I’ve been trying out different brushes in Painter, trying to see what different textures feel like.  This Tea Club drawing is an exercise in that, plus combining my recent interest in trying to figure out the world of kickboxing:

It could use a little more work in finishing the rendering, but I’m calling it “done” because it’s more like an exercise. I think the more I do these kinds of painting exercises, the more my rendering style will develop.

(For those of you not familiar with Tea Club, these are my main characters Hana Neko and Mr. Bear.)

Can anyone else relate to this?

Trying out a new character, and some new Painter brushes.  Usually I work with the Pencil and Digital Watercolor tools in Painter Essentials, but wanted to try out the Oil brushes for a “rougher” look, kind of more child-like.  This is a part of a working idea for a new comic concept.

There was so much I wanted to say in the past 2 years…convention updates, incriminating evidence about the guy who hit my car at WonderCon 2010 and didn’t do the right thing, comics about my pregnancy during 2010, comics about the fun and sometimes ridiculous stuff going on at my day job…but I didn’t get a chance.  Life has been very full since I decided to start a family, and it’s been a struggle to find time for art and myself.  Still, my little boy Griffith has been worth all the pain, and he brings joy and inspiration to me every day:

So! Rather than focus on everything I didn’t do in the past 2 years, I am choosing to move forward. A new year is always a chance for a new start, and I’m resolving to close the gap between thinking and doing.  Basically, that means dedicating more time to get back to the basics of simply creating art (and maybe a little bit of writing about the process or the pieces).

I’ve also resolved to put together the last volume of Tea Club later this year.  I have to get through a move and a wedding first, but my plan is to debut Tea Club volume 2 at Comic-Con 2012. Once this volume is done, I can finally close the chapter on Tea Club graphic novels…at least for now

Unemployed Pandas will also be coming to a close very soon (the loose goal is to finish it sometime this month).  There are a handful of comics left before the series end, and I’m going to spend today drawing one of them.  Once the last few comics have been drawn, I’ll be scheduling the updates to the series finale.

My hope is to have more updates everywhere–this website, this blog, my company Facebook page, and of course my online store.  It is quite a challenge to coordinate all those efforts plus juggle my new family, but in the end it’s all very happy-busy work and will be all worth it.

Thanks for coming along on this ride with me, I will have more to show soon!

Just a quick note to say Happy Earth Day. We’re a company of ecological fighters, didn’t you know?

I know, I know, I need to do a WonderCon 2011 write-up. Will try to find some time in the next few weeks for the recap!

Last day before WonderCon 2011! We’re setting up our booth at Moscone Center today (Booth #834) but here’s our last shirt design debuting at the show:

Yeap, none other than Big Butt Panda!!  He is one of my flagship characters who has been around P.M.B.Q. Studios for the last 10 years…hard to believe.

Big Butt Panda is a character who is very shy and humble, but is also quietly confident in that he doesn’t apologize for who he is or what he does.  He’s got a big caboose and knows it…and is even a little bit proud of it.  Life is good for him, and it gets even better when you bring him a healthy serving a bamboo.  It doesn’t get much better than that.  Could he be the people’s champ?  He is definitely a champ at P.M.B.Q. Studios, that’s for sure.

As for the design, my personal art exploration these past few years is to work with a more organic look.  I’ve roughed up my usual clean edges for a more “brushy” effect on this latest iteration of BBP. This exploration mirrors my preference in the traditional art world, which is to work with a brush. It’s such a versatile tool, allowing you to create many different line widths by simply varying the pressure.  It also takes a lot of time to learn how to harness brush techniques.  Personally, I enjoy the challenge of working with whatever comes out of a brush…if only I didn’t dislike scanning so much, I might do more traditional works with a brush.

BBP will be available in guy and girl-style t-shirts. If you can’t make it to WonderCon, these shirts will be available for sale in a few weeks on the Pandaline T-shirt Shop.

Just a few more days left until WonderCon 2011…we are booth #834, near our friends Gama-Go!

Continuing the “classic” trend, I’m bringing back another old favorite from 2007, Rocketbear:

Rocketbear is actually Mr. Bear, co-star of the Tea Club webcomic. He’s blasting off into parts unknown, boldly going where no bear has gone before. I always loved the action on this illustration. This design will be available on both guy- and girl-style t-shirts.

If you can’t make it to WonderCon, these shirts will be available for sale in a few weeks on the Pandaline T-shirt Shop.

Continuing the countdown to WonderCon 2011 and featuring our 2011 t-shirt design line…available at our booth #834!

This year I’m revisiting a lot of classic artwork, and I thought it was time to bring back KFU Panda:

The first iteration of this character and design showed up in my 2005 line of t-shirts, and the second iteration came in 2007.  I always liked the impact of a gold t-shirt, even though it is not really a mainstream color ^_^;  Well, I decided to bring back the gold in 2011 in guy/unisex shirt sizes.  This is also available in fitted ladies’ shirts in a nice light grey color.

If you can’t make it to WonderCon, these shirts will be available for sale in a few weeks on the Pandaline T-shirt Shop.

We’re counting down the days to WonderCon in San Francisco, CA!  The show starts on Friday, April 1 and runs until Sunday April 3.

Here’s the first of our t-shirt designs (for guys and girls) to unveil at the show, featuring the Two Bears:

I’m trying to spend a little more time telling the story of my characters/designs these days.  This is my third design featuring the “Two Bears,” a boyfriend/girlfriend set of bears that depict various relationship stages. I’ll have to go back and tell the stories of the first two designs, but this illustration is basically all about the “joy” of domestic chores. Sometimes getting your significant other to do chores is like pulling teeth, so when they finally do it is a moment to capture on film.  It really is a win-win, because the cleaner can say “Don’t say I never clean the toilet” and the observer can take joy in directing the task…right?  Right.

If you can’t make it to WonderCon, these shirts will be available for sale in a few weeks on the Pandaline T-shirt Shop.

It’s been quite a few years…just thought I’d revive Cupid Panda  Here’s the first comic, done way back in 2001 (wow, 10 years ago!):

In 2006, I did a follow-up Tea Club comic:

The saga last left off in 2008 here:

I revamped the original story into a simpler t-shirt design in 2010:

Hope everyone enjoys Valentine’s Day, and be sure to watch out for the Cupid Panda flying our friendly skies