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3. Know and call out your<br />
colors (Pantone please!)<br />
Bottom line, if an artist has <strong>not</strong><br />
called out their specific Pantone<br />
colors then we are left to match<br />
against the artwork we see on our<br />
computer screens. For the most<br />
part we are pretty good at getting<br />
colors correct when we have to interpret<br />
the colors for the artist (our<br />
color separator, Dan, is excellent at<br />
identifying color).<br />
Not everyone has access to a Pantone<br />
book, we get it, but do your<br />
best to identify your colors so there<br />
is no misunderstanding. Sometimes<br />
we have to make a judgment<br />
call based on the design submission<br />
and what we think the artist<br />
would have wanted. If artists can<br />
be very specific in their desired colors<br />
then our job of producing their<br />
vision is a bit easier.<br />
4. Have your own style<br />
Artistic expression is awesome.<br />
We read quite a bit in the blogs<br />
and forums about where a design<br />
“fits” in regards to finding a home<br />
for the design. For DBH we are really<br />
excited when we see a fresh<br />
voice and style and an artist being<br />
true to themselves and <strong>not</strong> catering<br />
to what they think will get the<br />
votes. Our suggestion is to use the<br />
DBH contest as a forum of expression<br />
and to explore yourself as an<br />
artist and create meaningful art-<br />
THREAD’S NOT DEAD • Jeff Finley<br />
A<strong>not</strong>her winning design by RikkiB at Design by Humans<br />
work for yourself – we find these<br />
pieces resonate more with the DBH<br />
community rather than something<br />
stereotypical of the latest winning<br />
designs. And of course, do <strong>not</strong> under<br />
any circumstances copy someone<br />
else’s design (its okay to be<br />
inspired by someone, but make it<br />
your own).<br />
5. Be Awe-and-then-Some<br />
This last point isn’t regarding art<br />
prep per se, but a reminder to<br />
spend the time necessary to make<br />
your piece as awesome as possible<br />
to speak volumes at first impression.<br />
T-shirt designs are judged in<br />
a split second when they are first<br />
seen and for most people there is<br />
a bit of a love it or over it mentality<br />
when it comes to t-shirt design.<br />
We have seen many great concepts<br />
which fall short with the execution<br />
of the artwork. Get feedback on<br />
your designs in the various online<br />
forums and subject yourself to the<br />
critiquing process. You and your<br />
artwork will only get better.<br />
I also found a cool article on Shirt-<br />
Fight about 10 Tips on Winning tshirt<br />
design contests.<br />
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