Shirt.Woot

Re: Cheese Cracker!

I love this shirt. It reminds me of when Wallace and Gromit went to the moon Oh, what will be done in search of cheese.

Re: Death Rain

Have I mentioned yet that I really want this shirt? Cause I do.

Re: The Joy of Flight... almost

You and your owls.

Adorable. Your style really really works with this concept and design.

AdderXYU wrote:Since you asked me similar in another thread, I'll give you some thoughts here.

I think that part of it is the theme (the big line up the top of the shirt reads "exhaust trail of airplane" to me, but it's very minor, and does have the chance of looking like nothing but a big line of ink). Without an obvious link, some people might not be really having it resonate.

Past that, I think some of how things are anchored is an issue... odd placements are always iffy at woot, but more than the weight being mostly on the belly, I think that the boy looking like he's just floating in the middle of nowhere is a bit confusing, but then so too is the Toadstool-looking house in the distance. I feel like it might have some perspective issues as well which might be an issue (the way the "roof" looks, ie, and maybe even perceived distance from the kid).

One big thing, though, could be that people simply don't resonate as well as focal points as other objects to. I think this is frequently the case, to be honest, as we are people, and we have our own aesthetic tastes in people more so than in, say, cats or rabbits or squirrels. I personally find kids repulsive (I'm sure this is no revelation to regulars around here) and so I'd need a lot more than just a kid to make something like that purchasable. Many of the most successful "people shirts" either rely on parody and skilled enough execution to make the person in question obvious ("Who Wants to Live Forever," perhaps), have the people as almost a background or extra element, and keeps them subdued as imagery (tgentry's long reckoned "Watch it Grow" could show this) or else be so stylized as to make the "peopleness" of the people less important (note Walmazan's style). I think the biggest issue, though, is faces. This is why characters like Death can still get through, or why toy-like creations are OK... if a human representation is too real looking, you need emotion in them, and emotion is not easy to convey, especially if you're going for realism. In your case, of course, it could just be a lack of eyes.

All in all, though, it's hard to say why some pieces get attention and others don't. Here, what I'm seeing is a difficult to grasp scenario in an odd position, with a long white dash which is doing no compositional favors. It's not horrible (the style definitely has some whimsy, and is worth honing to see where you can take it), but it's also not too memorable. And sometimes that's worse for success than being flat out awful.

Thanks a lot for taking the time to answer me. I think you are definitely right on certain points. Obviously, my illustration of the chimney is so far from clear that you took it as a house in the distance (and thus all the perspective issue). I am kinda new to the designing field so my illustration skill is very immature. The idea was to have the kid sitting on the roof and watch the trail of the plane, an image of the leisure and peaceful life of a suburb kid. This to me is quite a good idea as it loosely fits the theme and offers a subtle expression with an aftertaste, which separates itself from the rest of the entries. May it be a cultural difference (I am from Asia so my aesthetic value may differ greatly from the western), it is apparently not a popular idea here, and you may be right about that people here prefer simple and direct illustration. Rarely do I see winners here are different from the category of in-your-face with bright vivid colors. Personally I see no reason why anyone would have any difficulty understanding the airplane trail. It is simply one step away from drawing an actual plane and it is more artistically appreciable in my mind. So is the kid with no eyes. I agree that it looks a little bit weird (and I think it def needs improvement on that segment) but it is better than putting everything out on the canvas.

About the "odd position", I really don't know what to say. Do people here really never get tired of the eternal across-the-chest or centered position? I noticed on other Tee design website such as Threadless or DBH, bolder positions are welcomed and they make the shirts look much more interesting than a 6-year-old's wardrobe.

I am quite intrigued about your idea of animals being more well received than people, and it could perfectly explain why every time the derby winners include designs of cute cats/squirrels/rabbits. I personally feel sad about this and I don't think it is worthwhile to compromise my design to cater such taste, so I guess either I will have to find a balance point to make my illustration of human more acceptable here or I will have to submit my entries elsewhere. But I truly appreciate your input. It helps me a lot to understand a Woot viewer's opinion and I guess the irreconcilable difference in artistic value makes little hope for my future entries.

choumore wrote:Thanks a lot for taking the time to answer me. I think you are definitely right on certain points. Obviously, my illustration of the chimney is so far from clear that you took it as a house in the distance (and thus all the perspective issue). I am kinda new to the designing field so my illustration skill is very immature. The idea was to have the kid sitting on the roof and watch the trail of the plane, an image of the leisure and peaceful life of a suburb kid. This to me is quite a good idea as it loosely fits the theme and offers a subtle expression with an aftertaste, which separates itself from the rest of the entries. May it be a cultural difference (I am from Asia so my aesthetic value may differ greatly from the western), it is apparently not a popular idea here, and you may be right about that people here prefer simple and direct illustration. Rarely do I see winners here are different from the category of in-your-face with bright vivid colors. Personally I see no reason why anyone would have any difficulty understanding the airplane trail. It is simply one step away from drawing an actual plane and it is more artistically appreciable in my mind. So is the kid with no eyes. I agree that it looks a little bit weird (and I think it def needs improvement on that segment) but it is better than putting everything out on the canvas.

