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Thursday, December 31, 2009

iVIDEO

Guaranteed to get attention at a party, club or on campus. You might even find the industries next big star.
iVIDEO shirt
iVIDEO by tat2ts
Many more t-shirts online at zazzle.com

Friday, September 25, 2009

Halloween T shirts

Heres is a few halloween t shirts I found By artist "Strangeling" on Zazzle. I really love their style, fun yet creepy.






If you like these and would like see more you can check them out here strangeling's Store at Zazzle

Monday, September 7, 2009

Halloween shirt for the moms to be

Heres a super fun Halloween maternity t shirt

Monday, August 31, 2009

Monday, August 24, 2009

Some of my favorite charities

Cure Autism Now (CAN) is an organization of parents, clinicians and leading scientists committed to accelerating the pace of biomedical research in autism through raising money for research projects, education and outreach. Founded by parents of children with autism in 1995, the organization has grown from a kitchen-table effort to the largest provider of support for autism research and resources in the country. The organization's primary focus is to fund essential research through a variety of programs designed to encourage innovative approaches toward identifying the causes, prevention, treatment and a cure for autism and related disorders. For more information, please visit: www.cureautismnow.org


Shop Zazzle’s breast cancer awareness gallery! This gallery contains a collection of artsy designs contributed by the Zazzle community to help raise education and awareness of breast cancer.


The NATIONAL CHILDREN'S LEUKEMIA FOUNDATION (NCLF) is one of the leading non-profit organizations in the fight against leukemia and cancer for children and adults. The NCLF is established to support the unfortunate in various programs. NCLF main objective is to provide the cure for children and adults, and to ease the family's burden during their hospital stay. We can't achieve our goal without your assistance.


PETA has partnered with Zazzle.com in order to bring to you, our members and supporters, a wider variety of merchandise that will allow you to match designs and slogans to the products that interest you most. We think that you’ll love the new merchandise that Zazzle has to offer.

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Saturday, August 15, 2009

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Rock a billy style





Bad ass gear





Zazzle Designers

Here are a few of my favorite Zazzle designers.







Monday, March 23, 2009

Interview with photo artist Erik Johansson

I came across Eric totally by accident a little ways back. Now I know alot of people don't think alot of photo manipulation, this young man showed so much creativity and imagination that I knew I had to share him and his work with all my readers.

How long have you been into photography? I got my first digital camera when I turned 15, I discovered photo manipulations quite early but I've learned almost everything the past 2 years.

What inspired you to start manipulating your photo's?
I guess that I wanted to improve reality.
When did you start working professionally?
I don't know if I can call myself a professional, perhaps from now.But I have learned most of the things I know about manipulations and photo the last 2 years.

Have you recieved any formal training?
No not really, but there are a lot of good tips out there on the world wide web.

I really like the piece "long road" can you give us a little insight into what inspired it?
I had an idea about making roads in different ways, the initial idea was to use a truck instead of a human. But this just felt better in the end, and became symbolic in a sense to depending how you interpret it.

Who would you say has been your biggest influence?
I get inspiration from everywhere, but I really like Salvador Dali and M.C. Escher.

I know you are still very early in your career but tell us about some of your accomplishments.
I have done some work for an advertising agency in Gothenburg but nothing big yet, but I have a few things going on, the future will tell.

What is your favorite piece by another artist?
I like a lot of different stuff, but one of the first photos I saw that got me in to retouch was this one http://www.mojo.com.ro/blog/uploads/svenprim_C659/Sven_Prim.jpg by Sven Prim.



Friday, March 6, 2009

Interview with master sculptor Kris Kuksi

Well yet another night of stumbleing around the net has exposed me to another mind blowing artist, Kris Kuksi. His works are a very organic nightmare landscape. I find his sculptures to be extremely attracting, everytime you look you see something you missed before. I know each of you will love this mans style and imagination.

When did you first realize your passion for art?
KK: At a very young age, as far back as I could remember. My grandmother had some typing paper laying around so I would grab them and scribble all over.

How would you describe your style in your own words?
KK: My style is blending the old world with the new. A sort of hellish world filled with beasts and demons with a touch of classical influence.


Where or have you formerly studied art?
KK: I have two degrees in Painting from a small university here in Kansas, and I also studied old master painting techniques in Florence and Austria a few years ago. But as far as sculpture, it has all been my own explorations and learning. It truly has been a journey that includes engineering knowledge as well as many challenges.

