Thanks very much. Hopefully I'll be able to do something with that comic idea in the future. I can never seem to get "critical mass" and start the project...oh well.
Alright, since it seems everybody's jumping on the Threadless wagon, I thought I'd try my hand.
The original concept had glow-in-the-dark green ink. However, I think the design might be a bit busy, despite the green not being terribly visible during the day. I might end up ditching the green lettering in the background...
Any suggestions?
Night:
Day:
EDIT:
If I went with the design minus the green ink, I was also thinking of giving the little guy a smile...make him a little more mischievous.
Alright, so Threadless finally approved my design, and now it's up for voting! So please, go vote for it, even if it's not one you like. The more - the merrier, or some nonsense like that.
MustangArbiter of Unpopular OpinionsRegistered Userregular
edited September 2008
That's not begging, that's a trap! Cleverly disguised as a cute moment that will induce a belly rub, once hand reaches belly the trap is sprung! Claws and teeth then grind away and hand and arm until blood spews forth. I've got the wounds to prove it.
I checked out the work on your site Edman -- great stuff, I like it a lot. The various monsters attacking cities and the Cthulhu '08 stuff are my faves. :rotate:
That design would be so much better if the animal outline weren't so blotchy.
I wanted to abstract it a bit from a straight outline, and actually went through several iterations, including a fully-filled bull as well as just outlines. The inspiration came from some aboriginal rock art I saw a long time ago. Basically, they blew paint through a tube and used their hand as a mask, creating an early "stencil" effect.
Anyhow, it's good to hear something from the Threadless master.
(On a side note, did you ever find out what was up with those Cafepress ripoffs of your design I emailed to you a while back?)
And Grenn - thanks! I used to be into screenprinting a while ago, and seeing your stuff really makes me want to find a local spot to start up again.
Nah, I wasn't saying you should go for a straight outline. I was thinking that the strokey style of the text from the earlier iteration would have been better.
But maybe it's the contrast of the white that's throwing me off. I think it makes the characters and the cave art a little disparate. I don't know. It's a sweet idea.
Yeah I like the idea but the white outline is just so... fat and messy? I guess that's the point, but there's something about it that just doesn't sit right. Might be the lineweight used for the dudes versus the art. In terms of colour I think the white reads too clean; I would have gone for a tan colour, so it was lighter than the shirt and the dudes, but still felt organic and 'cave'ish.
Both points are very good, and I like the idea of toning down the white into a tan. I can definitely afford to add another color to the mix.
If the design ends up not doing so well on Threadless, I'll probably end up reworking it in the future for some other purpose. (...and I'll likely make the changes then.)
I've been a digital native for most of my life. Drawing on a tablet is my most natural medium, right next to sketching with pencil. However, after seeing guys like jibjib, earthwormadam, and grenn, I've really wanted to get into drawing something in ink...I guess it's the immediacy and the fact that I don't have to take it to Kinko's for it to be really "done."
That, and I really like the look of the dipped pen and ink, and have never had the guts to give it a real try.
So for an early birthday present, I picked myself up some smooth bristol board, Windsor & Newton india ink, and a dip pen with nibs. This is my first terrible drawing ever with it! (I used a hunt 102 nib if you really wanted to know...)
I know I kind of jumped the gun on erasing the pencil, because I smeared the ink in a couple spots. Man, I feel like a total noob drawing like this. It's fun, but really frustrating.
Looks like a good start to me -- keep 'em coming! Lines drawn in ink just take on so much character, I love 'em.
Grenns' Pro-Tip: Don't do your final inks over your pencils right away. Instead use a cheap fineliner to ink in the lines, let it dry, then erase the pencil lines and then use your brush/dip-pen to ink over the fineliner lines.
That way you never have to erase over your final inks, and they stay lovely and opaque.
Also, doing a bunch of lines and exercises (as you've been doing already it seems) will get your hand warmed up and give you a bit more control over your lines.
If you start playing with brushes and ink, you might enjoy trying out a Pentel Pocket Brush pen, btw, which is what I use. Has the same feel of a brush but no ink dipping!
Man, I looked all over the local art supply for a brush pen of any kind, and specifically a Pentel brush pen. No luck. I think I"ll probably end up having to order one on the internet someday.