About the "odd position", I really don't know what to say. Do people here really never get tired of the eternal across-the-chest or centered position? I noticed on other Tee design website such as Threadless or DBH, bolder positions are welcomed and they make the shirts look much more interesting than a 6-year-old's wardrobe.

I am quite intrigued about your idea of animals being more well received than people, and it could perfectly explain why every time the derby winners include designs of cute cats/squirrels/rabbits. I personally feel sad about this and I don't think it is worthwhile to compromise my design to cater such taste, so I guess either I will have to find a balance point to make my illustration of human more acceptable here or I will have to submit my entries elsewhere. But I truly appreciate your input. It helps me a lot to understand a Woot viewer's opinion and I guess the irreconcilable difference in artistic value makes little hope for my future entries.

I must be taking myself way too serious lol.

Re: Something I Must Do

uhh... im confused, which part of this has something to do with seamen???

Re: Flight Training

Thanks everyone, glad you like it... Definitely a fun one to make!

Re: Flight Training

i like how it looks like youre creeping in the bushes looking at them

banzaaiii wrote:i like how it looks like youre creeping in the bushes looking at them

hehe probably one of those darn flightless birds creeping around looking for lessons ;)

Re: Something I Must Do

I love the fact that there has to be a story behind this design. It somehow makes the whole thing kind of heartbreaking and adorable. Wonderful design.

bassanimation wrote:This is an awesome concept, very original. I love that the colors of the hang glider are so bright against the grey. I do not like the heather grey shirts very much normally, but I do love this and I would buy it! GMV!

Same here. This is really great... interesting composition, lovely splash of color against the gray, and the heather works well. Very nice.

choumore wrote:Anyone cares to enlighten me what went wrong this time?

Don't tell me it is the thumbnail again...This is the best I can manage. And I thought its children's book kind of illustration style would catch some eyes.

Your design has been up for less than a day, and it's also the day after a night when quite a number of people might have been at parties. So give it a little time.

If you're looking for a lot of feedback on your designs, you might want to post preliminary sketches on the pre-derby threads before the derby opens. There's usually a lot of feedback there. This late in the process, you're going to get a lot less specific attention because there are so many other entries already posted.

On a personal note, yours is a nice design, but other than that, I don't have any useful comments. There's nothing where I'd say that I'd like it better if it was changed, but there's nothing in particular that I'd point to and say "wow" either. So as far as comments go, if I've got nothing useful to say, I'm probably not going to comment at all.

I agree with Adder in that I'm not overly fond of shirts that depict children. Or at least not where the child is the main focus of the piece. No idea why that is, though. And no idea if other people have the same reaction.

Jamezz93 wrote:Seems a little rude to Boots to use her entry as another place to hurl your insults, but maybe that's just me.

Actually, his post strikes me as the definition of constructive criticism.

SailorButterfly wrote:I like this one better too. Very cute.

Good luck!

Thanks! I'm glad you like it.

HalfWheat wrote:I don't vote for or against anyone because of personalities, so I won't be pulling any votes. But some people might assume that one or more of the artists are in on this, and get mad at them. It's not fair to those artists, and it's rude to the ones he's posting on. Their threads should be about their work, not about what some random person thinks about three other shirts.

... I feel that I should clarify my earlier statement...
I am not going to pull votes for designs I love based on something someone says, or who created it.
I will also not vote for a design that I don't love based on something someone says, or who created it.
What I meant was: I see someone rudely spamming a bunch of entries, not providing anything useful, but spam linking to other designs- and the part of me that wants to yell 'you're not the boss of me' to my boss when he assigns me a task I disagree with- wants to go pull my votes.
I don't - the same way I don't yell at my boss... but there is a part of me that wants to!

HalfWheat wrote:I don't vote for or against anyone because of personalities, so I won't be pulling any votes. But some people might assume that one or more of the artists are in on this, and get mad at them. It's not fair to those artists, and it's rude to the ones he's posting on. Their threads should be about their work, not about what some random person thinks about three other shirts.

I responded to GIJane or whatever her name is with this, but I'll post it again because you do raise the only valid thing worth considering:

"I want to see those shirts win.

