Profile for grayehound - WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO KNOW

grayehound is a boy, has been a member since March 27, 2005, has scored 48559 submissions, giving an average score of 1.22.

Nov 13 '07 by grayehound

44 Comments

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WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO KNOW—A POLL

Hi everyone!

I'm going to be starting a set of blogs on tips and tricks and advise on ways to improve your threadless designs and have a better chance at getting printed, but I'd really like to know what areas of interest you guys think are important. I'm collecting interviews from as large a group as I can of threadless' most successful designers, as well as from the people who actually choose the shirts themselves, so this isn't going to be just about my opinions on design. This isn't going to be a series of tutorials on how to make a halftone or a discussion on whether pirates and ninjas are a dead horse subject (unless you are Ellsswhere), but more about what sets certain designs off from the rest and why one design works and another doesn't. I'm planning 6 parts right now, but that may go up or down depending on the feedback I get here and the results of the interviews. So let me know what you'd like to know!

Bramish on Nov 13 '07 at 4:38pm

How do I win?

phones on Nov 13 '07 at 4:40pm

i just want to get laid

grayehound on Nov 13 '07 at 4:41pm

yea, that's kinda what started this. i by no menas guarantee there's gonna be anyone winning just because they read these blogs, but i'm hoping there might be something that comes out that'll at least help.

Here's a sample question I'm putting in the interview: What is more important—the aesthetics of a design or its contents?

wullagaru on Nov 13 '07 at 4:43pm

sometimes I wonder if my displays are too plain .. like should zi gimmik them at all or what

Bramish on Nov 13 '07 at 4:45pm

My answer to that question is aesthetics, easily. A design might have the greatest concept, or the most profound message, or the funniest joke in the world, but if it looks shit, it's not something I want on a tee.

I'd be surprised if many people thought otherwise.

Jemae on Nov 13 '07 at 5:00pm

Well done job Graye! Kudos! :D

grayehound on Nov 13 '07 at 5:01pm

i dunno, Bram. there's a ton of really beautifully done illustrations of wolves howling and fish leaping from streams that would just fall flat here because they lack a concept that'd carry them somewhere more interesting. yes, a well done design should be aesthetically pleasing, but aesthetics aren't the only thing, and it isn't even the most important thing in many designs printed here.

Lupencia on Nov 13 '07 at 5:03pm

subject matter is a good thing to talk about, and why this is a pointless question: it's nice but what does it mean?

grayehound on Nov 13 '07 at 5:05pm

and wulla, that is exactly the kind of thing i'm looking for

MrDomino on Nov 13 '07 at 5:06pm

I would say neither is more important. They are intrinsically linked in good design and illustration and as a result equally important.

Bramish on Nov 13 '07 at 5:06pm

I agree that concept is important to the general voting public here. I'm just not sure it's the most important thing. But yeah, a nice balance of the two is the clincher I guess, but what would I know?

*looks forlornly at shieldless profile*

grayehound on Nov 13 '07 at 5:07pm

seems the whole balance of concept and aesthetics is going to be one of the bigger questions to tackle.

MrDomino on Nov 13 '07 at 5:08pm

Shields are for the weak anyway.

dacat on Nov 13 '07 at 5:09pm

I'm kinda on the other end as Bramish, I think without a strong concept, it can only go so far on it's looks. It's gotta have both to really succeed, but I've seen no-so-good art (but funny, cute or good concept) score higher than nice looking designs. The real question is...HOW does Threadless pick the winning designs? Some winning designs baffle me, because I don't find the concept nor the art was all that good compared to other designs that eventually show up on that "other" site and win.

MrDomino on Nov 13 '07 at 5:10pm

I would say that aesthetics are easier to sell, and as such probably better for this site. But concept is what separates the artist from a well-funded or unscrupulous imposter.

pyr4lis on Nov 13 '07 at 5:10pm

this is a great idea Greyhound! I would love to know what threadless looks for when they look at a sub. I'm also curious if fancy presentation is important... ie: a flash sub. Does having a gimmicky name really make a difference?

