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So I just got the clearance to post all my roughs for my X-force designs.

First up! Psylocke!

fitting because I started with her when I approached these designs. As the leader of the team I wanted to nail her design first and allow that to be the foundation for the rest of the team.

I think that this would be a good moment to talk about my design style. I have heard a criticism for my designs being that I rely on a go-to stylings and shapes in my designs, and I completely agree. I’m the first person who would own up to my own design style-ings. It was definitely something daunting when they first approached me to do the designs for this; I was worried that these designs would stick out like a sore thumb of something I designed. What sort of turned me around on it are that some of the other marvel now designs are also completely out-there compared to what had come before (im thinking about cable and the x-force, the new ironman design, cap, the hulk, etc), and you know what: they picked me to do this. They obviously know my designs, take a minute to look for my art and you’ll find a ton of them. So what this meant to me was that they know what sort of stuff that they’d get out of me, and wanted me anyway. So i took that to heart and thought “By god, if I’m doing this, then I’m making these designs me all over”.

So with that, onto the designs

1. I started off with a straight up tactical suit. The image in my head was her descending out of the ceiling into a dark room to assassinate someone; So I tried to create a design that I could believe in that situation.

2. With this one I tried to help break up all the black of the costume, and re-impliment some of the skin-stripes that are so quintessential to the Psylocke-look. But I didnt want them to be completely separated from the costume as per the Jim Lee design. I tried to take a page from the design Opena (I’m assuming) designed for the first volume of the Uncanny X-force. But add a bit more “me” to the shapes of those cut-outs.

3. More of the same. Trying to break up the black.

4. Tried something way more stealth. Visually a lot more effective for an assassin in the dark.

5. And then obviously the design that was picked. With absolutely no notes, I think. This looks pretty much exactly how the final design turned out.

So I’ll be posting the rest of the team over time.

( From Kris Anka's Tumblr post here)

Love it. Anka is one of my favorite artists and it is about time someone designed a new costume for her. She looked too much like Elektra before.

Cheers Purps your the Best/Betsy!   
 
I really wish all character costume designs were required to have the artist explain their creative process behind the new look, to the fans, since I really like Psylocke's new look and I can tell why just by reading into how it came about. Other characters new looks... eh not so much. Would have been interested to see what was going through certain other costume designers heads **cough Jim Lee 52 cough, sneeze cough, black plague, death cough death revival cough**  

@Vance Astro said:

She looked too much like Elektra before.

Pshh, only people who aren't familiar with Marvel say that. Elektra has a skirt thing, and a headband. Plus, she's red. >:P

@SC: Costume designs are one of my favorite things about superheros, I envy Edna Mode. I always love it when the artist do things like this, and you're right, with some of the other designs that are not so -ahem- aesthetically appealing it'd be nice to know what the fck they were thinking. xD

I really like the new look with Psylocke (and everyone else on her team) - cool information as to the why's and whatnot for the design.

Pshh, only people who aren't familiar with Marvel say that. Elektra has a skirt thing, and a headband. Plus, she's red. >:P

SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO PRETTYYYYYYY.

Yay, they gave that poor Asian girl pants. 
 
I really like the design, I hope it sticks. I thought she had a sword on her back in one of them.

Not bad

Please keep the sash please.

Look great about time betsy got some new threads.

I love all of the new looks, and Psylocke looks as bad ass as she is.

I think 5A's my favorite.

@Mercy_ said:

I think 5A's my favorite.

I concur, but 1a is a close second

It's about time she got a new look.

@Crimsonlord53: She does keep the sash. ^.^

@Brazen_Intellect said:

@Mercy_ said:

I think 5A's my favorite.

I concur, but 1a is a close second

5a is the one they decided to go with. 4a is close second for me. :]

@ragdollpurps:

I like the purple sash, but otherwise just too plain IMO

@Brazen_Intellect: True. It'd be great if he broke up the black with grey areas like he did the rest.

@ragdollpurps:

1a + purple sash or trim = FTW

@Brazen_Intellect: Awh, but I like the cut-outs. They're so quintessentially Psylocke.

1A and 5A are tops in my book. Love the overall stealth look of them.

Be nice if you had a hood attachment like she used to have.

Alan Davis (Pink Suit), Arthur Adams (For that Smashing Armour), Opena ( just for getting her out of the thong), and Your's are my top outfits for her.

I always thought with her being a mix of british and asian, she should be inspired by both cultures not just one. So the Stealth suit makes her seem like a top tier MI:13 or SHIELD Psychic Operative. While her skills come from the Hands training.

Great job overall. I found some art adams notes on the armour, and love knowing what you guys put into them.

@ragdollpurps:

Good to know.

5A huh would not be my first pick.

yea i am enjoying the new designs for the X force team, they all look good. Much better (just outfit wise mind you) then how all they did before was turn whatever they were already wearing black and grey lol.

