Duc N. Ly

I came to know the work of Ryan Loghry through his comment about the Hand book Journal. Tonight, I’m interviewing him through a series of emails. The following is our exchange:

Duc: Hi Ryan, Thanks for your comment on my blog. I checked out your work.  I though we could talk about the Handbook Journal and feature some of your work. I thought your blog post about self publishing on Lulu helpful and your possible book making with Blurb. I’ve been wanting to put a book together of my photographs too.

R: I would recommend Blurb very highly. The software was quick to download, and easy to use. I received my book in a timely manner, and it was very high quality. I would rate Blurb over Lulu, by far. I would like to make sure and include a digital photo of the plastic pouch inside the journal. I keep a few of my postcards in there, with my contact information, just in case I lose it, or in case I meet someone. One of the few negative comments I saw regarding these journals referred to the plastic pouch/envelope falling out as soon as the person opened it. I have found them to be quite sturdy.

D: I keep my business card in the plastic envelope too for that same purpose. Do you use watercolor on the page? I wonder how it response to it? What is your medium for your drawings. What is the concept behind your work?
The thing about Lulu is that it requires high quality scans. Some of my photographs are not that large and I intend to make a small book of small photographs. I will try Blurb. I notice that Blurb is available through Flickr.

R: My process is to do pencil drawings in my sketchbook, then do a hi-res scan, and if needed clean up in Photoshop. I add a layer or two in PS to paint the color on. I usually do skin tones on one layer, and the rest of a character on another layer. I turn the opacity down on the color layer, so that the pencil shading shows through. Sometimes this gives a color pencil look to the piece, and other times a watercolor look.

D: What sort of inspirations do you use for your creative process?

R: I find I don’t really need to be inspired. I seem to have ideas bombarding me all the time. I have several children’s books which are at various stages of completion. If I’m ever really stuck for something to draw, I pick an illustration or character to develop for one of these stories. I listen to a lot of classical music, and jazz while I work, I suppose that’s inspirational. This is the link to the local classical station which streams online: http://www.allclassical.org/index.php5

My favorite medium is pencil on paper. I use mechanical pencils mostly, a 5mm, and a 7mm. I use the Global handbook we’ve been discussing, and for larger drawings I use the Canson blank book: misterart.com/store CANSON-Blank-Cloth-Sketch-Books. Both of these sketch books have a heavy, high quality paper. I also like to dabble in pen and ink, and oil paints on canvas. I have not used water colors on the Global handbook, but that’s an interesting idea. I still have some water color pencils lying around here somewhere, I could test that out.

D: Oh my gosh. That’s very interesting. I listen to allclassical at work too because it’s nice background music. It’s a local station in Oregon you know?!? That’s an eerie connection. I find that sometimes I get lost in the music. There was one incident where I read about an architect who started to draw on the back of these classical concert programs as he was listening to the live concert performances…I recall seeing one drawing what was rather interesting and it reflected his mood I suppose. I’ve acquired more knowledge of classical music in the process. What I find fascinating is the relation of classical music in the Bugs Bunny cartoons. There you have music mixed with drawings. I believe allclassical has made a special tribute program featuring these early exposure to classical music in our childhoods.

R: Are you in Portland? I didn’t realize that. haha…Small world. I’m just north of Portland. In a small logging town, Yacolt, Washington. I attribute that habit (art/music together) to my exposure to those cartoons, and one art teacher I had in high school who constantly had classical music going while we worked. I can’t listen to classical music without some sort of storyline appearing in my mind. If the idea is strong enough, I draw up storyboards for it. Unfortunately I rarely have time to animate these days.

D: Yep…I’m in Portland. I’ve not heard of Yacolt.

That concludes our conversation.

Some related posts:

Interview with Bluebird Studio

Postalco 64

Originally uploaded by Duc N. Ly.

Previously:  postalco-arrival

Here are some more pictures of the Postalco notebook. I didn’t do this notebook any justice with indoor lighting. So here are some of the day light shots in my bar table. The cover folds back nicely. The spine is protected with the cloth cover which reduces the tendency to bend the metal spiral.

fig. 1

fig. 2

While I was in Europe, I happen upon Luxe.tv cable.  Luxe does these wonderfully stylish features of the world’s luxurious places, fashion, and tech.  The cable channel does re-run a lot of the features which is very annoying.  There is the website to follow when I got back home.  I kept wondering if they would have videos on their website.  Sure enough,  Luxe.tv is on several video sharing sites such as Youtube.  I thought this one on Mrs. John L. Strong stationary was appropriate for the blog.

