Thanks so much to those who helped out with critiques and suggestions as I was working on this, and also to everyone who voted and commented on the design!

As with my other recent prints, I will be giving away a free shirt to FIVE of the people who originally commented on the design. It's just a small way to say thanks to everyone for their support, and recognize that this wouldn't be a print without you.

I don't really have the time today to put together a video like I did last time, so it might have to be something more simple so that I can post the results today before everyone goes on vacation.

WINNERS: Please send your shirt size and mailing address to me at ian [at] ianleino [dot] com, and I'll send your shirt ASAP.


UPDATE:
kel400 asked for an explanation of some of the more obscure items that I used in this design. I did some exhaustive research before I made this design to find all of the ways I could of killing/repelling/identifying a vampire from assorted myths and legends, and here's the full list of the ones that made it onto the shirt, along with the legend behind the more obscure ones:



1. Garlic

2.Vinegar - cut off the vampire's head, then boil it in vinegar. 4 Thieves was the preferred brand in the 17th and 18th centuries as it included garlic and cayenne pepper

3. Pliers - used to remove the vampire's teeth

4.Hawthorne - repellent based on Christian symbolism. Hawthorne is associated with Christ's crown of thorns.

5. Coin - in a certain legend, a coin must be placed in the vampire's mouth before decapitation. This is probably based on the Greek tradition of placing a coin in the mouth of the dead in payment for passage across the River Styx. The actual design of this coin is based on a coin from Transylvania that would have been in circulation when "Dracula" was first published

6. Gun with silver bullets - to be shot through the vampire's heart. (not just for werewolves, apparently!)

7. Flint and Tinder - Burning is one of the only universally accepted ways of destroying a vampire

8. Holy water

9. Silver dagger - to be stabbed through the heart. As with silver bullets, even if a fatal shot is not achieved, the wound will never heal. This particular dagger style is referenced from a popular eastern European dagger of the 17th century

10. Wolfsbane - an herb used to repel both vampires and werewolves. Used in place of garlic in the famous Dracula movie starring Bela Lugosi

11. Cross - symbol of the person's religious faith (which is what wards off vampires, not the symbol itself)

12. Mirror - vampires can be identified as they do not reflect in mirrors

13. Silver nails - will kill a vampire if driven through the temples

14. Book of Prayers - included in many actual vampire hunting kits, this was meant to boost the owners faith in strenuous times

15. Hammer and wooden stake


Whoa, that turned out to be a lot longer than I meant it to. There are numerous other ways to dispose of the blood sucking creatures of course, and it seems every culture has their own methods and mythology, but I thought this offered a good cross section of weapons and talismans to protect the wearer from things that bite in the night.