compete-tee-tion

New Domain

2009-10-13T20:52:00.002-05:00

From now on, this blog will be located at http://compete-tee-tion.com- hope to see you there!

New This Week at Threadless

2009-10-13T14:47:00.000-05:00

Exit by Chow Hon Lam is by far my favorite tee of the week- probably one of the top shirts all year. The concept is simple, showing a raincoated girl carrying an umbrella who parts the rain like a curtain. It's a surreal looking design that feels really classic, with a clarity to the art that makes it all the more appealing. The regular dashes of the rain feel like a pattern, and the placement is perfect because it showcases the concept rather than the pattern (a full shirt print would have done the opposite, in my opinion). I do have one quibble- the girl's legs don't feel as well rendered as the rest of her (they seem awkward and rough, while the rest is not). It wouldn't keep me from buying, though!

The Cheshire by Skylar Hogan (the Sleeping Sky) is a perfect use of specialty inks. The character of the cheshire cat has three looks, and each ink treatment stands in for one. In the daylight, you can see the entire cat with UV ink. In indoor light, just the eyes and smile... and at night they glow! It's a great way of showing the cat's most famous feature, and makes for an especially charming shirt for kids. I do wish the watercolor UV ink was a little cleaner (the watercolor style gets a little rough in places), but while that bit is not to my personal taste it definitely gets the job done.

So Long, Old World by Tang Yau Hoong is a dreamy cityscape. The lighted windows of the buildings begin to blow in the wind like confetti, a soft disintegration. Seeing a city disappear should be sad, but here you kind of root for it- it's just a beautiful transformation, and leaves you curious how the shapes might combine next. Nice print as well, filling up the space of the shirt perfectly.

Fencing by Brock Davis (Laser Bread) is kind of a groaner. It's about the most obvious fencing joke that is possible. That said, the execution almost saves it (though the pan on the right is a bit awkward). The simplicity and soft texture have appeal, it's just a shame it isn't in service of a better punchline. I have a hard time imagining that enough people have strong feelings about this being a great joke to merit printing it.

3 Eyes, 3 Vehicles by Daniel Abensour (Aphte) is the big New Art, New Ideas winner, a pretty rad choice. Aphte's work always has a way of looking like a children's book from the future to me, so it definitely qualifies. The mixture of geometrics, bright color, and cartoon-y fun hits just the right spot. In a way it feels like the high art version of Wacky Racers.

Lo-Fi Funk by Ellsswhere is this week's Select, a tasty layered designs with a musical theme. It's a cool take on how to make an attractive text-based shirt, with the lettering forming a background to the illustrations. The result is fun and very textural, and with more and more of the layers slowly becoming visible as you approach the art. It's a good example of a design that works well, and differently, at several distances.

School taught me a valuable lesson. I'm still paying for it. by Tina-Louise King is this week's Type Tee, one I'm less than keen on because the phrase doesn't feel very original. That said, the execution is much nicer than expected, a subtle use of the phrase on the spines of books that allows the shirt to celebrate learning at the same time as it questions the long-term costs of higher education.

Threadless prints new shirts every week, chosen from the designs submitted by and voted on by site members. Winners get $2000 cash and $500 in Threadless credit, with the possibility to earn more through Bestee awards, poster prints, and reprints.

Bookis.org: Crowdfunding T-Shirts

2009-10-12T10:45:00.000-05:00

Bookis.org is a new crowdfunding site for shirt designs, allowing designers to upload their work, determine their desired profit per item, and then putting those products up for pre-order (and eventually order) by the community.

I'd describe their model as being halfway between Cameesa and CafePress- unlike Cameesa, there's no financial incentive to supporting a design. But unlike Cafepress, designs aren't printed on demand- they're only printed once the required number of preorders can be met.

One benefit to Bookis is that they allow the rights to the artwork to remain with the designer, which might make this site an appealing extra option for people who already utilize print-on-demand sites or who have had their design previously published. They also note that their site is a good fit for small groups (such as clubs) that want matching tees.

New This Week at Design By Humans

2009-10-11T11:13:00.000-05:00

Hello, My Darling by robsoul is my pick for best of the week- it tells a great story, and has a uniquely spooky look. The bright blue of the walking corpse makes him feel not quite like a mindless zombie and more like something that was once a man, but has since been transformed both mentally and physically. His eye has a look that is more wistful than menacing, creating the impression that for this monster, this is the closest to a genuine human moment he will have for some time. I like that there's the extra punch of the woman's head printed on the back of the shirt, and that what did that to her is never really addressed. It lets the blue corpse be either a victim or a killer, as the viewer chooses.

