Updates, New Years, and Woodchucks.

Hey guys... this'll probably be my last blog til the New Year. If you're out there and reading, have a happy one, and a safe one, because my readership simply isn't high enough to take a blow like that. In the New Year, I'm hoping to bring you some shirts you can actually buy, some designs I haven't entered, -maybe- a Woot Win, if I'm lucky. We'll cross our fingers, shall we?

A little news for y'all... if you haven't been following along, woot has selected my Walrusbird as one of the best overlooked designs of 2007. Why that one? No clue. It was my first design, it didn't break 30 votes, and I needed to resubmit my vector art because I'd since redesigned it to look, well, less like the first thing I'd ever done. It's not really doing so hot, as it's competing against scads of impressive designs (if I were able to pick the top-3, I'd still be disappointed I couldn't get some), but it has already surpassed its showing last time, and that makes me happy.
So what would I have picked from nearly 30 designs? Probably today's blog subject. It's my most successful failure to date... 6th place, 169 votes, a reference on Best Losers... Ladies & Gentlemen, I give you "How Much Wood?"

I was very pleased with my showing last derby, the theme of which was "other words of the year". Designs were to be submitted based on one of a selection of words from Merriam-Webster's top 10 list for 2007. This design is based off the word "conundrum," and the concept comes from one of the oldest conundrums: "How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?" The answer appears to be "at least 11".

I love this little guy. I think he came out great, I think the design utilizes the space well, I think the concept is self-explanatory... apparently many people agreed, because he's far and away my biggest success. I hope some day you get to purchase him. Please talk about him here.

***Disclaimer: All images in this post are for display only. No design herein is currently for sale. Any changes to this status will be noted in a separate post.***

Life's Little Warnings

I've kept this on the back burner way too long. Outside of a couple I want to toy with, it's my oldest baby. So now is the time to pimp it.

This was my first entry into the Infographic derby. While my other entries were more esoteric or methodical, this is much more information packed into its design. Each merit-badge-like image is loaded with important information. Don't put all your eggs in one basket. Don't cry over spilled milk. Don't look a gift horse in the mouth. Don't not buy this shirt when it's on sale. Y'know, the truly important lessons of life. It's a straightforward concept, with a basic placement. I find it hard to really play with the space on a shirt, but thankfully, I think a concept like this is made for the average chest placement. I think it's incredibly accessible without needing frivolous text. I think the horse came out pretty well for toying in Inkscape. I think lots of positive things about my own shirts. That is why I need to know what everyone else thinks.

***Disclaimer: All images in this post are for display only. No design herein is currently for sale. Any changes to this status will be noted in a separate post.***

White Widow

The winter derby was entered feeling iffy, but for the first time I had three designs doing relatively well at once (all three broke 40). The best of the three follows, almost making my fourth hundred-vote breach. It's a fairly simple little design we can all relate to. The snowman is scared as hell of a dog-sized snow spider. Wouldn't we all be? As the spider has eight stick legs, and the snowman has none, it is safe to say the snowman was bitten with its vicious carrot mandibles, and is currently host to its snow larvae.

This ended up coming out amazingly all things considered... I had issues inking and when vectorizing, all the white insisted upon disappearing. It took a good hour and a half longer than it should have, but it did me proud. I especially like how the spider came out. This is an almost guaranteed print when winter rolls around next year.

***Disclaimer: All images in this post are for display only. No design herein is currently for sale. Any changes to this status will be noted in a separate post.***

Jazz Hands!

I've been a bit slow this month for one reason or another... largely due, I'm sure, to a week off from derbying 'round the beginning of the month, but also due to the holidays and other concerns. That said, it's about time to Fosse myself to throw out an entry.

Make up your own holiday theme. I came up with four ideas, but could only put my heart into 2 of them. Make your theme too open ended and the crazy ideas come out. This is probably my cleanest execution of all of them, and it did relatively decently. I just don't love it myself. It's the text. The hands also make it female unfriendly. Still, this blog's for your opinions, if you're out there. Perhaps there is a small, unrepresented Jazz Hands society that would love this. Gimme some love. Or some hate. Anything constructive is helpful.

***Disclaimer: All images in this post are for display only. No design herein is currently for sale. Any changes to this status will be noted in a separate post.***

Ol' Fashioned Love

Once upon a time, love was simple... you needed only to tie a yellow ribbon 'round the old oak tree and it would be known, though sitting under the apple tree with someone other than your girl would send a clear message to the contrary. But as modern times have come about, it seems as though love in one's tummy is no longer so yummy yummy yummy. It's as if we need a witch doctor, or love potion #9, to really make our feelings known.