What is your favorite medium, sculpting, painting, graphite etc and why?
KK: I enjoy them all, however, I do enjoy sculpture the most because I am builder more than anything. Painting is more of a special time, I only do it when I really feel relaxedand calm which hardly ever happens!

Your sculptures are mind blowing. Where do you draw your inspiration from?
KK: Mostly from books and museums that include old European art collections. However, I do enjoy large industrial structures such as refineries and skyscrapers. I love thesesorts of objects with a lot of confusion and detail, piping and layering. I admire the symmetry of many temples and cathedrals, especially the temples of India

What artist would you say has had the most impact on you as an artist while you were learning?
KK: H.R. Giger was perhaps the most significant though I had only seen his work in books. Ernst Fuchs was another artist who had an impact on me as well--artists andothers that I had been exposed to while I was studying in art school.

Which of your own pieces would you say you have gotten the most satisfaction out of completing and why?
KK: Imminent Utopia by far because it was such a huge project both with time and size. When it was completed there were thousands of pieces that comprised the wholething. It was impossible to have counted the parts and hours involved. The completion time took about a month more than expected.

Tell us about some of your accomplishments as an artist.
KK: Well I've been both in over a hundred exhibitions as well have landed several magazine features world wide. Another thing I am happy about are that many of my pieceshave been purchased by prominent collectors and celebrities. So all in all I've done a lot already in a short time and the exciting thing is that there are things still unfolding. I'm 36 now and have many years ahead.

Who is your favorite artist and why?
KK: The American architect Louis Sullivan because of his design sense and the skill at which he was able to apply his creations to be built and celebrated. He could add themost elaborate addition to the dullest and most boring looking building and it all looked good.

Now if you would pick 3 of your own favorite pieces and provide links.
KK: A New Divinity is my top favorite: It sums up what I feel about art and the world in general.http://kuksi.deviantart.com/art/A-New-Divinity-63452378

The Deadly Sins is the second: The vices of man are all accounted for in this wonderful diorama.http://kuksi.deviantart.com/art/The-Deadly-Sins-65027201

And Imminent Utopia is the third: The place where I want to live after I have been shrunk down to an inch tall.http://kuksi.deviantart.com/art/Imminent-Utopia-92800155

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Interview with Markus Rippka of "Black is Beauty"

I absolutely love Markus's skull designs, they have a fun fresh rock-a-billy feel to them. Personally I like them best in the gold and silver metallic.

What inspired you to start designing tee shirts?
I started as a painter about ten years ago ( oil on canvas ).
To make my designs known to a bigger audience, I decided to work with computers and
began to design images for T-shirts.
This is a very interesting way of developing art, because the images look totally different on cotton than on canvas.
And – I think it will boost sales, of course.

How long have you been in the industry?
About a year ago I recognized Spreadshirt, a German T-shirt printing company, where I can sell my designs and run my own T-Shirt shop.

What advice would you give someone just starting out?
This is a difficult. There is no easy answer to that question.
The output of High Quality designs is not the main problem, if you`re skilled.
The right marketing of your stuff is very important to achieve enough sales.
And it helps having good friends, like Jay from VAN TRIBE FASHION, giving you
support and advice. He promotes me and my shop. You know, it`s a tough business.

What style has worked best for you as a designer?
Definitely my skull-designs. There are many different ways to design skulls, there`s always a new idea for another skull design, they are my “classics”.
And, people will always love skulls.

Where do you see your company in 5 years?
I hope I made my work popular by then to make many people in America and Europe wear my Shirts, to be able to make a living out of it.

What is your favourite design?
My favourite design is Skull Circle 8 ( from the Skull Circle series ).
But I love them all, so its hard to choose.

Who has bee your biggest influence in your designs?
The biggest influence? My friend Dirk, he is a Tattoo artist who did some tattoos for me and my wife Tanja. Inspired by his work I started transforming my tribal and skulldesigns for tees.

What is your favourite designs by another artist?
A question I cannot answer easily. I love the style of my friends Jay and be-him of VAN TRIBE. They have many motifs I like very mutch, such as:
The new VAN TRIBE logo, blood kiss, the witch, the hula skull, the skull punk, tiki three, breeding demon, the bad ass gun, devilish, and many more.
And one of your designs Thundergod is also my fav.
3 of my favorite designs:

Monday, February 23, 2009

Interview with Paul Lancaster of The Tee Party

Paul and his wife Crystal have a great sense of style and humor. Their designs range from the artsy to the histerical. My personal favorite is one of their artsier pieces "Geisha". Look for many great things from these two fantastic people.