Also where is the line drawn with aesthetics and content? I've seen so many aesthetically pleasing and awesome designs bomb and score under a 2 ... and poorly drawn design with a good joke score well.

ekaj47 on Nov 13 '07 at 5:11pm

does there even need to be a concept? can it just be art on a shirt?

MrDomino on Nov 13 '07 at 5:12pm

"Some winning designs baffle me, because I don't find the concept nor the art was all that good compared to other designs that eventually show up on that "other" site and win."

The voting public is different there. They want different things. I also suspect that the price tag also adjusts the audience as well.

Bramish on Nov 13 '07 at 5:14pm

I look forward to seeing what you folks come up with, Graye.

I'm pretty convinced that, aside from a few designs that are surefire winners right from the moment they're subbed, it's nigh on impossible to know what will be printed and what will be overlooked.

I see it as pretty much a lottery - there are some pretty poor looking designs (to me) that get high scores and/or get printed, and some wonderfully presented, excellent pieces of art, both with and without a hook or 'gettable' concept, that get completely overlooked, often regardless of their high score.

It'll be nice to see what kind of light the Threadless staff at least, can throw on the subject.

MrDomino on Nov 13 '07 at 5:15pm

"does there even need to be a concept? can it just be art on a shirt?"

Without concept, what is there to make it art? Is it not the intended actions of an artist that define a piece? What else is there to separate a work from random splotches of pigment on a page carried by gravity or the wind?

iDanSimpson on Nov 13 '07 at 5:16pm

whoa... i've been working on a blog just like that...

Illustrator/Photohop Tutorials:
making halftones in Illustrator, by d3d
Link To Great Photoshop Brushes, by FireOfHeaven
Shirt Color Change Demo, by viralVISUAL

Generic Photoshop help page, by FireOfHeaven

Texture help, by jstumpenhortst

valorandvellum's epic Photoshop Coloring Tutorial

iDanSimpson on Nov 13 '07 at 5:16pm

/sucking at html

grayehound on Nov 13 '07 at 5:18pm

all important concerns, and thanks for asking these questions...it really helps me out as i try and clarify what it is I'm after! I do think it'd be presumptuous to assume the guys at threadless are gonna give away the reasons they choose what they do, but I think they'll at least be willing to offer what they think makes one design stand out from the crowd and and what sort of design fits with their overall style.

Bramish on Nov 13 '07 at 5:19pm

MrDomino on Nov 13 '07 at 5:15pm
"does there even need to be a concept? can it just be art on a shirt?"

Without concept, what is there to make it art? Is it not the intended actions of an artist that define a piece? What else is there to separate a work from random splotches of pigment on a page carried by gravity or the wind?

I don't think art in general needs a concept at all. Without concept, there's pretty colours and shapes, or whatever, to make it art.

Artist's intention, and concept as identified by the viewer are different things in this context. Of course, the artist knows what he wants to create (most of the time), but I think concept in this case means something that other people can understand, without the artist's explanation.

grayehound on Nov 13 '07 at 5:22pm

thanks iDan! I knew things like that had already been started, but what I'm after isn't about how to do something, it's what you should consider before you start designing, what you should do to present your art and maybe even a section on the ethics/success rate of plugging your art in the blogs.

MrDomino on Nov 13 '07 at 5:24pm

"I think concept in this case means something that other people can understand, without the artist's explanation."

I'd certainly agree with that. Communication is an integral part of art. Part of being successful is communicating your concept to your intended artist. I'm not saying that every concept has to be Dostoevsky. Not every piece of at has to be a sweeping statement on the human condition. It can be as simple or complex as the artist decides. In fact, I'd argue that those shapes and colors you mentioned are only pretty because the artist intended them to be so.

MrDomino on Nov 13 '07 at 5:25pm

*to your intended audience"

Bramish on Nov 13 '07 at 5:25pm

As far as plugging designs in the blogs, I don't think that makes a heap of difference. It may get a few more votes and $s than it would otherwise, but nothing to make much of an impact on the final score.

dacat on Nov 13 '07 at 5:26pm

One major question: Is there a formula?