Enter this handy flowchart. As you can see, it illustrates the easiest way for the girl of your dreams to show her true feelings. That dull thud you hear from the floorboards? That's the thud of her heart when she thinks about you. That clinking from the heat pipe, though... that shows that while she may seem warm, her emotions are cold and metallic. The one concern? The values of eras past may not be understandable to today's youth, and then, no matter what we did, it would likely be Judy's turn to cry. If you feel the message is not wasted on modern youth, do tell. We wish to ease the troubles of the lovelorn, not deepen their pain.

***Disclaimer: All images in this post are for display only. No design herein is currently for sale. Any changes to this status will be noted in a separate post.***


****Also, please click for detail. Which should be obvious. Duh, Adder****

The Clownward Spiral

Sometimes a design comes out of titular necessity. Nachtmusic was one where the title came long before the image fleshed out... this was a pretty quick transition from title to image. The title fairly obviously comes from the Nine Inch Nails album "The Downward Spiral," and what a spiral it is. Straddling the line between creepy and cute, these clowns are pretty shocked at their speedy drain circling. And they'd probably rather die than give you control.

This didn't do super, but it had strong reactions from the people who liked it, many of whom wanted it purely to creep the hell out of someone. Hey, I'm not going to quibble with why people voted for it... all I know is that it's something which will move copy. I'm happy with how the whole spiral thing came out, and I'm happy with the reaction. Do feel free to give me your reaction at this here blog!

***Disclaimer: All images in this post are for display only. No design herein is currently for sale. Any changes to this status will be noted in a separate post.***

Leapfrog!

My second true success of a failure, Leapfrog comes from the pattern derby. While most people went with full out patterns, I took a different tack... knowing I couldn't beat anyone at the slick repetition game, I went for something with a small amount of repetition and a large amount of whimsy, something that could be appreciated without concern for the pattern theme. What came out was leapfrog.

While Unexspookted remains my most popular vote-wise, Leapfrog was actually featured on a handful of user favorite lists, a good strong leap away from most of my designs, which were usually relegated to a spare comment here and there after posting the comp in the forums... leapfrog generated buzz without my doing. Keep the buzz alive and talk about it here (and when you're at it, feel free to weigh in on my other designs, too.)

As of Feb. 14, 2008, this shirt is now on sale at Bountee.

Two for Tuesday!

For the sake of aesthetics and readability, since this is a dual-design post, I'll start with the disclaimer: All images in this post are for display only. No design herein is currently for sale. Any changes to this status will be noted in a separate post.

That out of the way, welcome to the first, and possibly the last, two for Tuesday, so named because today, I will discuss two shirts at once. We're going back a couple weeks to the "time travel souvenir" derby, wherein designers were to create souvenir t-shirts, such as they sell at Planet Hollywood, but for events that took place in the past or future... shirts that say "I was there, via time machine." Three Worlds Collide was my best design that week... these two scraped by with about 13 votes combined.

My first entry was Exotic Constantinople. It's laid out like a travel brochure picture, complete with They Might Be Giants reference (although our more astute history buffs will note that New Amsterdam did not come into existence until after Istanbul was in vogue). It was universally ignored, because even hatred would have generated more buzz:




The second entry did only slightly better... we all know people who live high-powered lives and need to take an airplane from Boston to NYC, close as they are. We also know people who actually visited and enjoyed South of the Border, the Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota, Carhenge, etc... what's travel without a tourist trap? It stands to reason that time travel as well would have its locations only for the frivolous and the kitsch-seekers, and with that in mind, I created Back in the Day:





I thought the concept was strong, but perhaps the execution was off. And so I leave it up to you, random people who occasionally visit my blog. What's there to like and hate about these? What would make them pop more? Enquiring designers want to know!

Bluebird of Avarice

This is probably the design I'm most proud of so far. It took a while to perfect, it's a mix of digital and hand-drawn, and it's conceptually strong. This little fella was born for a derby celebrating consumerism. I staked all my chances on one horse this time around, figuring I had a strong enough idea, especially with all the normal memetic ideas being quashed for the week. I was proud of the drawing, which was stronger than I'm usually capable of, the inking, which really made the drawing pop to me, and the concept... basically, it's a statement on the cult of wealth. A peacock is known for its flashy courtship shows. To me, the rich and well-dressed are little more than peacocks, hoping their flashiness will overcompensate for whatever shortcomings might be underneath while searching for a mate.

