Mr. Robin please bring spring soon, this winter is killing me here is freezing wisconsin!



I know Im working on ele-funk but I thought I throw another one in the critiques, let me know know what you guys think, yeh or neh, I thought of having the robin in like an old vintage rock n roll singer singing his heart out,



The Robin is considered a symbol of spring

or is everyone just tired of damn birds on shirts hahaha

Alex, your stuff couldn't even put a narcoleptic to sleep. I LOVE this (and your birds in general). I'd love to see this progress, especially since I really am dying to have spring back in our area... I miss the birdies!!!

yes I miss the birds, we got a winter winchill warning today, so cold that schools had to close down.

i love it too. but, yes, there have been a bit too many birds on shirts. still, love your shit.

You should have backup singers/instrument players that are crickets and frogs. GAH. I miss spring and summer.



*cries*

What is the recycling icon for? I've noticed that there is loads of birdy and squished monster tshirts doing the rounds at the moment .. but I love your style man .. take it further.



Please crit me teddy sez no

Im thinking of maybe doing a red shirt as well.



the recycling icon is on the lil piece of paper I doddled this in, ust didnt erase it when I scanned it.



SUMMMMMMMER!!!!

I think the general design is a cool idea, though I'd like to see it more finished with colors. There's lots of ways it could look in the end, so it's hard to judge from the sketch. I also think that it might be fun to play with the placement of the bird, like try putting it off to the side and having the notes its singing big and drifting up the shirt's center. Overall, good start.

thanx man, great suggestions, yeah i wanted to post just a quick doddle to get mroe ideas before I start on an actual sketch

dude great start, another masterpiece for sure

can't wait to see where this goes! although, i think you should put the shades on his head. :D

so on top of his head? I aiming for a 80's rock and roll type sorta liek the thumbnail

Whatever this ends up like, make the bow tie super-snazzy!

i like the recycling logo

have you considering making the arrows bigger and maybe more of them?

I was thinking of making that all in halftone and maybe some gold foil

I like it, don't go with foil though.

that was a joke. hahaha speedyjoe made some smart comment on the lil recycle logo that scanned with the doodle from the recycle paper I draw on hahaha, no plans for foil at this point tho haha

hahaha @ the don't go with foil comment. I love this idea! And I'm not tired of birds on shirts yet. : D

bump

I'm sure it will be amazing.

yo alex



hard to say so early on with this one...it could either be super tacky or super cool. i'll wait for V2 to give a score. PEACE



Happy McMousey Pants

Chimney Drinkey

pretty normal for now lets see a story or sth stil cant say much bout it now

crit

me

http://www.threadless.com/critique/34641/king_cock

here is a more accurate sketch, let me know what you guys think so far, any suggestions or anything else that would be coolr to add. etc etc

should I add the music notes or just leave them off?

again, love it. your style is so amazing

(and idk i think maybe no music notes)

yeah thats why I didnt add them but wanted some feedback from others too, so right now leaning towards no still, thanx

Love this, submit it, but without music note!

have you thought about adding more arrows?

I thought about adding like 6 more, but I lost my ruler so it's really hard to draw the arrows without a ruler :(

thanx Boucher - I think I will go with no notes

So freaking awesome. I'd go for it with or without notes, but I'm sure that doesn't help much. :)

yeah not adding notes, any other feedback r suggestions from anyone? des anything look off or weird

Is this based on the song rockin' robin.... tweet ~ tweet ~ twiddly deet~



I'm still hoping to see your technique in action. Especially the coloring.

also, maybe just a few lines coming out from his mouth rather than the music notes. It might help to have something rather than nothing at all. I'd also probably wrap the very tip of his wing holding the mic up so he is 'embracing' it more.

haha awesome, I think Ill change the title too rockin robin :)

This is lookin great so far, looking forward to yet another solis masterpiece, I'm imagining this on a mustard tee with some retro browns and oranges



could you take a look at my crit and say what you think?