What inspired you to start designing tee shirts?
I’ve always loved wearing t-shirts but got fed up of the stuff on the high street. I always wanted to design my own but never thought that I had the creative know how. Then, the more I looked into it, the more I realized it’s easier than it seems.

How long have you been in the industry?
I’ve been working with t-shirts for almost 3 years now, and I’ve been dabbling with graphic design a little longer than that.

What advice would you give someone just starting out?
Do it for the love of doing it, rather than doing it for the sake of making money. Make sure you know your style and the direction that you want to go in before you start. A lot of people starting out with t-shirts seem to look at what other companies are having success with and try to emulate it. Although you can emulate someone’s style, you can never emulate their passion and motivation, so you really have to know what motivates you and that is where real success comes from.

What style has worked best for you as a designer?
I have 2 contrasting design styles of minimalist clean solid lines, usually seen in my t-shirt designs, and the grungy sketchy look, as seen in the web design on TheTeeParty. I find with t-shirts, simple, random ideas always seem to end up being the most universally appealing.

Where do you see your company in 5 years?
I think our previous successes definitely inspire me to keep building on what we already have. In 5 years I see us as having either moved into being a true indie design company printing our own stuff by hand or printing selected designs through local screen printers. Also, as I get a lot of compliments on TheTeeParty setup, I am working on a side project to offer newbie spreadshoppers both premade and custom spreadshirt website integrations. I really enjoy website design and coding and I think that Spreadshirt has a great platform to offer people, but not everyone knows how to set up their own shop.

What is your favorite design?
Of ours, it is probably Best Friends that Crystal designed when we first started.

Who has been your biggest influence in your designs?
With doing Spreadshirt’s flex and flock printing methods, the size restrictions took some getting used to and Amorphia-Apparel's designs were definitely a big source of inspiration, in both content and to highlight what can be done with those print methods

What is your favorite design by another artist?
I love Glennz's stuff; his “Potato head is Dead” design for Threadless is one of my favorite all time t-shirt designs.

3 of my favorite designs:

Skyscraper


Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Interview with painter Pauline Lim

Well I was cruising Fine Art America the other day and I happened across Pauline's profile. Well that was all it took, I knew I had to interview this wonderful artist. Each of her pieces are filled with so much emotion. I believe each of you will find something to love looking through her work.

When and how did you first become interested in art?
I first became interested in art as a child. Starting when I was four, my brother, sister and I took piano lessons from the same teacher, who kept an enormous stack of comic books. While my siblings had their lessons, I sat in the waiting room reading, "Richie Rich", "Archie", and all the superhero ones. I was fascinated with the drawing in those, and I practiced a lot at home-- both drawing and piano.

What are your artistic influences?
Right now I get really jazzed by medieval art. I have a weekly gig singing in a gorgeous Anglican church in Providence, RI, and I love gazing at all the antique religious artwork and singing the ancient masses. They use a lot of incense and solemn ritual at that church.
Earlier in my adult life, I was very influenced by Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele, Francis Bacon. In college I worshipped Mark Rothko.

Do you come from an artistic family?
My parents, a doctor and a nurse, were very against my pursuit of art and music as career options; they had given me art and music lessons only to groom me for an Ivy League education. I have an uncle who is an artist, who supported himself as a sign-painter in L.A., who was generally considered the black sheep of the family. Later, our family reconnected with some relatives in North Korea, from whom they'd been separated for 40 years; it turns out that my namesake aunt grew up to be an artist, actress and musician. My parents had always been mystified by their kids' artistic leanings, but it turns out to run in our blood.

What is one of the most memorable artistic moments in your life?
Years ago I won a grant from the local cultural council for music composition (I used to compose and record experimental pop music), but for my community-service component, I decided to put on a multi-media show involving my music backed up by a slide show of my paintings. It was a big ME-ME-ME-fest, and I was nervous about how it would be received, but I remember that when it was over, people gave me a big, warm ovation. It was really gratifying.

What else do you do besides paint?
As stated before, I also do music (see http://www.zefiroensemble.com/) both for fun and for part of my living. I am also very interested in fitness and have participated in a lot of triathlons and am married to a former professional triathlete. I have been teaching yoga for 14 years. I found that exercise tames my rampant depression, which ruled my early adult life. Interestingly, the less depressed I am, the less creative I am. My productivity is higher, though. Go figure! Another activity that rules my life is cooking, since I try to eat as healthily as possible. I recently thought about opening a restaurant with fine cuisine that isn't fattening and greasy.