Yet in the end, it's one of my worst-scoring designs. This ended up being one of those ideas that sound great to you, but simply don't resonate. It took a couple revisions to get the end result, and by that time it was mostly buried in cheap parodies and concept-over-design designs. I'm not sure if it was simply ahead of its time, or that I got in over my head trying to play up an artistic piece with my rather limited skills. Do feel free to weigh in... the more opinions I get, the better.

***Disclaimer: All images in this post are for display only. No design herein is currently for sale. Any changes to this status will be noted in a separate post.***

Carrots Lie

First off, I want to thank everyone, those I know, those I don't, those who don't want me to know who the hell they are, etc, who has weighed in on the blog. This is an uphill battle, and a handful of critiques won't ultimately define my potential success in the field, but every little bit helps, and it is appreciated, and will only help me grow as a designer.

What's the hardest part about a "nutrition" theme? Creating an intelligent and wearable shirt. I don't know if this is either, but I liked it. It's a simple design... just a carrot wearing glasses. It's basic enough to be "iconic," though the word is pretty bold of me to use. A takeoff on the idea of carrots improving eyesight. Subtle, but ultimately not good enough. How do you feel about it?


***Disclaimer: All images in this post are for display only. No design herein is currently for sale. Any changes to this status will be noted in a separate post.***

Do You Know Him?

Dateline: the Infographic derby. AdderXYU breaks 50 for the third time with "Do You Know Him?" Sources close to Adder describe him as "ecstatic," but it is not all celebration surrounding this design.

The most controversy comes from Drury Lane itself, where Jim Petchard, the legendary baker behind the most well-known muffins in the country, is up in arms about the shirt. "Whenever I'm out, people know me," Jim insists. "First one, then two, three, four... they come up and say hello." Drury Lane's Mayor, who has been petitioning for years to change the small town's name to "Drurydale," echoes Petchard's sentiments. "It's safe to say that we all know the muffin man," he said, responding to the shirt's implication that some percentage of Drury Lane was unfamiliar with the famed bread baron. "I don't consider it slander, as such," the baker insists, "but if there are indeed people in Drury Lane who have not experienced my muffins, I would love for them to come forward. The love in my baked goods should be shared."

A smaller scandal has erupted due to the questionable shirt choice. A vocal contingent have lashed out on the blue template used to display the design. "Something just doesn't look right about it," remarked Heather Pickens, a veteran woot derby entrant. "I think that part of it is how the colors mesh, but it also looks wrong drawn digitally and not with colored pencils." Other more outraged designers have remarked "this is totally g a y, and only lame girls and emos would wear it."

AdderXYU's agent remains mum on the issue of the Drury Laneans, but states that those who wish to voice an opinion on a more appropriate shirt color can do so at his failed design blog. "AdderXYU strives to understand how his designs can improve, and welcomes constructive criticism regarding the color matter. In the meantime, he will be cracking champagne and awaiting the derby 16 folder on Best Losers."

***Disclaimer: All images in this post are for display only. No design herein is currently for sale. Any changes to this status will be noted in a separate post.***

Three Worlds Collide!!!

The inspiration behind this was similar to that behind Nachtmusic, in that it is a product of my love of music. I had to think... what sort of souvenir shirts do I own most? Concert tees. Especially with tour dates, but any limited run band merch will sell like hotcakes at the show in question. So who will the hot act be in the future? Hopefully these guys.

Why did I pick Hendrix, Cobain, and Mozart? Well, besides all three being hugely popular, influential, ahead of their time, and dead, which would make them quite appealing to a music market that could go back in time to retrieve them, they have distinctive hair, making the silhouettes far easier to execute. Cobain's coif is the least unique of the three, but it's obvious it's supposed to be him. Or so I think. I labeled the artists not because they weren't distinguishable in shadow (though I think the names really help Hendrix not look like a sheep, for example), but because plenty of tours of this nature do this, promoting as simply a succession of last names... especially clash-of-the-titans tours like G3. "Three Worlds Collide" is simply a generic-sounding concert event name, but the year (2525) is more musical reference. And let's be honest, you're interested to know what it would sound like, too, aren't you?

***Disclaimer: All images in this post are for display only. No design herein is currently for sale. Any changes to this status will be noted in a separate post.***

Nachtmusic

This particular design was an inspiration that came late during the Night derby, yet still managed to do better than both of my earlier ideas. Which is cool, because truly, I like this design way better than the two earlier ones... it has much more to it, and while Another Night was one of my better-drawn designs, this one is better executed and generally more appealing.

