rurupoi illustration

Hi, I'm rurupoi, a Toronto-based illustrator. twitter / instagram / youtube

[rurupoi]

Connect with me elsewhere!

Sooo I think I’ve come to accept that I can only manage so many social media platforms at one time while staying mindful of digital well-being.

If you’d like to connect with me, please do so on the following platforms:

✧ Instagram ✧ (watercolour paintings, urban sketching)

✧ Twitter ✧ (Blender 3D art, game dev) ✧ Youtube ✧ (watercolour, sketchbook videos) I’m still planning on posting periodic updates here on Tumblr, but will no longer be checking actively. Thank you so much for supporting me here for so many years! ♥

[rurupoi]

This is my happy place rn in a crazy world! How’s everyone holding up?

Btw! I post game-related content to my Twitter account. Hope to see you there. :)

[rurupoi]

This is a watercolor sketchbook I recently finished up! I started it back in 2018 when I travelled to Hong Kong and Japan. 

The first half of the sketchbook is plein air/urban sketching watercolor paintings I did on location. The second half (01:15) is filled with drawings of food I ate in Japan. I hope you enjoy viewing my sketchbook! 

[rurupoi]

[Part 4/5] Desserts and candy from Japan

[rurupoi]

Here's a short timelapse of me painting another page in my Japan travel sketchbook. This is the cute whale shark-themed ice cream you can get at Osaka Aquarium. Swirls are so hard to get right (for me anyway) but I tried my best to be patient!

[rurupoi]

[Part 3/5] Sushi and chips!

[rurupoi]

[Part 2/5] Tonkatsu, ramen, and udon meals I had in Japan.

[rurupoi]

Here's a timelapse of me painting a spread in my Japan travel sketchbook. We tried not to eat too much sushi during the trip (for ocean conservation reasons) but this torched sushi set we had at Tokyo Station was so delicious!

I used a combination of watercolour and water-soluble pencils to help with the details. The speculars were painted in with white gouache. So many fun speculars in food drawings but it's easy to overdo it lol.

[rurupoi]

[Part 1/5] I have this half-finished sketchbook from my Japan trip so I'm filling it with food drawings! To start off, here's a bento I had on the shinkansen from Kyoto to Tokyo, and a Berkshire pork tonkatsu.   

[rurupoi]

Happy Lunar New Year! Wishing you all happiness, good health, and good fortune! 🐁🧧

What are your wishes in the year of the rat?

PS. Watch how I painted this illustration here!

[rurupoi]

Dreaming of warm, sunny days for hiking and mushrooming! I was surprised to learn some fungi do grow in the winter, like wild enoki, so maybe it's worth braving the weather?

How is winter treating you so far?

[rurupoi]

Wishing you a warm and wonderful winter holiday! ⛄ ⁣⁣ ⁣ Are you all ready to go or still last minute prepping (like me ;)?⁣

[rurupoi]

PART 1: Paints / PART 2: Paper and Brushes

PART 3: Let’s explore some additional tools that are fun to use with watercolour! When it comes to fountain pens, I’m more about practicality and price than aesthetics. I have six Platinum Preppy pens! — Would you like to see more guides like this? Is there something else you’d be interested to learn about? Let me know in the comments! (I am much more active on my Instagram nowadays so you can reach me there too!) Happy painting!

[rurupoi]

Part 1: Paints

Part 2: Let's talk about selecting paper and brushes! ⁣ Paper is such a personal preference, and it can take a bit of exploration (and a few abandoned sketchbooks) to find what works best for you. I'm still looking too!⁣ ⁣ Have any questions about paper or brushes? Or recommendations for me? Leave me a comment! ⁣ On Thursday, we'll explore some other tools that complement watercolour painting to conclude this series.⁣ Happy painting!

[rurupoi]

This is the first of a 3-part series based on some questions I received from aspiring watercolourists on my Instagram. Let's talk about what to look for in watercolour paints. Paints are a very personal choice and will require some experimentation, so this is just a starting point!⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ On Tuesday, I'll share my tips for selecting paper and brushes.⁣

⁣---⁣⁣ Here's a detailed list of my palette on page 3:⁣⁣ / PV19: Red Rose Deep, Quinadocrine (Da Vinci)⁣⁣ / PR188, PO62: Vermilion Hue (Da Vinci)*⁣⁣ / PY3, PY42: Gamboge Hue (Da Vinci)*⁣⁣ / PY97: Arylide Yellow (Da Vinci)⁣⁣ / PG18: Viridian Hue (Da Vinci)⁣⁣ / PB15, PG7: Turquoise Blue (Rembrandt)⁣⁣ / PR101: Burnt Sienna (Winsor & Newton)⁣⁣ / PY42: Gold Ochre (Winsor & Newton)⁣⁣ / PB15: Cerulean Blue (Holbein)⁣⁣ / PB35: French Ultramarine (Winsor & Newton)⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ *I plan on switching these paints out soon, and don't particularly recommend them. I will post an updated palette in the future!⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ If you'd like a closer look at pigments and building a palette, handprint.com is a really comprehensive resource I refer to all the time.⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ Happy painting! I'll ⁣⁣see you in Part 2! 

[rurupoi]

I wanted to challenge myself to capture every day of our road trip to Newfoundland, and here is the result! It feels really satisfying to have a tangible object capturing all of my experiences on the trip. I'm so proud to share it with you. :)

How do you like to preserve your travel memories? 

[rurupoi]

Lévis, Québec was our last stop before driving home. The autumn colours at Parc des Chutes-de-la-Chaudière were perfect! As was the poutine. With its perfectly squeaky cheese curds. 🤤  Coming up: Watch a tour of the full, 48-page travel journal this Sunday!