I love "Dislocated Man". Can you give a little background on this piece?
I went through a big stint of marbleizing paper. At the same time, I was painting this man on paper, which is a little unusual since I mostly work on canvas panel. This picture was giving me a lot of trouble because it wasn't working. Out of frustration/desperation, I cut the man out and decided I liked the negative shape it created, and I tore up the other parts of the paper, and I put the marbleized paper behind it and liked the way the colors popped out when I did that. The great thing about paper is that you can tear it up if you dislike the painting, and it often really improves the picture! Torn edges make such a nice line sometimes.

Tell us about some of your accomplishments?
In no particular order: I graduated from Harvard in 1988, which just about killed me because I contemplated suicide every day that I was there, practically! I hated it, so I consider it a huge accomplishment that I gutted it out and "got my paper and I was free" (as the Indigo Girls say).
I curated a show for the first time in 2007 for the Brickbottom Gallery, called "FIRE", and it was jam-packed with fantastic art, and there were fire dancers at the opening, and an amazing installation by the artist Empire SNAFU and photographer Paul Weiner. It was a real happening. In 2008 I wrote and was awarded a Massachusetts Cultural Council grant on behalf of the Brickbottom Artists Association.
I recently wrote and was awarded a grant from the local cultural council to stage an early sacred music performance at the next show I will be curating, in December 2009, called "HOLY", also in the Brickbottom Gallery.

Who would you say has been the biggest influence in your style of painting?
It tends to change as I go through phases. As stated above, right now I love medieval art. I don't know the names of the artists, but the ones that look a bit naive and cartoonish are my favorites. I think that must hearken back to the comic books of my childhood.

What are 2 of your favorite pieces?
That's too hard of a question to answer! A recent fave is this Hans Holbein the Younger portrait of King Henry VIII:


















and this Holbein portrait of Erasmus:


Both of these images were used on publicity posters for my last vocal group, Passio.
Who is your favorite artist?
That also is a hard question to answer. Recent faves include Holbein (obvious from my answer to your last question), Hieronymus Bosch, Johannes Vermeer and Hans Memling. Loving them is making it hard for me to paint, though, because I quail in the face of their magnificence.
Be sure to check out her gallery at http://www.paulinelim.net

Monday, February 2, 2009

Interview with Tom of Tobishirts

Tom's style is what first caught my attention. It has a Gothic feel with definite religious undertones. I was an instant fan.

What inspired you to start designing tee shirts?
I have been drawing for Years. At school I had therefore often leave the classroom. One Day came the desire to design own shirts.
How long have you been in the industry?
May 2008

What advice would you give someone just starting out?
This work is very time-consuming. One should not underestimate this.At the beginning one needs much patience and money.
What style has worked best for you as a designer?
I think definitely my own Style. It’s a special Style.

Where do you see your company in 5 years?
I hope I have in 5 years a bigger fan community and more people wearing my Shirts. That would be my dream.

What is your favorite design?
My favourite Designs are: Thorn Crown II; Christ, Flowerskull

Who has been your biggest influence in your designs?
My family had the largest influence on my work.

What is your favourite design by another artist?
The Picture VANITAS from Johann Caspar Lavater.

3 of my best designs:

Saturday, January 31, 2009

Interview with Frank of Drama Patrol

I really love Franks designs and what they mean. He gives you a way to tell everyone around you that you don't want or need any "DRAMA" in fun and imaginative ways.

What inspired you to start designing tee shirts?
I've always loved t-shirts and its been a dream of mine to have my own t-shirt shop since i was in high school

How long have you been in the industry?
3 years

What advice would you give someine just starting out?
it takes time,money and patience and if your lucky you might get some sales!!!

What style has worked best for you as a designer?
definitely the art form of vectorization and anything stenciled or pop art.

Where do you see your company in 5 years?
I would like to see my company be at the point to sponsor a few bands and obviously keep making people laugh

What is your favorite design?
my rockstar tee by far

Who has been your biggest influence in your designs?
Anything by Tom Ledin I would love to be as good as him someday!!

What is your favorite design by another artist?
el paquete imenso http://tomledin.com/gallery/elpaquete.html

3 of my best designs, and provide
Wax On
Weapons of math instruction
That was zen

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Interview with artist Tamara Guion

I first saw Tamara's work by accident. I was working on the Allen of koalapop interview and he had a link to her site on his site. I immediately fell for her surreal style.