Frank's Origin by molitorious has an immediately eye-catching style, seeming to arrange the art almost in a totem pole. The monster's huge head takes up most of the real estate, with blank eyes and heavy features. From behind him is a peeking mad scientist, who really steals the scene- his huge hands are triumphant, but his reflecting glasses preserve his ability to pretend to be detached from this experiment. But the monster's hands mirror his, cluing the viewer in to the deep bond they'll share. Beakers and lightning bolts pepper the composition, adding interest and helping to infuse the scene with the feeling of science and action. Easily one of the most unique Frankenstein-themed shirts I've seen.

It's Toxic! by vincentrogel has a chest-bursting zombie- but thankfully, the focus is more on the style of the monster than on an attempt at Trompe l'Oeil. While the subject matter doesn't catch my interest at all, the art is worth a look. The lined style feels unique to me, and helps to make it feel as though this creature is in motion. The tie is a nice touch, imbuing the zombie with personality. Not my style, but still something I can appreciate.

The Monster Mash by alexmdc is a nice reminder of childhood, specifically those drawing games with folded paper where each person illustrates one segment of a larger whole. In this rendition, each layer is an iconic movie monster. It's a neat concept because as menacing as each beast may be on it's own, they create a decidedly odd-looking whole. It's fun to try and figure out which monster is which, and its interesting that all it takes is a sliver to be recognizable. I'm not sure this is a design I would ever wear (as I am not a huge monster movie fan), but the art is pretty fantastic.

revenge is sweet by thestray is a fresh take on monsters, animating a pile of candy to become a villain. The appeal here is in the way it almost mirrors reality- sure, enough sugar will rot your teeth out, but who knew it would be so aggressive about it? The strength of the art is in that mass of sweets, which almost come across as jewels due to their shapes, color, and light reflections. And the huge print fits the tee just right- a nice addition to DBH's takes on the joke tee.

Design By Humans is an on-going t-shirt design contest that prints new shirts every weekday. Prints are chosen from the shirts submitted by and voted on by DBH members. Shirt of the Day winners receive $500 cash and $250 DBH credit. Shirt of the Week winners get $1000 cash. Shirt of the Month gets $1500 cash and $250 credit. Winners also have an opportunity to earn residuals through the Rockstar Awards Program.

Vote For Art's Logo Contest

2009-10-10T10:50:00.000-05:00

I don't typically cover logo design contests, but this one is of particular interest to the t-shirt design community. Vote For Art is a new site that, when it launches, will feature a crowdsourced t-shirt design contest specific to individual universities. Winning designs will be sold in actual university bookstores in addition to on the web. But of course, first they need a logo...

Enter before November 6th, 2009 for your chance to win the $500 prize.

GoodJoe's Give. Music. Life. Contest

2009-10-09T11:25:00.001-05:00

GoodJoe has another sponsored contest in the works, and this might be the biggest one yet! They've teamed up with The Fender Music Foundation on a contest titled Give. Music. Life., aimed at supporting music education. They want a shirt that will appeal to rock fans, but is still kid-friendly and tasteful.

Enter before October 30th, 2009 for your chance to win. The winner will receive a Squier by Fender Deluxe Hot Rails Strat Electric Guitar with a decal of the winning design displayed on it and $300 cash from Goodjoe.

Shirt.Woot Derby #116: Erase Hunger, Create Hope

2009-10-08T14:21:00.000-05:00

Shirt.Woot's newest derby is a departure from their usual themes, choosing to focus attention on the issue of world hunger with the theme Erase Hunger, Create Hope. Since this is the first issue-related derby, it should be interesting to see how it develops. Here's what Woot had to say:

Wanna hear about a funny coincidence? Right now, for the first time ever, more than one billion people are hungry. And there are also more than one billion online users, with abilities to communicate and draw attention that are also unprecedented in human history. That's the basis for the United Nations World Food Programme's A Billion for a Billion project.

How can the online billion help the hungry billion? By spreading the word about hunger to their online friends. By contacting their elected representatives. And by creating works that raise the awareness of hunger's devastating effect on people and societies - works like a Shirt.Woot Derby entry.

We're not looking for shirts that specifically address A Billion for a Billion or the World Food Programme, or necessarily depict starving people being fed. This week, we're looking for more symbolic, abstract approaches to the idea "Erase Hunger, Create Hope", and the concept of hope for relieving hunger. We'll be judging rejection more subjectively than usual this time - a shirt need not have specific political-cartoon-style symbols for hunger and hope, but even a shirt that's on-topic could be rejected if we judge that it contradicts the spirit of this whole project. We like irreverence as much as the next jerk, but this is not the Derby for flouting the conventions of good taste. OK? If you think you're skirting the line of what's appropriate, you probably are.

The winning shirts will be sold beginning Friday, October 16, which is World Food Day. And just to be clear, A Billion for A Billion is about raising consciousness, not raising funds. These shirt sales will not benefit the WFP in any direct financial way.

