Shirt.Woot

Re: Monsters Of Cowbell World Tour

Can't vote for this one. I appreciate the design quality (clean, balanced, good technique), but I don't really like the pop-culture reference, and I think it's a little text-heavy.

Nice job with the colors though.

SamirNagheenanajar wrote:...but I am not a very bad person. Just ask Michael Bolton!

I asked.. and he said to just call him Mike.

Ommog wrote:Agreed. Especially considering the guy SAID he didn't have time to make a real submission, so he threw this together. In my opinion, saying DeadFrog is using his artistic talent in this shirt after seeing things like "The Destroyer of Worlds" is an insult to him.

Like I said earlier, between this shirt, the cowbell one, the pi one, and the other cutesy stuff that's in/around the fog, I've pretty much given up on this derby... basically just waiting until Thursday/Friday to see what the next one holds.

I want the Destroyer of Worlds!!!!

This has got to be the sweetest shirt ever posted on here in ever.

If this wins I will be def be ploppin' down some cash for it!

dpbowl842 wrote:Not a chance! Billy is up there selling OxiClean to god to make the clouds whiter :P

Supersugar wrote:Being a good salesman bars you from heaven?

even with his painted on beard he was not a good salesman. he was a swindler, who peddled apcray to insomniacs and bored housewives. next up is the stupid sham-wow moose.

re: monsters of cowbell world tour

I love the math on this shirt!

sylph01 wrote:There are bazillions and bazillions of bands and orchestras named "Balalaika."

That's the name of the instrument, it doesn't actually say it on the shirt.

Manvyi wrote:It says (in Russian) "Menand Women from Russia" - should be "Men and Women from Russia", but there's a space missing.

heh, yep. you got it. I didn't realize I had left out the space until I got home last night :/

philman14 wrote:It's a friggin t-shirt, get over yourselves.

It is just a tee shirt contest, and it isn't the end of the world, obviously. But it's frustrating for other artists and designers.

goldenthorn wrote:Huh. I now see the "je" where before I saw it as a "k". And I did think there were too many vowels on the end of "mushchini," but figured Russians used more vowels than Ukes... meh. It's kind of pointless. Some sort of wordplay or cleverness would have been appreciated and voted.

Lol. Yeah, there isn't a lot of cleverness going on. I just like the simplicity of russian. I was going to add more, but I don't think it's gonna happen this week :/

Most people don't like russian anything or russians for that matter on this site, so it's not like I expected any good comments.

Are you saying my design is pointless or just the argument you're making?

xxchange wrote:I would like it if it wasn't so boxy.

the boxiness is classic russian

Re: [url=http://shirt.woot.com/Derby/Entry.aspx?id=32839]

not to be a 'tard, but I don't get the joke? everyone is saying they "get the joke" but ehh... I don't... anyone care to explain why there's so much controversy here? it just looks like a normal, everyday shirt to me...

AdderXYU wrote:The only thing that would make this idea bad is that people would still be making $1000 for shirts that no human, regardless of age, should wear. These bad shirts aren't bad because they're too kiddy. They are bad for all reasons.

Though I say "these" as a general blanket. I actually find the concept of PBJ pretty amusing since I know what the reference is.

who said anything about giving 1000 bucks for the shrits... they are for kids so how bout 100 bucks B^P and at least maybe we wouldnt see as much of tha cutesy crud any more.

also i too know what the pb&j is referencing to and i still find it not funny and well just boring compared to this or sum of the other shirts. to me it looks like a kids shirt.. like a 5 year olds shirt.

Re: The Cheap Posters

ahah, this is funny.

Re: Avengeful Death

I agree, love the design but I probably wouldn't wear it.

GMV for sure.

whoops.

RandomHandle wrote:Yeah, I'm going to chime in only to say that I think this design is exactly what the derby is about. You definitely captured the essence of a tour t-shirt.

Your post helped me identify my design preferences, actually. The designs I lean toward tend to be visually appealing and fall into one of three categories:

1) Jaw-droppingly cool looking with no context required to appreciate the art.

2) Geek humor that applies to the geek elite. (So if I have to explain it, at least I can feel superior in a nerdy way.)

3) Contextually hilarious content that I don't have to explain to anyone ever.

I don't consider myself accomplished enough to pull off #1 without a lot of effort and time. Leonryan's "Sex Drugs" is a great example of this and I've voted for it - even though it's probably going to be the one that knocks me out of the top three in the end.

The second category is hard to pull off in certain derbies. Ensmind's shirt "Infinite Pi" is pretty close to that idea - but it's muddied up by the fact that its a fake band shirt. Pi as a concept has some funny applications - but this design doesn't really tie everything together well enough to be accessible to anyone outside this derby. Friends that 'get' pi humor still won't get the fact that this is a band shirt. So I'm forced to constantly provide context. This shirt with no text at all is extremely cool. The text breaks it (in my opinion).

So that brings me to the third category and I chose to make a straight up fake band concert shirt. But what good is it to make a realistic fake band shirt if the "band" in question's name means nothing to the viewer? They'll think it's just some band and people will constantly ask you if they're any good. Then you have to explain they don't exist and why you bought the shirt in the first place.

The answer was to tie the concept into something immediately accessible to 90% of the population. There may have been other concepts to choose. But in a drunken stupor, I chose cowbell. The rest is history.

So this is a long post to essentially say that I put too much thought into my t-shirt decisions. Great art on its own is fine. But the moment you add text or a "story" of some kind - that becomes a much more complex dialogue with the viewer and it can quickly limit a design's potential for me. I try to avoid designing shirts that make no sense outside of the derby context.

