Saturday, December 9, 2017

holiday sale 2017

[listening to christmas music on pandora]

it's the end of the year and i've let this site slip quite a bit these last 6 months. i guess large life changes are large for a reason. but i'm gonna end 2017 on a high note and do a sale for the holidays! i'm doing a 12 DAYS OF XMAS SALE and it started as of yesterday online on my etsy. NOW THRU DEC. 19, 2017!

 
my shop is finally back up and running and i've got all of my large 11x17 Premium Prints back in stock, in time for the holidays! also, for the first time ever, copies of THE BLUEPRINT 2 are available to purchase online through my etsy. and if you're wondering, YES the sale applies to Blueprint books as well. 30% OFF EVERYTHING in the etsy shop, no minimum order (well, i guess 1 is the minimum haha). as long as you order by Dec. 19th, you should receive your order before Christmas because i send all orders Priority Mail (if you live in the U.S.).

oh, but that's not all! tell 'em, egon! i'm also trying to keep my mind busy to work thru my grief* so i'm doing a commission sale during my 12 DAYS OF XMAS SALE! u can get a custom commission from me for just $40! here's what u get:
  • single-character of your choice (each additional character is $40)
  • half-body only
  • 6x9 watercolor paper
  • black & white only (i'll typically use a combination of watercolors, inks, and colored pencils)
this is the perfect time to get a personal art gift for your friends/loved ones/yourself! i'm only doing them this small and in black & white to make sure there's enough time to finish them all. again, if you order by Dec. 19th, you should get these in time. but if it's not a rush, let me know.

use the ABOUT PENG tab up top to contact me if you're interested in a commission!


*i recently had to say goodbye to my pup so she can be our angel from above. i miss her so much.

Friday, September 29, 2017

teen storm

[listening to "look what you made me do" by taylor swift]

New York Comic Con is coming up so so fast. i haven't even been able to post about it. this summer went by in a blur. i blinked and it's almost October!

i drew this latest piece for the NYCC Charity Auction. i was struggling with what to draw this year and i went on facebook to ask people for suggestions. everyone came up with some super fun ideas, though some were more ambitious than i had time for. but Storm came at the suggestion of my mother-in-law and i couldn't say no to that. normally i go for the 90s Uncanny X-Men version of Storm because that's my personal favorite. but instead i went with mohawk Storm cuz i never draw that one. i drew her much younger, some time during her thieving days. i wanted to show a quiet moment where maybe she's just starting to really learn to control her powers and keeping herself dry while making everyone else miserable with a downpour. i'm not even sure that's how her powers work, but it's my drawing so i dos what i wanna dos. =) i did this with watercolors, a little colored pencils (for the lines and some blue spots), and gel pens for spots here and there.

if you're going to NYCC this year, please take a moment to go to the charity auction during the show and consider bidding on stuff in there. there's always awesome pieces (way cooler ones than mine) and the proceeds go to the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. i think i may have been too late in sending my image to get it included on the online gallery, but it'll be there i promise.

i know this year, artist alley at NYCC is in a different part because where it used to be is torn down and being renovated. but, u can find me and hubby Jerry Gaylord at TABLES F25 & F26 in ARTIST ALLEY! i'll be bringing prints, a very limited number of my Daydreams Book 3, and copies of THE BLUEPRINT 2 as well.

Tuesday, September 26, 2017

koi brush pens

[listening to "welcome to new york" by taylor swift]
 

happy fall, guys! i decided to crack open my brand new Koi Coloring Brush Pens from Sakura the other day and try it on this fall-inspired doodle of Anna and Olaf. i know Anna has a winter look, a spring look (courtesy of the Spring Fever short), and probably even a summer look if the outfit she had on at the end of the movie counts. so i wanted to put her in typical Autumn greens and oranges and browns. and i gave her a mug of pumpkin spice latte, if they have that sorta stuff in Arendelle. (which, i'm gonna say they do because it's not a real place. so whatevs.) i think she'd love some PSL, and Olaf will probably wanna get in on that action.