No text.

No video-game references.

The derby opens to submissions at noon on Friday, with submissions continuing until Wednesday at noon. Voting is on-going from Friday at noon until Thursday at noon. Three winners will be printed the following weekend (as chosen by site members), with the printed designers earning $1000 for the first night of sales and a potential $2 per shirt sold on any sales after that date.

Hansel & Gretel's Revenge at Tilteed

2009-10-07T11:23:00.000-05:00

Wotto's design Hansel & Gretel's Revenge is this week's winner at Tilteed- perfectly timed for the Halloween season. What's neat, though, is that the color scheme is the main thing tying it to Halloween- the theme is such that it can easily be worn year-round. While the scene is a bit macabre (with the witch apparently roasting in her home as the children look on), it's also pretty funny and the characterization on Hansel and Gretel is great, with their clothes and expressions hinting at personality. I'm also enjoying the use of both sides of the shirt- I believe that's a first for Tilteed, but it's essential in telling the story here and would be a cool feature in future shirts as well.

Tilteed is an on-going t-shirt design competition, selecting a new winner every week. Winners at Tilteed earn $500.

Classics Sale at Threadless

2009-10-06T10:58:00.000-05:00

Threadless has a sale on this week, but only for their classic shirts- those are marked way down to $12. So if there's a popular Threadless design that you've been stalling on buying, now might be a great time to take the plunge.

A Day In the Park by Ed Pincombe (Edword) is my pick for shirt of the week because it's both hilarious and great-looking. The story being told is a lot of fun, finding the common ground between dogs and scruffy college students. And the style of the piece, using both photography and detailed drawing, adds to the surreal fun. This is an excellent example of a character tee done well, because it's so charming, relate-able, and attractive.

Lonely Robot Dirty Mind by Joshua Winship Carpenter (injosh) isn't really my cup of tea, largely because the gag is treading such tired ground. But, apart from the lame screw joke, the style here is actually pretty nice. The spare, technical look of the piece is fitting, and the detail of the diagram labeling in the thought bubble is a great touch. I also appreciate the decision to go with one ink color, because that does seem appropriate to how I would imagine a robot seeing the world. It's too bad all this was in the service of humor that missed the mark.

Alt of Ctrl by Matheus Lopes Castro (mathiole) is so simple it's easy to discount, but there's something genuinely charming to this one. The photographic precision and anonymous-looking keys feel absolutely restrained and constricted, in deliberate opposition to the text. The nerdish enthusiasm is funny, and the photography works well. I'm not 100% convinced by how it sits on the tee (the print feels too large to me), but it's an interesting piece for sure.

All Dinosaurs Go to Heaven by Travis Gentry (TGWA) is my other favorite design this week, a beautiful and touching illustration offering one view on what happened when dinosaurs became extinct. For me this works on a few levels- it's neat to see these creatures we think of as huge, predatory beasts being peaceful, helpless and welcomed into heaven. But apart from the concept, the art stands on its own with soft colors that show the progression from the fire-y disaster on earth to the calm of the clouds. The swirling, floating trail of dinosaurs moves your eye around the entire scene, drinking it in. The only flaw here is in the shape on the tee- I wish the height had been adjusted to let the art really travel from the bottom of the shirt to the top (rather than covering 2/3 of the shirt, as it does now).

Historic Fail! by MAKI (matthijs) is a funny take on architecture, imagining the confusion of pyramids when presented with a giant cube. The cube's look is proud and self-satisfied, contrasting with the sudden inadequacies playing out on the faces of the other structures. It's simple, good-natured humor at its best, and the rough, basic style is a good fit for it. The camel is a smart addition, both setting the scene and pulling you into it.

99 Bottles by Alex MacDuff is exactly what it sounds like, 99 bottles doodled on a series of shelves. The main plus here is that all the bottles seem to be unique, but what stops that from being a real selling point for me is that none of them feel particularly interesting. The gradient was a good choice, as it definitely helps encourage the viewer to look at all the unique label faces, but it's still not exciting enough to capture my interest.

Mind/Spirit by Joel Speasmaker is the first of this week's Selects, mixing bold geometrics with fine detail. What's neat is that each of the major elements has very different properties- the photographic circle, the solid triangle, the circle created of lines thick, and the intricacy of the thin map lines. The combination works, and the differing amount of detail means that there's something to enjoy at every viewing distance. I'm not typically a huge fan of abstract designs, but the boldness here looks pretty great on a shirt.

Foreverever by Christopher Bettig is the other Select this week, using geometric shapes to form the word "forever." It's fun, unique, and has a somewhat retro-feeling palette that I find pretty charming. The attention to detail is nice too, even giving duplicate letters a unique treatment. And of course, the concept of showing the repetition of the "ever" section of the word is brilliant- it forces you to think about what the word forever really means, and just how expansive it is. Pretty awesome!