I believe it was "Nachtmusic" which got stuffed into my head first, and from there I just had to create a design that fit... eventually the design unfolded, and I said talent be damned, I'm going to try for it. As a musical person, I like how the design came out, and I like the stars as notes... it's got a definite music-geek whimsy. Since then, I've done a little tinkering... I've smoothed out some of the curves so it looks better, and I've edited the score at the top to more accurately reflect the title. I've included a detail picture, to better see, well, the detail. Tell me what you think!

***Disclaimer: All images in this post are for display only. No design herein is currently for sale. Any changes to this status will be noted in a separate post.***




Detail:

Walrusbird!

That's right folks, the design that started it all. The one, the only WALRUSBIRD (AND THE CROWD GOES WILD)!!!!

OK, so old Wally wasn't such a huge splash (he was just under 30 votes), but he was the first submission I ever submit to a derby, and as such, he holds a special place in my heart. It was a lesson in the unpredictability of the woot voter: my snail/giraffe hybrids were slapped together much quicker and submit a couple days later, yet they far surpassed the Walbird, which I'd hand-drawn, and then had to learn inkscape and tinker with gimp to a degree that I had never done. It was a huge trial-by-fire, and the payoff was slim. Still, I think it's a good, simple design that has a delicious air of absurdity. It could even become iconic some day. Right? Weigh in here.

***Disclaimer: All images in this post are for display only. No design herein is currently for sale. Any changes to this status will be noted in a separate post.***

Where the Deer and the Toffulo Play...

I don't even recall what I called this one originally... I think it was "Meat Substitutes." The premise was twofold... first, it played off the idea that meat substitutes are more healthy than real meat (a presumption I don't believe myself). Secondly, it has these meat substitutes in a herd, farm-raised like actual meat. This particular breed are Toffulos, tofu/buffalo hybrids best known for being tasteless in a superior way to regular soy-based meat substitutes. It's a simple idea, and it only garnered around 20 votes, but I was quite happy with it. Thoughts? Should the sign be changed? Is it better without a sign or text? Do you know a way to get tofu to taste good that doesn't involve cross-breeding a soy bean with a buffalo? I'd love to hear from you.

***Disclaimer: All images in this post are for display only. No design herein is currently for sale. Any changes to this status will be noted in a separate post.***

Pumpky the Gourdman

Pumpky the Gourdman was a creepy, haunting soul
With a corn-cob pipe and a cut-out nose and two eyes made out of empty voids.
Pumpky the Gourdman is a fairy tale they say
He was made of gourd, but the kids all swore'd that he came to life that day

There must've been black magic in that candle they put in
For when they stuck it in his head, he began to lurch and grin.
Oh Pumpky the Gourdman was alive as he could be
And the children pray he won't hack and slay their extended family.

Unlike my previous two posts, Pumpky here never resonated with the public. He may have been a bit too simple... no real detail, a little too cutesy, or it might have been a case of a poor thumbnail, or it could just be the story of so many designs... an "OK" design lost in the shuffle of a number of much better ones. Whatever the reason, though, I like him. Feel free to weigh in on him yourself, and Happy Halloween. I'll continue with the regularly scheduled failures this weekend.

***Disclaimer: All images in this post are for display only. No design herein is currently for sale. Any changes to this status will be noted in a separate post.***

Rated "C" For Candy

In honor of Halloween, I've decided to put all my derby #13 designs up now, while it's still timely. First, however, a word from our sponsors: I've submitted my designs to the inimitable "best losers" site, in hopes of keeping some light on them, and also getting a little more exposure for this still-humble blog. In return, in case you stumbled upon my blog outside of woot, or are a member who HASN'T seen the site, there is a link to it on this page. It's a great resource for some excellent shirt designs and designers who just weren't excellent enough each week. Check it out at www.bestlosers.com

Now, back to our regularly scheduled blog. Tonight's feature, a little ditty called "rated c for candy". I'm not normally big on text designs, mostly because I grew up in the era of "can't sleep, clowns will eat me" and "you're just jealous because the voices talk to me." Uninspired text with an uninspired design, if there is indeed a design at all. Yet I made one. What I liked about this conceptually when it was born inside my head is this: It was more than just the words. It has a simple design element, but a definite one all the same. The design needed text, and the text needed the design... lots of text designs rely on the text itself to sell the shirt, or, barring that, add unnecessary text to an otherwise passable shirt. Not to sound cocky, but I liked this design because I felt the text was appropriate and tasteful. If you felt the same, please do tell... that's what the blog is for!