When did you first realize you wanted to be an artist?
I've literally been drawing since I could pick up a crayon. All throughout my childhood I was constantly drawing in class, or making my own holiday decorations. I would mostly try to draw other people that I knew, or people that I saw in movies or magazines. It was fun and relaxing and it also gave me a creative outlet for dealing with the mundane daily issues of just growing up. I continued to draw as I got older and finally a good friend convinced me that I should seriously consider making it a career. So when I was 25 I applied and was accepted at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, CA , graduated with a BFA in Illustration and Design in 1999, and have been a working artist and designer ever since.

How long have you been designing?
10 years.

What is your favorite medium to work in?
Acrylic.

What advice would you give someone just starting out?
Try to be versatile. While it's important to have a distinctive style, it's also very important to not limit yourself to just one thing. When I was in my last year in school, I took at lot of graphic design, advertising, and photography classes in addition to my regular drawing and painting in an attempt to have a better understanding of the related fields. This has proved to be invaluable over the years as it's opened up multiple streams of income that wouldn't have been available to me otherwise.

What style has worked best for you as a designer?
The one I'm currently working in.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
I would really like to make the transition into doing more gallery shows.

What is your favorite piece?
I've Always been fond of my "Praying Elvis", and I like "Death Among Us".

Who has been your biggest influence in your designs?
Most of my influences come from the old Medieval icons, Renaissance and Baroque portraiture and the Vanitas still life's.

What is your favorite piece by another artist?
A Vanita's still life by the Dutch painter, Pieter Claesz.

4 of my favorite designs:






Monday, January 26, 2009

Interview with artist Lora Zombie of Bananaca

I was stumbleing around the net one night when I first came across Lora's site. I instantly loved it. I must've spent an hour looking at all of her drawings and paintings. My personal favorite gallery is her whitewall gallery, it has a very raw feel to it.




When did you first realize that art was going to be a major part of your life?
i did??? is it?whahaha! seems i haven't realize it yet

How long have you been in the industry?
well,i've been drawing since i remember my self

What advice would you give someone just starting out?
Stay away from the late nights, drugs and unbound sex!whahaha!
well,actually, just don't look for profits from this.

What style has worked best for you as a designer?
what style??huh!weeeeeeell,i worked with a lot of styles but one wich has worked
best...hm,well stop bollocks!its really easy to see...Its Hewlett's style.i've ,made tons of stuff exactly with his style...and its really so wierd to hear when people who know about hewlett and all his work say me "hey!i like your style",but its not mine at all!haha

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
in the space with spacemokeyzzz!hahaha!


What is your favorite piece?
virgin piece of white paper


Who has been your biggest influence in your designs?
muuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuusic...sure...."music is my hot hot sex"(C) hahaha!
actually almost all pics i've made is result of my connection with music... damon Albarn's stuff,the rolling stones,kraftwerk,massive attack and many many others,....its all about that for last half a year my main influence was Radiohead..they blow up my mind to million of bright pieces! thank you,thom!hahaha =)

What is your favorite design by another artist?
hm....its hard to chooce only ONE favorite design i like...there are a lot of amazing artists today who creates absolut-lee unbeliveable and impressing pieces

3 of my designs:











Friday, January 23, 2009

Interview with Jonah of Pocket Aces Apperal















I know Jonah is fairly new to the tee scene but I immediately loved his style. I found him on a new social site for tee designers.

What inspired you to start designing tee shirts?
-I've always enjoyed making graphics in photoshop and illustrator and decided to start applying them to shirts.

How long have you been in the industry?
-Since October 08

What advice would you give someine just starting out?
-Come up with a catchy name and advertise as much as possible. The more hits, the better chance you have of selling your product.

What style has worked best for you as a designer?
-I'm sort of all over the place. I try to appeal to a broad range of customers.

Where do you see your company in 5 years?
-I'd like to see a huge product line compared to what I've got now.

What is your favorite design?
-Skull sportin Aviators

Who has been your biggest influence in your designs?
-Everyone

What is your favorite design by another artist?
-That's too tough

3 of my best designs.
-Blue Wings -

-Morgan's Custom -

-Pistolas -

Interview with Nina of Small Potatoes Designs

Lets take a dive into the ultra cute world of Nina Miles of Small Potatoes Designs.
Nina's designs are a great example of how keeping things clean and simple can make for very successful designs.

What inspired you to start designing tee shirts?
My son started designing shirts and I helped him with descriptions. Soon I had to try designing too!

How long have you been in the industry?
Since Summer 2006

What advice would you give someone just starting out?
Begin by designing something you have a passion about. Your passion will show in what you create to sell.

What style has worked best for you as a designer?
I use many styles in my work.

Where do you see your company in 5 years?
Wow, it's grown so much already. I hope to have many more designs and be a known brand.