i wanted to use the Koi pens exclusively so i didn't use any copics or watercolors mixed with it. i used my colored pencils for the lines and steam (from the cup), a black ink pen just for eyes/eyebrows, and the Gelly Roll pens (from Sakura also) for the tiny details in her dress. i was limited to the 12 colors that came in the pack but i did also have a pack of grays (3 cool grays, 3 warm grays) so those helped a bit with some color blending. but what really did the trick for me was to use my watercolor brush pen (the blue brush pen where u can put water in the chamber) to help blend all the colors together nicely. without it, i think each color is just way too saturated. sometimes, especially in Olaf's case, i dabbed the brush pen right on the Koi pen tip so it can be super light.

with that in mind, i wouldn't recommend this to beginners because of the limited number of colors and how saturated each color is. but having said that, it IS pretty cool to try out with a brush and some water. it's almost like the effect of watercolors without all the mess. i also used some textured watercolor paper (i believe it's cold-press paper) so that'll go a long way to making them blend properly, i think. i'm not sure what it would look like on a more smoother paper like Bristol or something. if you're looking to experiment with a different set of markers, i highly recommend playing with these and seeing if they're a good fit for what you're looking to do.

all in all, i wish i had more colors! a couple more flesh tones would help a lot, plus maybe like 1 additional shade of each basic color. if i had a pretty good set of these, there's a chance i would give up my Copic markers for them at comic cons. i mean, i still love my copics, don't get me wrong. but there's so many that i need and it gets a bit cumbersome to bring them to cons all the time. they blend really nicely together but i can't fuzz the edges with water cuz they're markers. once they're on the paper, that's it. (still, Copics are much better than Prismacolor markers in my opinion.) oh, and let's not forget the fact that they're pretty pricey. i mean, they're pricey for good reason, they're definitely better than other markers i've ever used. but sometimes, i feel like all i'm doing is buying more refills and spending more on other colors. one really good comic convention will kill my markers because of the number of commissions i do.

i'm gonna keep playing with these pens. especially since INKTOBER is coming up, i may dabble with the grays a lot more. 

Tuesday, September 12, 2017

all moved in

[listening to "roulette" by katy perry]

The Mermaid's New Tunes
so i'm finally all moved in to our new home in LA. still doesn't see quite real yet that we live out here, but with a view that includes the mountains and the peaks of Hogwarts at Universal Studios right out of my window - i imagine i won't get used to it anytime soon.

i have neglected this page in the past few months because of the move that i honestly don't know where to start with the posts. so, instead of trying to do some huge image dump from Awesome Con and San Diego Comic Con and other art in between, i'm just gonna try to move forward. if you've been following my instagram page - @pengpengart - then you're quite caught up.

i'll start with this mermaid painting from last month. i did it for my first-ever art show in LA. is that crazy!? well, it's crazy in my head. again, this is all part of the feeling like it's not quite real that i live out here yet. at any rate, this is one of the very few pieces i've done with only watercolors. (normally, i use copics, but i've noticed it's sort of my crutch.) it was part of the "Mermaids and Mer-Men Art Show" at the QPop Shop in downtown LA. the show just ended earlier this month. above is the uncropped version, below is what it looked like in the frame i had. unfortunately i didn't really get to frame it as nicely as i'd like because time wasn't on my side last month. next time i promise to make it much much nicer. (of course the pink watermarks aren't actually there.)

Thursday, August 17, 2017

Dream Big Princess

[listening to "unstoppable" by sia]

funny that the song i'm listening to right now is very fitting for the topic of this post. 

