http://www.threadless.com/ Sun, 06 Dec 2009 19:37:03 -0600 Tue, 01 Dec 2009 09:48:23 -0600

Please vote at emptees! Thanks


A homage to sci fi tv shows, cartoon & novels I watched and read when i was growing up in the 80s like Buck Rogers, Battlestar Galactica, Star Wars, Robotech etc. Its also a homage to the emerging female action stars like Linda Hamilton and Sigourney Weaver (I know Alien was made in 1979 but she kicked started it all imo) I've also added the prerequisite robot sidekick to keep it 80s!

The story goes, she's crash landed on an alien world after a furious battle with an alien race intent on the annihilation of humanity and has to fend for herself while waiting for the mothership to detect her beacon for help. But she is not alone...

WIP:


Design:


Placement:


Details:








Title is still WIP at the moment. Still thinking of a better one.]]> Tue, 24 Nov 2009 00:08:45 -0600
Here's the link

From the Article:

Anyway, the silly pricing strategies of some companies got me thinking about pricing mistakes made by entrepreneurs starting service ventures that charge by the hour.

Consider the experience of a friend who recently started a venture and after much hard work - and stress - nabbed his first big client.

Eager to please, my friend worked overtime to help the client. He wanted to do a brilliant job and surpass client expectations. Isn’t that what marketing textbooks teach?

But he seriously over-delivered in the process. Now his client thinks they should get that treatment every month and have already had a minor quibble about service delivery. There will be trouble when he has to wind back service to normal levels.

There’s nothing wrong with doing more than expected when starting a venture.

It’s a great feeling doing a good job and helping your client grow. Even better is mutual trust with clients where you can do more or less depending on circumstance.

Not for a minute am I suggesting you become an accounting Nazi and record work by the minute.

It’s just a question of how much extra work should you do. Doing too much cuts your price and makes it harder to scale the venture because you eventually have to manage down client expectations as resources are spread across more clients.

Like junk food companies with their shrink-ray strategies, you have to charge the same price but offer less value. It doesn’t matter if you still provide what was agreed in the first place: once the “value” bar is set, reducing perceived value is tricky.

Here are 10 pricing mistakes to avoid with entrepreneurial service ventures:

1. Don’t ‘start too low. Many new ventures under-price their service because they are eager to win work and are small. Smart entrepreneurs price at a higher level and find innovative ways to add value.

2. Set clear expectations. Explain in great detail what the client will receive, when and where. Have a strong frame of reference against which to gauge service expectations and resolve disputes.

3. Don’t over-deliver. Doing too much can create false expectations and suggest desperation. If you do over-deliver, let the client know in a subtle way.

4. Value your time. Have you ever worked for a client without recording the hours? I have. The “it-all-evens-out-in-the-wash” billing strategy is dumb. Keep a close track of hours (without going overboard) and value your time. It is the key asset when a venture starts.

5. Bill correctly. Early on, I used to bill clients at a project’s end. This hurt cash flow and gave one client too much power. They knew I was waiting for a big bill so tried to squeeze more work. And it gets harder to record time the longer a project goes. I quickly started billing each month.

6. Raise prices. It’s easier said than done, especially if you rely heavily on a client, and much harder during economic downturns. But you should raise prices as the economy improves, even just a few per cent to cover inflation. The goal is to keep adding value - without adding time - so you can lift prices.

7. Pricing power. This concept is not just for big companies. Smart start-up ventures create their own pricing power by having multiple clients, or becoming such a key part of their client’s business that they cannot do without them. In effect, they create entry barriers for competitors.

8. Too much free work. Have you ever had a potential client who arranges a meeting, picks your brain, asks for pitch document that includes all the ideas, but doesn’t give any work. Some entrepreneurs are experts are leveraging resources from others without paying. Be clear about what and how much you provide before the clock starts.

Guard your intellectual property.

9. Price and brand. Charge too little, do too much, never raise your prices … it sends a signal you are not a premium brand and never will be.

10. Never drop your price. If you want to charge less, reduce the number of hours or other inputs. Hourly rates are hard to lift once dropped.]]> Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:08:14 -0600


Hit me at Emptees. Thanks!


Let me know what you guys think. :)

Sketch:


Outline:


Colour Draft:


Final:
]]> Sun, 15 Nov 2009 23:59:59 -0600


Hit me at Emptees. Thanks!


Sketch:


Outline:


]]> Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:22:38 -0600



Hi All!

Just wondering what you experts think of this design. Its an idea i've had for some time now after hearing about the animated movie, "Polar Express". Let me know if you think this design has too much similarities with "The Golden Compass".

Still planning on adding details etc and polishing up the design but at this stage its still rough and i'd like to get some input on what you think.

I'd really like to hear what you have to say.

