Re: Warm and Cozy

Saved

Re: Warm and Cozy

D'awww, you big softie.

Very nicely done, Ramy. ^_^

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Ogres Mangling Freaky Ghouls i want! so wonderfully cute!

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very cute and adorable!

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It reminds me of a much cuter version of Morla from "The NeverEnding Story"

very cute

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I want one! +1

Cute! Love the green against the blue and the contrast with the white.

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this shirt makes me feel cold @_@

is the turtle supposed to be "warm and cozy" when it's shivering / trying to stay warm out in the snow? D:

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I had a similar idea for my entry.

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It's so weird, this morning I was thinking to myself - 'you know what shirt.woot needs? Another generic turtle shirt,' and then lo and behold...

rwdougla wrote:It reminds me of a much cuter version of Morla from "The NeverEnding Story"

very cute

It reminds me of every other turtle he's ever drawn...
I liked it better when you were branching out and drawing newer things. Or even the squirrels two weeks ago. Those seemed to be an improvement on the 'cute' designs.
Using the same turtle again for the umpteenth time just doesn't appeal to me.

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this is new and exciting

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The turtle's sleepy eyes really make this a win for me. Plus, the shape of the shell looks snug as a cozy sweater. I love it!

jerberry wrote:The turtle's sleepy eyes really make this a win for me. Plus, the shape of the shell looks snug as a cozy sweater. I love it!

oh! I thought those were the nostrils!

It really is a nice idea.

Josephus wrote:oh! I thought those were the nostrils!

It really is a nice idea.

Weird. For some reason I saw the black dots as nostrils on a really large nose sticking out as well. Just thought that's the way it was supposed to be.

Re: Warm and Cozy

I hope this will be taken as it's intended (constructive criticism) rather than the usual "Ramyhate".

Something about the close-up on this design feels unpolished and slightly rough-around-the-edges, when compared to your usual shiny-smooth style. Is this an intentional, stylistic choice, or are there simply too many small lines making my eyes go wonky? (the pattern on the shell + the shading + the 'glow-lines' around each bulb)

Re: Warm and Cozy

Now this is one animal that I bet would prefer not to have a white Christmas. He must be freezing

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This is adorable. I kind of wish there were little baby turtles beside it though in their own little shell-houses, or something to that effect, because it seems kind of empty. Still, its ridiculously adorable and I'll definitely be getting it if it wins.

endangeredomega wrote:I hope this will be taken as it's intended (constructive criticism) rather than the usual "Ramyhate".

Something about the close-up on this design feels unpolished and slightly rough-around-the-edges, when compared to your usual shiny-smooth style. Is this an intentional, stylistic choice, or are there simply too many small lines making my eyes go wonky? (the pattern on the shell + the shading + the 'glow-lines' around each bulb)

I noticed that too. I actually like this one, but it seems a bit rushed. Most of his work has a mild wobbly feel to me; however it is extremely amplified here. The thing that bothers me the most is the snow on the top of his shell is levitating. The yellow and shirt color seem to exist underneath it. I'm not sure if that is meant to be a reflection, but it looks like a lack of polishing.

In the end, it still looks great. I do wish more time was spent rending it though.

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I love your work and am a frequent buyer but not on this one. The turtle looks dead, and yes, I have seen a dead turtle! Maybe on a little boys shirt but I'm not loving this one...sorry Ramyb

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I love this shirt, I definitely want one!

And I don't know what everyone's talking about him looking dead and cold. I could tell he was smiling as soon as I saw him, he's adorable, makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside.

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I have to say I like this one. Good Job Ramyb +1

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I wish I could "I want" this a 100 times I so want it if it wins

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Normally I really like your work, but I have to agree with what others have said. The line work on the turtle shell isn't your best. They seem too much like they were drawn on to an already existing semi-circle of green.

However, I do like the concept. Forlorn turtle in the cold, yet has a bit of holiday cheer. Making his shell the tree is pretty cool too. But as my dad liked to say about good-but-not-quite-that-good movies, "It could use one more rewrite." Polish a bit and you not only have my vote, but a definite buy as well.

kate1188 wrote:I love this shirt, I definitely want one!

