  smart, about overweight people that definitly buzzed. According to her, it’s supposed to be satirical and a “bomb of truth” so obese people can realize that their health is endangered by their excess of body fat.

What’s wrong with this video : Well, let’s make a list  because there are several issues regarding the statements of this *SMARTY PANTS* (can you feel this strong smell of sarcasm ? =P) when it comes to obesity.

1/ A lot of simply mean criticism towards overweight people : In this video, don’t expect good taste. Well, mocking people saying “Whatcha gon’ do ?” and say you can escape them by “walking at a reasonable pace” or comparing them to a zombie/Frankenstein is not the most clever thing to do. Why ? Let’s imagine the person is actually obese enough to not be able to walk at a reasonable pace, it kinda seems like it’s a disability. Yet is mocking  a disabled person, for example if he/she’s in a wheelchair because he/she cannot walk at a normal pace funny ? I don’t think so. What she said about the “fat family” she bumped into that walked past her because of their leg problems that would be related to their extra weight is at the same level: mean and not funny. Oh yeah, and the joke about how fat people should have to park their car the farthest to walk more and burn more calories ? Same level too. =S

I don’t think it’s the most flattering comparison…

2/ According to her, overweight people try to make fatshaming happen but it doesn’t really exist: Actually fatshaming is pretty complicated to define because it’s true that overweight people get judged a lot, some people tend to think those people don’t want to take the responsibility of their body nor take care of it it. That’s what Nicole thinks which leads me to the next point.

3/ She has not-so-convincing arguments: The biggest issue with this video is that Miss Arbours seems to think there’s only one category of “fat people”: the lazy ones that can’t get their asses out of the couch and spend their days eating junk food. It can be true but also, there are as many reasons to be ‘fat’ as overweight people.  Indeed, illnesses can make you gain weight without eating more or exercising less like thyroid or hormonal problems, for example. Being overweight IS unhealthy,(cardiovascular issues, bad blood circulation-and not the Taylor Swift kind-, early deaths, etc…) But, come on, do we need to crack offensive jokes to laugh at those people so they can realize it ? In my opinion, it’s a very bad idea first because, most of the time, they know it (because they’re conscious of their bodies or because of mean jokes or twisted means like ads filled with people with ‘beach bodies’ that make them understand they’re different) and that’ll make them feel like crap. What if this weight has to do with emotional issues ? That can worsen the situation !

Nevertheless, even if she’s wrong, there’s no need to bully her. It’s a thing to say she’s wrong, but insulting her is the next level. I mean, most of us didn’t even know her before this video, so we probably don’t know her personally. If what she says bother you than should explain why she’s wrong instead of calling her names in a hateful way when you don’t have a clue about who she is. I don’t mean to defend her but you can’t tell her she’s mean, negative and ignorant when you’re acting in a mean, negative, and ignorant way yourself, it doesn’t make sense ! Plus, it gives her excuses to victimize herself and believe she’s a barrier against censorship and the system, like an alternative to popular Youtubers. 

In the end, this video represents all of the clichés and hatred that can be directed towards people for bad reasons. It represents judgement we can have about a person’s health by how much he/she weighs. And it’s a good thing ! At least we’ll know what kind of behaviours we can avoid to become more tolerant towards each other and more respectful towards our bodies because it’s so important !

Crabapples (like Lil’ Wayne =P) and baby seals !

Pixie McQueen xx

TAYLOR MOMSEN Portrait Tutorial *ROCK CHICKS*

Hey, Pixie McQueen the boldest fairy of the web, in here!

Well, it’s been a while since I didn’t write anything on this blog (6 months, hum, hum…) BUT, I did stuff, okay !

Taylor Momsen’s Rock Chicks is finally done ! Her hair was awfully hard to draw because it was so messy, and also because it’s platinum blonde. The thing is that platinum blonde hair must be light but also have visible locks to be more realistic ! So I have to admit that her hair is not the most beautiful thing in this portrait !

Despite her hair, Taylor is a very fun singer to draw because she has this sharp look in her eyes that makes a face that could have looked angelic on this picture (delicate face, blonde, curly hair and blue eyes…)

So, here’s the original picture:

On this recent picture, Taylor looks classier than she ever did 😉

I chose this picture because it was black and white and Taylor has this really interesting expression but her messy hair made me hesitate…

STEP 0: SUPPLIES

Since I’m not a professional artist, my supplies are very basic :

–Graphite pencils: HB (medium)/B (dark)/4H (light)

-Black and red pencils for the background

-Pencil sharpener

-Regular rubber+ Kneaded eraser, if you have one (but I don’t so you can draw without it)

– A paper sheet (A for me)

-Optional: Varnish depending on the kind of paper you use

– Something to stump: a stump, a handkerchief… or your finger !

There you are, young blossoming artist ! Ready to draw this super rock portrait !

STEP 1: GUIDING LINES

I started by drawing guiding lines on the picture that I printed to copy them on my sheet, the being A format.  I’m just saying that, I don’t know why but my printer zoomed the picture so the drawing will be zoomed, too.So I drew the lines to have important elements such as eyes, nose, mouth, shoulder,etc… in the right place.