Threadless prints new shirts every week, chosen from the designs submitted by and voted on by site members. Winners get $2000 cash and $500 in Threadless credit, with the possibility to earn more through Bestee awards, poster prints, and reprints.

$6 Mystery Shirt at Uneetee

2009-10-05T10:41:00.000-05:00

Uneetee is at it again with a Mystery Shirt- for the uninitiated, this means that they have one secret design they'll be printing, and the only way to get it is to buy now, sight unseen. It's a pretty big gamble, but if you're a fan of most of what they print and you have $6 to spare it could be a great deal!

New This Week at Design By Humans

2009-10-04T15:10:00.000-05:00

Cliche Living by Ellsswhere gets my nod for shirt of the week- it's a huge print with lots to enjoy no matter where you look. The concept, a collection of stereotypical tattoo imagery, is the kind of thing it's easy to get wrong, but the tone here is just right. It's a celebration of how these elements can still be cool, with excellent arrangement and even some interaction (I love that the tiger has clamped its jaws around one of the birds). I love the way it fills the shirt, though I do have a minor quibble with the banner- I just wish it didn't say the site name! While it kind of makes sense here (seeming to make a larger comment on these elements as being common things humans like- which makes me want to see an alien version), I'm not crazy about the idea of wearing something that has a brand name in the design.

nautasheLL by tealesm is another of the artist's trademark watercolor pieces. The watery look makes perfect sense thematically, and gives the impression of color dripping right off the shell, coloring its surroundings. I'm not a huge beach person, so for me there isn't a strong pull to this design- it looks cool, but I don't get a sense of story or uniqueness from it. Strong artwork, but I'd love to see more personality.

.:temptress:. by dzeri29 centers on a skull-faced woman, surrounded by hair that turns into filigree and hides skeletons. It's both beautiful and frightening, and something about the way the woman holds her head makes it feel like she's plotting something, mischief glinting in her eyes. That said, even for all the detail I'm not completely on board with this one- I'm only seeing skulls and filigree set in the hair, and that feels to me like a missed opportunity to have hinted at a deeper, more complex story.

Tired of The Tiger Face! by WinterArtwork is a good example of the kind of humor DBH does best, the sort where the joke takes a backseat to the art. Here, there's a boxing glove pummeling the face of a tiger, but you probably notice the painted style first. I like the good-natured annoyance on his face, and the way the force of the blow seems to knock the color right out of him. For me, though, the shirt color is a bit less than ideal- while it looks great, it makes the boxing glove recede into the background which makes it more difficult to identify (the thumb of the glove doesn't pop out at all). A cream or white background could have clarified that.

Fear the pastels. by lastsoundtrack caught my eye with its color palette- something about that electric blue on charcoal looks incredibly cool to me. I have to say though, that overall, I don't really grasp the appeal of this one. I like sabertooth tigers a lot, but the style is so rough- it feels like the design is more about that roughness than about the animal. I'd deem it an interesting experiment, but not for me.

Design By Humans is an on-going t-shirt design contest that prints new shirts every weekday. Prints are chosen from the shirts submitted by and voted on by DBH members. Shirt of the Day winners receive $500 cash and $250 DBH credit. Shirt of the Week winners get $1000 cash. Shirt of the Month gets $1500 cash and $250 credit. Winners also have an opportunity to earn residuals through the Rockstar Awards Program.

New This Week at Threadless

2009-10-03T19:31:00.000-05:00

Youthful, Abnormal, Japanese Assassin Kitchen Appliances by David Creighton-Pester (WanderingBert) is definitely the shirt that most caught my eye this week. I like pretty much all absurd humor, but here it has an extra edge because it points even more attention at the craziness of the series it parodies. After all, appliances are only slightly more absurd than turtles. What really cements the joke is the details- the magnets on the fridge spell out Cowabunga and there's a pizza peeking out of that oven. I'm not 100% sold on the design as a shirt (it feels like, because of the shape of the art, it sits a bit awkwardly), but it's definitely the kind of thing that would turn my head during a sale and the joke is top notch.

In the Headlights by Thomas De Santis (Montro) takes on the common experience of catching a deer in your headlights from another perspective. This time the deer is in the driver's seat, and it's a scared human frozen in the lights- the change in roles brings new emotions to the scene. Instead of the fear and wonder you experience as the driver, you experience the deeper fear of being discovered and being in mortal danger. The human is hunched with huge eyes, vulnerable. It's well-done art for sure, though the actual print is a bit ruined for me by how bright the headlights have been printed- it floods the entire windshield with light, taking away from the narrow, limited light that headlights actually feel like they put out in a situation like this. That said, I do appreciate the spare use of color used on the dashboard- it helps the scene to feel more real and grounded. In the end, I can't say this is an illustration I'd personally wear (funny, but it doesn't capture my imagination), though it is certainly well-done.

