Re: Cooler than You

I was all like: "Weren't those banned this derby?" And then I was all up and checking the rules and then I was all like "Wow they forgot penguins."

No support from me, but I can see people liking this shirt, as it IS what the masses desire.

Re: Cooler than You

So no bunnies, kittens, or turtles, and somebody on the derby discussion said we'd get penguins. They were so right.

Seriously, 90% of Ramy's designs are just cheaply made "cutesy" animal designs.

Ramy has talent, he really does, some of his designs just ooze goodness, but most of them are lazy rehashes.

tgentry wrote:We're looking for some kind of nod to devices that the music is stored on, so for instance an old radio would not fit that. However boomboxes and Walkman's both had cassette players, so you could potentially make the design on topic using one of these devices. Just make sure it's clear that there's some kind of out of date music storage device involved.

If this design fulfills the criteria of the desired outcome, it is only by the slimmest of margins.

elviswind wrote:If this design fulfills the criteria of the desired outcome, it is only by the slimmest of margins.

Agreed not that it matters.

Re: Cooler than You

I used to have a pair of big-ass, padded leather headphones exactly like that. They were cool, although not quite as convenient as ear buds...

Re: Cooler than You

I'm not a member of the "slam Ramy" crowd that regularly surfaces in these threads, but every week I'm becoming more likely to think "Okay, until Ramy starts doing original designs he's not getting my votes anymore."

This is cute, and I have no issue with cartoony designs or playing to the masses, but it's cartoon animals in a row, again. This derby's already full of great, creative works; it's fertile ground. Just a thought.

Re: Cooler than You

With Imposter being around as long as it has, this should get rejected for pop culture and woot related.

Spiritgreen wrote:I used to have a pair of big-ass, padded leather headphones exactly like that. They were cool, although not quite as convenient as ear buds...

Haven't I seen this exact design a few times before?

Re: Cooler than You

The headphones are detailed, yet the penguins are quite flat. Almost looks like two completely different styles.

Re: Cooler than You

Lovely!

Re: Cooler than You

It's really cute. Except I have pretty much the exact same shirt with a bunny-penguin in the middle...Would that be redundant?

wow QQ more.

Keep it going Ramyb GMV +1.

Re: Cooler than You

Not sure I'd buy it but it's not a bad shirt. The coloring is really nice and I like the cartooning on the penguins(these don't bother me like some of his other penguin designs do).

I will now send the link to my friend who hates penguins just to hear her complain. =]

While I do like puffy headphones, I'm not a fan of the design.

I'm glad you gook my advice and put the cassette and MP3 players BEHIND their hands (wings? Fins?) and not just floating on top of them.

* * * * R E M I N D E R * * * *

Posts in this and any thread are expected to be civil without any name calling, trolling, or other prohibited behavior. That doesn't mean you can't critique -- it means you do so in a mature manner.

The thread is now clean. You are now warned. Any further posts along these lines might very well earn you a time out.

Re: Cooler than You

Here is my critique. Maybe something other than a cutesy penguin (or insert random overdone animal) would have made this worthwile. When I saw the thumbnail, I said to myself "no", then clicked the image, and realized, yes, it was what I thought it was... this can't get my vote obviously.
I do like the headphones, I think they look great, the rest of the drawing leaves much to be desired.
Dude, I know you have talent, I've can see it in most of your stuff. Why not try and use it, instead of thumbing your nose at your critics?

Re: Cooler than You

The one thing that particularly stands out is the "snow thing" they are on and the lines coming from it...I'd be curious to know whether they're supposed to be on an iceberg or whether they're simply on a patch of snow...

Re: Cooler than You

I don't mind this design at all. It's the slapdash designs that irks me; however, one thing I noticed is that the blue halftone could come up a bit. The arch of the headphones gets lost in the dark color T. The shirt placement is not even noticeable, but even the larger image struggles a tad. If the blue halftone was brought up a bit, then the arc of the headphones would be more defined.

Sorry if someone made this critique, but I hope you understand why I don't read through this entire thread :P

ThunderThighs wrote:R E M I N D E R

Posts in this and any thread are expected to be civil without any name calling, trolling, or other prohibited behavior. That doesn't mean you can't critique -- it means you do so in a mature manner.

The thread is now clean. You are now warned. Any further posts along these lines might very well earn you a time out.

That is one big hammer! Did you get that at Home Depot? ;)

My only critique would be to ask why didn't you research the extinct penguins for 15 minutes and use the Great Auk?
It would have fit beautiful to incorporate an extinct penguin with extinct music mediums.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Auk

I am really surprised more artists aren't zeroing in on this, e.g. Dodo listening to a Victrola?

Re: Cooler than You

I was kind of hoping ramy would at least pick a songbird for his design this week. It'd work well with the 'cute' art style he usually goes with and be something new. Plus it'd be more relevant to the theme imho.

