Enjoy virtual tours and tiny cuisine with our #FollowFriday recommendations
Many people have picked up new hobbies during the pandemic and are using the downtime to showcase their creativity through social media. Looking for some inspiration? Check out some of these talented Filipino content creators on YouTube and Instagram who are combining traditional art and pop culture to highlight the beauty of the Philippines.
JST Creations
Filipino gamer and digital artist JST Creations recreates incredibly detailed Philippine national landmarks in Minecraft to make the places virtually accessible to anyone at home. The videos include trivia about the featured landmarks’ history, making it a fun and educational way for anyone to explore tourist sites around the country during the quarantine.
So far, the digital artist has made videos of 24 historical landmarks from all over the Philippines, including Rizal Park in Manila, Molo Church in Iloilo City, the City of Malolos in Bulacan, and more. Links to the downloadable map files can be found in many of their Youtube video descriptions so that users can access them on the actual Minecraft video game. You can also buy some of the Minecraft versions of the Philippine tourist spots printed on mouse pads (worth P99 each) on Shopee.
Chibi Cravings
Feeling hungry? Check out the work of Chibi Cravings, which chronicles the creations of Scher Padilla, a Filipina artist who specializes in handmade miniature Pinoy food. Padilla features tiny versions of her favorite food and quarantine cravings on her Instagram account and has shared a few tutorials on her YouTube channel about how to create the miniature food using polymer clay.
The cute and distinctly Pinoy food items include mini versions of breakfast silog plates, pancit canton, Jollibee chickenjoy and spaghetti, ube cheese pandesal, isaw, bibingka, puto bumbong, iskrambol and lots more. Based on her Instagram account and Facebook page, she’s busy completing various orders of miniature props, mini bags and phone charms which cost from P50 to P500 each.
Taoba
Taoba or “The Adventure of Banj & Arn” is a moto vlog that combines motorcycle adventures with on-the-spot watercolor painting. Along with rider “tropa” Arn, Batangas-based artist Banjo Magnaya paints Studio Ghibli-inspired scenes of Philippine destinations in a travel journal while sharing painting tips. The miniature streetscapes or gouache paintings are based on actual places they ride to around their home town or self-taken photographs.
Some of their recent video content include on the spot painting of the abandoned Fantasy World Castle in Lemery, the National Shrine of St. Padre Pio in Sto. Tomas, and Taal Lake to name a few. The concept is just so different and refreshing from the usual motorcycle vlog. It’s a unique way to appreciate the small details and charm of nearby destinations and landmarks.
(Images via JST Creations, Chibi Cravings and TaoBa)