compete-tee-tion

Threadless's Back to School Sale has begun! Head on over for $12 tees and discounts on other products as well. Act quickly, as popular designs often sell out fast.



Vampire! by Olly Moss (Woss) isn't just the coolest shirt of the week, it's also one of the coolest shirts I've ever seen. The key to its greatness is in the marriage of concept and effect- this vampire appears to burn in the daylight thanks to UV inks, and at night his eyes and fangs glow. Funny, attractive, and entirely unlike any shirt I've seen before.



Roughin' It by Brock Davis (Laser Bread) is a charmingly drawn characterization of nature as a pack of thugs. The wilderness is gorgeous and fully out to get you. Part of what makes this a cool piece to me is the fact that no animals are featured as threats- this is purely the landscape. I'm also digging the soft, distressed colors, which bring to mind sun damage.

Failed Launch by Manos Lakoutsis is one of the coolest space-themed shirts I've seen, using a more technical approach to the subject matter. Through a network of flight panels, a huge astronaut is highlighted in the linework. It's also printed as a zip-up hoody, which looks pretty great (though I wish it were printed larger, as the rectangle is a bit off-putting).



Keeping It Simple by Sam Schuna (olie!) showcases the darker side of the golden age of animation, with some of those goofy faces now conveying hate and malice instead of cheer. It's similar to the print Finding Technicolor that was featured at Woot, but with the creatures reacting out of fear when they see color. It's well-done, but kind of a niche concept- since I already own Finding Technicolor, I'm not too excited for this one.

SPRSTR by Aaron Hogg (hogboy) features a stained glass window of Jesus showing off his b-boy skills. After all, some of those gravity-defying moves sure look pretty miraculous. The colors do a great job of looking as translucent and gleaming as the real thing, and the print is perfectly sized.



Un Censored by Ross Zietz (arzie13) is to me, frankly, kind of a disaster of a shirt. The concept is barely there (sometimes, blurry things are more clear from far away! sometimes, you can still see what's being censored!). I assume the point is supposed to be that most censored things don't need censorship (all the words are pretty tame) but that doesn't make the shirt attractive. Plus, the words are pretty obvious even from close up.

Perennials & Innards by Kneil Melicano (roadkill3d) explores some of the structures similar to guts and flowers. It's a cool, colorful and otherworldly piece, but the strangeness of the theme probably makes it only suitable for a niche market. Overall, I think I'd prefer it as a print rather than a shirt- something about wearing guts seems a bit gross.



Sinister Dexter by Joe Carr (ISABOA) is an intricate drawing of good vs evil, taking its inspiration from the middle ages. The main strength of the piece is in the sheer amount of detail, which covers every element of the composition in texture. My only issue with this design is the very rectangular shape- I feel it sits on the shirt a bit oddly, and makes the design look slapped on the shirt instead of created specifically for it.

Octadecapus by David Creighton-Pester (WanderingBert) is another of this week's designs inspired by classic animation, using that influence to make a unique octopus with gloved tentacles. The simplicity is fun and wearable, but I do miss the amount of wraparound that was in the original design submission.

Because of the sheer number of shirts printed, I'll be splitting the reviews into two groups. Expect the remainder to be reviewed before Wednesday.

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: sale, threadless