From Aug. 15th - Oct. 11th, Girl Up Campaign (United Nations Foundation) and Disney has teamed up to do a #dreambigprincess campaign. Post your own photo or like a public image with #dreambigprincess on social media and Disney Worldwide Services will donate $1 for each, up to $1M. (go to @girlupcampaign on Instagram to find out more.)

ever since i started drawing stuff that i liked versus stuff that i think others would like, i've found it to be so much more rewarding - both professionally and personally. there's always going to be people out there who tell you that it's just a dream, it's not a reality. but that's just them projecting their fears onto you. and there's always someone who says it that's close to you and it kicks you right in the gut. but that's ok because that's the fire in ur belly that u need to succeed. a few someones told me this art stuff is not realistic, even within my family. but i've worked in comics, i just moved from Maryland to LOS ANGELES, and i'm working in animation as a designer now. that picture above is me at the Wacom booth (u know, the people that make your tablets and cintiqs) in the biggest comic convention in the United States doing a demonstration, for pete's sake! i'm not trying to brag, please don't take that the wrong way. all i'm saying is that it CAN be done, u just gotta work at that dream. i have so much further to go, but the dream is pretty big and i'm working away at it one day at a time.

to me, the phrase "Dream Big, Princess" is only half the truth. the other half is said best by the first diva i'd ever seen - RuPaul - "You betta work!"

Wednesday, July 5, 2017

i'm moving

[listening to "4:44" by Jay-Z]


sorry for the super long silence on this page. if u follow my facebook page, u may know that i'm making a pretty huge move from the East Coast to the West Coast. literally across the whole country. so as stressful as it is to move in general, i knew i wasn't ready to get rid of practically every piece of possession. sooo many books, sooo many dvds/blurays, sooo many prints from other artists.

here's what happened. end of May, right before we went to MegaCon, we found out that my hubby Jerry got a storyboard revisionist position at Warner Bros Studios in Burbank, CA. so he moved out to CA in June and i've been wrapping everything up here. plus we set up at Awesome Con in DC a couple of weeks ago. it's been nonstop.

because of the move, i've closed my Etsy shop temporarily. all of my prints are in transit and i will be bringing them to San Diego Comic Con in 2 weeks. i'll be reopening it some time before August is out. hopefully the dust will have settled just a tad by then.
please be a bit more patient with me. if this move has taught me anything, it's to go digital. everything digital -mail, movies, music, vid games. (except art books. that's gotta stay physical.)

Thursday, May 11, 2017

tidewater 2017

[listening to "when will i see you smile again" by bell biv devoe]

Tidewater Comicon 2017 Exclusive Print

we're gearing up for Tidewater Comicon this weekend in Virginia Beach! from the first time we did this show 2 years ago, it's been nothing but fantastic! the show runners & staff treat us so so nicely and every single attendee has been nothing but welcoming to us. such a great show and it's so cool to watch it grow year after year. i think the area is really hungry for all this pop culture and comics stuff and it's giving a lot of these military families an opportunity to fly their nerd flags higher than their American flags for just a day. =D

i created this fan art piece of Logan and X-23 from the recent LOGAN movie exclusively for the convention. it's part of their VIP packets so it's a real treat to be able to work on something so loose and most of the focus is on the landscape and not the figures. i never thought i could do it, and it really helps that i had a good amount of reference images to learn from. hope the VIPs like it.


come out and see me and Jerry in the artist alley - TABLES AA1201-1202! we'll be right next to Neal Adams so it'll be hard to miss us. pls come over, say hi, give us a high-five or something. we'll be bringing prints, comics, and lots of BLUEPRINT 2!

Monday, May 8, 2017

original pieces

[listening to "sensitivity" by ralph tresvant]




i'm sorry i've been neglecting my website lately. between Patreon and Instagram, it's been difficult keeping track of what i have and have not posted up yet. so i figured i'd take some time to post a few small original art pieces that i've been giving as rewards for my awesome patreon supporters. i really love doing these little originals every month cuz it gives me a chance to do something totally for me (as opposed to a commissioned piece or something work-related) AND it also lets me play with paint. i've always wanted to learn how to paint, i just never did. so now i gotta do it the long way where i teach myself.
if u want to join us over on my Patreon Page, click the orange BECOME A PATRON button on the top right of the page. u can get high-res files of stuff or maybe even an original!

