Arrgh

After looking at a number of designs at The Last Straw, it became apparent that the free flowing feel of the brush stroke technique in a number of their designs is what really appeals to me.

This pirate flag is another of those designs.

Click on the image to see this design at CafePress

Vroom

I found another motorsports design that I like a lot. This one is a checkered flag done in a simple yet very free flowing way that is both attention getting and, to me at least, refreshingly original.

This design is from The Last Straw, a shop I'll be taking a closer look at as I think there are quite a few good designs there.

Click on the image to see this design at CafePress

Binary

I work full time in I.T. so technology related designs have a certain appeal to me. Sad to say though, after looking through 1100 designs in the Technology & Geek -> Binary category, I didn't see any designs that appealed to me. Take a look for yourself: Geek - Binary.

There are only so many variations of "There are 10 types of people in the world. Those who understand binary and those who don't." that I care to see.

Fortunately, there are a lot more technology categories to search.

Cryptozoology

Cryptozoology is a fancy name for another interest I've had since childhood. Back then it was just a fascination with unusual and likely mythical creatures like the Loch Ness Monster and Sasquatch. My interest today is a combination of that same fascination tempered with a bit more scientific reasoning. Do any of these creatures really exist? I don't know, but it is fun to consider the possibility, and hope to one day know the truth.



I like this cartoon representation of sasquatch although I have reservations about a couple of things. First, the splitting of SAS and QUATCH makes it seem like two words rather than one that has a bit of an odd feel. Secondly, there appears to be some subtle texturing in the design that I'm not sure how well it will print on the final products. Other than that I think the design is quite original.

I'd be interested in hearing from anyone who has seen the final product.


Click on the image to see the design at CafePress

Motorsport T's

I've been a motor racing fan since I was a little kid. I remember watching the Indy 500 as far back as the early 70's, the Monaco Grand Prix about the same time on ABC's Wide World of Sports, and then full seasons of F1 starting in the late 70's when Gilles Villeneuve joined Ferrari and the CBC network covered all the races. To this I day I don't miss an F1 race, I try to catch all the Champ Car and IRL events, a few of the NASCAR races, and some of the other high profile races like LeMans.

Expect the Motorsports category to be pretty active assuming I find worthy designs.



Like most of the categories at CafePress there are a lot of mediocre or just plain crappy designs to wade through, but usually a few gems turn up. The first to catch my eye is this naive F1 design with its clean simple lines and limited colors that really seems to capture the essence of the concept.

Click on the image to see this design at CafePress.

It's a Start

I'm in the process of building a full blown t-shirt review site which I hope to launch in the next month or so. Right now I'm still evaluating CMS packages and that is turning into a prolonged process. In the meantime I thought I would get a head start by using this blog to catalog and track candidates for the other site.

A lot of the designs shown to begin with will be from CafePress. You can find just about anything there from rank amateur to pro designer works. I like to find any excuse to go browse the marketplace, and with their claim of 35 million items available and 45,000 added per day, I don't think we'll run out of subject matter any time soon.