Those lines allow you to keep the right proportions for your drawing.

STEP 2: CONTOURS OF THE FACE

In my opinion, it’s the most difficult step of a portrait. Why ? Because, at this very moment the drawing has to (kinda) look like the original picture, but also look like it has no soul ! But, seriously, I could’ve traced this but I thought it was cheating (and I’m also not 6 anymore…) That said, nothing prevents you to do so if I can’t draw it or if you’ve just started portraits, contours can be rearranged and it’s not the most important, anyway (even if it’s a good basis to start the portrait).

So, no particular technique to draw contours, practice makes perfect. But don’t worry: if you practice on a regular basis, you’ll make it ! 😉

STEP 3: THE EYES, WELL… THE ONLY ONE SHE HAS HERE !

On this picture, we only see Taylor’s left eye, the right on is hidden by her (huge) hair, will be represented by shadows to suggest it through it.

For the right eye I used my three pencils:

-4H for contours, first grey layer on her eyelid, iris and shadows on her eyeball.

-HB for shadows around the eye (skin), first grey layer on her pupil, eyelashes, eyebrows, and also to give more depth to the shadows of the eyeball and to the eyelid, as well as the second layer on the iris.

-B to darken the pupil, the external contour of the iris, a little bit on the eyebrows as well as eyelashes and eyeshadow.

STEP 4: THE MOUTH

For her mouth, have to admit that teeth are still difficult to draw for me, so I decided to ignore them and to fill in the mouth with with my B pencil (not literally !)

Then, her lipstick is kinda light so I only used 4H and HB, respectively for the fist layer and then the second layer as well as shadows. I use 4H to draw the curvy “lines” we have on our lips to give them more volume and realism.

Also, I drew her mole with the B pencil, you must not forget détails because they are the ones that allow you to catch the likeness the most possible ! 😉

About the skin around her mouth, at this moment you just have to draw her chin drawing a little curve under her lower lip, shading it with your HB pencil.

STEP 5: SKIN PART 1: THE BACKGROUND, THE FIRST LAYER

For this first layer, we’re gonna color her skin lightly with 4H pencil to have a basis to draw the shadows later. We can already start to lightly draw the lighter and darker places of the skin, so we’ll have marks for the rest. I also started to color her black jacket with B, but we’ll need more layers of grey for it to be dark enough. I also rounded her face a little bit because I thought it looked to angular.

By the way, don’t forget her neck ! =)

STEP 6: THE HAIR: PART 1

As a said at the beginning of the tutorial, Taylor’s hair is HARDCORE to draw for two reasons:

1/ It’s platinum blonde

2/ It’s messy as hell !

First, I think platinum blonde is the hardest hair color to copy in drawings. Indeed, this color is light kind of yellow that, ironically must not be to yellow…The thing is that I didn’t find a solution to this problem for the moment…

Then, when you have to draw platinum hair in black and white, you have to use a very light shade of grey but to also have  a strong relief to make the hair more realistic. For that purpose, you must draw “guiding” locks to draw the movement of the hair with your HB pencil on a basis lightly colored with your 4H pencil. After that, you must “draw” locks with your rubber to enlighten the hair.

Personally, I’ve been loosely inspired by the hair of the picture because copying it excatly would’ve been way too hard for me.

Also, you can already darken her roots with your HB pencil, but we’ll make them even darker in the second part.

STEP 7: END OF THE PORTRAIT: SKIN & HAIR PART 2 + BACKGROUND

Yes, I could’ve divided this in two, even three parts but I forgot to scan the drawing…=X

FOR HER SKIN: Taylor’s skin is light so no need to color it entierely a second time ! Bu we have to darken the shadows and erase the lightest parts of her face and then stump that, to make it more realistic. HB will be enough for shdows.

By the way, don’t forget her neck (again !)

FOR HER HAIR: Taylor’s hair is as light as her skin, so, same, we’ll draw locks with our HB pencil, then erase it, stump it, draw it, erase it, stump it, draw it, etc… Until you get to the right result !

FOR THE BACKGROUND: You just have to hatch the background with the color you want (black and red for me).

At last, you just have to sign, date and (if you want) give a title to your work of art !

IN CONCLUSION:

TADAAA! =D

I’m kind of satisfied with the result, even I wanted the hair to look better ! It isn’t my most lifelike portrait yet but I thought it was interesting to add my own unique touch of human craft because it makes the portrait one of a kind and it reflects my point of view on the picture !

BONUS: EPIC FAIL OF MY FIRST ATTEMPT

Go ahead and laugh ! xD

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and I already have the next Rock Chick in mind !

If you have any idea of a female rocker that I could draw for Rock Chicks or any advice/opinion you can tell me in the comments !

Skillet & Stardust ! =P

Pixie McQueen xx

PS: This tutorial is inspired by another one from the French site Graphit’Art (sorry it doesn’t exists in English :() and thanks to it I progressed a lot ! So you should definetly check it out ! (No sponsoring ;P)