^^Rockin robin definitely

I was thinking of going for a red tee, but yeah retro colors sound cool, should I add anything tothe background? maybe some could or something not sure.

you could have stagelighting or something, maybe even made by the sun.. not sure, I'm trying to think of ways of combining nature with a stage so he has a decent backdrop to perform on

maybe a treehouse stage?

ummm that would be sorta cool, Ill try adding clouds etc dancing, and the sun too, thanx



thanx brightwood

i would like him to point that other wing out towards the audience. Kinda like an elvis move. also maybe the hat isn't too 50's rock and roll. Maybe some sort of greaser hairstyle

makes sense, taking hat off

A slick quiff and skinny tie are more rock'n'roll, but this little guy is so cute I kind of don't want you to change him. You could ditch the singing and go for a 50s hood robin with a switchblade. But now I've just said that I want to draw it! (Robins are fiercely territorial and fight each other all the time)

buahaha go ahead and draw it I dunno if I wanna switch the whole idea around at this point you know.

I'd go a head as is then. The character is great I'm sure he will go down well.

I'm working on an updated wip, I'll post it soon, thanx

I liked the music notes in the 1st version, but I like the latest design better...

really, ummm everyone mention they liked it without the music notes. but maybe Ill work on the notes and take them off later on if they dont work. thanx man

I would make his beak ever so slightly bigger..



More focus on the trilby (if this is an indy robin) .. or leave the trilby and more focus on the glasses (aka buddy holly) if this is a 50's rocker ;)

yeah Imma re-do the tribly a bit and focus on the glasses a bit too I guess he's a new school rocker with an old school flava, does that even make sense? lol

I think I wont focus on the tribly as much, someone suggested putting some greaser hairdo, but not sure if it will fit with the birdm dont want to put a hairdo n him you know

yeah making the beak a tad bigger to be more like an actual robin too

Oh this is good. I love the eye looking over the glasses. Feels like an old school player is coming back to life.

thanx :)

goiing goood. waiting for the vectorized!

Ill be working on it more after Im done with the pizza collav, in the meantime Im hoping to egt some suggestions to make it better from everyone

I liked the music notes, made it look more "jazzy" to me. this is cool. really cool, liked v1, still like v2!



help me please?

thanx guys - added some suggestions to both of yours as well :)

Music notes, just like 2 or 3 or something. Would the branch fade into the side of the shirt? Sorry I'm just imagining it in my head.

yeah I was thinking fadnig the branch with halftone at the end



Imma add like 2 or 3 great suggestions, I can always take them off if they dont work at the end

ohhhhhhhhh, I thought you were gonna put him in an old timey club.



Well, if he's in a tree, maybe you could make a tree club? Like there could be a bunch of branches around him with different tables nestled into the crooks of the branches.



Maybe not. It's looking good so far.

I like the idea of having lines coming out of his mouth instead of notes or nothing at all. Really though I wouldn't change anything beyond the beak size. He's got a lot of character I think. Looking forward to the new version!



_____________________________________________



http://www.threadless.com/critique/35504/Killing_Time

http://www.threadless.com/critique/35540/On_the_Pallid_Bust

thanx, yeah not sure about the hair I played with the idea a bit in the v1 but I didnt think it would work as wlel and make it look like not a robin anymore you know

awesomme sketch so far!

How about if his right hand opens? It will presenting he is animate the song when singing.

hand=wing

;)

cool, great suggesitons, I actually did start drawing his wing out pointing like that, but for some reaosn it took away from being sorta semi real and started to lean more towards the cartoony side of it. for some reason his wing on the side gives me more of the Im a real bird feeling hahaha

Hey, really cool, would think you should stick with the wing pointing out tho :)



Crit mine too, please?

http://www.threadless.com/critique/34745/A_piece_of_cake

yes, you're right, alex. it will ruin the cartoon atmosphere.

thanx man, checking yours out now

This is RAD. I love the glasses, the expression, and his little foot holding on to the mic. Agree with other suggestions to point the other wing out a bit, but otherwise perfect. I can't wait to see the finished piece!



(care to take a peek at mine?)

Looks kinda like a crooner or some kind of robin on a radio show before there was TV. If you add notes, maybe they have are like feathers. Your work is solid, very good stuff. Keep it up, can't wait to see the final product!

cool, ok Imma go back to the hand pointing since a few people suggested it

i agree with WebPaperScissors, the little foot holding the mic is great. It's a very good drawing too. But i'm thinking if a closed eye would give more emphasis to the feeling of giving everything on the singing..

anyway, you are doing a great work.

one more note, could you comment on mine? i have almost none comments. =D

thanx :)

I think it's great! I see it more jazz than rock. Just a thought, the other wing may be holding on to the hat.



