compete-tee-tion

From now on, this blog will be located at http://compete-tee-tion.com- hope to see you there!

Exit by Chow Hon Lam is by far my favorite tee of the week- probably one of the top shirts all year. The concept is simple, showing a raincoated girl carrying an umbrella who parts the rain like a curtain. It's a surreal looking design that feels really classic, with a clarity to the art that makes it all the more appealing. The regular dashes of the rain feel like a pattern, and the placement is perfect because it showcases the concept rather than the pattern (a full shirt print would have done the opposite, in my opinion). I do have one quibble- the girl's legs don't feel as well rendered as the rest of her (they seem awkward and rough, while the rest is not). It wouldn't keep me from buying, though!



The Cheshire by Skylar Hogan (the Sleeping Sky) is a perfect use of specialty inks. The character of the cheshire cat has three looks, and each ink treatment stands in for one. In the daylight, you can see the entire cat with UV ink. In indoor light, just the eyes and smile... and at night they glow! It's a great way of showing the cat's most famous feature, and makes for an especially charming shirt for kids. I do wish the watercolor UV ink was a little cleaner (the watercolor style gets a little rough in places), but while that bit is not to my personal taste it definitely gets the job done.

So Long, Old World by Tang Yau Hoong is a dreamy cityscape. The lighted windows of the buildings begin to blow in the wind like confetti, a soft disintegration. Seeing a city disappear should be sad, but here you kind of root for it- it's just a beautiful transformation, and leaves you curious how the shapes might combine next. Nice print as well, filling up the space of the shirt perfectly.



Fencing by Brock Davis (Laser Bread) is kind of a groaner. It's about the most obvious fencing joke that is possible. That said, the execution almost saves it (though the pan on the right is a bit awkward). The simplicity and soft texture have appeal, it's just a shame it isn't in service of a better punchline. I have a hard time imagining that enough people have strong feelings about this being a great joke to merit printing it.

3 Eyes, 3 Vehicles by Daniel Abensour (Aphte) is the big New Art, New Ideas winner, a pretty rad choice. Aphte's work always has a way of looking like a children's book from the future to me, so it definitely qualifies. The mixture of geometrics, bright color, and cartoon-y fun hits just the right spot. In a way it feels like the high art version of Wacky Racers.



Lo-Fi Funk by Ellsswhere is this week's Select, a tasty layered designs with a musical theme. It's a cool take on how to make an attractive text-based shirt, with the lettering forming a background to the illustrations. The result is fun and very textural, and with more and more of the layers slowly becoming visible as you approach the art. It's a good example of a design that works well, and differently, at several distances.

School taught me a valuable lesson. I'm still paying for it. by Tina-Louise King is this week's Type Tee, one I'm less than keen on because the phrase doesn't feel very original. That said, the execution is much nicer than expected, a subtle use of the phrase on the spines of books that allows the shirt to celebrate learning at the same time as it questions the long-term costs of higher education.

Threadless prints new shirts every week, chosen from the designs submitted by and voted on by site members. Winners get $2000 cash and $500 in Threadless credit, with the possibility to earn more through Bestee awards, poster prints, and reprints.

Labels: loves threadless, new art new ideas, threadless

Bookis.org is a new crowdfunding site for shirt designs, allowing designers to upload their work, determine their desired profit per item, and then putting those products up for pre-order (and eventually order) by the community.

I'd describe their model as being halfway between Cameesa and CafePress- unlike Cameesa, there's no financial incentive to supporting a design. But unlike Cafepress, designs aren't printed on demand- they're only printed once the required number of preorders can be met.

One benefit to Bookis is that they allow the rights to the artwork to remain with the designer, which might make this site an appealing extra option for people who already utilize print-on-demand sites or who have had their design previously published. They also note that their site is a good fit for small groups (such as clubs) that want matching tees.

Labels: bookis, cameesa

Hello, My Darling by robsoul is my pick for best of the week- it tells a great story, and has a uniquely spooky look. The bright blue of the walking corpse makes him feel not quite like a mindless zombie and more like something that was once a man, but has since been transformed both mentally and physically. His eye has a look that is more wistful than menacing, creating the impression that for this monster, this is the closest to a genuine human moment he will have for some time. I like that there's the extra punch of the woman's head printed on the back of the shirt, and that what did that to her is never really addressed. It lets the blue corpse be either a victim or a killer, as the viewer chooses.



Frank's Origin by molitorious has an immediately eye-catching style, seeming to arrange the art almost in a totem pole. The monster's huge head takes up most of the real estate, with blank eyes and heavy features. From behind him is a peeking mad scientist, who really steals the scene- his huge hands are triumphant, but his reflecting glasses preserve his ability to pretend to be detached from this experiment. But the monster's hands mirror his, cluing the viewer in to the deep bond they'll share. Beakers and lightning bolts pepper the composition, adding interest and helping to infuse the scene with the feeling of science and action. Easily one of the most unique Frankenstein-themed shirts I've seen.

It's Toxic! by vincentrogel has a chest-bursting zombie- but thankfully, the focus is more on the style of the monster than on an attempt at Trompe l'Oeil. While the subject matter doesn't catch my interest at all, the art is worth a look. The lined style feels unique to me, and helps to make it feel as though this creature is in motion. The tie is a nice touch, imbuing the zombie with personality. Not my style, but still something I can appreciate.



The Monster Mash by alexmdc is a nice reminder of childhood, specifically those drawing games with folded paper where each person illustrates one segment of a larger whole. In this rendition, each layer is an iconic movie monster. It's a neat concept because as menacing as each beast may be on it's own, they create a decidedly odd-looking whole. It's fun to try and figure out which monster is which, and its interesting that all it takes is a sliver to be recognizable. I'm not sure this is a design I would ever wear (as I am not a huge monster movie fan), but the art is pretty fantastic.

revenge is sweet by thestray is a fresh take on monsters, animating a pile of candy to become a villain. The appeal here is in the way it almost mirrors reality- sure, enough sugar will rot your teeth out, but who knew it would be so aggressive about it? The strength of the art is in that mass of sweets, which almost come across as jewels due to their shapes, color, and light reflections. And the huge print fits the tee just right- a nice addition to DBH's takes on the joke tee.

Design By Humans is an on-going t-shirt design contest that prints new shirts every weekday. Prints are chosen from the shirts submitted by and voted on by DBH members. Shirt of the Day winners receive $500 cash and $250 DBH credit. Shirt of the Week winners get $1000 cash. Shirt of the Month gets $1500 cash and $250 credit. Winners also have an opportunity to earn residuals through the Rockstar Awards Program.

Labels: design by humans

I don't typically cover logo design contests, but this one is of particular interest to the t-shirt design community. Vote For Art is a new site that, when it launches, will feature a crowdsourced t-shirt design contest specific to individual universities. Winning designs will be sold in actual university bookstores in addition to on the web. But of course, first they need a logo...

Enter before November 6th, 2009 for your chance to win the $500 prize.

Labels: logo, vote for art

GoodJoe has another sponsored contest in the works, and this might be the biggest one yet! They've teamed up with The Fender Music Foundation on a contest titled Give. Music. Life., aimed at supporting music education. They want a shirt that will appeal to rock fans, but is still kid-friendly and tasteful.

Enter before October 30th, 2009 for your chance to win. The winner will receive a Squier by Fender Deluxe Hot Rails Strat Electric Guitar with a decal of the winning design displayed on it and $300 cash from Goodjoe.

Labels: goodjoe