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I'm sorry you guys have such problems with Ramy. I love his shirts. Yeah, he reuses a lot of his designs/themes. But it's a brand. People like brands. There's not ONE person who commented on this thread who isn't loyal to one brand or another, whether intentional or not. So you're just as bad as the people you slam for voting for and buying Ramy's shirts. Just a thought.

Re: Cooler than You

Similar Shirts Exist.


(do I really need to link it?????)

I almost couldn't tell this was Ramy's from the thumbnail because of the detail on the headphones, but the penguins was a definite tip off. All in all, I'd still say it is one of his better efforts in recent memory.

lilaviel wrote:I'm sorry you guys have such problems with Ramy. I love his shirts. Yeah, he reuses a lot of his designs/themes. But it's a brand. People like brands. There's not ONE person who commented on this thread who isn't loyal to one brand or another, whether intentional or not. So you're just as bad as the people you slam for voting for and buying Ramy's shirts. Just a thought.

Some brands garner popularity because of their willingness to bring something new to the table. Some garner popularity by their refusal to. I don't think anyone would care if Ramy started an actual brand. It is his frequency of ignoring themes (this design doesn't have a single outdated audio format, only a receptacle for them, which is pretty clearly not what woot wanted if you read the original thread).

The fact is, a brand is not so simple as you think. There are brands that stand for something, and exist because they care about what they are representing, not solely for making quick bucks. There are brands that rely on a pointless name and meaningless hype to shill identical, boring product. One is good and one is bad. One's fans will change the world, and one's will run it into the ground because they refuse to ever re-evaluate anything.

AdderXYU wrote:I don't think anyone would care if Ramy started an actual brand. It is his frequency of ignoring themes.

I think this is a very important point to make. Many of us dislike Ramy's designs, but honestly I couldn't care less if he decided to produce them himself on his own website. One would think with the number of derbies he's won he'd have the capital to start it up, and considering his number of fans I doubt he'd have problem sustaining it. The issue isn't his designs alone, it's that they're (to us) subpar entries in a derby that we'd hope would produce original, thoughtful, and interesting t-shirts, not just more bunnies/turtles/penguins.

AdderXYU wrote:(this design doesn't have a single outdated audio format, only a receptacle for them, which is pretty clearly not what woot wanted if you read the original thread)

You must have missed in the theme description:

"Utilize the simplicity of the form and honor thy vinyl or tape or Walkman."

... just sayin

mikenytola wrote:You must have missed in the theme description:

"Utilize the simplicity of the form and honor thy vinyl or tape or Walkman."

... just sayin

Agreed and there are other Walkman's in the grouping of entries. As well as Victrolas which are really just devices to play the stored music though with those you can at least see the record.


Also, this is Ekio's Husband "Hubb" speaking. Because I'm a slacker and don't have an account.
RamyB, I want you to know, I absolutely love everything you do. Want to know if you could do something just creative for me at some point. A penguin rabbi, a turtle priest and a bunny minister, and one other critter in a Beatles Penny Lane type style. Because it would be awesome and probably tick off every one of the naysayers. Your incredibly talented, keep it up.

ekio wrote:Agreed and there are other Walkman's in the grouping of entries. As well as Victrolas which are really just devices to play the stored music though with those you can at least see the record.

I wouldn't mind this design but the four little penguin's earplugs/headphones seem to not make contact to their heads

megadog wrote:I wouldn't mind this design but the four little penguin's earplugs/headphones seem to not make contact to their heads

This too. I know anatomy isn't always accurate in shirts, but it doesn't make a whole lot of sense for those penguins to have earbud-style headphones when they lack distinctive outer ear anatomy.

ChaosDoctor07 wrote:This too. I know anatomy isn't always accurate in shirts, but it doesn't make a whole lot of sense for those penguins to have earbud-style headphones when they lack distinctive outer ear anatomy.

i agree about correct anatomy but if you zoom in to this image the headphones/earplugs of the four little penguins do not actually touch their heads
sorry for being a bit pedantic but this is just the sort of thing that gets at me

AdderXYU wrote:(this design doesn't have a single outdated audio format, only a receptacle for them, which is pretty clearly not what woot wanted if you read the original thread)

Perhaps you missed the Walkman in the center.

Aw...PHAT little penguins are so dang cute!

Jestik wrote:Similar Shirts Exist.


(do I really need to link it?????)

+1. It's the same shirt that gets saved at the last minute every single Monday: it's hard not to notice it.

Re: Cooler than You

The floaty-ness of the earbuds on the regular penguins bugs me a little because it was the same floaty issue that made me not interested/dislike the turtle entry from last week. Also, it strikes me that if it weren't for the no penguins rule last week, this could have easily been entered in the oddball derby and fared a bit better than the mutant turtles attempt. Last thing, I feel like I am seeing a 7th color of orange on the punk-penguin's mohawk, but assume that is just halftones or some such thing that give the effect.

This shirt already exists.