Please comment on my work, thanks!

http://www.threadless.com/critique/35736/The_Phoenix_Lover

not like new rock, but those old love song singer rockers :) like on the thumbnail

i really like this. when i see the bird the first thing i think of is an old school jingle like the mr sandman song. i would love to see it with some color, but its very beautiful already.



any pointers for me with mine?

http://www.threadless.com/critique/35582/The_Lonely_Building

yeah for sure, Imma finish up the lines, then do the color in later versions :)

heading over to check yours out now

Gonna bump this for you alex, have you thought of maybe a pocket watch, and just one other thought. What about making the microphone actually come up front the limb and be a branch like a sweet all naturale microphone, it would be more green* hahahaha

appreciate any advice on my critique

sounds like a good idea, Ill try that in the next version as well :) gotta stay green nowadays haha

i love your stuff, makes me feel small. it reminds me of a disney cartoon (i think) about a singing owl. i was thinking about him having a drink, and i think some notes or movement to show his singing.

love some feedback from you

http://www.threadless.com/critique/35732/Splotchy_Castle

Reminds me of Elvis Costello. I could see some fireflies in there adding some nite club ambience. Very nice as usual. If you get a chance, http://www.threadless.com/critique/35828/Heron_and_Leer_Jets

Thanks

thanx guys appreacite it, Ill go check yours out

Your drawing is excellent! Makes me think of BB king for some reason....



I would be very appreciative if you could crit my work: http://www.threadless.com/critique/35865/Just_like_you

I have some designs submitted already, but i'm wanting more focus on my crit piece :)

I have to say i love the little hat, and the proportion seems just perfect, awesome.



if you get a chance http://www.threadless.com/critique/35886/SnakeWine :) thanks

Great sketch- someone mentioned a spotlight so I am thinking a jar or something with fireflies making a spotlight- or maybe just the light of a spotlightlike moon-




Score My Design Please [click]

hehe, i love the idea. I'm not too crazy about the glasses. ;-)



Wanna check mine out?

fixed a few things, let me know what you guys think before I move on to inking the artwork

Oh yeah, the sunshine is such a nice touch. You know I've been drawing birds all week for a design I've been working on and yours is by far better than anything I've got.



Anyway, maybe make the notes a little bigger, or perhaps the sun could be whistling/humming along? I dunno man this is pretty solid as always.



Do you think you could check out my WIP...I think its almost done.

When PB met J

I'm really liking the composition here

could maybe make the notes have little faces and hand swinging to the tune like the sun.

I just want to say I really like his hat.

I can't pick a whole lot to change but if there is something that needs to be done to the connecting part of the branch to the tree to make it less noticable, but depending on placement and such it could all be irrelevant.

awesome, great ideas and sugegstions guys. I'm fading away the branch sorta like in "hidden people" sub I subebd a while ago.

are those bird color-bands around the legs? Is he part of a population study?



Also I think most songbirds have 3 toes pointing forwards and 1 pointing back.

that sun. rules.

what if he was snapping his other wing tot he beat?..he doesnt look like he is very into his music

slow down man. no one can keep up with you. this will turn into something great i can see it already. i love to hate you. the sun lookin great



LEAVE MY DESIGN A SCORE . AND A COMMENT! :)

haha yeah taking the bands off and fixing the legs, didnt really reference them so thats probably why, Imma reference a real robins legs to make sure its correct



I tried doing the other wing pointing forward but it really threw the design off for me. So he's sorta in a more chill position, keeping the realistic style slighty there still.



notes with faces will be awesome :)

I love it... it remembers me those old cartoons where Frank Sinatra was a skinny bird!



I like how he is holding the mic with his leg... but I'm a little concerned on how can he keep steady with only one leg holding the branch.



Anyway... you know I love your style and I can wait to see all the textures applied to it.



Hey, if you have a minute (or two) I'd really appreciate your comments on my two critiques.



Clowns



Mirror

I like the sun and clouds, but i like the other version better overall. i don't like the things around his ankles, and i like the old hat better. I like the music notes. And i'd make the microphone part of the tree, like mentioned earlier.

yeah taking the things off his ankles I dunno what iw as thinking with those hahaha.



I tried making the mic outta the branch but it looked sorta weird, I think Ill still make it outta wood when I started inking it tho, that's still a great idea.

I prefer the old hat... But its still great!

Somthing looks off where the neck meets the bowtie. Other than that it looks amazing.

umm what's off? not sure I see it? But let me knowwhat you think looks off so I can try and fix it

I really like this.

nice job so far, alex!

