One of our two first designs for Threadless! We're really excited for any feedback, creative or technical, and remember we're new so please do catch us if we just haven't submitted or formatted something right too. Thanks guys!

the design stops there or it will follows through to the back of the shirt?

I had it stopping there. I was under the impression that wraparound printing added complications.



Also I didn't have a lot to say on the back of the shirt, unless perhaps there turned out to be an electrical socket, or maybe a little squirrel enjoying the deathmetal rock and throwing up the horns.



However, if the world agrees this shirt needs a back to be successful, glory be, I will design one. What about the rest of the design?



Thank you!

veeeeeeery nice,smart and ironic! I think it's quite ready....the only useless element is ,in my opinion, small leaves on the left(they are too smaller than the ones on the right). I would put less of them and make them more similar to the others.

Nice illustration.



http://www.threadless.com/critique/62054/Clue_sual_Suspects

its quite cool.....color is good...does it have to be so small on the bottom...i would like the design on the upper part....awesome

Wow, the two birds are awesome. I like it.



But I feel they´re too good to be that small, maybe the branch should continue to the back of the shirt, so the two singing birds could be bigger on front, and the speaker alone on the back.



I think it would look better. Great job!

I would to see the lil squirrel enjoying the deathmetal rock and throwing up the horns, that would be win!

Thank you everyone! I'll edit a version that's a chest design and a version thats a wraparound with the Amp Bird on the back soon. I hadn't thought to make it all bigger... I'm leaning towards the wraparound so that all the birds can get more real estate.



Great ideas! Thank you!

i love it!!

i'd also like to see it wrap around with a squirrel rocking out :)



it reminds me of this episode of family guy 'bird is the word' (dont know what the actual name is)

check it:

Thank you all for your feedback. I concur about the birds being bigger. They're too great to keep them so small.

really dig! especially the one on the speaker. he looks "smooooth"!



to answer your question on the watercolor effect be printed: the way i've printed it at our shop is simulated process and it's tricky. i'm not really sure how threadless does it though. i haven't actually had anything with that effect from them in my hands. hopefully i'll find out! thanks for the critique.

Great one. Love the design, don't have a lot to say about the illustration style or anything. I agree I'd love to see other placements or a wraparound. Great work!

I think the style is perfect. My main qualm is with the color choice. I'm not liking the green on red. Perhaps if the green was another more pastel color, not quite as saturated. I wish I had time to play around with it and show you what I mean. Besides the primary bird color I love the design and idea. Another thought, what about putting a musical notation (like a treble cleff) in the bird tails? Perhaps various notations for each bird.

I agree with the illustration being a bit small. It would be nice to see it more :) just a minor thought. Either way I like the design concept!

This is definitely ready!!!



Comment my new version:

http://www.threadless.com/critique/62214/I_feel_Alone#v2

Oh I love this so much. The design is so adorable. ^^



Critique mine?

http://www.threadless.com/critique/62246/PHONY

Love this.

Love the design and Idea, especially like that bird with the shades. Maybe adding additional branches so the design doesn't seem to empty would be a good idea.









If you could critique my design I would be very grateful.

Great design, guess you could really make the back of the shirt not so empty by adding a tree that the branch at the front is connected to?



please critique on mine here : http://www.threadless.com/critique/62159/Freedom#v2



thanks :D

I really like this. I like how their tails look like stringed instruments as well. Cute and modern and makes a point. Awesome!



If you feel like critiquing mine :)

http://www.threadless.com/critique/62260/Then_He_Snapped

I agree about the birds being bigger. I don't think the bird on the speakers needs the glasses. I wouldn't mind seeing how you would treat clouds in this design, to fill up the shirt a little more. Great style. If you get a chance, Failanx

We're actually going to add to the glasses... when the birds are larger, detail will also be clearer, and I actually really like the glasses. Thanks though. Clouds, maybe in a paler shade of blue, actually might be cool!



However when its all bigger (looking to get that version up within the next two days or so, a lot of it depends on my esteemed colleague's busy schedule, as she edits the vector art) it may or may not need them, but if folks still think it needs filling out then we will certainly give that a shot.