“Aluminum, tastes like fear”-Michael Stipe

Atoma.be has the wood discs, Myndology has a larger size discs 3/4″ aluminum discs. They can hold: 75 sheets of the white paper; and 60 sheets of recycle post consumer paper. The discs are made of aluminum and comes in two sizes: 3/4″ and 5/8″. I have a color coded two subject book. I like the thick and hefty feel of it. The aluminum has been in store and on the website for a while now. I finally got my hands on a few of them. I’m planning to make an aluminum cover for it. Wish me luck.

Update:  Myndology.com has just created a new feature where you can sign up for the emailing list and receive a 15% discount code!  

http://www.diyplanner.com/search/node/aluminum+discs

tags: myndology, aluminum disc, disc bound, notebook, paper

Mynd GridOriginally uploaded by Duc N. Ly.

This year, I started off reading “The Now Habit” by Neil Fiores. It had been on my Amazon wish-list for sometime and during Christmas, I emailed it to my siblings. So I got it as a Christmas present. This book kicked my butt motivated me into taking up the study of architecture again. I have challenged myself to re-take some of my exams again. Some of the tools I use for study is the myndology grid notebook for sketches like this accessibility clearances for exits. The grid is dotted and small enough to carry around with me for quick references. They are in the junior size.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ducly/tags/myndology/

facebook.com/group myndology cooperative

http://www.squidoo.com/myndology 

tags: myndology, grid paper, accessibility clearance,

Wality 52

Originally uploaded by patrickrhone.
I’ve been following Patrick’s blog for a while now. It was through his post that I found out about Cornell paper and also GTD with Base Camp. It seems Patrick is getting into analogue big time!

What I also like about this notebook is the tab. The white tab looks so much cleaner then my colorful tab which makes the white labels stand out too much. Here the white labels of the label maker blends in nicely.

Somewhat related:

Patrick’s trip to Levenger

A Note from Ryan

Originally uploaded by Duc N. Ly.

collaborativeideation.com/post/13964
This note makes me smile. The story behind this True Writer began one morning when I received an invitation to explore Second LIfe Abott’s AeroDome from Ryan/Austin. Ryan had made a giant True Writer Shuttle in Second Life. I think it is the same color even. Back then Ducce was a noob and could not fly it very well…and he’s still is to some extent. I have earned my wings indeed. I like the green ink that Ryan uses. The True Blue has a nice finish and weight. I can refill it with six styles of Ballpoint, Roller, and my favorite Anti-Gravity.

evolution-journal-arrival

flickr truewriter

tags: Levenger, Evolution Journal, Commonplace Journal, Journal, Notebooks, Leather, Journal with Pockets, Pen Loop.

Commonplace Journal Index Page

Originally uploaded by Duc N. Ly.
Previously

“a certain old, well-thumb’d common-place book…carried in my pocket for three summers, and absorb’d over and over again.” - Walt Whitman.

CommonPlace Journal Cover

The book comes with three white stick on labels. The journal has a preface which explain what a Commonplace journal is. Those two small pages of explanation gives me so much ideas and possibilities for this notebook. It began in Renaissance times. The Latin term is loci communes, or commonplaces. There is a guide for using the Commonplace Refill. So for example ‘Game Theory’ would be under ‘Ga’. Take the first letter and the next vowel. Then note the pages separated with a comma. This system is based on John Locke which would be filed under ‘Lo’ and or ‘Co’ for commonplace book. You get the idea. There are six pages for Index and additional two pages for more or different categories. Otherwise it is just like the ruled journal with numbered pages. The signatures are sewn together with threads instead of glue for durability. There are 120 pages for both the Journal and the Commonplace book. The pages have very smooth but not glossy surface so the ink sits well on the page and not bleed through.

