If any of the people who went to my "The Future is Broke" entry and were confused, 01110101011100110110010101100100 is binary for "Used".

And, for those of you who weren't curious, Mountain Dew was created by two Illinois-born brewmasters in the 1940s to be the perfect mixer for whiskey. Now everyone can enjoy this blog thread.

I was shocked when I found that there is a design in the running that is remarkably similar to one that I had up less than 2 weeks ago. What's worse, mine was just insulted and capped off at 100 votes while this other one is past 100 votes and has been praised as clever.

Now, I'm not pissed at the creator of the design. I don't think that they copied my design. It's not difficult at all to believe someone else had the same idea and they did execute it quite differently. Still, it stings that my design was spat upon while weeks later the same concept is praised.

Okay, Goatse shirt and all else aside, why's everyone gotta hate on MS Paint? I mean, how many times have we seen "This looks like it was made in 10 minutes in MS Paint"? I have seen people say a shirt looked like it was made in MS Paint, then given positive feedback to shirts that LITERALLY look like they were done in programs without advanced smoothing.

As someone who can't afford a tablet and who has grown a hatred toward scanners, MS Paint and a mouse are two of my only tools. Granted, I know there are people who don't like my stuff and have said they looked like I put no effort in, but my two highest rated shirts - It's As Easy As That and Zombie Teddy - were both done in MS Paint.

So hate the end result if you want but, please, don't hate MS Paint.


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The More You Know

Just before the server went down, my latest ("The Future is Broke") was at 98 scores. Now, having to wait over 5 hours to see the last 2 votes that would determine whether the design would have a full run is rough enough, but add that to the fact that my last 2 designs were prematurely killed and you can see why I was sweating.

Finally, the site came back, but nobody was posting. I hit refresh repeatedly until finally 99 came in and then 100 - and there was a number six in the next category. It had made the 100 mark! Now, it's completely possible that score 101 could knock it out of the running, but for now I have cause to celebrate!

On my latest entry, Zombie Teddy, I received a comment that it was a bit morbid. Now, first off, I want to say that I appreciate entereidolon's honesty and that I am not saying anything negative, but this isn't the first time I've heard this. I got tons of "creepy" comments about my first entry (Jolly Jack) and I thought it was just funny.

That said, I've been working off and on with a design I am tentatively calling "Skalaveras". It is basically taking Calaveras from the Dia de los Muertos celebration and putting them in a more surreal, modern setting. Even the early sketches are already being called dark by my friends even though it's a very festive drawing.

So here's my question: For my profile pic, I've uploaded the first two unfinished models for the Skalaveras design. Do you feel that this is too morbid? Do you think you wouldn't wear it, either because it has skeletons or because it's not your cup of tea? I'd like to get some input before I bother finishing something else that might be too "creepy." Thanks.

Of all of my designs, the one that has received the highest praise is "It's as Easy as That" (found at http://www.threadless.com/submission/36379/It's_As_Easy_As_That). In the end, it got a 2.99 - a whole lot better than my first two submissions but still kinda stinging that it's .01 off from a 3. I don't know whether it'll make it as a shirt because several other recent designs got higher scores (most of which I actually gave really high scores to) but, in the interest of improving, I want your thoughts on how (if possible) I could bump this design over the 3 point level.

A few things I've learned already from posts:

One frequent comment is that the hands don't look realistic and lack fingernails. While I am proud of the hands, it is supposed to emulate the instructions on a package of chopsticks so they really should be more diagram-ish. I've also been told that the fingers are too long but, truth be told, they are the direct proportions of my own fingers so I don't really have any other model for the hands. Likewise, the fold of skin under the pinky in the 4th image looks like a sixth finger - I know - and the fork is a bit hidden by the thumb but it was basically a judgment call on my part whether to go for model accuracy or image cleanliness.