And I don't know what everyone's talking about him looking dead and cold. I could tell he was smiling as soon as I saw him, he's adorable, makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside.

I sure would like some of whatever you're smokin ;-) He has no mouth showing. How can you tell he's smiling? You must have super powers.

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I love it, but you couldn't have made it bigger?

Thanks everyone for the kind words and votes on the design I went through several different colored versions but ultimately decided on this style because I thought it looked cute and a little whimsical, while still getting the point across.

snarkygal wrote:I sure would like some of whatever you're smokin ;-) He has no mouth showing. How can you tell he's smiling? You must have super powers.

Not super powers, I'm pretty sure his little smile is visible to the naked eye. To me he looks a happy, a little sleepy, and overall just content in his cozy shell.

animuson wrote:I love it, but you couldn't have made it bigger?

The shirt comp shows the placement of the design, but the sizing on the shirt is more of a suggestion and actually just depends on the size of shirt that you order. I simply send over the print-ready art to woot and they deal with it, but they only make two design sizes, one for K2-WXL, and one for MS-3X- So the sizing shouldn't really be different from what you've seen on other shirts.

Thanks again everyone

Re: Warm and Cozy

I don't like this shirt. It doesn't make sense, it isn't clever, and it's really just exploitative like almost all of Ramy's designs... I also don't like how this turtle's eyes were gouged out and replaced with the black, lifeless beads they use on teddy bears.

snarkygal wrote:I sure would like some of whatever you're smokin ;-) He has no mouth showing. How can you tell he's smiling? You must have super powers.

Marlboro 27's. enjoy.

If you look closely you can see just a tiny curl of a smile coming up his face. Is it just me seeing that?

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yes! ramyb! saw this a mile away

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Um you do realize the animal kingdom is huge, right? It doesn't just consist of rabbits, turtles and penguins...

WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT

in the words of the great Jerry Seinfeld...

"That sounds about right."

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Cute idea here, but I do agree the line work on the turtle's shell could have been done much cleaner.

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Wow really cool!

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I would definitely buy this shirt.

I just don't see a cozy turtle. I see a turtle who looks depressed. The eyes could be much improved to convey comfort instead of their current ambiguous state, and I see what someone else pointed out as a smile, but only after trying to search for it. Would not translate well to a shirt someone is supposed to look at briefly and understand the message.

If this had no title, I would think the back story of the design was someone had a pet turtle they decorated, then abandoned out in the snow. He is outdoors when it is freezing out, laying in snow, and he looks depressed. I just don't understand the love for it.

Quicksloth wrote:I just don't see a cozy turtle. I see a turtle who looks depressed. The eyes could be much improved to convey comfort instead of their current ambiguous state, and I see what someone else pointed out as a smile, but only after trying to search for it. Would not translate well to a shirt someone is supposed to look at briefly and understand the message.

If this had no title, I would think the back story of the design was someone had a pet turtle they decorated, then abandoned out in the snow. He is outdoors when it is freezing out, laying in snow, and he looks depressed. I just don't understand the love for it.

That's how I interpret it also.

Anyone else counting 7 colors?

cakeninjak wrote:Anyone else counting 7 colors?

The design is 6 colors (black, white, two greens, red and yellow, plus the royal blue shirt color).

cakeninjak wrote:That's how I interpret it also.

Anyone else counting 7 colors?

I only count six, every time I go through it. The back half of the turtle has some nice shadow work that looks like another use of color, but is just use of small green and black lines that make it go from kinda a dark lime to a forest green effect. It's pretty nice work on the back actually.

I just don't like the spirals on the turtle shell as much as I would like. But other than that it isn't half bad.

Quicksloth wrote:I just don't see a cozy turtle. I see a turtle who looks depressed. The eyes could be much improved to convey comfort instead of their current ambiguous state, and I see what someone else pointed out as a smile, but only after trying to search for it. Would not translate well to a shirt someone is supposed to look at briefly and understand the message.