I bought "Impostor" for my girlfriend and she really liked it, however repeating the exact same design should not be rewarded. You did a good job once, now do something else.

AdderXYU wrote: It is his frequency of ignoring themes (this design doesn't have a single outdated audio format, only a receptacle for them, which is pretty clearly not what woot wanted if you read the original thread).

Nitpick much? Maybe you should read the rules a bit more carefully:

"Maybe it's a lovingly-rendered vinyl collection, an epic mix tape, or your favorite reel to reel. Utilize the simplicity of the form and honor thy vinyl or tape or WALKMAN."

Seems to be exactly on theme. Good try though. Continue the blind bashing...

Great design as always, and as always you have my vote.

Re: Cooler than You

Wait... I'm confused... This is basicly the same design and style done here but this one was printed and designed by and artist named sekiyoku... how in the world is this possible?

DJTweekNYC wrote:Wait... I'm confused... This is basicly the same design and style done here but this one was printed and designed by and artist named sekiyoku... how in the world is this possible?

if you read the first comment in the derby thread for that shirt, you will see it was a collaboration between sekiyoku and ramyb.

Nice design. Honestly, I got a big yawn from the other designs posted thus far. I can imagine someone wearing this shirt 'cause it's fun.

AdderXYU wrote: (this design doesn't have a single outdated audio format, only a receptacle for them, which is pretty clearly not what woot wanted if you read the original thread).

"Utilize the simplicity of the form and honor thy vinyl or tape or Walkman."

Meanwhile Draxx has an entry that clearly violates the "no pop-culture references" rule with his Cthulhu-themed shirt but somehow adder turns a blind eye.

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People like the familiar. People like to read books about the same character. Why shouldn't people who like these Penguin designs get to buy more of them. If the people don't want something, they won't vote for it. And if they vote for it, they want it.

btw, this is Diana's mother who thinks people are being way to critical of this artist.

(Edit... Diana here. I'd just like to say, Woot meet my mom. =/ I will now log out my account from her computer so she can't post under my name. /////)

DianaSprinkle wrote:People like the familiar. People like to read books about the same character. Why shouldn't people who like these Penguin designs get to buy more of them. If the people don't want something, they won't vote for it. And if they vote for it, they want it.

btw, this is Diana's mother who thinks people are being way to critical of this artist.

(Edit... Diana here. I'd just like to say, Woot meet my mom. =/ I will now log out my account from her computer so she can't post under my name. /////)

This logic only works a couple of times before you get fed up that other artists just dont catch a break.

You have a cool daughter.

Diana, you have a cool mother.

I am also cool as well.

DoublEE wrote:"Utilize the simplicity of the form and honor thy vinyl or tape or Walkman."

Meanwhile Draxx has an entry that clearly violates the "no pop-culture references" rule with his Cthulhu-themed shirt but somehow adder turns a blind eye.

The Drakxxx design has the benefit of being about 1 trillion times better than this one by any measure beyond "I <3 penguins". Cthulhu is a classic literature reference, which might very well be a breach of the pop culture rule, depending on how Woot views it. Either way, it's a very good, pretty damn creative design. My best guess is that Drakxxx and CrescentDebris decided to give it a shot and see how Woot called it.

I know you're sick of Cthulhu designs. However, there's a saying about movies that applies: "it's not what they're about, but how they're about it." That's how I view it. 1,000 Cthulhu prints, done as creatively as Drakxxx and CD do them, are not redundant at all. Same with RGlee's robots, or TruffleShuffle's monsters.

Regardless, Drakxxx and CD have also earned the benefit of the doubt. They are consistently creative as hell. Ramyb has gone out of his way to shred any measure of benefit of the doubt anyone but his most fervent fanboys have for him. Drakxxx and CD have earned leeway that Ramyb hasn't. Calling out the latter while letting the former off the hook is not at all hypocritical. The context is the important thing.

palookaboy wrote:Yeah, when the banhammer went down on turtles, I noticed that penguins hadn't been on the list either, so I kind of saw something like this coming. I just don't know how many shirts someone can design of penguins standing around doing something. It's just not very original.



I think this is a very important point to make. Many of us dislike Ramy's designs, but honestly I couldn't care less if he decided to produce them himself on his own website. One would think with the number of derbies he's won he'd have the capital to start it up, and considering his number of fans I doubt he'd have problem sustaining it. The issue isn't his designs alone, it's that they're (to us) subpar entries in a derby that we'd hope would produce original, thoughtful, and interesting t-shirts, not just more bunnies/turtles/penguins.

I like this idea. I think it would make everybody happy.

Re: Cooler than You

I like this shirt. I like the color scheme. I think the blue on black looks much better than imposter. I like how the peguins sporting the ipods look at the center peguin like the punk outcast that he is. He's using something that's been "done before". Holy crap, that's a whole new level of irony and lulz which hasn't been mentioned...