For the time being though, I think I'm really liking the whole "scratchiness" of the nib pen.
And that is an awesome tip. I will definitely use that.
Thanks Grenn, I may have to track those down at some point.
I'm going on a bit of a vacation from my regular internet stuff, so that I can focus more on actually drawing.
So I leave you with the new AC Challenge thread, and a picture of a toad I found on my porch last night.
Posts
Alright, since it seems everybody's jumping on the Threadless wagon, I thought I'd try my hand.
The original concept had glow-in-the-dark green ink. However, I think the design might be a bit busy, despite the green not being terribly visible during the day. I might end up ditching the green lettering in the background...
Any suggestions?
Night:
Day:
EDIT:
If I went with the design minus the green ink, I was also thinking of giving the little guy a smile...make him a little more mischievous.
Any thoughts?
Please critique?
I've gotten some other critiques on the placement, so I thought I'd give a couple options here.
Which is better, #1 or #2?
did you know you can't have a message that's less than three characters now?
weird.
ps. awesome
pps. really really
#1 for placement.
Awesome idea, great illustrations too.
Adding the second character does really add a lot to the shirt.
INSTAGRAM
And for the direct URL: http://www.threadless.com/submission/177278/Lowbrow
...
I am not accustomed to begging, so I will have my cat do it for me.
Voted
I can see your point, but I really like it still the idea is just awesome.
But Moss knows threadless and tee-shirts more than anyone on this site, so yeah, maybe listen to him
I wanted to abstract it a bit from a straight outline, and actually went through several iterations, including a fully-filled bull as well as just outlines. The inspiration came from some aboriginal rock art I saw a long time ago. Basically, they blew paint through a tube and used their hand as a mask, creating an early "stencil" effect.
Anyhow, it's good to hear something from the Threadless master.
(On a side note, did you ever find out what was up with those Cafepress ripoffs of your design I emailed to you a while back?)
And Grenn - thanks! I used to be into screenprinting a while ago, and seeing your stuff really makes me want to find a local spot to start up again.
But maybe it's the contrast of the white that's throwing me off. I think it makes the characters and the cave art a little disparate. I don't know. It's a sweet idea.
I like.
Good luck
Both points are very good, and I like the idea of toning down the white into a tan. I can definitely afford to add another color to the mix.
If the design ends up not doing so well on Threadless, I'll probably end up reworking it in the future for some other purpose. (...and I'll likely make the changes then.)
I've been a digital native for most of my life. Drawing on a tablet is my most natural medium, right next to sketching with pencil. However, after seeing guys like jibjib, earthwormadam, and grenn, I've really wanted to get into drawing something in ink...I guess it's the immediacy and the fact that I don't have to take it to Kinko's for it to be really "done."
That, and I really like the look of the dipped pen and ink, and have never had the guts to give it a real try.
So for an early birthday present, I picked myself up some smooth bristol board, Windsor & Newton india ink, and a dip pen with nibs. This is my first terrible drawing ever with it! (I used a hunt 102 nib if you really wanted to know...)
I know I kind of jumped the gun on erasing the pencil, because I smeared the ink in a couple spots. Man, I feel like a total noob drawing like this. It's fun, but really frustrating.
Grenns' Pro-Tip: Don't do your final inks over your pencils right away. Instead use a cheap fineliner to ink in the lines, let it dry, then erase the pencil lines and then use your brush/dip-pen to ink over the fineliner lines.
That way you never have to erase over your final inks, and they stay lovely and opaque.
Also, doing a bunch of lines and exercises (as you've been doing already it seems) will get your hand warmed up and give you a bit more control over your lines.
If you start playing with brushes and ink, you might enjoy trying out a Pentel Pocket Brush pen, btw, which is what I use. Has the same feel of a brush but no ink dipping!
Looking forward to more from you mate. 8-)
For the time being though, I think I'm really liking the whole "scratchiness" of the nib pen.
And that is an awesome tip. I will definitely use that.
I got mine (and a tonne of refils) from here:
http://www.cultpens.com/
I'm going on a bit of a vacation from my regular internet stuff, so that I can focus more on actually drawing.
So I leave you with the new AC Challenge thread, and a picture of a toad I found on my porch last night.
I named him Bufo.