If this had no title, I would think the back story of the design was someone had a pet turtle they decorated, then abandoned out in the snow. He is outdoors when it is freezing out, laying in snow, and he looks depressed. I just don't understand the love for it.

I honestly thought it was supposed to be dead.

It's cold-blooded and out in the snow. Not a good combination.

Maybe it is a commentary about the fatality of materialism overcoming common sense?

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It's BLOB! Sorry ramy, that's all I can see. Also, I don't celebrate christmas...

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Cute. Smile too subtle, I guess. Warm and cozy theme would work better on a long sleeve shirt, preferably something sweatshirt-esque.

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Cue!

chumpmagic wrote:The thing that bothers me the most is the snow on the top of his shell is levitating. The yellow and shirt color seem to exist underneath it. I'm not sure if that is meant to be a reflection, but it looks like a lack of polishing.

Now that you've pointed that out, I can't unsee it.

Ok where have I seen this turtle before. I know I have. It didnt have the snow and lights, but I would swear Ive seen it before.

amc6 wrote:Ok where have I seen this turtle before. I know I have. It didnt have the snow and lights, but I would swear Ive seen it before.

Here? Or here? Or maybe here.

Re: Warm and Cozy

This one definitely has my vote!! Too cute!

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this turtle is definitely dying. and some Jormungandr kid seems to have decorated it. now not only is he dying but he looks Makura-gaeshi.

4 out of 5 experts agree: turtles are not warm and fuzzy when sitting in the snow. dying.

ichimunki wrote:Cute. Smile too subtle, I guess. Warm and cozy theme would work better on a long sleeve shirt, preferably something sweatshirt-esque.

Warm and cozy would work better if it wasn't a dead or dying cold blooded creature in the snow.

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I know that some people love to make snide remarks and make comments in an attempt to ruin designs for others, but this shirt is very clearly not intended to be a depiction of a true-to-life scene, and therefore a suspension of reality is in order. I'm not saying everyone who commented that he looks like he is cold is out to ruin Christmas for the rest of us, but the idea that this design has a hidden terrible message behind it is just unfounded. The way the turtle and the scene are drawn evoke a certain mood through the cute style and the posing and expression on the turtle, as well as the decorations on his "home." For all we know, he could have a space heater inside the shell, or be a super mutant turtle, or be heavily insulated, because any of these scenarios are possible in a cartoon scene. But all of that is totally irrelevant, because with just the elements that are drawn on the shirt, it is clear that the turtle isn't unhappy and therefore it is not a shirt about animal cruelty and experimentation on pets by evil children. As already mentioned, the turtle is smiling, and his pose is similar to that of snuggling up under a warm blanket. The Christmas lights give the design a holiday mood, and the season happens to be winter. The design is called warm and cozy because he actually looks warm and cozy under his shell. There is nothing about this design that implies death or dying unless you choose to see it. Just to be sure, I polled around 20 people who neither have woot accounts nor knew that I drew the design, and all the responses were along the lines of either " aww so cute," or "that's funny, he looks like a Christmas tree." No depressing, no awful, no PETA should be alerted.

To everyone who enjoyed this design and looked at it as it was intended to be, thanks again

Re: Warm and Cozy

Love the shell pattern and tiny holiday lights.

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Cute design and pretty colors. I like how he kind of looks like a Christmas tree from a distance.

ramyb wrote:I know that some people love to make snide remarks and make comments in an attempt to ruin designs for others, but this shirt is very clearly not intended to be a depiction of a true-to-life scene, and therefore a suspension of reality is in order. I'm not saying everyone who commented that he looks like he is cold is out to ruin Christmas for the rest of us, but the idea that this design has a hidden terrible message behind it is just unfounded. The way the turtle and the scene are drawn evoke a certain mood through the cute style and the posing and expression on the turtle, as well as the decorations on his "home." For all we know, he could have a space heater inside the shell, or be a super mutant turtle, or be heavily insulated, because any of these scenarios are possible in a cartoon scene. But all of that is totally irrelevant, because with just the elements that are drawn on the shirt, it is clear that the turtle isn't unhappy and therefore it is not a shirt about animal cruelty and experimentation on pets by evil children. As already mentioned, the turtle is smiling, and his pose is similar to that of snuggling up under a warm blanket. The Christmas lights give the design a holiday mood, and the season happens to be winter. The design is called warm and cozy because he actually looks warm and cozy under his shell. There is nothing about this design that implies death or dying unless you choose to see it. Just to be sure, I polled around 20 people who neither have woot accounts nor knew that I drew the design, and all the responses were along the lines of either " aww so cute," or "that's funny, he looks like a Christmas tree." No depressing, no awful, no PETA should be alerted.