You are GOOD at this.....

I agee with Horsefacedee, the other wing should have movement. I liked the old hat better.



The clouds and the sun are a nice touch.



Wanna check mine out?

halfway done with the inking :) I'll try and post the progress tonight, or maybe wait til Im done with the first step of inking if I get lazy haha

the clouds, sun and notes Imma do with the tablet, since Imma do them slighty different lines the the bird to sortas give them a more distant look, and to try something a bit different,



but Im pretty much done with the linework for the robin :) changed the legs a bit, and the wing holding the mic. and a few other things accoring to the suggestions :)



let me know what you guys think so far. and any suggestions.

Beautiful linework! I'm kind of afraid the sun might distract from the robin. Other than that, you've got me excited about the finished product.

Ditto on everything Spork said.

Amazing.

well THIS is starting to suck







jk, amazing linework as usual :)

Looks great so far. I love the little wood grain pattern on the glasses.

Scorpio Spork, yeah thats why Imma do that sun etc with the tablet so it wont distract form the bird

so here is the color version so far after a really long night of coloring. let me know what you guys think as far as the coloring goes right now. do people hate light brown tshirts?

thoguth I try a diff color that is not commonly printed around here

wow, alex. wow. you got a great eye for color. and more light brown shirts do need to be printed. but despite how long it might take, i'd def play around with a lighter color palette.

looks great, might be one of my faves of yours. So you hand ink it? Then you scan that into the computer.... how do you isolate your line work in such a clean way?

Lighter colors maybe. Oh, yeah. I think you should make the smile of the right cloud bigger and remove the pattern from the hat.

I forgot something. I don't really like the emotions on the notes.

By the way, do you use a tablet for the linework?

What are you waiting for? Sumbit it looks ready.

You fixed it. I was going to say the tie just looked like it was resting ontop of the bird and not effecting it at all. Now I see it fully rendered it works. NICE

Color looks awesome... The only thing I would change are the lines behind the notes... I don't know if it is the color that is not fitting at all or if they should be thinner... Anyway is a very small detail, everithing looks incredible so far.

I love this, I would buy it now!!

What did you use to progress the color from sketch to finish?

G'dmn Alex, this is HOT!!



I'd just add some yellow or white in the mic so that it stand out a but more .. but man ..



I'm speechless

cool thank you guys great suggestions, yeah I took a lot of time on the linework, all of the bird if you guys see from the previous version is all done by hand with a mircorpen scanned in cleaned up, added some contracts to the lines to get rid of greyers lines, then bitmap %50 threeshold to get the perfect black and white lines. then I select the white and get rid of it, to add color overlay to the black lines.



the other stuff I did by tablet, it's cool but still I dont have 100% control and feel my hand lines are much better still. and flow more.



color I did in photoshop but I think its a lot better since I can color alsmot like I darw now with the tablet.



thanx for the suggestion guys! I might mess aorund a bit wiht the color today. and some of the suggestions.

I messed around a bit with the color, I didnt want to get rid of the lil animated music notes :) since I wanted everything to be sorta animated a bit. I think Ill work on the presentation now :)

I like this better.

so amazing!!!

i think the background should be lighter, maybe even bluer, to brighten up the image.

absolutely - f**king amazing! you are so talented and seeing your evolution is really interesting and educational.



SUBMIT THIS- you seriously need to get your own site for the shirts that do not get printed here-

I love this one- I know that you start out with pencil sketches like a lot of us do BUT what is your process after that??? Do you scan your drawing in and color in photoshop or what?



I would love to know-

please critique mine when you have a chance-






Punching Kitty Critique

here is a previous comment I posted that might answer your question:



cool thank you guys great suggestions, yeah I took a lot of time on the linework, all of the bird if you guys see from the previous version is all done by hand with a mircorpen scanned in cleaned up, added some contracts to the lines to get rid of greyers lines, then bitmap %50 threeshold to get the perfect black and white lines. then I select the white and get rid of it, to add color overlay to the black lines.



the other stuff I did by tablet, it's cool but still I dont have 100% control and feel my hand lines are much better still. and flow more.



color I did in photoshop but I think its a lot better since I can color alsmot like I darw now with the tablet.



thanx for the suggestion guys! I might mess aorund a bit wiht the color today. and some of the suggestions.

maybe some more expression/emotion in his eyes? he sort of looks like he's just gazing off into the distance. perhaps if his eyes were shut tight (like he's belting out a tune), or if there was some suggestion of 'eyebrows' in the highlights above the eyes, he would look more into it.

already submitted :)



SUBBED!