Already I am thinking that in the back section could use some sort of indexing system, perhaps a simple alphabetical index or appendix. These journals are called Refills and they are meant for the three versions of the jacket. Stand alone, the covers are flexible for bending and putting it into a jacket sleeve. I can’t help but wonder if there’s a version of a sturdier cover which can be a stand alone notebook or slip more easily into the jacket.

All in all, it’s a superb journal. I could use it for a book of quotations, journals, or ideas for a novel. Participating in NaNoWriMo has taught me to first capture and later catalog. Now there’s a way to index it and later edit the work in an organized fashion.

http://ducly.wordpress.com/2007/08/15/commonplace-book-2-2/

tags: commonplace book, book, filofax, paper, notebook, binder, quotations

Evolution Journal Jacket with Pocket 2

Originally uploaded by Duc N. Ly.
A few months back, I became aware of the Commonplace Journal. I was not successful in making one of my own. Recently, Levenger has made an entry into this method of keeping notes. Now, it ’s hard press to find this Commonplace journal on the market. Most of it has been home made. The fact that Levenger has enough faith in this type of journal says lot about their willingness to test the market. There has been a up surge of demand for old style types of journal and methods of keeping notes.

Before I get into what and how the commonplace book is designed, I would like to give my first general impression. At first I was very excited to see that a major company like Levenger is making a Commonplace book. I’ve look everywhere and I could not find it. Along with this line are the blank and ruled journals. The paper quality is meant for fountain pen inks. Sure one can write in it with a ballpoint pen but if you really wanted to be transported back in time, pick up a nice fountain pen and let it flow. The guild edge often entice me to open up the journal to find precise lines, numbered pages, and a touch of flourish at the top of every page.

Along with these lines of journal, Levenger made a series of jackets. I had already seen the Infinity Journal and have been lusting after it for a while. But I was lucky enough to received the Evolutionary Journal from Ryan! What began as a simple request from Ryan to feature the Commonplace book has evolved into the Evolution Journal. From the catalog, I was immediately intrigued. My first reaction: this is a Moleskine on Steroids. As the name suggest, perhaps recall Darwin’s maxim of the survival of the fittest. One can imagine that Charles Darwin might have a journal similar to this for his field work. It certainly has the weather protection enclosure. In Ryan’s words: ‘It is feature rich’. It has a deep pocket, a ribbon page marker, pen loop, and a flap to keep everything bounded together into one svelte package with the journal power and capacity to carry one through a dreary rainy afternoon. The pocket is really user friendly or very accessible. The pen loop is very handy and the flap with the invisible magnetic closure makes it a travel protection for the precious pages inside. I have the large size, which is about the size of the junior Circa Fold Over. It is less bulky then it looks in the paper catalog. The jacket really fits snugly over the paper journal. I’ve decided to use it as my diary for the coming year. With the ability to index in a Commonplace style, I can go back for that novel idea. There is also the pre-printed diary agenda that one could slip in and use it for business. It really looks professional and thin.

The Evolution Journal Cover is made of Full Grain Leather.
The design was inspired by an antique finds. It is based on a journal that was discover at an antique store. Levenger has revised their line of Journal.  There are three types of leather cover in three different sizes. This allows for an astonishing selection of choices. In a way, this follows the lead of the Circa system. Although, the letter size is not yet available.  The great advantage of a leather journal is that I can use it one year after the next.  Rather then committing to one style of journaling, I can change from day to day or month to month or year to year while the cover stays and earn a character through each use.

commonplace-journal-index-page/

flickr.com/photos/ducly/tags/evolutionjournal/

tags: Levenger, Evolution Journal, Commonplace Journal, Journal, Notebooks, Leather, Journal with Pockets, Pen Loop.

Photosource:  myndology.com/disc.php

Jason Posted the following note in Myndology Cooperative, a Facebook group:  Starting tonight at 07:00pm CST, Myndology will begin selling it’s very own Punch! That’s right! Finally, after months of waiting, our ship arrived and our punches unloaded.

Along with the punch, we will also be offering up several disc packs to allow for additional customization. Two versions of discs will be made available; our current polypropylene design and an all new aluminum design!

Both the punch and disc packs will be made available tonight at 7pm at our website. You can visit us here:

http://www.myndology.com

You can also read more on our official DIYPlanner.com punch release post here:

http://www.diyplanner.com/node/4879