never let "them" get you down

You've done lots of beautiful work, good scores too. Cheer up. :) I am confident in you!

you have plenty talent... and i love how much you experiment

just take a deep breath, step back, scope out the kind of art you want to make, and begin treading a new path

I should of taken Neal Adams advice and stop when he told me I could never make it as an illustrator. That was 12 years ago Now I wished I had listen.

this:


is one of the most amazing designs on here. and i find it hard to believe that you would go into photoshop filters when you've got this amazing talent with colouring pencils and other traditional media.
don't quit! it might just be a matter of trying to mesh the two a bit better into one design or even just sticking it out with the traditional stuff because what you've done with it is amazing.

other examples:







you've really got nothing to worry about talent wise.

I hate your work too.

...says the guy with no work.

For anyone not famaliar with Neal Adams he is noted for revolutionalizing the way comics were drawn in the 70's the man holds credits in the comic industry. He should know.

pf Neal Adams? he's hardly what i'd call a successful illustrator.

but i personally hate super hero comics

Snakeman hits it on the nail, I am not good but I had to submit here to realize that, the community speaks and if you can not sell on Threadless and convince others than you cannot be seen as someone who can sell.

one of my favorites of yours. :)

Hey Afromation, don't get depressed. You've got talent, but you have got to take a look back at your own work every now and then. Check out which ones received positive comments and which ones scored well. Forced, Path Along the Desert, and Perfect Ambush did well, so did your Scarecrow one and the 1800's. Think of all the themes at Threadless and avoid the ones that voters hate (half-naked women for example). Then think about a strong concept, either funny or some kind of emotion you want to convey. I think Forced worked well, because it was a great use of texture and was a striking image in just a few colors. It looked great on a t-shirt from a distance. Same with Path along the desert, nice looking from a distance also. Definitely get a collab partner with good ideas (there are a lot of bloggers here like Frickinawesome) that can help. Also, remember, the threadless crowd is really really young...so themes that are too serious don't score that well (see my latest one!). A lot of your designs are kinda serious and might scare the younger crowd. In fact, your "Wisdom from Above" is a great style to use and an easy to relate to topic, that scored really well!

That is the problem I can do alright with the traditional medium but I suck at the digital in my opinion, If I had half the ability of a Slaterock,Huebucket, Roadkill3d,Fatheed,Jublin just to name the many on hear I might feel better about my work.

a comic book artist is not the only kind of illustrator out there, whether or not you think comics are the greatest or not his opinion is still just that of one man. you do yourself a disservice to give one opinion so much weight.

also, drawing like you do, you will eventually come across something of your own design that will amaze you and think to yourself, "wow, i drew this..." and it will all be good. the key is just not giving up before you get to that point.

Thanks Dacat, but right now I am feeling like crap and it is not just my Threadless work but my art in general, I feel like I am missing out on the key ingredient. Like and apple pie that taste good but you know that it needs extra cinammon. If that makes sense.

why do you need to go digital so badly?
and if you're really that keen on it why not try implementing patterns and texture into your digital work. mix up your traditional stuff with some digital.
computer work is nice, but a lot of the time it's just flat and un-interesting.

aw man, cheer up! You're great!

Well if Frickinawesome thinks I am worth his tim I would appreciate it. I would like to feel good about what I am doing but I am in a slump and I don't know where to turn.

Time

I wish I could be as good as some of alumni you know who you are.

I agree, screw the digital! I wish I was better at non-digital myself! Hand-drawn is much better in my opinion. Also, you can't judge yourself simply because you aren't printed yet on Threadless, some people (like me) just got lucky with a design that threadless wanted to print, there is WAY too much talent that is not printed to think poorly of oneself here. You gotta do art for the fun of it, forget the voters comments, most of them don't care about the effort it takes. I guarantee if you pick a good concept and use "Wisdom from above" style, it cannot go wrong.