I'll definitely make a point to check out all the links to other people's work that I can! Thanks everyone - I'm impressed at how thorough most people on Threadless are. You guys are peachy keen.

This is wonderful. The poses are superb! Good to go i think!

.

i really like the birds. very good illustration. I also think that the bird could be bigger. Do you really need the speech bubbles in your design?

Hmmm hadn't thought about dropping speech bubbles. You're the first person to ask, so I'll ask everyone (like my shirt is a matter of national importance, you like that? :D ) Anyone else want to drop the notes?



I like the notes because Rockabirdy (they're calling him Amp Bird on FB now, I'm so pleased) is specifically rocking out some power chords. But let me know what people think!

I think the style is its strongest element... sort of that smoothed, geometric, retro 50s art deco . The muted pastels and earth tones fit it nicely. Placing the design at the bottom of the shirt is a good idea... keep it... but, yeah it should be larger as I lose some of the smaller details (the leaves and the birds features in particular). I wonder if the amp bird should be a bit more separated from the other two, since he's so jarring conceptually and he's kind of your payoff or punchline. He sort of is TOO much like the other two. Maybe move him farther apart from the other two, make his amp bigger, or hell.... put him on the back of the shirt. One last thing- the power chords on the last balloon... I had a hard time reading them, although I can see what you're thinking. They're a bit too clustered to read clearly and quickly. Maybe it should just be one huge note. Either way, I think less would be more with this detail. I'd say keep the speech balloons, since they are a pretty integrated part of the design. I think you need their separation here.

We addressed the two suggestions that most people made:

1. All birds bigger

2. Rockabirdy on the back/Rockabirdy separated



Wrapping the image around meant that now the branch had to anchor to something. We noodled the trunk ferociously for many hours, and Lauren also added to the amp to make it, you know... more ampy. It went through a rough phase where she had actually added so much cool detail that it was overshadowing Rockabirdy, so we agreed it needed scaling back. I hope we've scaled it back enough, but we're also exhausted of looking at it, so please check it out, compare it to the previous version, and tear it up. Thanks everyone!

I got the last critique from Mr. Johnnypaycheck AS I was uploading this, and he suggested changing the power chord in Rockabirdy's bubble to one big, jaggy, loud note. I think I like this idea. Thoughts on that as well. Read easier? Impact? Thanks.

Hey, you could make the rockabirdy speech bubble jaggedy shaped as well to make it look LOUD!



But it looks great as it is, its a very cool stylised illustration.

Yeah I think we're going to readdress Rockabirdy's bubble for sure, hopefully its a quick fix.



We're really interested to hear what people think of the new version vs. the old. My only concern is it may now have too many elements on the back, that is, be a little busy. How does everyone feel about that?

Haha this is nice man I would like to see more branches on the front it would just fill that front space more thanks for the comment its a sick shirt

I'm diggin the illustration style of this. I think the concept will be easier to understand if all the birds were on the front of the tee. Threadless usually only prints front/back tees if it is absolutely necessary for the concept.



Long story short: i prefer v1 but with chest placement and a little bigger. Also it would benefit from being superimposed on a real tshirt model. There is a huge amount of awesome people that have taken the time to set up templates over here. Good luck!

This is great! I think it would be really cool if you could fit the whole design onto the front of the shirt like previously mentioned, maybe by moving the two front birds closer to the top and put the rocking bird more towards the bottom. Maybe a couple more branches would really add to the overall design. :)



Anyway, this is an awesome design! I love it and can't wait to see it printed! ;)

I love this design! I will definitely be voting 5$ as soon as this is up!

I think I have a slight preference for the front only design, but only slight. I think I'd like the tree on the back better if the trunk were more slender, or maybe tapered a bit more at the top.



But either way, this is incredibly awesome! I especially love their tails!

Haha, figures... well that's good to know about Threadless' front/back policy.



At least ten people voted for the wraparound idea on V1, but now that its here in the flesh that's two votes for putting it back on the front. Which is life, I suppose - we want people to be honest about it.



I want to do whatever gives it the best chance of being printed, so if front/back placement will hinder the design on a technicality, we'll go back to the front.