I'm not connected to any of these artists, nor are these artists likely the caliber of individual who would actually use something like "an extra account" to boost ratings, let alone on a back-water site like this.

You've concocted quite a plot for me to be implementing--and I do find it exciting to read about its developments, I really do. However, to put your mind at ease, I just like these shirts.

And as for "concern over whether votes will get pulled" because I did this: Whatever. The shirts WERE NOT going to win anyway. Edgar at 90, and will never be recognized because most people here don't have the capacity to appreciate something special. So, put your concern else-where, and I'll keep doing the only thing I can do to help preserve the dignity and respectability of the "Woot Competition" : Campaigning for the shirts I think are good. After all, most of the winning submissions are just politics play for cuteness anyway. Someone needs to back up the actual artists.

Oh, once again, Drakxx is totally reasonable--as I said on his page. No offense in that direction."

jmmbell1987 wrote:Actually, his post strikes me as the definition of constructive criticism.

But why is he posting a checklist of complaints about other entries on Boots' entry? It doesn't seem necessary to promote your own agenda in order to compliment someone else.

Re: The Joy of Flight... almost

HalfWheat wrote:I really like this on olive. And I like the Woot olive shirts. But I wish the Woot template was a little closer to the actual shirt color. It's got to be rough trying to make a design that will look good on the template and on the actual shirt.

Thanks halfwheat! I don't actually own an olive shirt yet, so I don't even know what the real color is, but I've definitely heard a lot about the differences. I do try to keep it in mind whenever I design on these errant colors.

bethlehemstarr wrote:I enjoyed this shirt. Then I watched the video that you linked. Now I love it :-)
It's a really fun take on the reality. It's well done, and I think very wearable.
And, as HalfWheat said- the Olive shirt is MUCH prettier then the olive template!
+1

Aww, glad you like the video!Although in that one, the owl actually manages to fly! Check out this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkYgj_u1cP0... this is how they try to get back up the tree when they still can't fly, though this guy didn't make it, at the end he falls again, poor fella!
So glad you like my take, I watched a lot of videos when I was thinking about the shirt. And glad to hear the olive shirt is prettier than the template!=)

bellarific wrote:You and your owls.

Adorable. Your style really really works with this concept and design.

What can I say? I <3 owls! I do love a lot of animals, but there are some that I find especially adorable! People keep suggesting owl designs various derbies from time to time, and since I love them (and drawing them), I'm happy to oblige

Thanks Bellarific!

HalfWheat wrote:Your design has been up for less than a day, and it's also the day after a night when quite a number of people might have been at parties. So give it a little time.

If you're looking for a lot of feedback on your designs, you might want to post preliminary sketches on the pre-derby threads before the derby opens. There's usually a lot of feedback there. This late in the process, you're going to get a lot less specific attention because there are so many other entries already posted.

On a personal note, yours is a nice design, but other than that, I don't have any useful comments. There's nothing where I'd say that I'd like it better if it was changed, but there's nothing in particular that I'd point to and say "wow" either. So as far as comments go, if I've got nothing useful to say, I'm probably not going to comment at all.

I agree with Adder in that I'm not overly fond of shirts that depict children. Or at least not where the child is the main focus of the piece. No idea why that is, though. And no idea if other people have the same reaction.

Well, it is good to know that people have children/human issue here. This never occurs to me before and had it not been brought up I probably would never know. Growing up reading tons of manga/animation, I am particularly fond of human depiction. This may truly be a cultural thing.

Maybe I will try the pre-derby threads the next time, though not every of us have the time to actually make design in weekdays.

And thank you for the kind words. Never hurts to hear someone making positive comments about your work.

Jamezz93 wrote:But why is he posting a checklist of complaints about other entries on Boots' entry? It doesn't seem necessary to promote your own agenda in order to compliment someone else.

Last week someone wanted to know why Boots Cute is okay but Other Cute isn't. Adder's post here seems to be a sufficient explanation if someone should happen to come along this week and wonder the same thing.

Though there's a noted lack of certain Other Cute this week to begin with...

Jamezz93 wrote:But why is he posting a checklist of complaints about other entries on Boots' entry? It doesn't seem necessary to promote your own agenda in order to compliment someone else.

If it's pertinent, why not? It wasn't really insult slinging, and there's always room for constructive criticism anywhere. Frankly, while we may know to whom the post was aimed, it also serves as a useful breakdown of some of the basic elements of good t-shirts.

BootsBoots wrote:I love that song. And it's not far out in left field at all. It might have even subconsciously inspired the design. I pictured the conversation as:

"I have to do this."
"I know. I love you."

That's how I interpreted it.

