An octopus spelling 'octopus' ... double cool!



Here's an alternate colour choice: http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y229/btvs1003/slide3.jpg



Please be gentle. This is the first piece of art I've ever made in Flash. What a zany program!

GREAT $5

I didn't even see that it was spelling Octopus until I read your description. I was going to give it a 3 based on the art, but with the addition of the spelling tentacles, I give it a 4.5.

awesome! great colour and linework

subtle use of type! Nice illo too!

This might be too close to a shirt that already printed... Octospelled.

Hmm ... I think the illustration style makes it unique. But that one is awesome too!

Oh, I also think mine's a lot more subtle. =)

mj00 on Jan 07 '09

This might be too close to a shirt that already printed... Octospelled.





wicked-studios on Jan 07 '09

Hmm ... I think the illustration style makes it unique. But that one is awesome too!





wicked-studios on Jan 07 '09

Oh, I also think mine's a lot more subtle. =)



Dude?!? what tha? You're not all that subtle.

It's nearly identical execution. Intentional or not, it's way too close to get a vote from me. Sorry man.

awesome!!!!

way too similar. just an alteration?

Hmm ... I think the illustration style makes it unique. But that one is awesome too!



The whole concept of the two designs is that the tentacles are spelling "octopus". Even though the style is different (and I do like your execution), it is definitely not unique.

I did have a series of process drawings leading to this one. Before, the octopus was turned the other way, but the letters were harder to make out ... so I arrived at this solution. I had them posted in my blog here on threadless a couple days ago ... and I can repost if some don't believe me.



And are you all trying to tell me that Threadless always prints 100% unique designs that have never been done before?

Sorry, I had to change my score. The similarities are just too obvious.

good...

Does Threadless always print 100% unique designs? No...but this isn't even 20% unique. I thought of the Woot design as soon as I saw this. The style is not the same but similiar enough that I can't vote higher then 0 for this.

sorry, but even if you didn't see the other one before creating this, then you should take more time for pre-production research..

" almozline on Jan 08 '09

sorry, but even if you didn't see the other one before creating this, then you should take more time for pre-production research.."



honestly, that's ridiculous, there is so much shit out there that it is impossible to research everything. The only way you could have known that it had been done was if you'd seen it. But, everything has been done before in one variation or another, it's been proved to me time & time again.



For instance, I just did a typewriter saying something & mathiole (?) did the same thing about a week before me and I'd never seen his, doesn't mean I'm not going to submit my idea just because he had the same idea.



The simple fact is that Threadless will not print this design as there are distinct similarities between the two and the other one noted above has already been printed.



Just move ahead with something else, wicked-studios, it's obvious you have talent, don't let this get you down.

Furthermore, I have been on shirt.woot.com many times but I'd honestly never seen that octopus shirt before.

I just wanted to come here and agree with every word rob just typed

Um, no; I don't think the similarities are too much. I actually prefer YOURS. The texture on the other is interesting, but your colors are better and the smoothness of the tentacle lines on the other is coloring-bookish at best. I much prefer the realism of yours.



To assume that anyone out there has never come up with this idea is completely asinine, folks. This designer has taken a concept that might have been done before, but has done it far better. The letters are "similar" because how else would you MAKE the letters with tentacles? They're going to look similar. This is absolutely not a copy and therefore I have to give it a score based on its merits as a design piece.



$5

Oh, and I agree with what Rob said. LOL

I also agree with Rob. The thing is, art has been around since man could use tools. And through thousands of years and many era's things have been done but it's the individual that sees things their own way, that's why we continue to see new things, I also agree that giving up is not an option, just do what you love and don't worry about crits, the best artists in the world still receive crits. I say do a new design, you have skillz and you will be printed.

"SassBot5001 on Jan 08 '09

I thought of the Woot design as soon as I saw this."



Same here. I thought it might have been the same artist had I not read through the comments.

wicked-studios on Jan 08 '09

I did have a series of process drawings leading to this one. Before, the octopus was turned the other way, but the letters were harder to make out ... so I arrived at this solution. I had them posted in my blog here on threadless a couple days ago ... and I can repost if some don't believe me.



And are you all trying to tell me that Threadless always prints 100% unique designs that have never been done before?



I will vouch for this because I saw the design in development. He's just extremely unlucky that the one he chose ended up so similar to the other design, as he had tried a couple of other ways of doing the letters before sticking with this one. Giving this guy a 0 simply for having the same idea as the other designer isn't fair at all, he obviously has talent and doesn't deserve to be put in the same spot as the crap that deserves that kind of score.

Agreeing with Rob and everyone else up there who is making some sense rather than trying to be mightier-than-thou designers. When I was in school, we got a project for a book cover design and I chose to do one of David Carson. I settled on one sketch to flesh out, brought in draft #1 for review one week, and my teacher down right accused me of stealing someone else's idea. In a huge coincidence, it turns out someone else chose Carson to do this project on a couple of quarters before and it was chosen for a Best Of design and was on display on the 8th floor. I hadn't been on the 8th floor in months because I had no classes up there. I went up there and sure enough, as soon as the elevator opened, the idea I had was right in front of my face.



It's just what happens - there is so much art out there, how could you possibly research every bit of it to make sure yours isn't similar to another? And furthermore, there is no DOUBT that half of what is out there resembles something else.



So everyone chill the effff out! It's not like she stole that exact design, did a color change, and said - presto, it's a shirt!



I like it, and I was going to score it a 4 but after reading all the nonsense you people are putting her through I'm bumping it up to a $5.



/rant

great work, if you do enough illustration/design your bound to create something thats already been done. it happens, people need to stop forming angry mobs every time it does happen. nice work, keep on truckin.

Yes, bad luck about the other design, as this is nice work. And everyone should calm down about 'originality'. Given the billions of drawings already in existence I'm sure lots of us have inadvertently done designs that are not wholly original.

fwiw, i like this. 4

I didnt read the discussions lol



this is awesome man, amazing idea!

I really like this idea, yet, I must say that I think he spelling his name should be a tad more obvious, which I guess would require you to completely redraw it. Also, I would like it more if it was a more lifelike drawing.

cool idea

yours is great and i don't mind the similarities.

I think a lot of you are giving the artist a free pass. He/she seems to have a pretty distinct set of entries, in style and especially content. This is like any of the artist's previous submissions, both in terms of style and especially content. This one seems way out of left field. I understand there's always going to be similar things out there, but at some point you should just call it what it is.

Sorry, I meant, this is unlike any of the artist's previous submissions.

`Wow this is by far one of my favorites.

really ncie

make him spell SQUID instead. that'd be a total mindfuck.

Thank you to everyone who genuinely likes this submission and to those of you who are sticking up for me.



WellingtonIII, I am an extremely varied artist. Since none of the styles that I've tried in the past were printed, I tried something different. I got the idea from a submission that I WAS going to do for the JOT (it was obscure animals drawn in a way that makes the first letter of their name ... the entire alphabet-style), but then I saw alexmdc's "Life is Beautiful" and realized that mine wouldn't ever come out as good as his ... so I took it in a different direction ... ONE animal spelling out it's entire name. Such a stretch?



If you'd like to see just how varied my work can get, please visit my deviantArt gallery: http://wicked-little-town.deviantart.com/gallery/

this has been done by woot!

^someone needs to read all the comments before posting... :)

Great.

I've read the comments and seen the other shirt... well, similar, but I like yours more - I agree that nowadays there are huge possibilities that two people have the same idea. However, I don't think that Threadless will print it.