DementedHero

Well, the truth is, I don't know a whole lot about Illustrator. All I do is draw. I have no special techniques. I draw it all with the pencil tool, which is like a freehand pen tool. Using my mouse. General sketching and colouring tips. Hmm.. I start out with blobs of colour most of the time. I draw the general shape I want to make, then refine refine refine, and inbetween the refining, I draw lines on top of it, to define the inner shapes of the blob of colour. Theres also a handy dandy tool in cs3, Recolor Artwork. Select your whole piece, click on the little rainbowcoloured circle in the top bar, and in the window that opens, you can edit the colours your piece is made up of. You don't have to select every little bit that is a certain colour, you can just edit the colour in general, and everything changes. It updates immediatly, so it's great for finetuning or picing the right colours. For sketching, I really don't have any tips, just try it all, figure out what works for you and what doesn't. Oh, for good detail, zoom in. Alot.

Yeah they take up alot of my free time. But it's what I enjoy, so it's all good. Adobe Illustrator indeed. Thanks for the feedback and comments guys. New design coming up.

Thanks guys. Finished version up there. Man it's getting harder by the day not to submit my designs and wait for myself to finish the rest xD

I'm not really feeling it, sorry. Go ahead and use it jason :P

I dunno, I made these sigs because I had an idea with the things I saw in there. If you make like half a sig and it sparks an idea with me, then I'll probably try and make something out of it.

None of these are for sale yet, I'll make sure to notify you guys when they are. I added a new one. Still work in progress. I'm trying to save up some designs. I got 2 finished, the dino one, and one I had laying around. 2 unfinished ones, the deepsea one, and the one I just posted. And 1 collab I just started on. And another idea in the works, started sketching on that. This is going to be awesome.

Latest and hopefully final version.

Well, I could try and make one, but it won't help you much. As Soa said, you don't see many tutorials on how to draw, because it's something you develop over the years. There is no system behind it I can teach you, it's just what I do. I don't have a strict system behind the stuff I make. I look at what I have, and think of stuff that would look nice. It's just a feeling. Then I start drawing in illustrator and fiddle around till I have something I like. There's no special techniques, just the pencil tool.

Thanks for the feedback. I don't think it needs a tail, because it's a pterodactyl. They had short stumpy tails. Check it out. I know what it's missing. Legs.

How's the update?

Yeah, the las0r is gonna get some more lovin from me, I just quickly scribbled it there when I was drawing the whole thing, just to have it there, to work on later. Hitting the head of the pterodactyl could be a good idea, could do a nice x-ray skull with brains in em. I'm not going to make the way the tail that got shot look the same as the neck, as there are 2 different things happening. The neck is getting pulled off, breaking the bone, leaving pieces of skin hanging, and blood dripping. The part of the tail has been vaporized by the gun the alien used, which is now laying on the floor, giving a little aftershock. Yeah, the alien in the back looks a bit odd, tried to make it look as if he was on the ufo. Gotta find a solution for that, as it does look like he is floating. Thanks for the feedback.

Sorry for doubleposting, but theres another new design \

Added a new design. Also, I probably got some good news for y'all! I was browsing through the printing options on the site we get these shirts printed, and I stumbled apon Digital Direct printing. It is basically the way they print on white shirts. I, and the other guys too, thought this way of printing was only available to white/light shirts. Turns out, it is also usable on coloured shirts! The thing is, this is not the best lasting quality of printing. It will not last forever, like the plot/flex printed designs would. The design will fade out after a long time and many many washes. But hey, still, coloured shirts! Hell yes!