What is your favorite design?
This one is one of my favorites:
Cute Irish Leprechan

Who has been your biggest influence in your designs?
No one, really.

What is your favorite design by another artist?
I love this: Vegatarian Chic

3 of my best designs.
Mini Golfer Kids
Green Frog
Military Kids Support

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Interview with Jay and Be-Him of Van Tribe

I first met Jay and his lovely wife Bettlina (aka-Be-Him) on the Spreadshirt forums. We became instant friends. Jay has a very edgey rockabilly style in his designs and his wifes digital work has a very dark yet very sensual feel.

What inspired you to start designing tee shirts ?
We read in the german news magazine “Der Spiegel” about a new company called
Spreadshirt, where designers could get their work printed on high quality T-Shirts
and sell it to the public easily.
Years ago we had tried this before, selling merchandising shirts of our bands, but it
was a very complicated process at that time.
The quality of prints and the shirts were, lets say, horrible, and you had to buy a certain amount of shirts.
It was lots of work, expensive and not that satisfying, so we finally stopped it.
But here we are again.

How long have you been in the industry?
We started VAN TRIBE in 2006.

What advice would you give someone just starting out?
You should ask yourself three questions:

Do you want to make a lot of money the easy way?

Are you giving up soon when times get rough?

You dont really have time to work on your designs over and over again?

Yes,yes,yes?

Then it will be difficult.
First of all you need to be patient.
Be sure, to develop the designs, your shop, the network, the marketing.
Just everything takes a lot more time than you expect. And if you are not burning for your ideas, if you are not convinced that the world is waiting just for your designs, you will not work as hard as you can.
Start sketching your ideas roughly, train yourself in doing this.
Dont expect pieces of art at the beginning, thats not necessary, then work it out, work it over until it fits in all systems you are working with.
You have to understand the differences between Digital Printing and vector graphics, there is a lot to know about technical specifications, your computer system and the designing software.
Thats maybe a little frustating sometimes, but it`s no magical mystery tour, blogs and the Spreadshirt forum will be helpful. Be sure: There`s really nothing you can`t learn !!!!
So be curious, be patient and never give up.


What style has worked best for you as a designer?
Our hearts belong to Tribals, Skulls, Tattoo designs, that´s what you`ll find on VAN TRIBE, but we do other designs for our Manga-Shop and our BADASS-shop, where we got lots of political or funny graphics.

Where do you see your company in 5 years ?
On top
Just Kiddin`.
We want to be established as a high quality brand and give people the chance of wearing our designs at a competitive price.

What is your favorite design?
Be-Him: I love my “Lucky Skull”. Its fresh, cute and it looks a bit melancholic. For me it`s absolutly perfect.
JayOne: My favourite? Well it`s “Killing Fields”, a design that reminds me that life is a journey that will end someday. It`s very clearly drawn in a graphical style, there is a strong message in it, and: it looks awesome.


Who has been your biggest influence in your design?
Be-Him: I can not say influenced, but I am deeply impressed by old woodcuts from japan, images of the “danse macabre”, the “Vanitas” theme, comic art, graphic novels, the artists Albrecht Altdorfer, James Ensor, Edvard Munch, Max Klinger, Aubrey Beardsly, Wilhelm Busch, Heinrich Zille, and many, many more.
But really the biggest influences for me as an artist are music (Loud and Hard) and the works of Oscar Wilde, because they feed the cinema in my head and keep my dreams alive.
JayOne: Well, I`m not that much into the classical stuff, I do love Comic Art like Marvel or DC, the Japanese Manga-Style and Pinstriping Art, made by designers as Herb Martinez, Tommy The Greek, Art Himsel, Von Dutch, Robert E. Dunn or Tommy Otis.

What is your favorite design by another artist?
The design “Skull Fade” by tat2ts, printed on a deep red teeshirt is our favorite at the mo.
Its cool, quite elegant, no mainstream skull trash, its high class






Two of our favorite designs
Killing Fields


Saturday, January 17, 2009

Interview with Allen of Koalapop


If you are into partying hard and the rave subculture then look no further. Allen's designs are super colorful and tre trippy.

What inspired you to start designing tee shirts?
It was probably a combination of marijuana and Vicodin which inspired me to begin.


How long have you been in the industry?
Koalapop opened in March, 2008 but since September, 2007 I had already been researching and creating designs. Preproduction for my brand took roughly half a year.

What advice would you give someone just starting out?
I would sincerely recommend a brief foray into the world of psychedelic drugs while sorting out your brand's themes and vision.