Meh. I'm fine with her wearing something new temporarily. But this is the 10th or so time someone has tried to put her into something different before she eventually goes back to her tried and true iconic costume. I don't mind her having a look that fits a particular storyline, so long as nobody is actually trying to make it a new permanent look for her. I like this outfit for X-Force (just as when Wolverine and company were put in similar black costumes), but when she makes appearances in any other books, I'll expect the artists of those books to put her back into her "true" outfit.

You when it comes to Betsy anything is great in my opinion she is one of my favorite X-Women. This costume is looks great.

I think what I like about Anka's design is the subtle things that make each costume look more like that of a Ninja while at the same time making it more of a uniform then her original costume. Psylocke is an awesome character and definitely in need of a costume redesign. What I think would be nice is if they found another way to incorporate color into the costume whether it be purple or something else without the sash or just forget about color entirely. It's totally fine for a ninja style character to wear nothing but black and shades\tints of that. I'm not really into the sash. It works fine with those designs but I just think it lacks uniqueness.

Meh. I'm fine with her wearing something new temporarily. But this is the 10th or so time someone has tried to put her into something different before she eventually goes back to her tried and true iconic costume. I don't mind her having a look that fits a particular storyline, so long as nobody is actually trying to make it a new permanent look for her. I like this outfit for X-Force (just as when Wolverine and company were put in similar black costumes), but when she makes appearances in any other books, I'll expect the artists of those books to put her back into her "true" outfit.

I like the change a lot but then I applaud anything that gets away from the bikini/bathing suit as costume.

@PassionFlower said:

I like the change a lot but then I applaud anything that gets away from the bikini/bathing suit as costume.

Even the variants here that show skin was better than the old costume. I like the final design a lot.

I like the previous one better

@NazarethSavage said:

@daedalus25 said:

Meh. I'm fine with her wearing something new temporarily. But this is the 10th or so time someone has tried to put her into something different before she eventually goes back to her tried and true iconic costume. I don't mind her having a look that fits a particular storyline, so long as nobody is actually trying to make it a new permanent look for her. I like this outfit for X-Force (just as when Wolverine and company were put in similar black costumes), but when she makes appearances in any other books, I'll expect the artists of those books to put her back into her "true" outfit.

I don't get your issue, are you saying you don't want Psylocke to be redesigned because Marvel never sticks to one or do you just want any redesign to be temporary in general?

I think that trying to give Psylocke a new costume is both futile and ridiculous. Her look works or she wouldn't be one of the most popular comic book females ever. I'm fine with giving her a temporary costume change to fit a certain role, but it shouldn't be advertised as "her new look". That's like having Batman appear in scuba gear for an underwater adventure and calling that his new costume. The same thing happened to Ms. Marvel, and look how poorly her new book is selling compared to the previous book.

This reminds me of all the movie remakes being done recently. Sure you get a hit with a couple of them, but most of them just pale in comparison to the original. And soon you just start rolling your eyes when you see another remake and wonder why they can't just come up with an original idea (in this case, an original new character). For some reason, Psylocke is one of the worst victims of this. Every couple years someone comes along and tries to change her look or kill her off. Then when someone else takes over, she's back in the look that's already been proven highly successful.

I think that trying to give Psylocke a new costume is both futile and ridiculous. Her look works or she wouldn't be one of the most popular comic book females ever. 

I'm fine with giving her a temporary costume change to fit a certain role, but it shouldn't be advertised as "her new look". That's like having Batman appear in scuba gear for an underwater adventure and calling that his new costume. The same thing happened to Ms. Marvel, and look how poorly her new book is selling compared to the previous book.

This reminds me of all the movie remakes being done recently. Sure you get a hit with a couple of them, but most of them just pale in comparison to the original. And soon you just start rolling your eyes when you see another remake and wonder why they can't just come up with an original idea (in this case, an original new character). For some reason, Psylocke is one of the worst victims of this. Every couple years someone comes along and tries to change her look or kill her off. Then when someone else takes over, she's back in the look that's already been proven highly successful.

Eh--- you shouldn't have showed me the other promos.. I like the others better. They look more like Psylocke. lol

@daedalus25 said:

Meh. I'm fine with her wearing something new temporarily. But this is the 10th or so time someone has tried to put her into something different before she eventually goes back to her tried and true iconic costume. I don't mind her having a look that fits a particular storyline, so long as nobody is actually trying to make it a new permanent look for her. I like this outfit for X-Force (just as when Wolverine and company were put in similar black costumes), but when she makes appearances in any other books, I'll expect the artists of those books to put her back into her "true" outfit.

Her True outfit? You mean the one wear she got "famous" for her ass and running around near naked, and artists posing her in impossible positions just to show her butt? She's popular with those who love the "Mystical Asian hottie whose half naked crowd" Only certain people at Marvel took her seriously. It's only with Yost,Carey, and Remenders push that she got the new look, which will probably be her new permanent look. I for am glad for it. ALL characters get redesigns or tweaks. Psylockes past tweaks were terrible. Now more people will take her seriously and the new look is modern, without being off putting. A woman can be sexy wearing skintight costumes ya know.

Awesome, they got someone to design a look for Psylocke who isn't a fifteen year old chronic masturbator.