***Disclaimer: All images in this post are for display only. No design herein is currently for sale. Any changes to this status will be noted in a separate post.***

A Friendly Ghost Is All I Need

So, in this last derby, I managed to net 125 votes for the following design, putting it somewhere like 36th place, just shy of the top 10%. This was a huge victory for me... it made me feel as though my particular style had a shot in hell of someday breaking through, or at least an off chance of marketability somewhere down the road. I had been holding off on bringing this blog public until seeing how that one did, and knowing it had so much support makes now a great time to put a little more promotion behind this little blog... I can't get input if no one's even seeing it.

Also, since I've actually got successful designs this time around, I'm going to look into bestlosers.com, a site devoted to keeping exposure on the best shirts that didn't make the grade. It's a step I'm hesitant to make as a novice, as my "triumph" may never be duplicated, but the design more than meets the site's requirements vote-wise. If I end up submitting there, it should hopefully bring more exposure onto the blog, so it can only be a win situation, right? I'll update the blog if I find myself there. Until then, onto the design itself.

The design below is called "Unexspookted." I had toyed with "unexspectered," but ultimately decided specter was not a familiar enough term. The concept is simple... a ghost tries to trick or treat with some kids. I like that it's not an immediate gag, and am pretty in love with how the drawing came out and how the colours came out. If you were one of the 124 people who also loved it, let me know! If you hated it, and can form an eloquent critique of why, I'd like to hear from you too.

***Disclaimer: All images in this post are for display only. No design herein is currently for sale. Any changes to this status will be noted in a separate post.***

Another Night

While my last design was more popular than I expected, this one hurt for votes throughout the "night" derby. It's an understandably limited audience shirt, what with the downer material and dour character, but I was very content with how it came out. Artistically, it was a triumph for me, perhaps less so design-wise.

So why post it at all? Besides myself, it did garner a small handful of votes, which leads me to believe someone out there might want it. It should appeal to people who would be Neil Young fans if he were a bit chunkier and more depressive. If that sounds like you, tell me... if there's an untapped market for this design, I scarcely wish to let you down. To the same degree, posting a failure allows for discussion... what makes it fail? What is strong, what is weak, what would it take to plaster this on your chest? Constructive criticism can only make us stronger.

***Disclaimer: All images in this post are for display only. No design herein is currently for sale. Any changes to this status will be noted in a separate post.***

The Herd Crawls Along

This was an entry from the cryptozoology derby, #11. This was my first derby, but this was my third entry, and as of right now, the highest scoring with 44 votes. It was also my first Inkscape drawing. I think it came out well, and people seemed to like it then. Still like it now? Want to buy it? Chat about it here... I'd love to hear some feedback.

***Disclaimer: All images in this post are for display only. No design herein is currently for sale. Any changes to this status will be noted in a separate post.***

The shirt itself:


Detail:

Because Someone Wanted Them...

Let's be honest... for those of us who enter the derbies over at shirt.woot, there's a certain rush watching your entries get votes. All your entries. The fact that ten, twenty, forty people claim to want your design is not only flattering, it's inspiring in and of itself. I'm not much of an artist, but in my first derby, I was proud of how I did... both my entries were in the top half, and one was comfortably in the top 100 designs. It made me feel that my designs had a chance, and while my newer ideas this week are less well-received, I still wonder who out there is interested in my work. I know also, as a voter, there's a joy at seeing a shirt you can say "I'd buy this" to, and a pain in knowing you can't.

Therein lies the point of this blog... it's the idea that someone out there might actually have voted for a design of mine because they wanted to wear it. I'll be posting past designs, possibly reworkings, sometimes previously unseen work if I so desire. My hope is this: if you or someone you love wanted my work before, or stumble upon it now for the first time, please leave me a comment that you'd want to purchase it. If I seem to be getting demands for a shirt, I'll look into printing it. Simple as that... you show continued interest, I sell you a shirt.

Please note, however, that all images previously submitted for a woot contest WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE FOR AT LEAST 60 DAYS AFTER POSTING. This blog is a showcase only, as per the woot terms and conditions. I encourage you to talk about the designs if you wish, but they simply won't be sold until I have the rights again, and I likely won't comment further once the design is posted. Ergo, it'd be great if you, if you're interested, either kept tabs on the site or left a way to be contacted if you want a design.

Frivolous? Sure, but that's why I want your feedback! I may never print a shirt, but I'd rather that then withhold something with a fanbase I wasn't aware of.