Beijing or Bust
2.26.2007

So in two weeks I'm headed to China, Hong Kong, and Japan. Dude. I'm going with a group of friends-we've been planning it for a year now, actually. It's weird to think that for months it's just been this distant thing that equated to little more than periodic chores: sending in my passport application, getting my visa, putting down the payment with the travel agency, etc. It's like I'd begun to think I was just running these little errands for nothing. And then last week I get a packet in the mail with all my travel documentation and I'm just standing there in the rain like an idiot at my mailbox thinking

HOLY CRAP IM GOING TO CHINA AND MORE.

It was eerie. But before actually getting on that plane, of course, it means yet more chores, but these have been significantly more enjoyable: shopping for the perfect messenger bag (I've recently come to hate backpacks due to their mobile inaccessability), some novels for the 13-hour flights, a nice digital camera, and a travel watercolor set and pad. Typically I'm more of a sketcher than a painter, but I figured that with all the colors around me, I'll be inspired to replicate it in my art, and my dad was able to reccommend a good set since he did the same on his trip to China last year. (Yes, virtually everyone in my family owns at least 3 blogs.)

ANYWAYS, the reason I was posting all of this here is because I got to thinking about how inspiring it will be to travel. To see, smell, taste, and experience all of these new things in a totally foreign place: to just step into someone else's reality for once. Of course, I'll be documenting the whole thing. I've kept a daily journal for a little over a decade now, so it will be covered in writing. And of course I mentioned the watercolors and sketching I'll be doing there too. But I got to thinking: why not document the trip on a shirt? I have no idea how I'll go about it, whether I'll litterally make a collage of a bunch of places I see or whether it'll just be a thing or two that really stands out, but I definitely want to do it. Just to bring a little bit of my travels home for everyone else to enjoy, ya know?

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posted by Mr. Linty @ 10:15 PM, ,


Pantones kill me.
2.24.2007

Well it looks like the shirt has changed once last time. I sent in the red version with the pantones and when I saw the proof it was pretty gross. So I played around with it once more and finally got a nice cyan/white sceme on heather grey that I thought was pretty cool. It gives the design a much more relaxed look as opposed to the energetic red. It's neat how colors can do that.

With that out of my way I started sorting through old vector art files for things that could be salvaged and worked into new designs. I eventually came accross a file that I've toyed with time and again. Originally it was this giant Suess-esque tree with all these little creatures walking around doing ordinary stuff: trimming leaves, fishing, looking through binoculars, etc. But there was this one creature that was walking off with a chainsaw over his shoulder, and after a closer look it became apparent that he'd actually just sawn a branch of the tree and it was about to fall on this other creature. So I came up with this whole backstory on these characters to explain what was happening.

Aaanyways, I kind of threw it away for a time, as I do with a lot of my stuff. A few months back I returned to it and made it a lot more complex, adding creatures and changing the colors and stuff. But it still wasn't anything all that special. Well earlier this month I went back to it again, determined to make it into something I'd actually want to wear around. Check it out:

Niloofar Battles The Shadowslug Above a Malicious Canopy

Basically the only thing remaining from the original is the style of those orange and white tree things... But there's something about our caped hero that I'm totally digging at this point. Maybe it's just reminiscent of Link or something? I dunno, it just feels epic to me. I think it might be a cool shirt.

posted by Mr. Linty @ 11:51 PM, ,


Congrats!
2.22.2007


I like for you give good names and picture for help Linty Fresh. It's niiiice!


Name contest winner: "Never turn down the Beet" by Michael M.
Shoot contest winner: Beethoven-ish dude rocking out with miniature piano by Vania S.
(Shoot me an email and tell me what size & shirt you'd like and your mailing info!)

So earlier this week I found out that "turquoise" has been discontinued as a shirt color by Fruit of the Loom in the particular brand that I use for guys' shirts... Not great, but not too bad, either, since I kind of wanted to print it on red anyways. So I went back to the design and altered the colors just a bit to make it work better for the red, and that's what'll be in the shop (for both guys and girls) come release day.

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posted by Mr. Linty @ 10:57 AM, ,


What pays for LF
2.16.2007

Cuz it aint the shirt sales, hear you me.

If you thought LF was paying the bills, you thought wrong! Although things have really been picking up recently, I've only been out in the marketplace for seven months (I think I officially opened on July 19th), and these things take time! In the meantime, I've been living in a soggy cardboard box under a bridge in a park, peddling shirts on street corners and grabbing precious moments of wi-fi at the nearest Starbucks.

Sort of. Actually I'm working part time at a design & print shop in Atlanta. It's work to be thankful for; I dropped out of college to "chase my dreams" and was fortunate enough to still wind up with a job in the field I intended to pursue. Plus I'm learning the ins and outs of the business side of things, experience that has already proven invaluable. But it's actually not this income that's paying for my shirts. I try to set that aside for the essentials, like food and bills, and I meticulously save the rest of it. What actually funds the threads I print up is my freelance design, specifically, t-shirt designs (OH SURPRISES!).

You may have seen the one I'd blogged earlier-it was a commission from a parkour-enthusiast website based in the Southeast, Overflux. Well recently I got a couple more...


Design Concrete Commission

Best commission I've had, hands down. It was smooth from the initial consulting on. The client gave me clear direction on what he wanted and even referenced some artists he wanted me to check out. From the beginning the aim was to have a street art feel, something I've really been into recently. He maintained that clear vision from the beginning, although I was allowed to push the boundaries as I pleased. A fun project all around!!


Golson Family Reunion Commission

When I first got this commission I was shown an image of another Family Reunion/Tree shirt design that my client had found. It was a typical clipart + text design, the kind that could've been made by a robot. I dunno, it made my stomach uneasy. I told him immediately that while I'd maintain the theme, the style would get a major makeover and that I'd be re-doing the art to make it original. He agreed. Fortunately the result has broken from the wholesale stock image feel and even (I hope) hints at a bit of sentimentality... or hope... or familial pride, or something like that. Anyways, he was happy with it, so that was good.

In other news, confirmation went in today on the Beethoven shirts, so they should be in at the end of February or so! Oh, and I'm still open to submissions for the naming contest, although I'm very happy with the photoshoot idea: Congrats Vania! (Send me your size!)

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posted by Mr. Linty @ 11:05 PM, ,


Name & Shoot Contests!
2.04.2007

Well, after much deliberation and agonizing second and third guessings, I'm happy: BLUE IT IS! Tonight I send the design file off to the printer and tomorrow I'll call to finalize it all. This'll definitely be on both guys & girls shirts, with a few hoodies as well, a la UPC. However, I've got a dilema...

I'm thinking that "The Beethoven Design" isn't going to cut it, so I'm looking for suggestions. What do you think the name should be? If I use the name you come up with, I'll send you a free shirt of your choice.

Oh, and the other thing is the photoshoot for the shirt. I haven't really come up with anything all that great, so give me some ideas! Be original and creative with it! Winner of this one gets a shirt too, k?

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posted by Mr. Linty @ 8:09 PM, ,