More opinions on wraparound vs all on front?



Keep in mind that if its all on the front the birds will be a lot smaller. I don't like the idea of just "filling" the tee with clouds/branches in that case, though both things have been suggested, because I like every element to be meaningful. Again though, I want to hear what others' think.

hahaha, it's kind a crazy and fun, it made me laugh...!!!!!!!!



i think it's great!!!



Would you mind ckent mine??

yeah... on this version, I'd lose the whole tree trunk on the back- its a bit too overwhelming. I think it'd be stronger if it were just the Amp bird on the branch. Just flip the branch, and make it join into the branch on the front. I know it may seem weird, but I don't think people will be wondering where the rest of the tree is anyway. Other'n that the changes are great. But if you can't do the wrap around, I like the idea of putting the other two birds up higher and the Amp Bird beneath them on the front.

I think you can submit both options as one design if you want? The way people will sub color and black & white options.



I've also seen Tees where the final printed version differed slightly from the original submitted design. I'm sure the Threadless staff know that we aren't all experts on t-shirt printing - it's probably part of their job to see the potential in the designs and assess the options for printing. It's your job to make an amazing design that everyone votes 5$ on. ;)



If everyone wants to buy it, they'll find a way to print it!

BTW, if you need a flash template, there's a great one here: http://www.threadless.com/profile/115982/Manos/blog/331017/Get_you_flash_template_here

Thanks guys! I will look into if Threadless will let us send two versions, I think they both have strengths.



I KNOW I don't like the trunk now that I look at it, and Lauren agrees that while the back is fun, it WORKS on the front - so we're thinking, do what's best for the coherency and aesthetics of the design, and we're leaning towards the front design.



Lauren suggested the birds on different level branches too and OH we just thought of what we were going to do thanks guys - I think V. 3 is going to wrap up all these issues of size and placement and keep everything on the front.



Guys, thanks so much for the critiques and encouragement, this is our first submission and we are just tickled pink. You know, like how old ladies would say.

Thanks kiriko moth, I haven't sat down to figure out the technical challenges of the Flash template yet (I'm a beginner with Flash) but its something I will look into if not on this sub then asap. Thanks!

No problem - I have no idea how to use Flash (not even a beginner) and I was able to set up a sub with the template - it's explained in the thread - you literally just drop your jpgs in and save. Super easy.

Clever idea, well-worked and super illustration. I personally prefer all the action on the front.

i will 5 vote for this! Even as a print on a handkerchief or a shirt or even embroidered it would look great

looks nice, but the big ass tree on the back is not that nice, somehow.. maybe you can add more branches,



anw i love the rockbirdie, looks cool :)

hmm, that was odd. Anyway, I love this! I don't believe it needs any altering. Great work, and very good use of color. And the wrap around is just great! :)



Please take a look at mine if you have the time! http://www.threadless.com/critique/62465/Home_Tunes

I like the V2 wraparound. If you want to do the front only you need to a due something to fill all that space. It works good as a wrap so why do that?

We've got a third version to put up today that's an all-front design arranged to fill the space better that I think will still let the "gag" flow logically and let all the birds be bigger, while eliminating the tree trunk. I think it will be the best, but that's why we have a critique board! After that I think we'll be ready to pick (or combine) ideas just right and submit.



I can't thank everyone enough for all the USEFUL commentary! Really, thoughtful critique is valuable and we most definitely appreciate it. Check back tonight (hopefully) for the Most Awesome Version Ever (double hopefully).

There were folks who already thought V1 and V2 were good to go to print, and we're excited that the image STARTED strong enough to get those votes of confidence from the get go! We knew though that we could push it more and sending it through a few critiques has REALLY helped. I think now we've resolved all of the original major issues that folks brought up, and though the first versions may have worked OKAY, I'm confident that this one is the strongest.



Whether you agree or not, we want your honest opinion as always! And whatever you say, please let us know which version is the strongest in your eyes overall. Thank you!



The fixes, most suggested by Threadless critiquers:



1. Image returned to front

2. Birds larger (on staggered levels/depth as well)

3. Fills space of shirt

4. Clearer, more dynamic bubble for Rockabirdy

5. Rockabirdy largest/most forward.



Can't wait! Thanks everyone.

