March 2008
Monday, March 31, 2008BestLosers has now well surpassed our goal of 100 shirt uploads! That means we have a winner for our
contest. Congratulations to KLSwoot for hitting the 100th upload when she uploaded about 10 of her shirts. The 100th shirt just happened to my favorite of hers -- "Dream Analysis according to Freud" from Derby 27. Enjoy your Olive Garden gift cards, KLS!
Meanwhile, we still have another contest going. Design a badge for BestLosers and win a $20 Visa card. Check out the details
here.
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Another newcomer winner this week -- Skaght wins on his second try.
Shirt.Woot Stats? (first derby / shirts bought / shirts printed)
#34 (Canada) / 1 / 1. Canada was my first. I didn't have a very strong entry but it was good to get my feet wet. I've only bought one shirt, not including this one. It wasn't until recently that I found out that you could buy shirts after they had sold out. I'm not very observant.
What are you tools of choice?
Brain, pencils, a six-year old iMac, a Wacom
tablet, Flash,
Illustrator (I'm a vector junkie) and iTunes. And the occasional sledgehammer if I'm particularly grumpy.
What is your typical process for going about a design?
When my muses are kind enough to bless me with a decent idea, I'll sketch it up -- usually with mechanical pencils and paper, tell myself I can't draw, turn the page, and draw it again. And usually again after that. Then I scan it and redraw it in Flash. I like my lines to be slightly overworked. Finally, I export to Illustrator for my color selections.
What design or art experience do you have outside the derby?
I'm a graphic designer at a small Ad Agency. I was probably supposed to be an illustrator, but I was born 20 years too late and
Photoshop killed the illustration profession.
Would you like to do art/design full-time? If so, what is your dream job?
Umm... I've always kinda wanted to be a mailman. My wife won't let me.
Any plans to sell your designs outside Woot?
Yup. I grew up admiring concert poster artists like Derek Hess and Frank Kozik. They screen printed posters, so I taught myself to screen print. That led me to printing t-shirts. I've got my own t-shirt site,
PsychoReindeer, that I fund by printing shirts for local schools and bands. I haven't been able to quit my day job, but it's a lot of fun.
What advice do you have for new derby artists?
You really can't please everyone, so design something that you would wear yourself and be proud of it. And be nice to the other artists. They're in the same boat you are in. Oh and try to get some sleep at night if you suddenly find your design in the fog.
Thursday, March 27, 2008I'm going to start occasionally updating the blog here when new artists arrive in the gallery. This week SkekTek, SuperSpryte, and KLSwoot came on board. Maybe it's just coincidence to get so many in one week; or could it be the
contest? Either way, it's great to see some new stuff here.
I've also updated the
Woot Galleries to include the derby description along with the number to make it easier to find stuff. You might have noticed that not all the latest derby galleries are present in the list. I'm only creating derby galleries when an artist has submitted a shirt for that gallery. Since you can't sell your shirts for 60 days, most people haven't bothered to update the latest ones.
And another completely unrelated update: BestLosers now has Google search to look for specific pages. Scroll WAY down through all those stinkin' ads to find it.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008Derby 35's theme was
Spring. Seasonal themes are one of the few that Woot keeps coming back to. No surprise with that pick or with many of the entries. Not as many trees as Woot predicted but lots and lots of flowers (almost none of which seemed to grab me). Here's a few other designs that did grab me. Click on the entry to see the full-size shirt and comments on Shirt.Woot.
The "I'm too lazy to make up a joke here" Award
Yeeter's "There's always tomorrow" has a great use of color and blends nicely into the shirt. Maybe more of a summer shirt but I wouldn't want that to be counted against it.
The "And next winter could you wear some pants?" Award
It's great to see KidGrenouille back in the derbies regularly. He has a beautiful spare style and favors subtle colors. His latest shirt, "Persephone banishes Boreas", shows off his amazing skills at drawing people. Thanks to DerekFilley and others for drumming up some attention for Kid last week. I believe it's only a matter of time before he hits the right design that resonates with the voters and gets a shirt printed. As it is, his work is underappreciated.
The "Third time's a charm" Award
Newcomer TheDansterWasHere had to resub a few times to get everything right but it was worth it. The windows of color are a nice touch. "Pockets of spring" communicates the passing of winter more than the arrival of spring so it is more somber than most other entries this week. Maybe that's why I like it. All three versions of his shirt have been in the hotness since he started so this still has a good chance to be printed.
Honorable Mentions
A handful of others caught my eye. There's a lot of Derby old-timers here stretching their style and trying new things and I love it.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008BestLosers is going to be working with
ShirtDerbyStats to give you a cool little badge that will display on ShirtDerbyStats when you are recognized here at BestLosers.
So I'm having a contest for who can create the best badge. It's really anything goes -- it doesn't have to communicate anything. A cute little mascot character would be fun. The winner gets a
$20 VISA gift card. Email me a 64x64 pixel PNG or JPG file. I'll announce the best one I receive by the end of April.
