Shirt.Woot

The Rules

Travis was certainly right when he said the last derby was good and another like it would be an excellent idea. There are at least five designs I'd purchase without thinking. Unfortunately none of those are near the fog nor are they even close.

I think week will really test the strategy of submitting really quality designs late. If I remember correctly the lowest rank of a pick so far has been 16. There are 3 designs subbed late that are no higher than 30th maybe right now that are head and shoulders above everything, in my opinion. I can only pick one and here it is:

barn owl's dinner -unless! by Josephus


This derby was tailor made for Josephus in my opinion. He's put out some really spectacular realistic animal designs using a couple different styles, but largely using light sketches to outline the features and filling it with negative space. This one I think might be his best so far.

I love the way this one fills the shirt. It's a bit questionable whether woot would actually print it that wide but if they can it would look amazing.

My favorite part of the design though is the sharp contrast in style between the owl and the snake. The owl is made up of only light strokes which give it a really ethereal look that makes it look part air part shadow. The snake however has a very blocky, ink heavy style making it look as if it were composed of slabs of rock slotted together like a footpath. It is definitely a creature of the earth. It's really subtle yet extremely striking at the same time. Really well done.

It makes me sad a little bit too as we plod through 3 more of what promise to be torureously boring picks by woot after 3 completely underwhelming choices by the voters.

Wow, that owl is just incredible, I hadn't seen that one yet. The snake is amazing looking.

My pick is Drakxxx naturally. I love his style and his often dark subject matter and crosshatching is totally his thing already.



This one might be one of my favorites of his ever. I love the detail in all the little demons in the pile, the huge partial demon head/skull at the top, and I don't know what the deal with the ribbon thing on our hero is, but it really really adds to the freaky dangerous look of the design as a whole. I like how it kinda disguises the 2 humans and you don't see them at first until you look closer.

It kinda reminds me of the Pillar of Skulls from D&D (look it up, it's scary) and I can imagine how terrible Drak's pillar of demons would sound.

I love how this is a vertical shape and fills the shirt. Drak often does this but I think it really fits well with this idea.

Only a slight hesitation picking this for me because there was another one *cough* that I really really liked and I'm sure somebody else *cough cough* will suggest.

I'm out of town and working from mobile, so can't do a full media rich post.
There are many wonderful entries this go round, including the ones posted so far, but for my money, I prefer a bit of whimsy combined with artistry in an artistry rich field of contenders. For that reason, I choose Walmazan's still death
As I mentioned in the thread, the design has a lot of texture and atmosphere, and highlights his depth of talent that we don't usually see n the general derbies. The composition works on many levels, with the bad apple spoiling the bunch, etc.
I like it.

Tempted to throw my support behind Kevlar's Industrial Tea, but it's in the fog and likely doesn't need it.

Instead, I'll draw attention to Kakolak's The House Smoker. I love it for being weird-as-flunk, and really like the technique used for the swirling smoke. It has a great sense of texture, and the tiny details on the houses are impressive.

So many fabulous entries this week, I've really waffled.

In the end, the whimsy and visual pun of Wherever I Lay My Hat wins the day.


The cross hatching is very organic, the monocle is charming and the limited elements keeps the design from feeling too busy. I can see it working on silver, but it's one of the few designs where cream really works.

I need someone to post a pick so my list can be whittled down that way. Because every time I look I add a new one to the short list.

Eh screw it I'll go with silly over the full shirt designs.

bluetuba wrote: ... because there was another one *cough* that I really really liked and I'm sure somebody else *cough cough* will suggest.

I love that design too and almost became the somebody else. However, I am going with this one:

Skull Candle by inu14

bluetuba wrote:Only a slight hesitation picking this for me because there was another one *cough* that I really really liked and I'm sure somebody else *cough cough* will suggest.

Though I'm happy woot went a good direction with their pick this week, I'm a little sad it wasn't The Night Before the Battle. One I probably would have bought it, but I think it was the superior qetza design. The black on white works much better than the cream on brown and I think the placement across the shirt was done in a much more pleasing way. O well, can't be too upset. Baby steps.

mrwednesday wrote:Though I'm happy woot went a good direction with their pick this week, I'm a little sad it wasn't The Night Before the Battle. One I probably would have bought it, but I think it was the superior qetza design. The black on white works much better than the cream on brown and I think the placement across the shirt was done in a much more pleasing way. O well, can't be too upset. Baby steps.

I feel the same way, I'm a fan of qetza so I'm happy to see him get the pick. It's just personal preference that I really like that awesome valkyrie over a more nebulous creative flow design.