It's incredibly well done. I'm not sure if I could actually wear it, because then people would ask me why I was in tears all the time, and I'd have to explain it was my t-shirt. I didn't actually cry when I saw it. I came close. And I also came close the second time...

It's a wonderful design.

This is the best shirt that I have seen in months. If it prints I will actually break my boycott of shirt.woot (that I entered into due to how much hate and decent woot allows in the comment sections) and buy it.

Re: Up, Up and Away

I would totally wear this, because this is awesome.

Misskari wrote:Have I mentioned yet that I really want this shirt? Cause I do.

Where else can i take it? I mean, i know woot kinda owns this design for the next 60 days or whatever, but once that passes...what do you think? it's not artsy enough for threadless

Re: Air Traffic Control

this is great. clever idea.

Re: Given to Fly

That t-shirt model has always given me the creeps. I wish he'd stop haunting my internets.

As for this design, I'm diggin' the illustration style.

Re: Maiden Voyage 2: Night Flight

Hey, this is nice.

Re: One Flight Per Customer RESUB

I love this shirt! would definitely wear this -all the time.

pmccall wrote:"Fly By Night"
My first attempt at using halftones.
Comments and critique welcome.

Black ink on asphalt is really hard to see, so those building at the bottom are going to be almost invisible. Which isn't terrible, but it's something to consider fixing. Or for next time.

Re: Gaseous Irony

I didn't get it, but after the explanation.. it's great. I think there are a lot of people that would love wearing this. Very cool idea. Good luck!

bellarific wrote:That t-shirt model has always given me the creeps. I wish he'd stop haunting my internets.

As for this design, I'm diggin' the illustration style.

lol... so he is a regular t-shirt model? I wondered if that was cmdixon, but wasn't sure if I should ask!:D

bethlehemstarr wrote:... I feel that I should clarify my earlier statement...
I am not going to pull votes for designs I love based on something someone says, or who created it.
I will also not vote for a design that I don't love based on something someone says, or who created it.
What I meant was: I see someone rudely spamming a bunch of entries, not providing anything useful, but spam linking to other designs- and the part of me that wants to yell 'you're not the boss of me' to my boss when he assigns me a task I disagree with- wants to go pull my votes.
I don't - the same way I don't yell at my boss... but there is a part of me that wants to!

Yeah, I got that you were saying that, and I agree.

raevynpheather wrote:This is the best shirt that I have seen in months. If it prints I will actually break my boycott of shirt.woot (that I entered into due to how much hate and decent woot allows in the comment sections) and buy it.

If woot began censoring all dissent, that'd be a reason to boycott.

500093 wrote:LOVE it. the design is intricate but not too intricate. i think it could hav dun w/o the clouds tho. i think that the only purpose they served was to show that the cat was flying which i think was pretty obvious.

Honestly, I think the clouds are necessary. You'd be amazed how many people (here and the public at large) wouldn't get it without the clouds.

My faith in humanity has made me jaded...

lwoodnj wrote:repeated himself

You really didn't have to repost all that.

All I've got to say is that if you want those shirts to get more votes, the way you're going about it isn't very effective. Possibly counterproductive. If you don't care and you haven't gotten the hint already from people who've already posted, you can ignore me, too. No problem.

Re: Flying Machine

I really just wanted to draw something interesting and ridiculous, that looks like it shouldn't be able to fly but somehow is able to. If nothing else, this was a fun challenge for me, I've always wanted to draw something that's needlessly complex. Hope you enjoy, thanks!

Re: Something I Must Do

I feel the urge to post something that won't get deleted, so no sarcasm or calling out of other posters who are being big poopy-faced dummies here!

I like this one Boots, you can tell that the fish doesn't want to leave, but he can't fight that urge to explore where no fish has gone before. All of fishykind owes this brave explorer a debt of gratitude!

I haven't been too pleased with this derby overall, I don't know what kind of Flight entry I was expecting to see and didn't... but ironically all the ones I DO like have something to do with sea life or fishing or something, lol

HalfWheat wrote:I think it's funny that people are arguing where yetis and polar bears live, but are blithely accepting penguins with goggles, scarves and helmets.

Part of the charm of this is the nonsense factor. As far as the rejection, I can see the logic. If so many people were reminded of the game, then it's probably enough of a game reference.

Polar bear's good. Panda would have been even more incongruous.

: )

Re: Flight Cub

Any visitors have any concrit for this entry before the derby closes up?

-------------------------
Maybe it's the hole in the ozone—increased solar radiation. Perhaps combined with the immediate threat to the polar habitat by climate change? Or it's those meddling DI scientists, right? Whatever the cause may be, the result is this: the appearance of a polar bear gifted with the power of flight. Cuz, hey, why not?