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Another first-time winner this week -- Enin. He's been around since Derby 24 and this is his first print. Here's a few more facts...
Shirt.Woot Stats? (first derby / shirts bought / shirts printed)
#24 (Invention) / 4 / 1.
What are you tools of choice?
I use
Photoshop and
Illustrator; I recently purchased a drawing
Tablet and am not looking back.
What is your typical process for going about a design?
I look through photos, drink a bunch of coffee, talk to my cats, mutter to myself, make some sketches, find what works and flesh it out with some line work.
What design or art experience do you have outside the derby?
My degree is in drawing and have been working in design since, it seems drawing jobs are not that easy to come by.
Would you like to do art/design full-time? If so, what is your dream job?
I make my living doing art and design on a freelance level. I definitely have my dream job, sitting around and making drawings, photos, and designs. I just left my full time gig to pursue this -- it's exhilarating with the occasional wave of terror. I have a very understanding wife.
Any plans to sell your designs outside Woot?
No I don't think I would. I do these designs for Woot. I might redevelop something on a similar theme for someone else, but I try to keep things fresh.
What advice do you have for new derby artists?
Make a lot of designs and have fun with it. No matter what you do, someone is bound to love it and someone else is bound to hate it, so don't take it too seriously. Shirt.Woot has a pretty interesting mix of people. I've yet to find any theme or demographic that describes it. One week a black grunge graffiti shirt will win, the next a yellow cartoon drawing. The opinions and tastes are widely varying. It keeps things exciting. The level of talent seems to get better all the time.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008Derby 34's theme was
Canada in honor of their brand new group of customers. After a few weeks of inspirational themes it was inevitable to get something a little more pedestrian from Woot. That said, there were some surprisingly clever and artistic shirts submitted this week and I had no problem picking a bunch out. Click on the entry to see the full-size shirt and comments on Shirt.Woot.
The "Could I Recommend a Full Body Wax" Award
First-timer Rres impresses with his "Sasquatch gets his hair did -- in Nothern BC". Great personality in Sasquatch and even more in the barber. I hope Rres continues to participate -- he or she has a lot of promise.
The "We Want More Muttonchops" Award
Derby regular SoothedByRainfall consistently has great ideas and a professional style. "Duel Citizenship" has a lot of panache with the subdued colors and antique look. I love the way the duelists are eying each other suspiciously.
The "Tabitha's Magical Leafblower" Award
Zenne continues to submit quality work after winning in
Derby 31. She's new to t-shirt designs but you wouldn't know it -- her use of space and working in the limited colors has not slowed her down at all. "Maple Leaves" is no exception. I like the effect of the intertwining streams of leaves plus the silhouetted leaves in the background.
Honorable Mentions
A handful of others caught my eye. GeekFactor12 impresses when she brings out the humor (and text!). Follan's stuff is always interesting -- with the right theme and idea he will get more attention someday. RGlee129 is another artist who is a win waiting to happen. And BluChez's "Ogopogo" pops off the shirt whether it has glowing ink or not.
Friday, March 14, 2008
Another complete n00b, Zeusandhera, wins on his first try! It's great that Woot continues to attract new blood. Here's a few sparse facts about this new guy.
Shirt.Woot Stats? (first derby / shirts bought / shirts printed)
#33 (Song Lyrics) / 6 / 1. I started way back in Derby 33 -- oh wait, that's this one! I've bought 5 shirts, but I got a 6th one from a BOC.
What are you tools of choice?
Photoshop,
Illustrator, mouse (I don't like my
tablet very much but I do have an Intuos 2), keyboard, and the site
vectormagic (to help me with the vector images because I'm not too familiar with Illustrator).
What is your typical process for going about a design?
Think of a few ideas and calculate which would be the most plausible, fun, entertaining, and/or creative idea and go with that. I don't really do rough drafts, I just modify as I go along and press "Undo" a lot when I don't like what I've done.
What design or art experience do you have outside the derby?
I've been using
Photoshop for about 6 years now and I took some Art classes in High School and College. I also enjoy Photography.
Would you like to do art/design full-time? If so, what is your dream job?
Technically. I would love to design video games for a living.
Any plans to sell your designs outside Woot?
Not at the moment, but anything is possible apparently.
What advice do you have for new derby artists?
Have fun.
Thursday, March 13, 2008Derby 33's theme was
Song Lyrics. Illustrate your favorite lyrics without text. Woot insisted the title be "inspired by" with the song name but then planned to rename it when they print it to avoid any legal trouble. Not sure what they're concerned about since titles cannot be copyrighted. Woot's themes have definitely taken a step up in terms of really inspiring the artists these last few weeks. Here's a heaping handful of great shirts that inspired me. Since last week I did Oscar-style awards, I have to do Grammy-style this week with the lyrical theme. Click on the entry to see the full-size shirt and comments on Shirt.Woot.
The "Best Soundtrack" Award
TGentry takes some risks and tries out a new style with his Flash Gordon shirt (inspired by the Queen song for the 80's movie). Great composition and color choices. I hope he puts this up for sale somewhere since I'd really like to get it.
