Pandabloggin' :: P.M.B.Q. Studios Blog

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Finally saw the musical Wicked this year, before it left the Orpheum Theater in San Francisco.  The hubby and I really enjoy musicals, and it’s been awhile since we’ve seen anything new.  We’re glad to report that it was a very enjoyable show!  Solid story, a wonderful musical score, great performers…Wicked had it all.

I also think there is something to be said about putting a twist on a familiar tale.  We grow up hearing the story of the Wizard of Oz, so having that as an underlying “theme” puts everyone on the same page.  Compare that to something like “Rent,” where, despite a great musical score, the audience may not quite relate as strongly to the theme of the show.

As for Tea Club, it does sadly look like I can’t return to it anytime soon.  I still draw the characters on occasion (and I enjoy it!), but their story is simply on hold for now.

Sorry it’s been a while.  Just been busy over here at P.M.B.Q. Studios!

Here’s a sneak peak at an upcoming concept for Halloween shirts on Pandaline:

I’ve had the Vampire Panda character since the early 2000′s. He appears throughout many of my sketchbooks (which the general public often doesn’t see). I figured with the re-launch of my t-shirt store, it’s time to finally make a design with him.  I’ll be working with this image in Illustrator over the next week or so.

Also wanted to share a fanart that I started back in March. I finally finished it about a month ago. This is Crimson Viper, from Capcom’s Street Fighter 4.

Here’s a look at the evolution of the piece:

I started this when my friend Jimmy Tran posted some fanart of the same character. I thought her design was a little bit ridiculous, so I figured I’d draw something to make a little fun of that ridiculousness.

The concept of the drawing was to show the character getting ready to kick some @$$, as Street Fighters are known to do on a regular basis.  My visual idea was to really highlight her “assets.” I thought her little tie that was tucked within her “assets” was especially ridiculous, so I set out to emphasize that idea as well.  You can see that as I progressed, I changed my mind (I guess it was just too ridiculous for me, and it just didn’t gel that well with me).  I also wanted to practice my painting skills a little bit, and was hoping to go all-out on the rendering.

Months went by, and I lost a little bit of steam.  Finally, I just settled on the final version that you see initially.  Not quite how I imagined it, but realistically I knew I was not motivated to go any further on it.

I have to say I do enjoy telling the story behind the art!

A few weeks ago, I saw a SuperPunch blog on the New Batgirl costume (aka Stephanie Brown, formerly the Spoiler).

It reminded me of the “Batgirl Meme” that went around LiveJournal a few years back.  I had wanted to contribute, but at the time I wasn’t really inspired to do so.  The latest costume finally made me think of how I might design a Batgirl costume, so here goes:

I’m taking some cues of how I’ve been drawing my characters, Ninja Panda and Kunoichi Panda…hence the organic-like “cape/scarf” and general ninja approach.  Like most people, I’m not a huge fan of the “garter pack” on the new costume, and instead opted to ditch the utility belt and replace it with utility arm bands.

Granted, my choice of bright yellow thigh-high tabi-boots (i.e. ninja toe boots) may not be terribly practical in terms of stealth, but it’s more of a stylistic choice. I tried to keep it functional by making them tabi-style so that it does make a little bit of sense.  Another detail to note is that in my concept, the red hair is a wig, so that any appropriate hero could take on the mantle (and spirit) of Batgirl.

Overall, I wanted to acknowledge the iconic concept of the original Batgirl, but just put my own spin on it.

Been doing a little freelance lately that involves these two.  Sadly, I am not the artist, just a colorist.  Still, the project has been good for me, as it has helped me brush up on my Photoshop coloring skills.  It’s also giving me a chance to help a very good friend/mentor.

I’ve always had a soft spot for Kitty Pride and Wolverine. With Kitty, I guess she kind of falls into “Robin Syndrome” in that she represents the character that kids/teens can better identify with in the superhero world. (Come on, wouldn’t you want to be the teenager on a superhero team? That’s like, the unspoken American Dream!)  As a kid, I loved her origins that involved her travels with Wolverine, as well as her Demon Ninja training.  (I have no idea what her origins are these days, everything keeps getting reinvented with each new franchise.)

As for Wolverine, Hugh Jackman just makes him So Appealing.  I mean, I always liked Wolverine for his gruff honesty, samurai skills, and general bad-ass-ness, but now I Really Like Wolverine thanks to Hugh Jackman

Now that I look at this, I am not too fond of how I drew Kitty clasping her hands. I just tried to fix it, but it turns out it would take a bit of time, as well as a re-draw. I’ll leave it up here for posterity so you guys can see my imperfections Makes life interesting, no?

Drew this awhile ago…thought I would share publicly What can I say, I’m an X-Men fan of the early 90′s era.