What you should know before stocking up on eggs
With easter coming up, lots of people stock up on eggs. In Europe there is a code printed on every egg that is sold commercially. There is an explanation about the meaning of the code in every box, so I won't go into that in detail.
This is what was interesting for me: the meaning of the first number, the explanation about how the chicken are held.
0 = Organic
1 = Free Range
2 = Deep Litter
3 = Battery cage
Now it's all nice and everything, but what is behind these explanations? I illustrated it for you, check it out.
0 means organic.
The chicken are fed mostly organic food,
they can go out any time they want,
cutting of the beak is not allowed,
there are max 6 chicken/ m² inside the barn,
and there should be a minimum of 4 m² /chicken outside.
1 means free range.
The chicken can go out any time they want,
there should be max 9 chicken /m² inside the barn,
they should have a minimum space of 4 m² /chicken outside,
and cutting the beak is allowed.
2 means deep litter.
The chicken can't go outside,
there can't be more than 9 chicken /m²,
and cutting the beak is allowed.
3 means battery cage.
Cutting the beak is allowed,
the chicken are always inside a cage,
and there are as many as 18(!) chicken/ m.
The little research I did was quite an eye-opener for me, as I always thought "deep litter" doesn't sound so bad... well, I guess it's always better to see where your food comes from. So try to find a farmer near you and leave the supermarket eggs for someone else!
I'd love to hear your thoughts about it. Share it with me in the comments section :)
HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!
Holiday animation
I had the great opportunity to work on a background animation for a winter event in Hungary. I was asked to create a background animation that would play continuously behind the performances during the whole event. It was mainly a children's afternoon and some music artists at the end for the parents. It was great fun! Check out the pictures.

There was Joulupukki in the beginning, greeting everyone who came in. He is from Lapland originally and came to Hungary to surprise the children.
After everyone arrived, the children could get "warmed up" with a fun exercise series. As you see they all loved to get on stage and join the instructor in the songs and dances.
Than it was time for some performances from different schools of the town.
This one is a group that played small hand-held bells. It sounded beautiful!
A hungarian singer, Zséda closed the event with some great songs, such as "Blue bird" (Kék madár), so my animation with the little blue bird fitted the song perfectly :)
Click here for the animation itself.
Make your family and friends feel special this holiday season
This month the Christmas spirit is taking over cities and shops, and in some places even homes. It is a good idea to look around and start to plan the presents and decoration, so you won't be all stressed out at the last moments. Although there are always last-minute tasks (we all like to postpone some things for the last days... I'm just as guilty as anyone else ;) it's still good to think ahead. Doing this can give you the time and opportunity to think about the details and make things even more special.
This week I'm offering a free sample of the Holiday Cards and Name Tags Booklet for download so you can make someone feel more special. If you are following my blog, you might remember that I'm having a give-away where you can get the whole booklet for free. Head over to the article for details.
So let's get on with creating some special cards!
And here's what you're going to need:
- printed designs (try to print them on thicker paper and high quality)
- scissors
- coloured cardboard (i chose a blue one, but you can choose what ever you fancy)
- paint/coloured pencils
- glue
If you have all these, you can start making your cards.
Step 1) Cut out the characters from the printed page and colour them as you wish
Step 2) Cut your cardboard so it's the total size of a double card: 21 x 14.8 cm or 8.26" x 5.82" (if you had an A4 cardboard, just cut it in half)
Step 3) Glue on the mountain background and fold it into half
Extra tip: use the mountain as a stencil to make more cards.
Step 4) Arrange the characters that you want to use for your card and glue them onto their place.
That's it! Now you have your hand-made cards for a special someone.
Don't forget: the give-away of the whole booklet with more templates, ready-to-print-and-send cards and name tags ends within a week! (Nov 30th) So head over to my store and check out the designs. You can read more about the give-away here.
Here are some cards i made:
Have a great week! And let let me know what you think.
Happy news and a give-away
I'm very happy to announce that my new webshop opened it's virtual doors today. I was working on setting it up for some time now and I'm so proud to present it to you with the start-up designs.
I'll be adding new designs on a regular basis, so check back often or make sure you like the Facebook page and/or sign up for the newsletters to see the updates.
Head right over to check out the designs here.
If you have any questions, comments, feed-back or anything you'd like to share with me, I'm happy to hear it! Mail me or leave a comment.
But that's not the only thing I want to talk about. Yes, you read it right, there is also a give-away!
I am giving a free download of cute and funny Holiday Cards and Name Tags Booklet to everyone who purchases from my store until Nov 30th 2011. This give-away ends on the 30th at 12PM CET, so don't hesitate!
Check out the designs and apparel! And get the package to make someone feel special this holiday season.
Here's what you have to do for the free downloads:
1.) Choose your favourite designs on your favourite items and order them.
2.) Send your Order Confirmation e-mail to shop@vmillustrations.com (forward it)
That's all! After you send the mail, you'll receive a super secret link where you can download the Holiday Cards and Name Tags Booklet and get going with your holiday cheers! Make someone feel special.