Dacat stop man your work is awesome believe me I can see in others that which I lack and try hard to mimic if possible, but come up short in the end. You guys are awesome to me I wish I can be in the presence of talented individuals as yourself and others.

for the record, my comment was completely in jest. i didn't even really know what this blog was about.

i really never try to mimic others because that can cause alittle self doubt in my mind...your talents may be and or will be alot different than many other artist...if we all had this idea that unless we are as good as the best or simply can copy the best well i for one would have taken one look at the sistine chapel and vowed never to draw again....

just quietly...

most of the best stuff never gets printed here, it's not about quality of art, it's about commercial viability and how a person feels about wearing each piece of art...

don't be a dickhead and convince yourself your somethin your not and i don't really give a fuck about that niel guy or what he thinks...

the skill and style of wisdom from above is probably better than anything he has ever done

I just looked at your work. 'The Trees Speak to Me' and 'He is not so scary' are excellent and had a score over 2.4! You aren't untalented! You are just unprinted. The lack of talent is harder to overcome (but that might be possible too). Getting printed is just a matter of trying again and again and time. If you trying too hard you loose the fun in creating and get a big fat headache on top! What defines a designer or an illustrator? He or she and certainly I want to do this! What defines a good designer? He or she and I didn't stop at the words 'This design sucks!'. No matter who did say these words of truth. He or she and I sighed and said 'My next piece will be better!'. Maybe one day the best design ever will be ours and after that we start hunting again for another even better design...

looks like so much good stuff has been said....so I'll just say what i have to say in haiku-ish form:

Your stuff it rocks.
Maybe the threadless Gods haven't realized it yet.
T-shirts are just one thing.

COMICS AND GRAPIC NOVELS could be your calling

don't stop believing.
hold on to that feeling.
oh wooahhh ohh

First off: Don't let some guy 12 years ago, no matter how well known, get you down man. You're stuff is sweet. I wish I could even get my stuff as far as you've gotten yours. There are so many other people deserving prints, you're not alone. Don't look down on your old school media stuff. Its still a form of illustration, right? Just keep on truckin' man. You've got some good stuff.

It is not about getting printed but my art in general is not something that is marketable, I have submitted in many different arenas from comic book submissions to competitions and for year after year I get rejected. I know all artist face rejection however does any artist believe that maybe just maybe what he or she is doing just does not cut it.

That's where I am at.

I think indiesigner has it covered. Just keep trying. Just look at Select tees. People will hate designs, but its the artists style. Theres others out there who totally dig the work.

you have never truely failed until every avenue is exhausted

yes we all do...

i assure you that their are conversations such as this within the alumni forum all the time, including many people you may perceive as successful.

create your own rules and stop playing by everyone else's, then you can never loose!!!

To echo everyone else- Your stuff is great!

There's been some good advice here. I've subbed 114 designs and am yet to see my stuff on a threadless shirt, so I know about going through patches of being down about your work, but the world of art goes far beyond threadless. And you've got the skills dude.

In my opinion, the only way Neil Adams will be right is if you let that stuff play havoc with your mind. Every artist goes through down times. It seems to be a common thing that happens with creative people.

Personally, I look at some of your stuff and wish I could do stuff like that.

Anyway, good luck, and I hope you start feeling your work a bit more.

These two are amazing by the way...

Wandering Bert you are one of my favorites on here your imagination is awesome man, and I still don't understand why you have not gotten printed. Y ou are the artist artist in my opinion, I am working on trying to do art that is pleasing it is hard at times, believe me.

Thanks man, I appreciate it. Have you tried subbing anything to "the place we dare not speak of"? I'm sure you know the one. It's still hard to get a print, but they're more open to "arty" stuff as opposed to conceptual. I just don't want you to give up on yourself. Plus you have many designs that I'd happily wear.

Thanks coming from you that means alot.

mine is worst. That is why I do not submit any work anymore

Afro, your stuff is awesome. You're one of the best unprinted designers on here, and your day will come if you keep subbing. I always look forward to your stuff, and know you have the skills to compete.