To everyone who enjoyed this design and looked at it as it was intended to be, thanks again

You can't fool me!

Clearly the next step for you is cute little children kicking equally cute little puppies! I see through your nefarious design trickery!

;)

Note: For those of you interpreting this as a validation of your complaints about the turtle looking dead, please understand that this was a joke, as noted by the little smily with a wink. Thank you.

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I LOVE it I loved it from the thumbnail. I love turtles, stars, Christmas, snow, blue - it's awesome. He looks so cute snuggled under his decorated shell.

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It's cute and all, but... meh. While I don't really mind the "cruder" art style of this one (a criticism from others), I just don't feel taken in by the subject. I don't see holiday cheer, I see loneliness, apathy, and laziness. Can't wear it.

I wish I were good enough to be constantly hated.

I don't think everything that Ramyb makes is genius, but apparently there are tons who do - namely anyone who spends their days fury-posting to get out personal inadequacy issues.

To the people who actually post valid criticism, sometimes I agree.

But when the comments are "A turtle exists in nature somewhere, and someone at some point in time has drawn a turtle before, and so has this artist, THEREFORE - what we are seeing is copyright fraud, art stealing, and redundancy," all that is really apparent is there is nothing to complain about, so they just make something up.

Of course, I will be chastised for being a fan-boy supporter - or too new to comment - or a sheeple who doesn't have free thought or concept of what is good and right in this world (nevermind that each of those comments are done, rehashed and just as unoriginal as what they say the art is.) But hey...I'm being redundant too...because right now - no, I don't have anything better to do than say:

I wish I were good enough to draw the kind of hatred that Ramyb does. I'd just get ignored if I submitted something. Because it would actually BE bad, or off topic, or some of the other inane rants that these kids go off on.

Quicksloth wrote:I just don't see a cozy turtle. I see a turtle who looks depressed. The eyes could be much improved to convey comfort instead of their current ambiguous state, and I see what someone else pointed out as a smile, but only after trying to search for it. Would not translate well to a shirt someone is supposed to look at briefly and understand the message.

It's just going to get dismissed as ramy-hate, but you're right.

This is a bummed out turtle.

I didn't realize, until Ramy said so, that it was supposed to look otherwise.

SunnyLea0 wrote:It's just going to get dismissed as ramy-hate, but you're right.

This is a bummed out turtle.

I didn't realize, until Ramy said so, that it was supposed to look otherwise.

It's interesting that some people saw the turtle as happy and others saw it as sad. I personally thought it was a happy turtle, maybe because I was happy to see a design I liked so much.

I guess just like some people see the glass as half full, others half empty.

ramyb wrote:I know that some people love to make snide remarks and make comments in an attempt to ruin designs for others, but this shirt is very clearly not intended to be a depiction of a true-to-life scene, and therefore a suspension of reality is in order.

Suspension of belief is not the same as willingness to look past bad concept. A turtle in a nice big sweater, in the snow, would be suspension of disbelief. But just sitting in the snow, with nothing, doesn't read as warm nor cozy to many (including myself). It looks like a turtle in the snow, struggling to keep its eyes open before they close for good.

Not to mention some serious execution problems, like only a couple of the lights cast ANY light, the snow has a weird gap between it and the top of the shell that shows the star through it, and the shell designs aren't thought out, nor consistently drawn.