In fact, I will go so far as to suggest that life imitates art based on this shirt. Because while ramby AND >>sekiyoku<< did something similar in the past, much like the center penguin, this design is different. All the other penguins with their fancy new ipods lean away and look at the penguin in the center with what is that, rage? condescension? or maybe jealousy? Because he's still cooler than them.

Yes, we get it. There are much more skilled illustrations out there; however, T-Shirts are not the Guggenheim. Not everyone will understand exceptional art, nor will it speak to everyone the same. So if you're angry someone else's designs are doing better, design something everyone likes more (or put your art up in a museum). Complaining about something does nothing to solve the problem. You want to be taken seriously then compete honestly and drop the mud slinging; it only make you look like the monkies at the zoo (they aren't slinging mud though).

**Original flame response reduced from mushroom cloud to Zippo. :D

Re: Cooler than You

I know it's been said already, but this is rather impressively predictable. Take penguins off the list of prohibited animals this time, and ramyb does a penguin shirt, which is even quite similar to Imposter. It almost feels like he did the design he would have used for the oddball derby if penguins had been allowed. I like cute things, and I like penguins, and I'm not even one of the people who absolutely hates ramyb, but "Variations on the Theme of Cute Animals in a Row" is getting kind of old. (Actually, "Variations on the Theme of Cute Animals in a Row" could be a pretty funny shirt, if the right derby theme ever came up and there was a way to make it not too woot-related.)

bookworm656 wrote:I know it's been said already, but this is rather impressively predictable. Take penguins off the list of prohibited animals this time, and ramyb does a penguin shirt, which is even quite similar to Imposter. It almost feels like he did the design he would have used for the oddball derby if penguins had been allowed. I like cute things, and I like penguins, and I'm not even one of the people who absolutely hates ramyb, but "Variations on the Theme of Cute Animals in a Row" is getting kind of old. (Actually, "Variations on the Theme of Cute Animals in a Row" could be a pretty funny shirt, if the right derby theme ever came up and there was a way to make it not too woot-related.)

I would say it's closer to "A Peculiar Discovery" but that's just me.

I would totally wear this shirt, and I may even buy it.
The format and subject matter are totally overused, but... I like penguins, and I like big headphones. I'm sorry.

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Ramsy is a pot of gold!!!!!!!!! I love his shirts and am sadden that I missed so many T_T. My cousin is addicted to penguins, I'm addicted to bunnies, boyfriend is addicted to cats, we all like ferrets, a girlfriend of mine is addicted to pandas so you can bet on what I bought this week.

icymallard wrote:This logic only works a couple of times before you get fed up that other artists just dont catch a break.

You have a cool daughter.

Diana, you have a cool mother.

I am also cool as well.

As to artist catching a break I'm sure the woot team saves some of the entrys for later. if not I would like them to. I've seen some really horrible shirts on this site that did not sell well. have you noticed the tally on the first time buyers? I understand vintage wooters may be sick of certain themes but for those of us that are new to the site, if we like it we like it. no need to be a art snob about tshirts. If you truely surrport an artist that dose not win in a derby send them an email asking them to place it on redbubble or cafe express or if they can take it to a shirt printer for you. Also some might send you the file so you can go print it your self. In the end this is a store woot makes $, the fact they have derbys is unique and surrports peoples art. even if you dont win, you still feel good about the votes and comments you got.

There are many designs that are beautiful pieces of art work, I print them out and stick them on my wall. I don't always want to walk around in a artsie tshirt that blends in. When I buy tshirts I think of the reactions I will get or the reactions of the people I give them to. Cute and funny wins for the smile it puts on peoples faces. It's better then a ? and having to explain it's message or referance.

jmmbell1987 wrote:The Drakxxx design has the benefit of being about 1 trillion times better than this one by any measure beyond "I <3 penguins".

Your opinion, not necessarily shared by everyone.

My point is that some people want to selectively enforce the rules when it's convenient for their Ramby bashing.

sTyLeS wrote:The headphones are detailed, yet the penguins are quite flat. Almost looks like two completely different styles.

You must be looking at a different design than me. The penguins have highlight and shadows, and look quite round. Perhaps you mean the smooth texture?

DoublEE wrote:Nitpick much? Maybe you should read the rules a bit more carefully:

"Maybe it's a lovingly-rendered vinyl collection, an epic mix tape, or your favorite reel to reel. Utilize the simplicity of the form and honor thy vinyl or tape or WALKMAN."

Seems to be exactly on theme. Good try though. Continue the blind bashing...

I think what he meant was -- and it becomes clear if you read his post carefully -- is that the walkman is not even close to the focus of the shirt. Yes, there is a walkman but it is so small it is there really to keep this shirt on theme and for no other reason. For comparison: pretend this was the "Z" derby and someone posted a shirt with a bunch of penguins lined up and one was dressed really cool and the others weren't. This example is obviously not on theme, right? BUT... in the "cool penguin's" hand, there is a small zebra toy. Tada! On theme.

kylemittskus wrote:For comparison: pretend this was the "Z" derby and someone posted a shirt with a bunch of penguins lined up and one was dressed really cool and the others weren't. This example is obviously not on theme, right? BUT... in the "cool penguin's" hand, there is a small zebra toy. Tada! On theme.