Celestial Summer Camp by Stephanie Sohn (a wild thing) imagines the sun as a campfire and the planets as marshmallow-roasting kids. It really works visually, and the sun is subtly styled to emphasize its fire. Each planet also has a unique way of interacting with its marshmallows (Saturn's are stuck to its rings, while Mercury is roasting many at the same time). I'd have to say that the best detail is also the most subtle, the warm yellow glow from the campfire that reflects on the planets. It's very successful in making the scene feel cozy and warm, a really nice touch that raises the level of the design. Some of the other details feel sloppy (namely the hands, which are just weird blobs), but the warm glow makes it easier to overlook that.

La Canopée by Sebastian Cuypers is this week's Select, centering on a great character. Hairy-faced, multi-armed, and punk as all get out, this dude is bursting with personality and points of interest. The repetitive use of those minor elements (diamonds, holes, smoke, etc) unites the piece and encourages eye movement. It's charming stuff, and the back print is a nice value-add, exaggerating the mystic feel of this creature further and adding to the story. Good stuff.

Friends Forever by Julia Sonmi Heglund (sonmi) is ridiculously clever, twisting a friendship bracelet into the infinity symbol to make a powerful statement. What's great here is that it's not just a solid concept, it's also impeccably executed- the curves of the bracelet are draw just right, and even the texture of the string comes across clearly. The only weird thing here is that because of the theme, I think most people would find it awkward to buy this tee for themselves, although it is perfectly suited to gifting and should find an audience there.

Swan Kick by Chow Hon Lam (Flying Mouse 365) is kind of a weird one for me, since I'm not sure I understand it. My assumption is that there's a real martial arts move called the swan kick, and that the joke is in connecting that term to Swan Lake. But, since this is literally the first time I've heard the term, it's not really funny to me. The idea of a ballerina's kicks being used in fighting is absurd in a way that amuses, though, so it's nice to look at as a cartoon. But for me, the final nail in the coffin is how it looks on the shirt- it doesn't feel made for the medium at all, with the characters floating in the middle of the tee. It just doesn't look cool when worn.

Self Portrait by Brian Cook and Piper Kirkby (Chengui) has a great idea, transforming a kid's weird doodle into an alien. It's very charming to think of an alien as a silly kid rather than as some kind of advanced being, which makes this a tee that draws you in. It's also interesting to see how the child's drawing was capitalized on, and how each element changed as it was redrawn. My mild dissatisfaction, though, is that while it uses the space of the kids sizes well, it comes off pretty float-y and disconnected on the adult sizes, to me at least. But it is a perfect shirt for kids, making it a very appropriate winner for the Threadless Loves Childhood contest.

Artists Love to Draw Attention by Laura Brightwood is a very solid slogan, cutting to the heart of why at least some people get involved in art. The text treatment, though, is what makes this shirt truly killer- the angle of the text is grabs you, and it gets better the closer you look since that cursive text is all constructed out of twisted pencils. I think this is the best Type Tee I've ever seen, and one of the few that wouldn't look out of place in the regular catalog.

Threadless prints new shirts every week, chosen from the designs submitted by and voted on by site members. Winners get $2000 cash and $500 in Threadless credit, with the possibility to earn more through Bestee awards, poster prints, and reprints.

Shirt.Woot Derby #155: National Parks

2009-10-01T14:07:00.000-05:00

New week, new derby at Shirt.Woot- and this time they're targeting National Parks. Here's what they're looking for:

For some reason we can't put our finger on, we've really been thinking a lot about national parks. Maybe we just need some time in the open air. Maybe the healthcare debate has reminded us that sometimes government can play a positive role in our society. Or maybe public TV is showing a multi-part miniseries on the U.S. National Parks by a prominent documentarian. Whatever the reason, it's time to put that obsession into t-shirt form. Show us a stunning, shirt-worthy image from a national park - and not necessarily one in the United States. Feel free to extend the idea to parks in other countries, on other planets, in other realities, and different eras.

Text is permitted in support of a visual design - no slogan shirts. If you want your shirt to say something like "I Went To Black Hole Galactic Park And All I Got Was Crushed Into Oblivion", back it up with some pics or risk rejection.

But do not use the names of any actual National Parks, landmarks like Old Faithful, or the U.S. National Park Service.

No video-game references.

Threadless Loves Pop Life

2009-10-01T10:35:00.000-05:00

Threadless is upping the ante with their latest Loves contest, themed Pop Life and sponsored by the Tate Modern Museum. Check out the museum's autumn exhibit, Pop Life: Art in a Material World, for inspiration in creating your own Pop Art tee.