Initial Sketch:


Inking:


Colour Rough:


Colour and Inking 02:

on light blue

Colour and Inking 03:


Added some snowflakes.]]> Fri, 30 Oct 2009 09:16:06 -0500
Inspired by alexmdc20 designs before 2010 challenge


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A collaboration with Frickinawesome
Read the blog

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Hit me at Emptees. Thanks!
]]> Thu, 01 Oct 2009 11:27:43 -0500

Hit me with some Emptees Love if you likey. Thanks!


Here are my WIP sketches and inking:

LOL! First sketch of the hero horse. Meh..I needed references....badly.



Final rough sketch of design, characters and composition. So fun! Medusa, Minotaur, Cerberus, Hydra, Cyclop and a couple of Harpies!


Outline of design:


Initial Inking:

I think its quite obvious I started on the cyclop first before the main subject. So i spent too much time inking him and only realized after, he was too dominating.

Also, felt there was waaayy too much happening, so I threw out the extra monsters and concentrated on what you see below. Also tried to do a colour version but felt that it was becoming too complicated and messy so I decided to keep it as one color as you see in the final design:


I also decided to pull the column out in the end because it was really distracting the focus on geekboy on his pegasus and filled it up with clouds. This helped minimize the impact from the cyclop which I thought was too dominating in my earlier sketches.

Thanks for checking this out. Hope you enjoyed it as much as I had fun doing this design.



FULL DESIGN
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DETAILS
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Click on thumbnails to view close ups.:



Hope you guys like it! Please give some Emptees love to these designs as well. THANKS!
]]> Wed, 26 Aug 2009 19:48:37 -0500

I know for a fact that not all the designers in Threadless necessarily come from a design background and I am interested in finding out what you actually do for a living or what you plan to do if you're still studying. I'm sure this will be quite interesting to know.

I'll update the list here and will arrange it alphabetically. Hope you'll participate and also learn more about your favorite designers,bloggers and sloganeers in Threadless!

Post your personal links here too if you have a blog/portfolio site/youtube channell etc and i'll link it to your username. Otherwise, i'll link it to your TL profile page or design submission page.

TIP: Press CTRL/CMD+F and type in the username to easily search through the list for the person you are looking for.

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agrimony - Uni student
Andreas Mohacsy - Bullshit Artist
Aphte - Freelance Illustrator
alexmdc - Graphic Designer for Time Warner Cable/online services
applesforjonah - Graveyard computer bum/Uni Student(Printmaking)/Designer
azarello - Broadcast Media and speaks 4 languages
bcrider - Risk and Fraud(Banking)
B_7 - Freelance designer
bennyd302 - Graphic Designer
Berbs42 - Manager (Freebirds World Burrito)
Bio-bot 9000 - Grad Student in Biology/ Freelance Jouster/Smooth Jazz Pianist
boysbeambitious - Uni Student(Graphic Design)
Bramish - Barman
Brightwood - Writer/Children Illustrator/Psychologist/Mom
colinlepper - Highschool student (thinking of animation)
DaddyDom - Clothing Manufacturing Manager
digsy - VFX Data Operations Manager
[+duracell-] - Day Trader/Computer Programmer
Edamame Obake - Uni Student (Oil Painting/Graphic Design)
ekirkdesign - graphic design for JSC / freelance / skillet tosser
EricaTheRed - Fashion Designer/Merchandiser
EricDiaz - Graphic Designer and Go-To-Guy
Ivantobealone - Design prodigy/Fashion designer/Restaurant critic
jamesf - Architectural Visualizer
jeffreyg - College student (going pre-med)
jess4002 - Uni Student (Nursing)
kashlen IT Analyst
kdidj - Didgeridoo Performer and Seller - Fine Art Degree holder
Kim456 - single mum/ fine arts student/zookeeper
Loksburry - Library Webmaster
Lotusware - Lobster Fisherman/DJ/Web Developer/Illustrator
marblecargirl - HR for a biotech company
mark722 - Tattoo Artist/Freelance Graphic Artist
mike bautista - Uni Student(Film, English and Secondary Education)
nasmo- Graphic Designer
oJimo - Graphic Designer/Photographer/Illustrator
opifan64 - Logistics (Construction Equipment and Liquid Propane)
Pakpandir - Mograph Designer
Paul.Schmidt - Senior Art Director for an ad agency
PuterBoy - Film and Documentary editor
randyotter3000 - 3rd Yr Ilustrator
robroy05 - Deuce Bigalow
shirtflirt - Picture Editor
sonmi - Graphic Designer/Cartography & Freelance Illustrator/ Curator for teefury.com
spacesick 2 - illustrator/animator/actor/model/dancer/ghostbuster
Steve The Great - Student (Photography)
T-Lou - Graphic Designer/Art Director/zookeeper
TTUraider - Uni Student (Architecture)
valorandvellum - Graphic Designer in the Wine Industry




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]]> Wed, 19 Aug 2009 02:04:56 -0500
Please show some love at Emptees!




Ever wish you could sail away from the world in search for adventure? This is my 2nd Childhood sub. Hope you like it!

Detail Closeups (Please click to view full size):





Here's a few thumbnails of my process(Please click to view larger version):



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