I don't mind the singularity in your drawing of turtles, but this design is straight weak, from concept to final. If it gets chosen over others in the fog it will be a real shame.

ramyb wrote:I know that some people love to make snide remarks and make comments in an attempt to ruin designs for others, but this shirt is very clearly not intended to be a depiction of a true-to-life scene, and therefore a suspension of reality is in order. I'm not saying everyone who commented that he looks like he is cold is out to ruin Christmas for the rest of us, but the idea that this design has a hidden terrible message behind it is just unfounded. The way the turtle and the scene are drawn evoke a certain mood through the cute style and the posing and expression on the turtle, as well as the decorations on his "home." For all we know, he could have a space heater inside the shell, or be a super mutant turtle, or be heavily insulated, because any of these scenarios are possible in a cartoon scene. But all of that is totally irrelevant, because with just the elements that are drawn on the shirt, it is clear that the turtle isn't unhappy and therefore it is not a shirt about animal cruelty and experimentation on pets by evil children. As already mentioned, the turtle is smiling, and his pose is similar to that of snuggling up under a warm blanket. The Christmas lights give the design a holiday mood, and the season happens to be winter. The design is called warm and cozy because he actually looks warm and cozy under his shell. There is nothing about this design that implies death or dying unless you choose to see it. Just to be sure, I polled around 20 people who neither have woot accounts nor knew that I drew the design, and all the responses were along the lines of either " aww so cute," or "that's funny, he looks like a Christmas tree." No depressing, no awful, no PETA should be alerted.

To everyone who enjoyed this design and looked at it as it was intended to be, thanks again

Have you ever heard that you shouldn't have to defend your work... it should be able to defend itself?

If that many people make genuine comment that they think that the turtle does not look happy, then obviously, there is something within your design that is making them think that. You, however, need to discern between the good criticism and people who are just being insulting. Personally, I felt the same as them when I looked at it. I thought he was a pet turtle who was decorated by whoever owned him and was upset about it. The fact that Christmas lights do not exist in nature should show that enough.

You said you showed it to people and got responses like, "aww, how cute" and "that's funny". I'm sorry, but that really wouldn't help ME get any better. Obviously, if you're going to sit here and only accept those comments and deny all criticism, then you are both not looking or willing to change. If you don't care to improve... why bother even care about the "snide remarks"? Ignore them and accept only comments that make you get that warm and fuzzy feeling inside.

Good luck in your future ventures. You obviously DO have talent somewhere in there and I would love to see you take people's suggestions and actually try it.

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jackreickel and Insondavel have valid points. Although this is in the fog, ramyb, it's got some serious issues. The reason people can't seem to agree on the 'feeling' behind this design is that the turtle is virtually expressionless. Amorphous and ambiguous. The teeny brush stroke intended as a smile is so small, it can be mistaken for an error in the linework. Five little strokes of a small brush could add crinkles at the corners of the eyes, and expand that smile. Then everyone could go back to complaining about their usual issues with your work (not commenting on the validity of any of those. I am Switzerland).
So, basically, I agree that this was rather badly done.

Definitely love this cute and festive turtle. The color contrast is great, his smirk is adorable and I can't wait to wear this on the holidays, lounging in pajama pants, loafers and toting a big mug of cocoa.

*Cheers*

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I think the idea is really clever. I even like the shell that so many are taking issue with. I'm with paige on the amorophous nature of his face, though; he seems to be lacking all expression. Put some real eyes on there, make the smile more than a trick of the shadows and I think this would look pretty good.

julejules wrote:It's interesting that some people saw the turtle as happy and others saw it as sad. I personally thought it was a happy turtle, maybe because I was happy to see a design I liked so much.

I guess just like some people see the glass as half full, others half empty.

Sheesh, I'm not a pessimist just because a dead-eyed turtle with an invisible smile looks sad to me.

I'm normally quite the optimist, I promise!

Re: Warm and Cozy

As always, people have a lot to say about this artist's designs. I glanced at it earlier in the derby, noted that my initial thought was he was an Eeyore character of Christmas... trying to be happy and bright, but still bein' a one turtle gloom squad.