The "Lifetime Achievement" Award
I hate to feature JamesCho84 every week in here but I believe he really outdid himself with his "Rocky Raccoon" shirt and it's a shame this isn't likely to get printed. Cho's technical abilities are unrivaled but he really manages to put some soul into this portrait and give him some personality.
The "Best New Artist" Award
Newcomer BigScaryPanda has a couple of great entries this week. I also listed his "Mr. Blue Sky" below. This one, inspired by indie artist Jonathan Coulton's "Code Monkey" is stylish and simple. Finally got me to check this musician out after hearing about him from several places. Cool music and cool shirt.
Honorable Mentions
I will spare you most of the commentary on a few other shirts I liked but I really have to mention Follan. He has several entries this week and all of them are interesting. I hope he continues to participate and hone his skills here.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Zenne is a relative newcomer and first-time winner. This is her first derby win. Here's a bit more about her.
Shirt.Woot Stats? (first derby / shirts bought / shirts printed)
#27 (Dreams) / 1 / 1. My first derby was the dreams derby. I entered some cats with wings, with little dream clouds and stuff. I still haven't figured out why it was rejected for being off topic, but a little paranoia won't hurt anyone, right? So far just I've just "bought" the three free ones from my own design. I got one for me and my mom, and one of the men's sizes so I could see the full-size print (which
completely by coincidence fits my boyfriend!) This is my only print. I'm really new to this style of drawing, so I'm still working on learning all the tools I need and getting the workflow down. Before finding the derby, I did a lot more realistic type stuff, which is the complete opposite of t-shirt design.
What are you tools of choice?
I use an
Intuos 3 from Wacom and
Photoshop. I tend not to use traditional media out of habit - I'm really bad about setting things up, and putting things away. I use a standard Photoshop brush to draw with, and I've been learning the pen tool, although Lady Out of Water was done entirely with the one Photoshop brush.
What is your typical process for going about a design?
I usually scribble down an idea with a fairly large brush to get the general picture down, then detail over that. I still haven't found a set way of working - each of my derby entries so far has been done in a different way. The hardest part for me is choosing colors, because with a set color palette it ends up being a very deliberate process, when I usually pick colors and change things by intuition.
What design or art experience do you have outside the derby?
I do a lot of private commission work, like drawing someone's significant other, their pet, or drawing a character they made up, etc.
Would you like to do art/design full-time? If so, what is your dream job?
It would be really cool to do art full-time. Haha, my dream job is to be able to do art with minimal required human interaction!
Any plans to sell your designs outside Woot?
Yup. I have a
CafePress shop set up (currently empty of t-shirts, just a few random things like a coaster that has a fake coffee stain and kitty paw prints going through it), and I'm always looking for good t-shirt sites. I'll be putting up a lot of my woot designs after the 60 days have passed. Otherwise, I have some art prints up for sale; nothing very interesting, though.
What advice do you have for new derby artists?
Be paranoid!
Thursday, March 06, 2008Derby 32's theme was
Line Art. The first time Woot has picked a style instead of a theme. You can draw anything you want -- it just must be made of lines without fills. Tough additional rules too -- no text, no clipart, and only a SINGLE color. Here's a bunch of shirts that impressed the
Academy of T-Shirt Arts and Sciences. Click on the entry to see the full-size shirt and comments on Shirt.Woot.
The "Best Rhino in a Supporting Role" Award
I can't say Artulo has a particular style I recognize but I always seem to be voting for his shirts anyway. This is one of the few shirts in this derby that doesn't feel like it is missing something by being in a single color. Great technique and placement.
The "Best Collaboration" Award
OK, it's the only collaboration as far as I know -- in Derby history even. Derby favorites JamesCho84 and EdgarRMcHerly join forces to become "Mcherlicho". You can definitely see Edgar's unique lumpy characters (I mean that in a good way) and Cho's technical details in the shirt. "Teddy 'n His Rough Riders" on sharks is a fantastic idea. Also, read BluChez's great story in the comments.
The "Best Animal Documentary" Award
Newcomer Jimiyo has several stunning entries this time -- one that is likely to be printed and two others in the top 15. This is my favorite -- a beautiful menagerie of creatures. This shirt has bold lines without looking sketchy or heavy. Jimiyo has a confident style -- I hope to see him stick around for a long time in the Derbies.
Honorable Mentions
I wanted to start including more shirts in the Loser Awards without having to blab so much about them. Here's a few extra that I liked. I especially loved TGentry's "Moonshiners" and would love to see it again someday with more details and color.
Tuesday, March 04, 2008Here's a nice comparison of prints on dark shirts using a few of the major print-to-order places. Looks like
Zazzle came out on top this time. Read
the review here.
Also, if you didn't already see it, I posted a
video review last month that looked at some of the same services and gave good marks to
SpreadShirt. What I've learned since then is that SpreadShirt uses an iron-on type printing for dark shirts. I'll have a more detailed post soon on what that means and what it looks like.
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