I have to disagree. Because they all have some sort of "audio device" in their wings, it keeps the theme on track. The focus of the shirt is definitely on the fact that the larger penguin the middle has an out-of-date walkman while the smaller ones have i-Pods. It isn't completely off topic like you suggest.

Also, I find the HUGE discussion over all of ramyb's shirts very ironic. The more attention you draw to the shirt, the more people are going to notice it, and the more people that are new to this site are going to vote for it. And the funny thing is that he doesn't really care what you think. It's obvious because he keeps submitting the same types of "cute animals" that fit into the given theme. You can critique him all you want, but you are just wasting time and energy because in the end he does not care. If he did, he wouldn't submit turtles, bunnies, penguins, etc, etc, almost every derby! Type all you want. You are just going to develop arthritis and accomplish absolutely nothing.

sports13 wrote:I have to disagree. Because they all have some sort of "audio device" in their wings, it keeps the theme on track. The focus of the shirt is definitely on the fact that the larger penguin the middle has an out-of-date walkman while the smaller ones have i-Pods. It isn't completely off topic like you suggest.

A) I didn't say it was completely off topic. B) I see what you're saying, but if you see this shirt from anywhere past 1 foot away, then all you see are cute penguins lined up and one with the big headphones separate from the ones with the apple buds. C) Your irony doesn't make any sense. Talking about a shirt doesn't do anything to put it in the hotness or the fog.

Re: Cooler than You

Penguins are my favorite animal, so I have been upset lately over the no penguin rule in the derbies. I was excited to see the ban lifted this week in hopes of a new and awesome shirt.

I really do like this design very much; however, I can't make myself spend the money on yet another Ramyb cartoon penguin shirt. Ramyb is probably one of my favorite artists on here, but I had hoped for something new. It really is a great design, but for the fact he's already done it twice before, and I own and wear both. A person must diversify in their wardrobe just a little.

I am afraid that this once again similar shirt will bring down the woot hammer that much harder on penguin designs, and I will be even less likely to see a new penguin shirt in the future. *sadface. But for that fact, great job on the design. Super cute as always.

kylemittskus wrote:A) I didn't say it was completely off topic. B) I see what you're saying, but if you see this shirt from anywhere past 1 foot away, then all you see are cute penguins lined up and one with the big headphones separate from the ones with the apple buds. C) Your irony doesn't make any sense. Talking about a shirt doesn't do anything to put it in the hotness or the fog.

I agree with you completely, when i first looked at this shirt i had no clue it was on theme, than i saw the itty bitty walkman. I usually like his shirts, but like you've said, its getting old and i think its time for something original and different. I am getting really sick of penguins, turtles, and bunnies. And there is of course the fact that this is extremely similar to his imposter shirt, why it hasnt been rejected is beyond me.

bluejester wrote:The floaty-ness of the earbuds on the regular penguins bugs me a little because it was the same floaty issue that made me not interested/dislike the turtle entry from last week. Also, it strikes me that if it weren't for the no penguins rule last week, this could have easily been entered in the oddball derby and fared a bit better than the mutant turtles attempt. Last thing, I feel like I am seeing a 7th color of orange on the punk-penguin's mohawk, but assume that is just halftones or some such thing that give the effect.

yes it looks like orange - i thought it was just my monitor

I think the fact that there is a "Ramy rule" speaks for itself. Woot has started to ban random combinations of rabbits, penguins, turtle, etc... for some reason. I can't speak to their motives, but would guess this has something to do with the popularity of shirts that seem to be the same exact idea. This idea, being place a set of cute generic animals on a shirt, has been largely popularized and monopolized by RamyB. Thus there is now a "Ramy rule".

If shirt.woot had no interest in creativity or artistic merit, then they would have no reason to enforce rules or create themes. They do so in order to promote interesting, new designs. Picking on this design for being so similar to everything else RamyB has done is completely valid, as the site has a focus on printing creative designs, as well as popular ones.

This shirt may not violate the letter of the law for this week, but it certainly violates the spirit. The "Ramy rule" isn't in place because woot staffers hate bunnies, but love penguins. It's there to avoid the same design we've all seen one hundred times before. Unfortunately the "Ramy rule" did not go far enough and so we are left with this as a probable winner.

sports13 wrote:You can critique him all you want, but you are just wasting time and energy because in the end he does not care.