Enter before October 29th, 2009 for your chance to win. Two winners will each receive a Tate Annual Membership, a Tate £50 Publishing voucher, a Keith Haring Figure with Heart tee, a Takashi Murakami Enamel Pin, a Robert Indiana LOVE Pin, and a Pop Life catalog and bag - all in addition to Threadless's prize of $2500 cash and a $500 Threadless gift certificate.

40% off at Springleap Today

2009-09-30T12:49:00.000-05:00

Springleap is offering a 40% discount if you buy 2 or more shirts and use the code 'summertime' - I recommend recent gems Brilliant and Here Comes Trouble.

Dreamhost's Retro T-Shirt Contest

2009-09-29T11:49:00.000-05:00

Ok shirt designers, if you are in need of web hosting, this might be just the opportunity you're looking for. Dreamhost is celebrating its 12th birthday with a retro t-shirt contest- they'll be printing the best ones, and those lucky winners will receive a lifetime of free hosting. Pretty rad!

Enter before October 11th, 2009 for your chance to win. Entries should be posted in Dreamhost's official blog comments, along with an email address so they can contact you. They're suggesting that a winner might be chosen for each decade: 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s.

Darkside of Disco at Uneetee

2009-09-28T17:20:00.000-05:00

Uneetee's newest winner is Darkside of Disco by ouno, a design that has a pretty rad concept and a capable execution (even though the lines in the background are a bit distracting and weird). So what's the problem?

Well, it's not the first. James Lillis did a rendition of this same concept awhile back called Death Disco. It got a fair amount of blog press back in February of this year, so it's possible you've even seen it before.

Very disappointing to see something derivative claim a contest prize. The execution is different enough so I'm not sure it was an intentional rip, but I do wish Uneetee and the artist had looked into the matter before printing. Searching the Uneetee shirt's title, Darkside of Disco, brings up the Lillis version on page 2 of Google Images.

Uneetee chooses winners from the designs submitted by and voted on by site members. Winners receive $1500, with the chance to earn more through reprints.

New This Week at Design By Humans

2009-09-27T13:51:00.000-05:00

Hyena Boy and Deaths LunchBox. by MrRocks is definitely the standout shirt this week. Immediately, that huge, blue and snarling hyena jumps out at you, and from there your eyes travel up and the scene just gets weirder. A spooky boy opens his lunchbox, and a neon skeleton escapes, dangling an apple from his bony hand. The drawing skills are among the best I've ever seen employed in the medium, and the bright colors are used to great effect on the taupe tee. The pairing of great art with a mysterious, intriguing story makes this shirt one that won't ever be overlooked.

Birds of Prey by koivo praises the sharp features of birds, with a crisp, vectored look. This is both an asset, adding to the fierceness of the birds, and a bit of a downside- I just can't get over how harsh the birds look. With everything so hyper-sharpened, they're all strength and speed but no personality. While that is awesome for people just looking for a badass bird shirt, it kind of leaves folks like me who want something with character a bit out in the cold. A little more individuality and feeling in these birds, and I would have been right in line to buy.

Legendary surfer by mathiole has epic written all over it, showing a samurai-type surfing on a giant koi fish. It feels like the beginning of a journey, and it's fun to think of what a guy with this kind of courage and skill will do next. The softness of the watercolor style makes sense thematically, but it is also really effective in setting the scene. The composition feels bathed in light, and you can almost feel the saltwater flying through the air. I'm not typically drawn to asian-themed art, but for me the skill and adventure of the design still manage capture my interest. I'm also pretty curious about the Mint shirt color, which looks deliciously subtle (increasingly, the shirt colors that appeal to me the most are the most rare and unusual tones).

A Tale Of Two Lovers... by Oddeti is a huge print of a wistful-looking geisha. Right off the bat, that puts this in the category of things I wouldn't personally wear- huge faces on shirts are a weird look to me. That said though, it's an impressive print- it fills the shirt perfectly, and the floral framing makes it feel like a peek into another world. The girl's expression and posture hint at a deeper story, adding appeal. For people without my particular hangup about huge faces, I think it would be a solid choice.

Loudness. by lastsoundtrack is a real favorite of mine this week, a huge, brash print shining a spotlight on the explosiveness of good music. Massive bolts of lightning cascade down from the shoulders to strike the boombox anchored at the bottom of the shirt. The doodle style of the lightning adds charm, clearly painting this design as being about enthusiasm. I'm a bit thrown off by the yellow splotch behind the radio, just because in my eyes it's not serving a clear purpose, but frankly I'm still buying so I guess it doesn't matter.

Design By Humans is an on-going t-shirt design contest that prints new shirts every weekday. Prints are chosen from the shirts submitted by and voted on by DBH members. Shirt of the Day winners receive $500 cash and $250 DBH credit. Shirt of the Week winners get $1000 cash. Shirt of the Month gets $1500 cash and $250 credit. Winners also have an opportunity to earn residuals through the Rockstar Awards Program.