Comments over 50 + "I'd Buy" over 50 + "is it printable?" + "did we print this before" = PRINT?

I also read in a previous blog that "polarizing" designs causing much debate either love or hate, also have a good chance.

I would LOVE:
1. If threadless allowed artists to see the number of "I'd Buy" votes.
2. If threadless staff would mark a design with things like "Could be a print with some re-work" "Not interested in printing" or some other comments to help designers out once in a while. Maybe they do this already via email with designs they like...who knows?

grayehound on Nov 13 '07 at 5:27pm

something to think about, guys, before we get into an involved discussion about what is and isn't art...I am focusing on tee design for threadless, nothing else. discussion about what works in a gallery or in art in general are different than what works here. my goal is to help collect data and opinions and present it as best I can to maybe help a prospective submission do a little bit better and have a chance at being seen on someone's body.

ekaj47 on Nov 13 '07 at 5:28pm

okay so here is a better way to put my question

is it best to put an opening comment on your submission explaining why you created the design and what it means to you?

or does this take away from the audience figuring out for themselves what the design means even if its not the same as what the artist meant it to mean?

Bramish on Nov 13 '07 at 5:31pm

Yeah, I think we have kind of crossed wires here Mr D.

There's concept, as in what the artist does - choosing colours, putting a random blob wherever - and there's concept as in giving the art an easily readable meaning. I'd say all printed designs here have the first, but I think the second is less imprtant than just producing a picture that pleases my eye.

Most of the time I'm not that into the deep, underlying meaning of art. Sure, it may convey something important or whatever, but I tend to judge art in general on whether it looks good or not, and anything else comes after forming that initial opinion.

I hope I'm making some kind of sense. It's late here!

dacat on Nov 13 '07 at 5:32pm

That would be great to get a "Before you create a design...think about this..." guide!

Bramish on Nov 13 '07 at 5:32pm

grayehound on Nov 13 '07 at 5:27pm
something to think about, guys, before we get into an involved discussion about what is and isn't art...I am focusing on tee design for threadless, nothing else. discussion about what works in a gallery or in art in general are different than what works here. my goal is to help collect data and opinions and present it as best I can to maybe help a prospective submission do a little bit better and have a chance at being seen on someone's body.

Yeah, that's what I was trying to clarify :)

MrDomino on Nov 13 '07 at 5:37pm

My fault Graye, sorry. I do ramble on.

Bramish on Nov 13 '07 at 5:38pm

Likewise. I'm off to bed now.

grayehound on Nov 13 '07 at 5:49pm

no worries, mr. d! i love discussions like this, and this is exactly the kinda thing I'm looking for because it really is an important thing to consider as you design a tee. mr d, or anyone for that matter, would like to participate and answer my questionnaire, email me at grayehound(at)yahoo(dot)com. thanks!

50 days later

heyheyitsme on Jan 03 '08 at 11:39am

good blog, will look forward to following this.

kaloyster on Jan 03 '08 at 11:48am

iDanSimpson is missing a blog on that list ;)

Ste7en on Jan 03 '08 at 11:55am

I remember one time, I tried organizing this and everyone forgot because everyone was busy....so im glad youre just going to take some time put this together

madruga on Jan 03 '08 at 12:16pm

I hope he is... it was almost two months with no activity (in here, at least)

jstumpenhorst on Jan 03 '08 at 12:39pm

i'll try to get together a list of stuff that i've been wanting to pick people's brains about and post them up in here. this is a fantastic idea and i'm glad someone is organizing this and putting into one place!!

heyheyitsme on Jan 03 '08 at 4:41pm

i've got a question...are white tees really frowned upon? i'm considering trying something with simulated process---Graye you said it works best on light tees---i notice you did yours on white...but i always got the impression from commenters that they dislike white tees. anyone know how often a white tee design gets printed?

dacat on Jan 03 '08 at 4:55pm

Hey Hey....check this out
Needful

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