I can't speak for anyone else, but whether Ramy reads or even cares about the criticisms offered is not my concern. My hope is that by pointing out the consistency of the unoriginal, rule-flouting, and often poorly put together designs, Ramy's stranglehold on the derbies will fade. And in the 18 months (give or take) that I've been following the derbies, I have seen a change (especially lately). I don't expect Ramy to change his design strategy, and I don't expect him to stop submitting to the derbies. I only hope that people will gradually see what we (his critics) see.

mrscat206 wrote:It's really cute. Except I have pretty much the exact same shirt with a bunny-penguin in the middle...Would that be redundant?

Only if you wear them both at the same time

If you've bought 5+ Woot shirts, you should have access to a "I WOULDN'T Buy This" button, which would help Woot understand that not solely the positive voice for a shirt should be accounted for.

I realize fully that this is a delicate and abuse-ready idea, like a Facebook "dislike" button, but..

Re: Cooler than You

Freaking awesome.

headfone wrote:I would totally wear this shirt, and I may even buy it.
The format and subject matter are totally overused, but... I like penguins, and I like big headphones. I'm sorry.

Thank you for the apology. I guess that's a step in the right direction...

I know everybody's piling on Ramy for recycling the same junk over and over again, but come on... he's just trying to win the contests, and this sort of stuff enables him to do that.

The blame lies with those who continue to vote for this uninspired pablum. Grow some taste, people.

Re: Cooler than You

After going back and shuffling through the history of the artist, I can understand where the rage comes from. I find it quite interesting that said artist takes designs and tweaks them just past the point of plagiarism into a remake. Looks like someone learned from the past.

With regards to Woot allowing this, Woot is a business. They are for the making of money and offer the chance for designers to make money as well. In offering up a contest to see which designs are more popular, they are offering the ability to see how each artists' designs would fare in a competitive market. They set rules and keep a fair spirit. If someone stays barely within limit of the rules, they are still legal. Though angering it's fair; such is capitalism. If new rules need made, that's up to Woot; however, in the word's of Jurassic Park, "Nature will always find a way." This guy is one sly customer, so I'm thinking he'll just find a new method (perhaps sharks or koalas or ferrets?).

I would also like to petition for a name change from the "Ramby rule" to the "Remake rule" or even 3R ("Ramby Remake Rule") if you must keep the artist in the spot light.

Having said all of this, I still like the shirt. I feel there are enough (if just barely) changes to make it different from imposter. The black and blue combination makes me happy. The center penguin is also a nod to punk in my mind, which hasn't been mainstream for a long time. If, among the 20 current Derby shirts I like, it sees print, I will buy it. Shrugs.

Re: Cooler than You

for the love of God make it stop with the same characters in all the shirts already. how is the Woot! community keeping this shirt in the running? That's the real question. I'll keep voting for artists who try creating something, not just pandering to the masses. Que sera sera.

Maybe Woot would benefit from the editors selecting their favorite shirt from each week's derby and putting it up for sale on Thursday. I'm guessing they would make better selections than the site's voters have been making as of late, so we'd be more likely to get at least one decent print out of each contest. If the editor's choice turns out to be in the top three anyway they could just sell some old shirt on Thursday like they usually do.

IgnatiusRiley wrote:Maybe Woot would benefit from the editors selecting their favorite shirt from each week's derby and putting it up for sale on Thursday. I'm guessing they would make better selections than the site's voters have been making as of late, so we'd be more likely to get at least one decent print out of each contest. If the editor's choice turns out to be in the top three anyway they could just sell some old shirt on Thursday like they usually do.

I don't usually like the editor's choices anyway though... but if they did do that, they should pick the favorite on Monday, not Thursday, to avoid complications.

deadshot042 wrote:I think the fact that there is a "Ramy rule" speaks for itself. Woot has started to ban random combinations of rabbits, penguins, turtle, etc... for some reason. I can't speak to their motives, but would guess this has something to do with the popularity of shirts that seem to be the same exact idea. This idea, being place a set of cute generic animals on a shirt, has been largely popularized and monopolized by RamyB. Thus there is now a "Ramy rule".

If shirt.woot had no interest in creativity or artistic merit, then they would have no reason to enforce rules or create themes. They do so in order to promote interesting, new designs. Picking on this design for being so similar to everything else RamyB has done is completely valid, as the site has a focus on printing creative designs, as well as popular ones.

This shirt may not violate the letter of the law for this week, but it certainly violates the spirit. The "Ramy rule" isn't in place because woot staffers hate bunnies, but love penguins. It's there to avoid the same design we've all seen one hundred times before. Unfortunately the "Ramy rule" did not go far enough and so we are left with this as a probable winner.

They didn't ban cupcakes, evil cephalopods, etc. If you don't like artists who repeat themselves [and it's not just RamyB], don't vote for their shirts. The shirt is CUTE, but I'm not into the theme this week.

Re: Cooler than You

Man... the moment woot lifts penguins from the banned list, I see this. I know, I know, Ramy is fully within his rights to use penguins this week... but it wouldn't suck so much if it didn't feel like he was dodging and rolling the rules each time.

