Guess Who by Budi Satria Kwan (radiomode) is my pick of the week- it's hilarious, for starters (sort of the ultimate prank). But even better than that, the style makes me want to dive right in to the scene. It has all the color and smoothness of a children's book, complete with well-chosen details (the light gleam of the scythe, pattern of the chair and prickles on the cactus). The only area of possible improvement to me is the text- I love that it's hand-drawn, but I wish it conveyed a bit more personality and sat in that speech bubble more nicely.
30 Years of Freedom by, er, FREEDOM has a great concept, comparing graffiti lettering of 30 years ago to the contemporary style and printing one on each side of the tee. But while I think the idea is strong, I'm less enthused with the final product. To me, both feel bland and generic, lacking the kind of experimentation and expression that I associate with street art. I think that was probably a deliberate choice, a decision to display something typical of each era instead of unique. But for me, that choice is less interesting. Similarly, I like the idea of introducing stickers as a graphic element, since they're definitely strongly associated with graffiti. I'm not totally sold on how they're used, though- it would have been nice to see more massing, overlapping, or interaction with the graffiti instead of leaving it on the edges. To me, having it all spaced out that way isn't something I associate with real graffiti (and frankly, it's just not as fun).
GraffTips by Michael Delahaut / WISE is my favorite of the graffiti Selects, which is odd since it's the one that is most removed from the style I associate with graffiti. What's really cool about this tee is the way it takes an element of graffiti culture that most people are only glancingly familiar with and gives a great-looking visual guide to inform and please the eye. I'm loving the colors and the arrangement, though admittedly I think it's a much better fit for a poster than for a tee design. Still the best Select this week, in my opinion.
My Alphabet by Pose 1 is another of the graffiti Selects this week, illustrating the alphabet in a variety of styles. What's awesome is that because each letter is done differently, it's fun to really explore the piece. What I'm less crazy about, though, is the gradient- it made it hard for me to see the letters as individual shapes instead of this huge mass. The bright side of the gradient, on the other hand, is the great way it lets that eyeball pop. Overall it's a solid piece, and feels the most like graffiti of the bunch (to me, at least).
d30 Monster Mash by KC Ortiz is the last of the graffiti Selects, and for me it's a bit of a puzzler. It just doesn't seem very well-done to me, which is strange since I like the other work in the artist's portfolio. The lines in this piece are uniform and vectored, and not very well- it flattens the piece out, and the fact that there doesn't seem to be much rhyme or reason to which thicknesses are used leaves it feeling sloppy to me. I can't help but feel that the original sketch might have been a more interesting shirt than this version that seems to have been vectored within an inch of its life.
When You Think About It, All Galaxies Are Far, Far, Away by Debbie Vega is a pretty decent slogan- it has a clear audience, and while the sentiment isn't hugely original, it also doesn't feel like a total retread. The font treatment is what you'd expect, the traditional Star Wars lettering, tilted just as it is when the movie opens. This makes the tee at first glance a typical fan tee, with its more cynical message only apparent if you take the time to read the entire thing. It's not a very exciting tee to me, but it definitely gets the job done.
Smiley Factory by Lawrence Villanueva (boostr29) is a tee I just can't get excited about. I think the framing of the design works well, it has a nice factory setting and the progression of the smiley from each step to the next makes sense. I think the issue is that I've seen variations on this idea by other people, and this doesn't feel particularly fresh or well-done, overall. In particular, the reuse of identical faces in different places in the scene jumps right out at me as being kind of lazy (and sort of defeats the entire purpose of there being so many steps).
The Sin by Enkel Dika (buko) is one of my favorite pieces this week. I love the restraint of it, using only three colors to build both the woman and the apple, and framing it all in the curves of a snake. Pure class. Even better, the top half of the snake does double duty and becomes the woman's hair, while the snake's tongue continues the line of her arm. It's well thought out and visually powerful, everything a great shirt should be.
Missing!!! by Julian Glander (secretly robots) is a tee that caught me by surprise, since it's not the kind of thing that I typically think works well on a shirt. But here's the thing- in this case, the fact that it doesn't make sense as a shirt actually contributes to the story. I mean, that's how mad this guy is- he's not just making signs, he's putting his message EVERYWHERE. It absolutely adds to the punchline.
(Get) Out of Africa by Ivan Tarrazo Sanchez (Ivantobealone) is a brilliant idea, showing all the animals of Africa stampeding against a lone hunter. Predator becomes prey, and the invader is forced to run. It's good stuff, and you want to root for those animals and their defense of the land. It's a really nice design, stark and posterized in a way that would make for a great print. All that being said, on a t-shirt it falls short for me. The animals should be huge, this should be downright awe-inspiring. But instead, the print seems small, centered, and lacking in power. I really feel like a bigger print size could have been a game-changer.
Bison by Vó Maria is a real stand-out this week. The character of the bison is wonderfully weird, peering through his 3d shades as if he's hoping to get some perspective on his own massive hump. His face is sweet and bumbling, making him easy to relate to. But the real showstopper is the blue highlighting, which makes this guy seem to pop right off the tee, electric. It's a nice tie-in with the glasses, and makes the design feel even more unique.
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.
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Friday, July 31
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