A Glimpse of the End of Days at ShirtFight

2009-09-25T14:25:00.000-05:00

Since this tee is ShirtFight's final contest winner, A Glimpse of the End of Days by againstbound has a weirdly apt title. Apart from that weird coincidence, it's also a pretty rad pick purely because it feels different from most contest winners. You can see that there's effort made to push boundaries in the mix of geometrics and character work, the texturing, and the interaction of design elements. I love this direction, and hope to see more where it came from. But with that said, this is a piece that I think would work better as a poster than as a tee- the shape/heaviness of the art isn't very flattering to the human figure, and the mocks provided show that it looks awkward when worn. I believe this is because the weight of the art is so low, making the huge chunk at mid-gut more of a focal point than it should be. I think with more attention paid to how the art looks worn, this style could be much more successful. The art is unique enough, though, that I'd consider a purchase anyway.

Shirt.Woot Derby #114: Cooking

2009-09-24T12:45:00.000-05:00

It's time for a new derby at Shirt.Woot, and they're mixing things up with a Cooking theme. Here's their description:

Last week you brought the crop in; this week you cook it up. Whether you're equipped with some restaurant-grade stainless-everything master kitchen or a microwave too small to pop popcorn in, chances are you've fried, baked, broiled, boiled, charred, grilled, roasted, toasted, or nuked something to eat at some point in your life. Or at least paid someone else to. Now take that knowledge out of the kitchen and into the wardrobe with a cooking-themed shirt delicious enough to wear.

No text.

No video-game references.

Threadless Hoodie Sale and Reviews

2009-09-23T15:14:00.000-05:00

Wishbone by Jason Bergsieker (NomadSlim) is the perfect kind of simplicity, the kind that is entirely in service of a great concept. As a hoodie it's ideal, using the structure of the garment to tell the story. The hoodie is, for me, the standout design of the week because of its boldness and cleverness. Where it loses me, though, is in the t-shirt version. I really consider the entire value of the design to be in how it allows the user to physically separate the wishbone, and since that's of course absent in the tee, I'm just left confused as to the appeal. Why wasn't this solely printed as a hoodie? In the current state (since the tee version has the wishbone broken), it seems to only really be clever if you wear it underneath the hoodie. Since (even on sale) you'd have to pay at least $48 for both, I'd be surprised if too many people actually did that. Seems like a waste to me, personally.

Peacocks Are Pigeons Zapped by Rainbows by Evan Stoler (evan3) has a couple of strengths, particularly in the concept (imaginative and fun to think about) and in the style choice (cut paper isn't seen often, making this a nice novelty). In theory, I'd be a big fan. What hurts this shirt for me, though, is the execution. The style feels naive (probably a side-effect of the cut paper), but isn't exaggerated enough to have character. The peacock should be reacting to being zapped, or at least in possession of some kind of personality, but I'm not seeing it here. For me, it just doesn't feel like a final draft.

War Games by Ersin Erturk (altair4444) is both high concept and high style, using negative space to morph chess pieces into a warhead. What I love is how intelligently it was done, using distressing to help create the shape and dimension of the bomb. It even makes logical sense, as there's a progression from the cleanness of theoretical battle to the dirty reality. Definitely a gem, and one any fan of strategic thinking should consider purchasing.

Untitled: Impossible by Tang Yau Hoong is my favorite shirt design this week. For me, it speaks to the sense of potential that you feel when you start to draw- it could become anything, even something that could never exist. These two optical illusions pair together well, and the pencil theme of it creates a story- you can only create the impossible when you're prepared to break through your own expectations. Great concept, and I love the print of the hoodie. The small print on the front hints at the larger print on the back, a great solution for using a zip-up on a design like this.

Juliet by Lim Heng Swee (ilovedoodle) hinges on a unique perspective, seeing a cocoon as a balcony. And while I'm often critical of watercolor pieces (that trend over-saturated the marketplace recently, in my opinion), here it works well by emphasizing the light that floods the scene. It feels like a dewy morning, filled with possibilities. But as the other butterflies escape their cocoons and flutter about the scene, Juliet (both the only one with human features and the only one with colorful wings) dreamily waits in hers. It's an interesting story, and makes for a unique tee design.

Mixed Messages by Stuart Colebrook (Bramish) constructs the word NO out of a variety of YES symbols, both written and otherwise. And variety is definitely the strength of the piece, as the sheer number of lettering styles is impressive. But conceptually, it doesn't quite grab me. I think the heart of the issue is that the phrase "no means yes" has a particular connotation that leaves a bad taste in my mouth, and I can't say I've heard it much outside that context. That doesn't make it a bad shirt by any means, of course- just one that's probably a bit polarizing. Pretty well-done art regardless!