Have a great week everyone!
Solong Goldfish! New species discovered
New species of water animals are discovered in sweet waters world-wide. Individuals appeared around the same time in every corner of the world. The little Nosy Waterbeast (Aquae Bestia Nasum Magnum) is another member of the Nosy Beasts phylum (Bestiae Nasus Curiosus) and was spotted just a few weeks ago for the very first time. The little animal got some attention for being very friendly and curious about people and cameras.
The spotted individuals' body length is an average of 3cm (1.2”), and with their noses added a total of approximately 5cm (1.9”). They have a fresh green base colour, adorned with yellow-red spots and dark red legs.
The Nosy Waterbeast appears to be friendly with other creatures too and is the most happy when it has some company. It's playful approach and happy character makes it easy to keep in captivity.
It's diet mainly consists of sweet-water plants and algae, that it stuffs into it's mouth for transportation. There is no confirmed information about the animals natural hiding place, as it is always spotted in the wild while approaching people.
These cute little animals could be the new pet for your aquarium! Click here to see where they hang out.
What do you think about it? Don't be shy and tell me in a nice comment below!
Have a great week everyone!
4 easy and refreshing leg exercises while sitting
If you sit all day long while working, you know how your legs can become numb or heavy. Even though most of us know we should take breaks every 2-3 hours, we usually don't have the time to take a little walk during working hours (I usually can't).
But you don't have to leave the office, or not even your desk to incorporate an easy routine that keeps your legs healthy! Follow the illustrations right now and get going with these quick exercises. Don't forget to keep your abs flexed while holding your feet off the ground so your lower back is protected. (If you can take your shoes off, it's even better ;)
1. Pretend to pick something up from the floor with your toes and "let it go" midair. Do this 6-8 times.
2. Make circles with your feet while holding your legs straight in the air. Do it to both directions 6-8 times.
3. With straight legs flex your feet, hold it for a second than point your toes. Repeat 6-8 times.
4. Do the scissor movement with your legs straight. Yep, you guessed it already: repeat 6-8 times.
That's it! Do this series 2-3 times a day to get the maximum benefits. Doing these exercises on the long term can prevent varicose vein to form on your legs and it gives your muscles a well earned refreshment.
What is your favourite exercise or tip? Share it in the comments below and you might see it in an illustration here soon!
Exposed: The secret life of the Nosy Bee

The Nosy Bee (Apis Nasum Magnum) is a member of the curious Nosy Beasts phylum (Bestiae Nasus Curiosus).
Until now there was not much we knew about the Nosy Bee. This winged animal was living quietly in an unknown remote area far from civilization until it's recent appearance world-wide.
More, yet unidentified species, presumably from the same phylum are also spotted recently.
The Nosy Bee can reach a body-length of 10cm (4") and with it's impressive nose included, it's total length can be almost the double of that.
The red and ocher coloured individuals are widespread. Sightings of other colour-variations are not yet confirmed to be the same species.
It's main form of movement is flying. The wings it uses for movement seem to be too small for it's body size, but with their enormous strength they are able to carry the bee around with ease. It's hind legs appear to have no function other than keeping the bee from rolling over when resting on a surface.
The Nosy Bee appears to be a solitary animal, it is not often seen in groups. It's lair is a cave dug into any kind of dirt surface.
It is many times spotted using tools and is highly skilled in bag-making. It uses the bag to carry goodies and raw materials to it's lair.
This bee's diet consists of mostly green leaves and a delicious honey drink made by the Mini Nosy Bees, another newly discovered species of the phylum Bestiae Nasus Curiosus.
Watch out for sightings of this animal on kids' shirts, baby clothes and more! :D Click here.
Tell me what You think about the Nosy Bee in the comments below.
Moving the blog to my website
Hey everyone!
My previous blog was sitting quite silently and unchanged for some months now as some of you probably noticed.
I have been busy with numerous projects in the meanwhile, but most of them i couldn't show at the moment. There are some very exciting new additions coming soon!
First of all I am currently busy with a series of short animations for a Hungarian tv station, Veszprém TV for their children's series Kukkantó. It is a series of animals and animated objects that deliver postcards of children that explore the town's various locations.
The first one aired last week, so i can already show it to you. You can check out the animations themselves when each of them has been shown on TV. I'll post a link to it.
This is a small sketch of one of my ideas that i presented to the tv station and got approved.
This is the mock-up of how it would look with the colours.
The other project i've been working on is my own webshop. There are some really nice new illustrative designs in it, printed on t-shirts, mugs, glasses, blankets, cards, buttons, babies' and children's apparel and bags, just to mention a few.
Here's a small detail about a cute baby design to get you thinking:
I will keep you all posted about the opening of the shop. It is coming soon!
Have a great week everyone!
*I am an affiliate for these services. If you click on the icons and make a purchase, I will be given goods/discounts/financial support. Every service that appears here was tested by me and I had a very positive experience with them, so I'm confident in recommending them to you.