I would have enjoyed the design more, perhaps, if it were taken that way, because the support of that concept is what I see in the drawing. The slight smile is too slight. The posture suggests stiffness and isolation instead of cuddling against oneself.

I understand the intent of the drawing after reading through the comments. However, it should be considered that there are better poses/ways to demonstrate such an idea.

Not saying this is the most outrageously horrible thing I ever have seen. Not at all. It still carries a lot of wonderful design attributes that the artist is known for. I simply think this is significantly weaker than recent entries and not a particularly strong design, for my tastes, in this derby.

Perhaps there were some people who voted because they wanted the Eeyore type of Christmas character. The success of ambiguous designs is that it could be read a number of ways by a large number of observers. :P

Rally-ho!

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really beautiful! very cute!

CityVelo wrote:As always, people have a lot to say about this artist's designs. I glanced at it earlier in the derby, noted that my initial thought was he was an Eeyore character of Christmas... trying to be happy and bright, but still bein' a one turtle gloom squad.

Agreed. I'm gathering that what I took to be shading on the turtle's neck is intended to be the smile. Considering the derby theme, I totally read this as the turtle going to the dark place that many people go during the holidays. He's in the cold and alone, just him & his home. Even the decorations can't break the funk of another Christmas season.

My vision is not warm, cozy, happiness, it's the vision/emotion of Miles in the diner drinking his beloved bottle of Cheval Blanc from a styrofoam cup (Sideways).

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I can never read your character's expressions, Ramy. If he's happy, it's lost on me.

ramyb wrote:I know that some people love to make snide remarks and make comments in an attempt to ruin designs for others, but this shirt is very clearly not intended to be a depiction of a true-to-life scene, and therefore a suspension of reality is in order. I'm not saying everyone who commented that he looks like he is cold is out to ruin Christmas for the rest of us, but the idea that this design has a hidden terrible message behind it is just unfounded. The way the turtle and the scene are drawn evoke a certain mood through the cute style and the posing and expression on the turtle, as well as the decorations on his "home." For all we know, he could have a space heater inside the shell, or be a super mutant turtle, or be heavily insulated, because any of these scenarios are possible in a cartoon scene. But all of that is totally irrelevant, because with just the elements that are drawn on the shirt, it is clear that the turtle isn't unhappy and therefore it is not a shirt about animal cruelty and experimentation on pets by evil children. As already mentioned, the turtle is smiling, and his pose is similar to that of snuggling up under a warm blanket. The Christmas lights give the design a holiday mood, and the season happens to be winter. The design is called warm and cozy because he actually looks warm and cozy under his shell. There is nothing about this design that implies death or dying unless you choose to see it. Just to be sure, I polled around 20 people who neither have woot accounts nor knew that I drew the design, and all the responses were along the lines of either " aww so cute," or "that's funny, he looks like a Christmas tree." No depressing, no awful, no PETA should be alerted.

To everyone who enjoyed this design and looked at it as it was intended to be, thanks again

paragraph break, my man.

Re: Warm and Cozy

I think he looked mischievous, likes he's a 10 year-old boy pretending to be a christmas tree. It's rather cute.

Jestik wrote:paragraph break, my man.

LOL! He's practically channeling Adder. OM frickin GOD! Too funny a thought!

Oh my god, I need to have this shirt! I would like to wear it when my turtles open their Christmas presents!

Insondavel wrote:
If that many people make genuine comment that they think that the turtle does not look happy, then obviously, there is something within your design that is making them think that. You, however, need to discern between the good criticism and people who are just being insulting. Personally, I felt the same as them when I looked at it. I thought he was a pet turtle who was decorated by whoever owned him and was upset about it. The fact that Christmas lights do not exist in nature should show that enough.

I'm sure nobody will read this, but I felt obligated to respond.

I, for one, saw exactly what Ramyb described when I first looked at the design. I saw a content turtle who was snuggled under his newly decorated home. I also thought the take on the shell as the home was clever. I think the biggest issues with what people see are perception based. With this sort of design, I could imagine it could be seen as both content or depressed depending on one's current outlook.