Wednesday, April 26, 2017

another ariel

[listening to "all night long" by lionel richie]


recently finished this commission for someone i met at WonderCon. he's an incredible artist and i wanted to make sure i spent some time on this piece. so he let me take it home and i mailed it back to him. this is my first full watercolor commission and i was really quite happy with how it turned out. i've had to make some miracles happen with my super cheap watercolors that i've had for years. it's one of those that came in some "artist starter set" type things ppl buy for students or for someone that they know who like art but they don't really know what medium they like to work in. so it came with colored pencils, markers, graphites, pastels, and watercolors. to be fair, when i got this set of supplies, i had no idea what medium i liked to work in myself. but paint was certainly not one of them.
now that i'm really enjoying working with watercolors, i wanna upgrade to some nicer watercolor sets, just to see where that takes me.

image on the left is the cleaned up lines that i draw with my Derwent Inktense colored pencils. i like using these because they don't erase very much and i like how they blend with the paints. once i finish the loose sketch, i go over it with the colored pencils and then i go straight to paints. and once i'm done with the painting, i go over some of the lines again with the colored pencils, depending on if any of them need redefining.

and if i haven't ever said it before, i love drawing Disney commissions. SPECIFICALLY, i love drawing Ariel. so when the opportunity to draw her comes along, i jump on it like a fat kid and cake! haha! if this looks similar to the other Ariel commission i just posted, it's cuz the dude that asked for it saw that i was working on the other one at the con and he was like "i want one LIKE THAT. or some variation of that." so i was like U GOT IT DUDE! 👍

i've posted the progress shots to my Patreon supporters so if ur interested in those, click the big orange PATREON button at the top and join us!

Monday, April 24, 2017

wondercon commissions

[listening to "into you" by ariana grande]


i'm finally able to update this with some pics of commissions from WonderCon. i had a wonderful time and just wanted to thank everyone for the very kind reception to the show. like i mentioned before, i sold out of my premium prints. ya'll sure know how to make a gal feel welcomed!

these are just a sample of my favorite commissions from the convention. to see all of my photos from the show, just head on over to my Peng-Peng Art Facebook Page or visit this link to go directly to the album ⇒ WonderCon 2017 Album
the first one is Betty of Betty and Veronica. this one was a pre-con sketch that was picked up at the show. so i was able to use just a little watercolor in the background.
the sceond is my favorite thing to draw - Ariel! i actually brought some watercolors for the first time ever to a con but i was afraid to do a full watercolor piece at the show (cuz i'm a spiller, no doubt) so she's colored with mainly my Copic markers but the background was all watercolors. i think i'm gonna leave my watercolors at home. it just gets too busy and messy when i try that at a convention. just not enough time to devote to it, unless i wanna just ignore everyone that stops by the table. which is a no-no in my book. 

i've just gotten back from a local comic con/event and i was able to bring more premium prints there. had to order them in short notice, which i try not to do to our awesome print shop. but if they weren't so great with their print quality, i wouldn't run out so fast. =P then this saturday, i'm headed to another local event which specifically celebrates the Starz show SPARTACUS. if u haven't seen it before, it's all on Netflix now if u wanna binge it. but be extra-warned, it's 100% for adults! i love my cute stuff, i love my Disney, but i'm an adult and i also enjoy my adult-themed entertainment. Spartacus was one of those shows that i just thoroughly enjoyed from the action to the violence/gore to the "adult content" parts. so this event coming up is the first time i'm attending one of these. it'll be....interesting...to see how it goes. either way, i'm excited to meet some new folks!

Monday, April 10, 2017

new moana

[listening to "i feel it coming" by the weeknd ft. daft punk]


here's the newest addition to my large premium felt prints - MOANA! of course! i've been wanting to do a moana tribute since i saw the movie but i had to soak it in. i worked on the background a little longer than i expected, and i still wanna work on it more. but everytime that happens, it ends up getting overworked and it shows. so i had to call it a day.

i just came back from doing WonderCon in Anaheim, CA for the first time. that was the first show i brought her to and by Sunday morning, she was completely sold out, including the display! so i think i'll call that a success. =) the show cleaned me out of my premium prints so i am getting a fresh batch in this week to bring with me to the smaller local shows happening at the end of the month as well as adding them to my Etsy.

here's the prelim sketch with some very loose color treatment. i showed progress shots on my Patreon so if you'd like to see those, head on over to www.patreon.com/pengpengart, check out my reward tiers, and consider a pledge!