I can handle cute. But consider branching out from typical puppies and bunnies. Why not cute monkies, frogs, or llamas?

I'm sick of this type of shirt, not because Ramyb remade an old design and is going to make money off of it; I am just tired of everything on this site having to be CUTE.

Seriously,
Penguins
cats
turtles
pandas
cupcakes
food in general

all of it done in this same cutsey almost animeish fashion and I am so sick of it. Every week I attempt to vote judiciously in the Derby to make my voice against cuteness heard. In the end however this is the internet, and as such all other points will be tramples under the will of
"OMFGZ teh lol catz!"
or "OMFGz teh lol penguinz!"
or "OMFGz teh lol cupkakez!"

the list goes on.

jmmbell1987 wrote:
Ramyb has gone out of his way to shred any measure of benefit of the doubt anyone but his most fervent fanboys have for him.

That's exactly it. I guess I'm missing woot's definition of pop culture if this isn't rejected on those grounds...But that's not just it---Ramy seems to go out of his way to chastise us with these designs, and I find it disrespectful. Almost like he's sticking his tongue out and saying neenerneenerneener every week in the face of the rules, the community, and other artists who are continually trumped by these rehashes.

Just because the masses gulp it up doesn't make it good. Do we really need an "ignorance of the masses" reference? Last I checked, woot was, in fact, about talented artists making good shirts.

teacookie wrote:...My cousin is addicted to penguins, I'm addicted to bunnies, boyfriend is addicted to cats, we all like ferrets, a girlfriend of mine is addicted to pandas...

whoa there!
am i to believe that you guys sit around in your dimly lit trashed squatter house chopping up lines of cute furry animals? if so i need some advise... i've got a beak stuck in my sinus.

bluejester wrote:The floaty-ness of the earbuds on the regular penguins bugs me a little because it was the same floaty issue that made me not interested/dislike the turtle entry from last week. Also, it strikes me that if it weren't for the no penguins rule last week, this could have easily been entered in the oddball derby and fared a bit better than the mutant turtles attempt. Last thing, I feel like I am seeing a 7th color of orange on the punk-penguin's mohawk, but assume that is just halftones or some such thing that give the effect.

I was wondering about those orangish tips as well.

Also, could someone explain to me the one white blob on each penguins head? Is that one snowflake landing on each?

It does look a bit like an entry from last week, which couldn't go because of the penguin rule, with the walkmen and headphones added on. But it does meet the requirements. I think the rebel penguin is kind of cute, but there's only so much room for cutesy animals in my tshirt wardrobe. It'll probably take a bleach disaster before I can buy anything like this again.

Re: Cooler than You

I am impressed by some of the entries and their very original take on the theme this derby. Sadly (though not surprising) this is not one of them. I think I figured out the formula:
1. Check rules to see which of bunny/turtle/penguin/etc isn't banned
2. Draw the one animal that isn't explicitly banned
3. Add something that is kinda remotely related to derby.
4. Submit.

After three about derbies, seeing it got really old.

I'd actually just LOVE to see you do something wildly different so we can have the opportunity to say "Holy dingo kidneys! Ramyb did that? I'm impressed!" I know you are under no obligation to shush your many detractors, but I would love to see you surprise us.

It seems like you guys are mad that Ramyb is making intelligent business decisions.

I just recently discovered Shirt.Woot, and I think it is fantastic. Only have 2 shirts so far (Ink-topus being one of them, freaking awesome) but I'm excited to buy more, and I might even want to submit my own design someday.

Its funny, I've only been here a short while, but the amount of criticism and anger aimed at Ramyb is astounding! And I can see both sides of it; he is essentially following the rules, and he is making shirts that people will buy. And, as someone said earlier, its almost like a brand; this is just what Ramyb does. More power to ya!

BUT, on the other hand, it makes me sad that other deserving shirts are pushed out of a winning spot in a weekly derby by designs that repeatedly use cutesy penguins and turtles. Its cool that people buy those shirts, but I personally don't want 5 cutesy turtle shirts. I would rather own shirts that don't follow that theme, and (to be honest) it doesn't seem like a huge amount of artistry went into making ANOTHER shirt with penguins on it (although I must say, the headphones are pretty sweet!). So while I don't have anything against Ramyb, I'm not voting for his design. Thats why we have voting in the first place, right?

Hope everything works out for ya Ramyb.

Torokrj wrote:It seems like you guys are mad that Ramyb is making intelligent business decisions.

Ditto. Well said!

Re: Cooler than You

Son, who cares if Ramyb does the same thing over and over? Nucka gotta make some dolla dolla billz in this economy!

Re: Cooler than You

I don't think it is necessary to insult the public at large in order to be annoyed that this shirt has fogged. There are several reasons why it just doesn't work for me on a wearable level, but there was something nagging at me about the fact that this looks like "Imposter." Not just that it looks so similar to "Imposter" but because of this

reason for previous rejection I believe at the time Ramyb attempted submission of the linked design, Fablefire had a similar design at the time called "Hey guys, you've got to try this."