Thanks to everyone that's commented and voted so far. This derby is always harder than you think and I'm honored to be flirting with the fog.

Re: Gonna Make You Lunch

I really hope this shirt prints because I love it.

re: sweaterhead

I love Sweaterhead!

Re: The Colonoscopies

Rejected?! This is awesome!!

Love the Lichtenstein style.

AdderXYU wrote:He's not going to keep mocking himself. He is going to keep putting out cute scratchy pandas. Or other cute scratchy things. Which is what I meant. Just like he did on his first win. And his second. And likely his third. And they will all be literal pieces. Just like his first. And his second. And they will capitalize on people's nostalgia. And when people say "dude, you're better than this" he will post a funny little cartoon and everyone will say LOL you are a funny dude you are OK by me please keep submitting. It IS no different from Ramy selling dozens of bunnies. But you seem to think people LIKE Ramy. The difference is, Deadfrog has potential and refuses to use it. Ramy has no potential. It's almost more of a slap in the face that way.

And the "he's got 700+ votes so he is using his talent" argument is the weakest thing ever. Votes have NEVER related directly to talent. Unless you consider his "talent" an ability to snag votes. In which case there is no ARTISTIC talent being used. Voter pandering? Obviously. It's admitted in the design. But the amount of votes does not mean there is any quality here. It just means people like it. People have liked plenty of horrible shirts. Look at the Pi shirt up there with deadfrog.

Alright, now I understand your point better. I don't necessarily agree with it; for one thing I think Ramy has more talent than you give him credit for regardless of the fact that his style doesn't match your tastes. Really the difference between our points of view comes down mainly to the fact that you hate this shirt, and I love it. That's a perfectly reasonable difference of opinion. Also, you're right that I didn't mean he was necessarily using artistic talent in terms of the quality or integrity of the art, but again, as a t-shirt artist, the appeal of the t-shirt to the consumer can't be disregarded. Would it be nice if DF submitted shirts with higher quality art? Sure. But that can't be the only criterion on which submissions are judged.

If it were up to me the winners this week would be the hippies shirt for excellent execution of the theme, space crabs for excellent artistry, and this one for excellent humor. Three very different qualities, but in my opinion all of value.

Re: LIVE!...well...(resub)

oh wait, is "Post Apocalypse" supposed to the name of the band? this shirt is confusing me. :V

Some of my friends and I have written a song about a galactic rock band of space animals, the drummer of which is a "magical space crab".

I would kill a man to own this shirt. No lie.

Re: Crunk Norris

HAHAHAHA!

Re: The samurai scotsmen

I would buy several.

RandomHandle wrote:Yeah, I'm going to chime in only to say that I think this design is exactly what the derby is about. You definitely captured the essence of a tour t-shirt.

I get that this is a totally new take on the joke and that the design is far superior to the other cowbell shirts available. However, since the joke is nearing a decade old (the Cowbell skit originally appeared on SNL April 8, 2000), I will not be voting or buying this shirt because of the cowbell reference.

Obviously, I disagree with the multitude of wooters who voted for your shirt - but congratulations on gaining this much momentum for your design. I'm looking forward to more from you.

I agree with your first paragraph. This design IS what this derby is all about. That's why I voted for it.

And yes, the skit may be nearing 10 years old but I can't think of many skits aside from D*ck in a box & Tina Fey's Sara Palin that will retain their appeal 10 years from now.

So yeah. I disagree with your disagreement of my vote and I fully intend to stay up until midnight each night attempting to not only buy this shirt... but to be the "First Sucker" thank you very much.

I also appreciate that the band is showing Kansas love. I swear the most driven through only to be avoided state by bands.

Re: White Rabbit Chase

Does anyone else think it's hilarious that it says 'bitchas' right there?

Re: AGENT SKULLET (resub)

Why ain't thisin the fogg?

Re: AGENT SKULLET (resub)

Sidenote: I'm kind of thrown off by the antennae, but I still voited.

Re: The Awesome Mix Tapes

Is it meant to be a Nick & Norah's reference?

Re: Electric Bill and the Charges

One day soon, mark my words, you will print here. Your work is refreshingly cute without being "cutesy" or overdone. You have such a wonderful style that is easy to see on both children and adults. I hope to be one of the first people to buy one of your designs when you do win. Keep up the good work!

monkeyswag wrote:Your owl drew me in. Somehow the finished design was not nearly as captivating. The composition needs a little something to give it some "bam"... as it is the type seems to be free floating between the elements. it lacks unity or something. Work on this design, the fish and owl are worth it. Sorry, if I offend.

Not offended at all. Thanks for your thoughts.

zenith1047 wrote:Is it meant to be a Nick & Norah's reference?

No sir, you are not correct. This is from a movie, based in an adult world.

xxchange wrote:I would like it if it wasn't so boxy.

In Russia, boxiness likes you!

Actually, it's a shame there haven't been more fake bands from supposed non-Anglophone musical traditions in this derby.

Anyway, it's a "da" for the cyrillic on this one, even though it's a "nichego" for the design and a "nyet" for the typo.

Re: BEHOLD OR BE DAMNED

"Nah, he's more like a non-ja. It's suprising what will pass for ninja's these days."

hoho, that quote has been in my head for like a week now, I just had to write it... love this shirt! it's super cute and those are definitely ninja's not nonja's hoho, GMV.

Re: T Tubes - 1ear@atimetour

If I saw your T Tubes shirt I'd think,
"Great



new tour is called the 1ear@atimetour."

Re: The Dead Bird Society: The Road Kill Tour of 1989

Aww man. Someone ran a dead bird over on my chest....