Hey man this looks a lot better as a big print nice job, it took care of that space issue. Looks awesome by the way!



I also put up a new version.

Thanks! it really helped to go through a few versions - its funny how sure you are of your first version until somebody starts suggesting things. I hadn't thought of doing it this way until last night and I'm finally jazzed with the layout.



Folks probably know this, but the .gif file I'm using discernably mutes the colors. They're not superbright or anything, but they are more vibrant than this, and some of the edges I think look sharper in the real .ai file.

Looks great! The only thing I might do is see what it looks like on a real t-shirt. It is very funny and I love the bird with glasses. The tails have a great design quality. Very funny. Nice work. I would submit it.

This looks cool to me and makes you laugh so you're on to a winner!

The only thing i think that needs changing is the musical notes. You have all these nice curves in your line work and the musical notes should be the same.



Apart from that sub sub sub!!!



jnj

Thank you! I'll try out noodling the notes before I submit it and see if it looks good. I will certainly get it on a real shirt model and make the presentation all nice for submissions - I have to sit down and figure out the flash template.

I thought the music note was an exploding bird.

But over all I like it. The music notes seem like a different style.

hmm... yeah. Probably go with one note with Amp Bird's balloon. Other'n that, submit the hell out of it.

Sure, notes are easily enough deleted. Exploding bird is pretty out there. If anybody else sees an exploding bird, please tell me now, because I didn't see that one coming at all. And other thoughts about the bubble - should it just be one big note?



We're really interested to know if anyone out there REALLY misses the wraparound version. I think this is the strongest but I know a lot of folks dug the wrap before. How do you feel about this one in comparison?

-I like this design layout best of all.

-I preferred rock bird's previous musical notes...the style of the new ones seem to clash in the wrong way. I think I like his exploding speech bubble, though.

Ty for your feedback! These are great characters! The oversized print def puts focus on rockabirdy. I can tell from the note style that his boombox is loud :) I had no problem with the v1 placement as long as there was more of a gap to separate rockabirdy and the drawing was a bit bigger. But remember, don't let yourself get pulled in too many different directions, because everyone gives different advice ;)

Thanks Laurastead, that's true, we've had about equal positive feedback for front placement and back placement and lah lah lah. I plan on tweaking the few ideas for the notes then subbin' it! Enough people like the birds and we feel good about this layout. We just consider all feedback.

Your design looks GREAT!! It's good enough to submit!

oh my! i love this one bunches.



submit it!

good work!

looks great! i'm loving the style so much:)

i'm just thinking I like the size of it on v1 instead of the huge print. i prefer this front placement too

Still love it. I would submit it.

Check my update.

Teeth

Yeah obviously we fiddled with the placement tons. I didn't mind the small version of V1 either, because I personally like to wear shirts that aren't visually overwhelming.



That said, I also like V3 and V1 REALLY limited the overall size of the birds, I mean that was seriously as big as they could get period. I think I will tweak the size just a tiny bit before submitting for clarity, but the overall design will be arranged like this.



I wish I could just throw all the versions at Threadless and be like PICK ONE but then I guess that defeats the purpose of design competitions.



And thanks everyone who's diggin on it!

if you need to promote this further then use my promotion blog, just click on my name and it's on my profile. There's a few people getting involved checking each others work out, it's a good way to connect to fellow designers :)



jnj

I like this version alot. I said i liked the wraparound before but this works great. The concept is clearer with everything on the front.

very cool idea. looks great on the shirt. third version is definitely the best. Submit it :)

Thank you JnJ! We're always flattered to be invited to associate with anyone, as we can only hope that means that you think we won't shame you by association. When it comes up for scoring (going to submit tonight!) I will certainly do so, and we'll also score designs that come up there. (I try to just go score a few every day at random anyway, I assume a lot of people in the community do that).



Thanks those of you giving preference to a specific version, I'd decided to go with V3 but everyone knows its nice to hear someone else affirm what you already think. Thanks for taking the time just to support!

To be honest I really liked the second design but maybe against a darker blue. This new one just feels a bit bust to me.