Isn't this a clear precedent that this shirt should be rejected? In your own words "This is too similar to an existing Shirt.Woot shirt."

Just sayin' please consider the previous precendent, ya know? Not a hater here, just wanting there not to be too of practically the exact same thing in the Reckoning.

Torokrj wrote:It seems like you guys are mad that Ramyb is making intelligent business decisions.

This is true; we are angry that this is a weekly bank account for Ramy rather than a showcase of his artwork and talent. I suppose it's just a matter of perspective.

Re: Cooler than You

All this hate is pretty sad. I've been browsing shirt.woot for years now. Everyone's whining and complaining just seems to point to: "Ramy shouldn't have another shirt on The Reckoning"

Yes its not original but it will sell. Sometimes I look at the shirts that win the derby and yeah they are cool but who is going to wear that in public. And most of the time I'm right and those shirts don't sell out. If you're all about being original and artistic, you probably shouldn't be making T-shirts.

Spr33 wrote:All this hate is pretty sad. I've been browsing shirt.woot for years now. Everyone's whining and complaining just seems to point to: "Ramy shouldn't have another shirt on The Reckoning"

Yes its not original but it will sell. Sometimes I look at the shirts that win the derby and yeah they are cool but who is going to wear that in public. And most of the time I'm right and those shirts don't sell out. If you're all about being original and artistic, you probably shouldn't be making T-shirts.

Let me try to respond to this from a former supporter stance. First off, you're right, there is too much whining and vitriol that accompanies any time that Ramyb submits something. Long winded rants and obligatory, "We hate you please stop" type posts are going to win more sympathy votes for Ramyb than do any actual persuasion of making people not vote for a design. However, there are an increasing number of wooters, myself included, who are more than a little tired of the same layout (top center) and same set of animals winning a place in the derby. Furthermore, these animals always seem to be pulling the same shtick of "Doing something that you wouldn't expect them to do." It's as if each one of Ramyb's entries of late could go into the recent Oddball derby.

To briefly address the thorny issue you raise about artsy shirts not selling here's my take on it. There's a tipping point where a shirt goes from art you can wear to wall art. I'm guessing it's tricky for the artists who submit to do something that looks both artistic and will get votes. As for originality? There are original, funny, and sometimes awe-inspiringly awesome designs (like rglee129's stuff) submitted every week that seem to miss out on getting printed because of the loyal fanbase.

But there is another thing pumping these shirts up, and I think that it is those of us who complain about it. Isn't there the saying that all press is good press? I think that if more people just did a basic, "Sorry I can't vote for this because I find these problems with it" rather than "You suck, people who vote for you are brainless, and if you disagree with me than you're beneath me" tirades that get posted on these threads (and occasionally deleted by mods.)

Re: Cooler than You

(This post was much longer and likely reminiscent of much above, which I did not have time to read and only skimmed, so in the end I decided to cut it down to what follows...)

I like this shirt.

Bandrik wrote:Man... the moment woot lifts penguins from the banned list, I see this. I know, I know, Ramy is fully within his rights to use penguins this week... but it wouldn't suck so much if it didn't feel like he was dodging and rolling the rules each time.

I can handle cute. But consider branching out from typical puppies and bunnies. Why not cute monkies, frogs, or llamas?

I'd love to see more frog shirts! My guess is that the ramyb doesnt do arms or legs.

Seriously, I dont understand those who think this should be rejected for not being on theme... it is. Middle Penguin is listening to a walkman on retro headphones.

I think this should be rejected for "too similar to existing shirt". I've seen countless shirts rejected because they were similar to other shirts. this one pretty much is Imposter; he just took the bunny ears off, and put the headphones on (and opened their eyes).

Torokrj wrote:It seems like you guys are mad that Ramyb is making intelligent business decisions.

You mean attempting to make a living off of selling woot shirts? That would be a bad business decision.

Re: Cooler than You

Penguins! Finally! Something that is cute again! This is adorable, I'd rather have bunnies, but Jatravartid woot won't let anyone use bunnies. >

Re: Cooler than You

I love this shirt... maybe it is the pengin lover in me or the belief that music sets us apart from the masses, I don't know. All I really know is that I love this shirt!

cheeselump wrote:whoa there!
am i to believe that you guys sit around in your dimly lit trashed squatter house chopping up lines of cute furry animals? if so i need some advise... i've got a beak stuck in my sinus.

Best laugh I've had all week!

ChaosDoctor07 wrote:This too. I know anatomy isn't always accurate in shirts, but it doesn't make a whole lot of sense for those penguins to have earbud-style headphones when they lack distinctive outer ear anatomy.

Wow, nit-picky much?

Re: Cooler than You

Anyone know where I can get this shirt?