Thursday, March 23, 2017

puppy day

[listening to "the greatest" by sia ft. kendrick lamar]
 
so it's apparently National Puppy Day! who comes up with this stuff?? luckily, i just happen to LOVE dogs! i'm certainly one of those that wouldn't get into an argument over whether cats or dogs are better - cuz i know the correct answer. HAHA!

anyways, i figured today is a good day to post all the little dog illustrations that i drew for the past pet expo. these are all printed on 9x12 paper so i may bring them to conventions with me. not sure how much folks will like it enough to buy it but i guess we'll see.

HUG A PUPPY TODAY! 
u won't regret it. unless it's a puppy that has fleas. i regret flea bites every single time.
(doesn't happen often, but when it does it's friggin infuriating.)

Thursday, March 16, 2017

b and b

[listening to "take a chance on me" by abba]

only now as i type this does it dawn on me that listening to "take a chance on me" by abba is quite appropriate for the subject of this post. haha!

since the movie comes out tomorrow, i thought it'd be cool to post this character lineup of some Beauty and the Beast characters. i did this a couple of months ago. it's for a project for this company that didn't pan out. i'm very disappointed of course, if u know my love of disney. at the same time, however, there are just lots of disappointments that come with great opportunities, not just in the business of comics but in every part of life. just gotta pick urself up and keep going forward. so since this will never see the light of day, this is as close as it gets.

i did have fun with it tho. i got to draw (and color) Belle and some of her friends the way i'd like to draw them but still grounded in that classic Disney look. would i have loved to work on it forreals, absolutely. but am i angry? nah. if anything, at least it's given me some fun pieces of artwork. =)

Friday, March 3, 2017

dogs dogs

[listening to "thriller" by michael jackson]

been working on a small series of dog illustrations for a pet expo that i attend every year with my IDSTUDIOS crew. it's not the usual convention scene for us. we do it because Jerry and Flash draw pet caricatures (and they're pretty damn good at it too) but just this year it dawned on us that we should have some pet illustrations as prints to sell at our booth to help bring the revenue up a bit. which seemed like a DUH moment. so of course this year we'll only have a handful but next year it should be double the number.

i've got a couple of ideas floating around in my head but these are the ones i've completed so far. i have a week left to finish them up so i should be posting more.

my Patreon supporters get both of these illustrations as high-res downloads. if you're interested, click the big ORANGE BUTTON that says BECOME A PATRON on the top right-hand side and JOIN US!

Friday, February 24, 2017

sketchcover commission sale

[listening to "n.e. heartbreak" by new edition]

blank sketch covers available

as i was tidying up last night, i found this batch of blank sketchcovers with no homes to go to. sooo i've decided to do a COMMISSION SALE!
normally, i only do sketchcovers at comic cons and my color commissions start at $150 for full body. but it wouldn't be a sale if it wasn't a significant amount off so $50 off! here are the details:
  1. choose from the covers i have pictured above (3 SPIDER-GWEN #1, 2 STAR WARS #1, & 1 DARTH VADER #1)
  2. choose which character you'd like to have drawn (it doesn't have to be from the same universe as that of the cover - if U don't mind, i don't mind.)
  3. it's $100 per cover, full-color single character only, plus $7 to ship anywhere in the U.S. (additional characters and international shipping is doable, but will be an extra charge)
  4. send me an email to PENELOPE @ IDENTITYCOMICS . COM and let me know what you're looking for or if you have any other questions.
  5. get your commission in 2-3 weeks in the mail! if you want to save on shipping, you can pick it up from me at a comic con that i'll be attending (commission must be prepaid though)
  6. sale is only available on these sketchcovers until i run out of em.
here are some samples of commissions i've done recently. i mostly use copic markers and colored pencils, but sometimes i'll take some watercolor for some background splashes. hit me up if you're interested!!