Nice i'll go vote for it

haha when it's not still pending approval

it wont be up for voting for a few days, just subbed a few minutes ago

Thanks Alex- for the lesson- that is awesome-






Punching Kitty Critique

looks sooooo great

i really really like your work :)

this one is very pretty but your raindeer's got my heart hahaha

Good to go. I love the textures. When you get a chance, http://www.threadless.com/critique/35828/Heron_and_Leer_Jets

Thanks

hey alex could you go through how you get your hand drawn lines to appear so clean when scanned in, in a bit more detail, Ive been trying to figure out how to do this....your brief explanation leaves me slightly confused

when I get to the point where the lines are really really clean on the paper,



I scan the artwork at 300dpi,



the artwork is fairly large so I have to scan it in two parts, the bototm then the top



I put them together in photoshop



Clean as much as I can without going overt the actual artowkr, so grey aeras lil dots that shouldnt be there etc.



I add contrast and brightness but make sure to not lose my lines just enough to have it pretty black and white and getting rid of some of the gresy I dont want etc



Then I bitmap that with the option of 50% threeshold



I turn it back to greyscale and make sure the layer is not locked



that makes it all black and white, then I click on the selection tool, and go to color range, and lcik on a white area, then click delete, so now Im left with just the black lines, I color overlay it with whatever color i want the lines to be.



I then put a stroke of like 5 and a crazy color like red, to clean up all the lil dots I dont need in the artwork and around there.



the linework will not be 100% clean, some of it I got back and redraw digitally etc.



thats pretty much the process for the linework :) seems like a lot but thats the main element of my artwork

The fine tuning of the colors between v5 and six really make it pop. Love the wood grain glasses and microphone.

thanx :)!

okay cool thanks for that! its a lot less complicated then what a normally try and do, i.e erase all around the line art :(





ps the robin came out brilliantly, the colour choices are really strong

Looking great.

What about the placement?



http://www.threadless.com/critique/36134/Dark_Night_Sky

it was subbed



http://www.threadless.com/submission/195633/Rockin_Robin?streetteam=alexmdc

Late comment, but awesome design!

Sorry, you mentioned something about a micropen?

Just wanted to know what it is (:

I apologise if I sound really clueless

Thanks!

Looks really great, I really like your style. And you chose the colours brilliantly. More than ready to submit :)

thank you, it's up for voting with 4 days elft right now :)



http://www.threadless.com/submission/195633/Rockin_Robin

great looking design!

ahh coool!!! time to submit! :)



if you want crit mine ?

only if you have the time

Awesome!!! Love the color scheme. Wouldn't change a thing submit!!!



Check mine out Here

what technique do you use for inking?? i mean it was a sketch with pencil and then it became a computerized masterpiece!!

please how can i make my skecthes computerized?

the inking was done by hand, look up a few comments above this one, where I posted micropen, thats the type of pen I use for inking before scanning the artwork

Very nice ! You go to the victory.



But me .. I need help :(



http://www.threadless.com/critique/36822/Be_my_Valentine#v2

Gorgeous! When you get a chance, http://www.threadless.com/critique/36888/Unlucky

Thanks

haha love the caterpillar! brilliant result...



Could you help me with my new one? http://www.threadless.com/critique/36901/Murder_in_the_Bakery

thanks!!!

That is so damn great! Rockin Robin submit!

congratulation,very nice work!

submit it

This looks great. Good Style.



Hmmm, just read in the comments that you allready submitted it in february. I'll go check out the score then. :)



Crit my Skull pls

This looks great. Good Style.



Hmmm, just read in the comments that you allready submitted it in february. I'll go check out the score then. :)



Crit my Skull pls

well it got a really good score and tons of comments, but it wasnt printed, maybe I can re-work some of the colors for this one, what do you guys think?

maybe not re-working the colors, but adjust the scene itself could help.

the tree branch cropped like this is always difficult in a design imo.

if you let the bird sit on the mic-pole it works better i think.

but then the wood mapping could look odd, hmm hard to say what would work better.

just changing the colors might not be enough to resub again...



my Sub Shoal is up for voting (one day left)

i think you missed it ;-)

winner!



please vote for my sheeps! thanks!

Great! At the risk of sounding repetitive...