What style has worked best for you as a designer?
My designs are pretty stylized and I've found that the cleaner the lines, the bolder the composition, the more bombastic the colors, etc. the better a design will lend itself to being printed onto a piece of pop-art clothing. Grunge elements, gradients, etc. will muddy up the shirt's concept, in my opinion. The reason why is because a passerby has only a few seconds to glance at a shirt, and even your friends probably don't want to stare up close at your clothes for half a minute in order to understand what you're wearing. My goal is to make my clothing designs bold and intuitive.


Where do you see your company in 5 years?
In the hearts and minds of fine raver girls the world over.



What is your favorite design?
We have a design called "Octopop" which is my personal favorite. It depicts a multi-colored octopus drawn in successive layers of lines (the line detail isn't readily noticeable from afar but reveals itself nicely from up close) with a huge lightbulb trapped inside its translucent head. The message behind the design is, as usual, left deliberately ambiguous so that everyone can interpret it for themselves.


Who has been your biggest influence in your designs?
A lot of influences are woven into Koalapop, and the site is always slowly evolving, but if asked to choose one influence I'd probably say the late pop legend Andy Warhol.


What is your favorite design by another artist?
I glanced at Jeremy Kalgreen's interview below and noticed he likes Glenn Jones. I'd have to agree: Glenn's concepts and execution are quite impressive. Take a look at his design called "Experimental Music".

Please pick 3 of your best designs.
"Koalapop on Mars", "Shock and Ahh Yeah", and "Tablet Smiley" are farily iconic of the Koalapop brand, and they're what I personally think of first. But instead of linking to them, I'd rather fans look them up by hand in hopes they'll stumble upon others they like.



Tat2ts does not endorse the use of recreational drugs.

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Interview with photographer Richard Rizzo

I first met Richard in the Zazzle forum, where he is a very helpful and active member. I believe everyone will agree he has an excellent eye for catching a momment in time with his camera

What first inspired you to get into photography?I think seeing the work of Ansel Adams in books when I was young first put the spark in me but later in my early twenties I met a friend who was a professional photographer in North Carolina who really had the most impact on me, he taught me not only to look at things through the lens but how to see creatively.

How long have you been in the industry?Well that’s a tough one because I can honestly say art has been my life since at least second grade when I remember winning an award for an abstract painting I did for art class. As far as working in the Photography Industry I worked for several commercial photography studios in the 1980's doing various work from /Set Designing, Decorative Painting, Carpentry, Key Grip, Lighting and Assistant Photographer/ I later started my own residential /Faux Finishing and Mural /business which I have been doing for over twenty years now but I always kept my camera close in hand to take opportunistic images whenever I can.

What advice would you give someone just starting out?Generally speaking.. search for your desire and talent, hone your skills, work hard and network.
Most of what I know about art is self taught, everything from design to photography to painting, though I did take a few courses when needed.

What style has worked best for you as a photographer?I generally work with realism in photography and painting though I do dabble with abstract and surrealism at times.

Where do you see your company in 5 years?Since my photography is _not_ my bread and butter at the time I would like to see it take off but also I would like to get more into 2D and 3D digital art it is something that fascinates me and wish it was around when I was in public school.
As far as a plan goes..by being flexible, diverse and a tad spontaneous I generally keep my options open when it comes to long term planning I have a general idea where to take it but it will most likely evolve itself to a niche market being totally adaptable if and when needed.

What is your favorite photograph?I guess I can honestly say I don’t have a favorite but I photograph what I love whether it’s landscapes, trains, machinery or old abandoned buildings, it’s a part of what I am and it shows in all of my work.

Who has been your biggest influence in your designs?I would like to say my older sister who used to take me to the Museum of Modern Art in the city a lot when I was a kid but various types of artists/designers who are relevant to my tastes of styles or interests would be Ansel Adams, Alexander Calder, Salvador Dali, Frank Lloyd Wright, Picasso, Matisse, Peter Max, Leonardo da Vinci and Marino Marini just to name a few.

What is your favorite design by another artist?I really have no one favorite because I appreciate all the artist work I mentioned above, they each have their own styles with equal impact.

Please pick 3 of your best designs, and provide links.I’m not sure if they are the best but I like them a lot.
“Going Down” http://www.zazzle.com/going_down_print-228195613652677181
“Logan Pass” http://www.zazzle.com/logan_pass_print-228816802121610217
“The Back Shop” http://www.zazzle.com/the_back_shop_print-228516152484441087

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Interview with Jeremy Kalgreen of Amorphia Apperal

Jeremy Kalgreen's designs are just amazing, thought provoking, and purely entertaining. If there is one person to be admired for his genius and imagination he is it.