Here’s my design any advice is very welcome

can we see this on a real tee? like the design though

please score mine?

http://www.threadless.com/submission/256647/Cat_got_your_heart/showmore,designs

looking good!

i like the colours of your illustration a lot! nice combination! good luck!



check mine and give me some suggestions? thanks a lot

http://www.threadless.com/critique/62275/The_Magic_Puppy

Excellent illustration. Very humorous. : D



I would also like to see it on a real shirt and/or a model as well, though. I can't tell if the placement is too big or not.



These are just minor things now though. This is a fantastic design and any small changes now are just to give you that extra push to printing.



Best of luck! : D

On a model with tweaking to the placement and word balloon for Ampbird. First time I've placed it on these template models, so I hope it looks right - get me if it doesn't! Thanks!

One of our two first designs for Threadless! We're really excited for any feedback, creative or technical, and remember we're new so please do catch us if we just haven't submitted or formatted something right too. Thanks guys!

Nice job ladies--I definitely think that Rockabirdy is stronger as a character now and the shirt itself is more dynamic in its design. I vote SUBMIT THIS.

i loved concept and characters, but maybe you could try warm colors on bodies.

great job though:)

Submit this.

Yes! Do it!

Submit this! I hope it gets printed, I want to buy it really bad.

heh cool cool , try moving the bottom branch up a bit maybe the Rock notes could overlap the top branch -- maybe maybe not IF i had to say anything lol



but ya really cute

I just clicked on submit this! You really transformed all the critiques in something special. Can you help me do the same for my design? Thank´s and Congrats!

love it...let me know what you think after the changes...

http://www.threadless.com/critique/62627/Tweet_Tweet_Tweet#v2

love it...let me know what you think after the changes...

http://www.threadless.com/critique/62627/Tweet_Tweet_Tweet#v2

this is awesome and its so clean and neat. all of you stuff is that way! thanks for the comment earlier, it was very inspiring!

This is the submission file.



I looked at the Flash template, and felt like a small child trying to operate heavy machinery - completely inadequate and like somebody was going to get hurt - so I put the model with the design. Even though the space is smaller, I also think its nice to see everything all at once without having to click, or the screen changing on you. This sounds a lot better than "me no can use Flash, grunt grunt," which technically at this time is true.



THANKS everyone so much and when the Lords of Threadless allow the design up for scoring, I'll be sure to link here. You all have been invaluable!

definitely

looks nice, good luck!

Really nice!I will score it with a 5!



Critique mine

http://www.threadless.com/critique/62752/Big_Plans_in_your_Head

This is awsome! I love the simplicity and the clean lines. Your style's really interesting.

I like the less fuzzy notes. Really nice. Submit it.

Spankin!

I think thats really cool!!! I want one!!!!!!!

Thanks guys! It is in fact submitted and waiting for the Lords of Threadless' approval, and we appreciate the continued support.



Though we can't change it now, if you click on "needs work" over thur I'd looove to hear what you think needs work, otherwise I'll never learn from my grievous, grievous mistakes. Thanks!

This came out great: really wonderful expression on all 3 birds. Cool!

nice concept man.... sub this...!!



check out mine if u had a time...

Nice glad you moved the other bird to the front looks amazing prolly gonna win man it's sick. Ill def check out your designs I have one up for scoring also btw so vote if you can and leave a comment thanks man

ITS UP!

http://threadless.com/submission/257659/Rockabirdy



Okay professionalism aside I'm so totally excited. :D I'm so excited I EMOTICONNED.



Thanks overmind and brenrasmussen, I've checked out your stuff as well and will be sure to score.

oh, right. HTML.

ROCKABIRDY

jejeje i like it a lot... hehehehe.



Try on other tee's color..



Give me yor critique please:

http://www.threadless.com/critique/62970/Read_my_mind_please

awesome :)



if you have a minute, critique mine? thanks.

Dude this rocks, i really like it, no problems i can see or have

please, if you have time, score this!

haha, last hours to vote, thought I'd point it out here too - and I'll look at these as well. Thanks guys!



Rockabirdy

i think it's nice So Please could you click Here to leave a comment and to score.