Threadless prints new shirts every week, chosen from the designs submitted by and voted on by site members. Winners get $2000 cash and $500 in Threadless credit, with the possibility to earn more through Bestee awards, poster prints, and reprints.

Corsair Class at Fair & Bare

2009-09-22T17:29:00.000-05:00

Fair & Bare's recent pirate contest crowned a winner, Corsair Class by Omnitarian. It's a great pick, as this is a one-color piece that does humor well while incorporating a great character. The bent shape of the pirate almost seems to indicate the rocking of a ship at sea, and his huge slab nose and widely-spaced teeth add personality. Part of what I like here is that he didn't go for the easy "pirates are dumb" joke- rapiers, rum, and ransacking are all spelled properly and lettered well, giving the indication that though their skills are very specific, these dudes are masters of them. It lets the Arrr joke stand on its own, which is a wise choice.

Winners at Fair & Bare earn £200 when their work is printed.

Threadless Hoodie Sale

2009-09-21T11:36:00.000-05:00

Threadless is celebrating the changing of the seasons with a huge hoodie sale this week, and each new design they've released comes on a hoodie! Prices are set at $30 (normally $40), and personally I'm feeling very tempted by Untitled: Impossible. I love a contrast zip-up, and am glad to see a rad design on one!

New This Week at Design By Humans

2009-09-20T11:53:00.000-05:00

Taipei Rocks! by hogboy is my pick for shirt of the week. With bright colors and zany characters, it stands out in a big way. I love the idea of a city populated with fantastic creatures, owning the streets in their zipping scooters and taking over the air with other-worldly guitar licks. You find yourself wanting to step right in and explore this weird, awesome place. A definite buy for me.

Chaos theory by mathiole uses distressed blue foil to great effect, giving a supernatural edge to the butterflies that form the skull. Even better, the glinting light off those butterflies ought to create the illusion of motion, which is a nice melding of concept and production. At the bottom, a boy running in the grass grounds the scene. The beautiful butterflies hang in the air like a warning, creating a real story- you wonder what the future holds for this kid (and what exactly those butterflies might be planning!).

Guardians of Existence by dzeri29 is one of the most incredible illustrations I've seen on a tee, a complexly drawn collection of animals (each captured in a moment of action and aggression). In the center of it all, a clam human face staring upward. It's an interesting composition, because you question what it all means. It could be that she's protecting the animals, though it looks more like they're protecting her. On the other hand, being surrounded by those animals seems to impart their qualities onto her. Interesting stuff, and the gold foil accents cement the epic feel of this design. The one weakness here is in the shape of the art, which for me doesn't extend quite far enough down on the tee.

Revelation 2009 by jimiyo is another shirt hinging on epicness, though this time with more of a mystical bent. The lion is the focal point, but right above it is that all-seeing eye. The eye is the center point of a swirling vortex made of waves and lines, and that takes your eyes on a journey around the piece. Seeing a closeup made it clear to me that the detail work is impressive as well (and I wish the site posted more of these close views, as they add a lot). What's really cool to me, though, is the shirt color- that rich burgundy shade invigorates the art, adding interest and drama. It helps this shirt to stand out more, and I love how the yellow of the lion stands out.

Technophilia by robbielee has a concept that really intrigues me. It takes this massive beast of a robot, set in this almost apocalyptic environment, and has him about to swallow the human in its clawed fist. Ah, but there's a twist- inside that gaping mouth we see a sunny paradise. So is it a trick, or does the robot hold inside himself humanity's salvation? The art doesn't answer the question, but that just makes it all the better- the mystery of it makes it more fun to wear. Overall I'm pretty happy with the print, though the forest section feels a bit too dark and thick for my tastes (hard to tell if that's just the way the contrast is set in the photo). Good stuff!

Design By Humans is an on-going t-shirt design contest that prints new shirts every weekday. Prints are chosen from the shirts submitted by and voted on by DBH members. Shirt of the Day winners receive $500 cash and $250 DBH credit. Shirt of the Week winners get $1000 cash. Shirt of the Month gets $1500 cash and $250 credit. Winners also have an opportunity to earn residuals through the Rockstar Awards Program.

Power Hippie at Camiseteria

2009-09-19T15:44:00.000-05:00

Camiseteria's latest tee is one that definitely caught my eye, Power Hippie by Rogerio Puhl. I love the contrast between the serenity of the hippie's expression and the crazy chaos of his hair. Balanced on his head is a seriously cool mix of characters and objects, with a flow (both in color and shape) that keeps me looking for more details and more to discover. Awesome design!

Camiseteria is Brazil's on-going t-shirt design contest. They welcome entries from all over the world, and winners earn R$600 cash and R$400 in Camiseteria products.