What inspired you to start designing tee shirts?

It was quite by accident. Once upon a time, years ago, for reasons I don’t clearly remember, I decided I didn’t want to wear any clothing with any messages on it that I didn’t put there myself. I’m not one of those zealous ‘Adbusters’ anti-capitalist types, it just seemed like the thing to do. So for fun I started printing single copy silk-screened shirts for my own personal usage. Well, despite the fact I found it enjoyable, I was bloody terrible at it and eventually I decided to try out one of these custom shirt websites I had been hearing about. Originally the plan was just to upload some images and make a single copy of each shirt for my own personal use and then forget about it. I took some of my existing silkscreen designs and vectorized and uploaded them.

As it turns out a few days before when I planned to place my order I had some car troubles that robbed me of the extra cash to splurge on custom shirts. Since I had already put the effort into uploading my designs it seemed like a shame to abandon the project altogether. So I set my shop to public, and in the back of my head I figured I might sell a shirt every once in a blue moon and that would be totally flattering and whatnot. I didn’t imagine selling more then one or two a month, and I certainly didn’t imagine it would become a real source of income. As it turns out even before I made a ‘real’ shop front there seemed to be a bit of interest in my designs, and I decided “What the hell, I might as well try and make it look like a real store” but I still didn’t think I’d get more then $20-30 a month.

Turns out I was wrong, and now T-shirts are my primary source of income.

How long have you been in the industry?
Since February '06 if I recall correctly.

What advice would you give someine just starting out?
Well my goal was to try and make a shirt shop I felt proud of, and that represented me as a person. So I say forget about trying to pander to your audience, make shirts you would like then try to find people like you. Develop your own style, instead of looking at what other people have been successful at and trying to ape that. Of course if your goal is to make the big bucks, *and* you have the capital to horn your way into the market directly then you should probably do the exact opposite of that.

Oh, and learn to do web programming. Learn HTML/CSS and at least a little Javascript/PHP/MySQL. I just taught myself one little bit at a time via my local library as I went, and being able to do these things for yourself makes a huge difference. With every new project I work on I learn so much it makes me ashamed to even look at the source code of my previous projects. Seriously, it's not particularly hard if you take it one step at a time, get cracking folks!

What style has worked best for you as a designer?
Keeping it simple, amusing and hopefully a tab surreal or oblique. Communicate a concept as elegantly as possible. The trend in recent years has been to 'busy up' your designs. "Add more distressing! More lines, more visual jibber jabber" seems to be the watchwords apparently designers feel that makes things look more artsy. But the market is now flooded with that style, and while obviously there is a market for it I get people e-mailing me all the time saying what a relief it is to see simple, clean designs. Of course the fact it also lets me use the Spreadshirt plot printing method instead of having to rely on Silk screening / Digital Transfers or DTG printing is a very significant bonus to working this way.

Where do you see your company in 5 years?
Hopefully pretty much the same, but with 5 new Sub-sites a-la 'Teach the Controversy' and 'Science!'. I just want to keep having ideas that make me smile and hopefully people will continue to respond to them.

What is your favorite design?
Oh my, I can't even start to decide on a favorite, but I do get a really warm feeling whenever I see someone has bought my KISSinger tee.

http://amorphia-apparel.com/design/kissinger/
I think it's the kind of shirt that really says a lot about my shop, my target audience and what I find funny/interesting.





Who has been your biggest influence in your designs?
You know, I seriously try to avoid looking at other shirt-smiths work. Mostly to avoid poisoning my idea-well, but also I always just get annoyed at the good ideas I see because I didn't see them first. So I studiously avoid looking at Threadless and what have you because I think there is a lot of great work out there, but I think I work best isolated from everything else. Early on though I'd have to say I was really impressed and encouraged by how much I enjoyed my then fellow Spreadshirter Barry of Barry's Farm (http://barrysfarm.net/). It doesn't appear he does the shirt thing anymore, but I loved his old designs and wanted my work to be as good as his.
What is your favorite design by another artist?
I don't know if I can pick a favorite, but recently I discovered the work of Glenn Jones (http://store.glennz.com/) from a post on Metafilter.com and it reminded me why I hate looking at other people's stuff. It was all very fantastic!

3 of my best designs.
Roach Celebration:
http://amorphia-apparel.com/design/roach/
Rock Robot:
http://wearscience.com/design/robot/
Devil Bones:
http://controversy.wearscience.com/design/devil/