inPrint Companion: July 24
(an artist's guide)

Still a week behind the prints as they release but we're getting much closer -- Q was early with all his reviews so it's just me holding us back -- I'll try to cut it out! Anyway - hope you like and we love to hear any feedback you have too!

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We aren't all winners, but these people are:

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The Early Bird and the Worm

I love getting to critique all the great illustrations here and this one is no exception. Where 'Early Bird' by pilihp really stands out is it's stunning use of patterning to creating new colors and add depth. It matches the simple and cheerful artwork and is something we see little of here in printed designs (although my guess is that's starting to quickly change). Compositionally the design is a unique vertical path through the top to the bottom with the grass patch dividing the narrative. Conceptually Phil nailed a great idea as it's funny, playful, cute, and yet tells of impending doom - with the great art execution this is a design that could greatly inform future submissions.

Reviewed by BasicShift

The Day They Came

Kojima showed up on Threadless with some designs that were destined to win not all that long ago. It's a meteoric rise to stardom here in our virtual T-shirt world - gotta love that! In all fairness it's a rightfully earned win here though as Kojima's works are stunning in their use of color and composition as he plays with the traditional ideas of masked window shapes and even flash presentations for the shirts (see Window of the World). 'The Day They Came' uses an imaginative color scheme which exemplifies the muted tone in the work leaving a unique tale of alien visitors to take on the meaning given by any viewer. The nice use of distressing on the outer cloud along with the birds which break the framed boundary help to push and pull elements making a very direct piece that much more complex.

Reviewed by BasicShift

Bear Hug

There is no question Jublin is a very good artist. Translating his unique style onto a t-shirt a good for all of us. One of the fundamentals of good illustration is perspective. And this is present with this design as the viewer is engaged with scale and situation the big bear presents for the “hugees”. Using the shirt color to push back the bear is a good move as it highlights the characters grasped in the clutches of the lovable character. I always speak of line work and that is another defining quality of good illustration. The marker style drawn quality is reminiscent of many professional cartoonists. The controlled color and various faces of the victims, entertains the viewer from left to right making for a truly great commercial product.

Reviewed by Quoo

Nature Calls>

A few colors and silhouettes create simplicity that is well accepted among Threadless fans. As it should because silhouettes create a basic raw quality that we all love. This is a good message for those wanting to commercialize a quick visual. The light colors are cheery and create smiles along the way. Creatively it is fun, but artistically, it falls short. It doesn't’t compete with the more complex designs we have seen in recent weeks. And what about other colors? It makes me curious about the alternatives. In the end, it feels like a design that did not take that long to create. And maybe that is the reason it’s a winner. –A winner because of simplicity – which is what nature implies right?

Reviewed by Quoo

Happy hospital

I do love how the hand drawn styles add a litho feel to t-shirts. The line work creates a texture that adds to the comedy of the design. It’s lighthearted and simple in technique. But it’s enough to tell the story – again from left to right. The heads go from a subtle lean to the right, then more with more expression and then BAM the punch line. The red is balanced and scarce enough to not overpower the art. The white sketchy highlights are great as well. The hospital blue makes for an almost expected color for this design. Plard Yoann is another good artist and Threadless submitter that is able to translate feeling into print very well.

Reviewed by Quoo

This is not a Pipe

Magritte and Nintendo? Awesome. Another great shirt for commercial appeal. Clever and fun, retro in its inclination all the way which makes for a print that gets instant applause. But artistically it is simply… a copy of a videogame element. (ouch who threw that?) I know you love it, but it’s true. It didn't take that much to create the design. Yes, it’s simple and to the point which another reason why we love it, but it isn't a painstakingly created piece – just clever.

Reviewed by Quoo

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Why even bother Reviewing (or Type Tees):

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Shakespeare Hates Your Emo Poems

Unless they start really playing with the typography on these Type Tees I'm tempted to take them out of our art reviews. I like the message here and even got a cute woodcut flourish to look at (but even that was left to float on it's own with no supporting detail -- and it barely matches the very distinct font with softer curves compared to the rigid lines of the type face). Cool message... wish the type would change size and color and maybe even font... or have nicer details still... ah well...

Reviewed by BasicShift

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"The artists that are better than you" - Select Tees:

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Strange Birds

Conceptually I'm in love with this piece by one of Threadless' long time submitters (and frequent winner) John2. It is a very subtle play on life cycles in nature where in the flowers here make a great metaphor for a woman's anatomy giving live birth to some fantastical creatures. It's soft and fuzzy, yet tied to a very messy process. If only a time lapse photography version could be worn! Artistically it's as solid as any of his other works. John didn't go overboard with his select design and tastefully expanded his palette. There is again a strong upper right to lower left diagonal working in the piece (note to artists: this composition does well in the competition). The detail work here is in presenting the emerging birds which is tastefully done in John's stylistic and well controlled line art.

Reviewed by BasicShift

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Design Redeux - Reprints:

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Hypotamoose

A one color iconic design intended to promote your geeky understanding of geometry - It's so obtuse you gotta love it! It's really a nice design that translates well to a shirt is simple and straightforward and relies heavily on the concept. It won't win any art awards but it does its job.

Reviewed by BasicShift

Follow It

A reprint. Looking at the score and comments surprised me. While the artistic quality isn't’t hand created, it still is a pretty complex design. Sure, I know (Pen Tool you’re screaming) – I hear ya. But these details had to be controlled by color and added number elements. Too much or too little would not tell the story. The added text at the bottom of the shirt really adds amazing details to a print piece making it decent for visual display. This piece would even work well as an advertisement. The implied lungs make the heart pop out a little more and make it a solid design. As a shirt everyone would wear…ummmm….tough call. The shirt remains clever for those who understand bus or transit systems, but is a little lacking for those looking for something cool to wear.

Reviewed by Quoo