Profile for pokermonk - If I were judging Semi-Perm contest...

pokermonk aka Mike Martens is a 32.4 year old boy, has been a member since June 12, 2005, has scored 2,616 submissions, giving an average score of 1.88, helping 24 designs get printed.

URL: http://www.robotsfighting.com

Aug 14 '05 by pokermonk
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If I were judging Semi-Perm contest...

To copy off someone else's thread... I think this is how I'd rate the submissions for Semi-Permanent 05 (ignoring my own subs entirely):

1,2,3
It's beautiful now in ..? (Cruz)
Her Latest Design (Manos)
manhole rat (BLUEbus)

all three are nice, complete designs - not just clever illustrations - that can exist on their own and, i think, capture the multiple fronts of the contest them. Cruz did some top notch work with his serene use of negative space. Manos' use of the statue of liberty tagging the city is a great use of symbol and a pretty solid design, despite the "easy" reliance on lady liberty. And, I just think BLUEbus' rat is great for its simplicity and smart color selection.

Runners-Up
My Home (Ultraman94)
Must Be Something in the Water (Si-Clark)
NY (very) Special Rangers (sveninho)
Wildlife (bourbon)
New York, ARGH (jbaxter4)
Homo Superius (travis76)
medUSA (Manos)

Ultraman's entry is easily my second favorite of the kong/primate entries, and is probably a more direct play off the theme... could have been balanced a tad better with something flying on the left-sde... but still very good. Si-Clark and sveninho put up a couple of clever illustrations, but i'm just not convinced they are the best designs. bourbon and jbaxter4's shirts are very nice work, but it seems to me to be the very-expected convention t-shirt... that's both a compliment and a criticism. travis76's woefully slaughtered design is a snappy pop-culture reference that pulls in a little bit of new york flavor (as opposed to vice versa) - i think a little more solid color choice/work and a stronger placement could have made this a hands-down contender. Manos' second (?) entry is, again, a clever use of one of the more popular new york icons.. even though the face looks a littttle off to me, i really just thought "Her Latest Design" was a better piece. (any of these have a good shot, i think)

EDIT

the bright lights (conan doyle) (now one of my top picks)
SUPERSPECIES ESCAPE (Robsoul) (placed into my perhaps overcrowded Runners-Up list)

Manos on Aug 14 '05 at 12:59pm

cheers pokermonk.

I think all your comments are valid. I really appreciate it when someone takes the time to comment in detail about submissions.

I have to say that my first submission is probably better than the second one. Both went trough various changes. The initial concept was that the Statue of Liberty was spraying the wall while a spot light was hitting her back and the wall together. Her face in shock thinking that she has been busted by the police.

I tried to make it work but it didn't look nice so I changed it into what the first submission is now. The wings are more of a political detail. The pheonix is a symbol of re-birth but I made sure it didn't become too political and on top of that the city of New York. Last but not least the apple, her plaque and empty cans were cosmetic details to enhance the atmosphere.

The second submission clearly is based in the idea of supers. Her beams became energy sources from where supers jump out in comic book style but she is the most super of all hence the cosmetics on her face. I actually tried to make her look like a robot in previous versions but she looked too cold and harsh so I droped it. Then all the spray paint became stars and then I droped in the planets to give that universal superheroes feel.

My favourite ones in no perticular order:

SUPERSPECIES ESCAPE, by Robsoul

(really like the the concept and the illsutration my only fear is that it doesn't really say New York but never the less it rocks and would look great on any color tee :)

iroNY, by Mr Rocks

well he knows how good he is so he shows it every time he gets the chance ;) i really like the illustration the irony and the smart use of 4 colors ;)

It's beautiful now in ..?, by Cruz

Great atmoshpere anything else I say it will spoil it.

the bright lights (semipermanent ), by conan doyle

Great capture of New York at night and smart idea of how to place the statue's face in the bright windows. A t-shirt you would wear anytime out at night plus I'm a sucker for magenta :) I know I'm not a man for admiting that ;) lol

Only thing I can say it GOOD LUCK to everybody!!!! :)

secretly robots on Aug 14 '05 at 1:24pm

the bright lights by conan doyle is the only one that i could actually see myself wearing.. it's just beautiful

sveninho on Aug 14 '05 at 1:31pm

1)Superspecies sold here, by Snowgroup ... This is my favourite so far!

2)It's beautiful now in ..?, by Cruz nice design and colours.

3)SUPERSPECIES ESCAPE!, by Robsoul ... It would be my favourite if it was his black version...

pokermonk on Aug 14 '05 at 2:34pm

so, you guys have mentioned a couple i missed which I could easily add to my list. :)

SUPERSPECIES ESCAPE! A terrific illustration that's funny and works really well for the contest theme. To me, it seems a litte too finely textured and a little too loosely composed to work as a t-shirt.

the bright lights. okay, place manhole rat on the Runners Up and this one in the top three on my unofficial official list. definitely, not my style, but exquisitely designed. one of the best in this school of design i've ever seen, for its careful calculation of details but still capturing a noisy and chaotic atmosphere. very slick.

thanks for the insight into your process Manos....

now, LET THE HANDS OF FATE DECIDE.

pokermonk on Aug 14 '05 at 2:51pm

also, in re: to iroNY (Mr Rocks). i really, really love his stuff (and his A Break in Love and Death entry for The Used competition is another sure-fire winner), but i think this one exemplifies the general criticism of his design, which is too-much-too-large for a t-shirt. i feel like any of his designs would win if they were 1/3-1/2 the size he places them as on the shirt and some of the extra background bits were removed.

travis76 on Aug 14 '05 at 2:55pm

very well stated blog pokermonk.

that's the kind of stuff we miss reading.

doesn't hurt that you mentioned me either.

Manos on Aug 14 '05 at 3:00pm

^^ I'm still fucked off that you got only 1.47 on Homo Superius. What a bunch of $&£^&"!!!

travis76 on Aug 14 '05 at 3:08pm

ha ha yeah, well....

i was pissed but i'm over it.

i wanted to quit, but didn't.

it was all in the timing.

it was on for almost literally an hour...and peak hour of the dreaded zero clickers, apparently.

hopefully, as i've heard, even dropping from the voting doesn't close them from final judgement. i think.

pokermonk on Aug 14 '05 at 6:13pm

i went through the same thing w/ my Man, You're Some Kinda Sinner submission. the toughest part is that you never get a chance to find out what people didn't like about the design before it disappears.

i want to write more posts like this that constructively critique work w/ potential, but unfortunately, seldom can anything be done for those few quality <1.5s that slip through.

Zachsta on Aug 14 '05 at 7:30pm

1.) Tommy the Subway Train, by proletarian

2.) Run! NewYorker (they can't stop), by graphicairlines

3.) SUPERSPECIES ESCAPE!, by Robsoul

Runners-Up:

The Urban Jungle, by proletarian

Sublet Terrestrials, by injosh

Gimme some skin up top!, by SRT10

Darwinyc, by Rusty25

Alligator's revenge, by Luksas

Attack of the Su(b)perspecies

I'm on my way, by thepixelmonkey

Teetering, by never

xiv on Aug 14 '05 at 7:38pm

I really hope one of robsouls designs win, but i would love it if both of them were printed. They are both amazing designs.

http://threadless.com/submission/51033/Memories,_Sweet_Memories

http://threadless.com/submission/50293/SUPERSPECIES_ESCAPE!

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