Thursday, February 16, 2017

Valentine 2017

[listening to "sometimes" by ariana grande]
Valentine 2017

thought i'd pause what i'm working on for a quick Valentine's Day doodle. ok, so i missed the day a little, but it's whatevs.
since i've been a part of the Girls Drawin Girls group, i've drawn this sassy pink-haired gal, aptly named Valentine, for the weekly theme this time of the year. so i figured i'd draw her again. her previous iterations are below.
this one only took me a total of 1 hr and 45 mins so i think i've gotten this style down as well as i can. probably means it's time for a shift in style. but i'm not ready yet. my Patreon supporters get to download the high-res file. if you're interested, click the bright orange button on the top right of the page OR head to patreon.com/pengpengart.
Valentine 2015
Valentine 2016


Tuesday, February 7, 2017

kickstarter commissions

[listening to "breathe" by telepopmusik]

 

at this time, everyone that pledged for a commission tier from me for our The Blueprint 2 kickstarter should have received them. i was overcome with gratefulness (i think there's probably a word for that but it escapes me) at the amount of support we got for our kickstarter, especially from friends and family members. so i wanted to make sure these commissions got as much love as i could put into them. every single person who pledged for one of my commissions are very important to me and i didn't want it to go unnoticed. all of these were done traditionally with a mix of copic markers, brushpens, colored pencils, watercolors, and gouache.

thank you, again, from the bottom of my heart to those that supported the kickstarter. the book turned out amazing, it's the best quality we have ever been able to accomplish with printing, and the pins and stickers and prints are all candy!

Friday, January 20, 2017

thank you obama

[listening to "freedom" by beyonce' ft. kendrick lamar]

today was a challenge for lots of Americans. but art has always been and will continue to be the way i express many of my emotions. so i wanted to make a little love letter to the Obamas.

now i'm not here to beef, i'm here to spread art & positivity. and i encourage you to do the same. for a lot of us, Obama has helped our lives in many ways, the biggest for me & my family would be with healthcare. it's something we were finally able to have, thanks to him and his administration. insurance was difficult to get for freelance artists like us, especially for those with preexisting conditions. and though it wasn't perfect, it was the best step forward. in essence, it saved my husband's life. for that, i will be immeasurably grateful.
 
when i saw the picture of them posted on twitter yesterday by Michelle Obama, i felt a mixed bag of emotions ranging from love and pride all the way to sadness and fear. this is my only political piece of artwork and i can't think of a better couple to draw inspiration from. 

this was drawn completely digital, from concept to finish. took only an hour and a half. which is fast, for me. i guess when i have a clear vision in my head, it comes out faster. my Patreon supporters get to download the high-res file of this. i don't plan on making this into a print, except maybe just for myself. i just don't think comic con attendees would want to purchase it. but if enough people as for it, then MAYBE!

Monday, January 16, 2017

lucy turnarounds

[listening to "earned it" by the weeknd]


doing some work for our "The Blueprint 2" kickstarter rewards - namely i'm putting in orders for our kickstarter-exclusive prints. since our books have finally come in, it's been back to full-throttle kickstarter work. there's something extremely satisfying about doing work for something that you've created. so, in my excitement to be doing stuff for our own stories, here's the turnaround sheet for my character Lucy Sniz for my story LITTLE DEVIL! this turnaround art was finished after "The Blueprint 2" book was finished so it's not included in there. it IS, however, included in my latest mini artbook "Daydreams Book 3" (you can snag your copy on my etsy at https://www.etsy.com/shop/pengpengart).
we'll be doing a packing party soon to get these books ready to go to their homes. look at em, there's so much!

Friday, January 6, 2017

ralphie for patreon

[listening to "sledgehammer" by rihanna]


i forgot to post this Ralphie i did for one of my Patreon supporters for the holidays. it was one of the rewards i did last month. it's on 6x8" strathmore paper done with watercolors and colored pencils (for the lines) with a tiny bit of ink for his eyes & glasses.

i send out rewards once a month to my Patreon peeps. some get comics i've worked on, some get prints, some even get an original piece. everyone gets a new wallpaper to download every month too along with some sneak peeks of what i'm working on. COME AND JOIN US! click on the orange button on the RIGHT SIDE ➔
or visit the link ⬇