Hmm...I'm not sure what the moose in the background or the gnome have to do with Mario. Maybe instead of a gnome it could be a Toad or a Koopa Troopa or something like that from the games. Or what could be really funny is if it was Luigi harvesting since he's the bitch to Mario. Just a thought! Keep up the nice work!
Gnomes live in forests and mushrooms grow in forests. I didn't want a Mario character because that would be to obvious. it is suppose to be subtle that they are Mario-like mushrooms.
A lighter shirt color might help some of your darker colors not get lost quite as much. Also it might be funnier if you did the gnome in a more mario type style!
I instantly got that those were the mushrooms from Mario, but I still couldn't get how it tied in to the gnome and all that. I had to read your reply to kellybellybell to actually get it, soo. I also agree with Chengui. Nice idea, though.
I made them mario looking for the fun of it to. I think everyone is reading in way to much on the mushrooms and not enough into the gnome. It won't get printed anyways.
About my design