First sig I made.. Hmm. I actually can see it right in front of me, but I lost it. Several new computers. xD Must have been like 6 years ago. When this place was still called scapeboard. I made really crappy sigs for small fees on RS, and I thought they were totally awesome. Like I threw some slime-tubes(like object-brushes in psp7) on top of eachother, threw text on it and voila xD I also remember making a load of the same sig, with flames, which were also a preset-tube in psp7, and plant the customers rscharacter in there. Oh, and there was this period I totally, utterly whored the bejeebus out of some brushes, Nadril may remember those. 50k for a sig, which was pretty decent money back then. They were all pretty much the same, 2 brushes, shoopdidoo, brush around a bit, some colours, voila, new sig. Another 50k. xD Man, and back then, I believe greatsilverwyrm or keiphus or someone else whos name I can't recall, started making these really really low quality 3d-models, of baxes and stuff. And we thought they were incredibly awesome. Man. The good old days still sound like a laugh. *edit* Ahahaha Nadril, those bryce days :") I made renders from time to time, which I made by randomly doing stuff in bryce. I then used em to create either a mirrored sig, or I would try to brush a bit, which Keiphus made me want to do, because his sigs were so awesome. Or was it this Huang guy, or what was his name, he always had these outstanding sigs. But the times before that were even better Nadril, the real noobie times. I recall the stuff I made in the bryce-time as being not all that bad. Ofcourse, compared to what I do now they're crap, but still.

Sorry Nadril.

Doublepost updatebump.

Yeah I just paste it on top of a tshirt. Here a boatload of shirts you can use: http://flickr.com/groups/lessthread/pool/ The first one or two pages are the backsides of shirts, but you'll notice.

This is all vector, drawn with the pencil tool in illustrator, with my mouse.

Haha, that's probably not gonna happen xD I don't have anything to say about the prices, these guys ask just a tiny bit more then it costs to produce em. And I'm getting only 1 free shirt myself, so there's no free shirts either xD Thanks for the replies. Stupid printingcompany declined the design, because it did not match some of the requirements, some line widths and stuff, but they forgot to tell exactly what it is that is wrong, instead, they gave us a load of options of what could be wrong... It's a pain in the behind to go and check every single one by hand.. We've sent em another email asking what exactly is wrong, so I can fix it..

Soon, with a bit of luck. They were sent in for checkup, to see if they meet the requirements and shizzle. Then one or two variations will be for sale. I'll let you guys know.

Thanks :> Added some colourvariations.

No, its not up yet xD I have to make minor edits, then I gotta prepare it for the printing. Then it's going up.

Hey guys, I'm back with a big update. Couple of designs to show. Time to vote again for me, over at threadless :) It's been a while, so I can use all the help I can get. What you need to do is log in or create an account at threadless, comment on the design, and then click "I'd buy it" and the 5. That helps me bigtime! Vote over here: http://www.threadless.com/submission/22 ... rm_s_Haven This is what it looks like, guess I don't have to explain the idea right? :P WIP commisioned design. Result of my character design assignments in school. Don't mind the really crappy background. Shirtdesign based on the totally random idea "What if Jimi Hendrix was a pinballmachine?" Yeah. ------------- Check it out guys, available ONLY today! http://www.teefury.com/ Noise Pollution, right there :D Go buy it. ;) ------------- I did some more work on my Noise Pollution design, my personal favourite. Oh, by the way, the old version (on the right) is getting printed at Teefury in early March, or possibly somewhere in February if any spots open up. New <--> Old Why did I rework this? You'll see in a little while. ;) ------------------ Check it out guys, my second print has arrived :D http://www.threadless.com/product/1650/Farewell_Midgard ---------------- [bleep] YEAH SEAKING!!!!!!! I'M IN THE TOP 20!! My design is now up against 19 other design for the grand prize of $20,000!!! So now it's time to vote again, even more important that previously! Seriously, I'd really appreciate if you could go and vote for my design. To vote, go here: http://www.threadless.com/bt And vote for my iceberg design! Thanks so much! It's a long shot, but hey, it's worth the shot. ------------ Alright guys, it's voting time again! This time, it's the Threadless Bestee Awards. The yearly award show on threadless. The design the public can vote for is "Design of the year". Which has a nice prize of $20,000 attached to it. So, I figured even though I had a really small chance, why not give it my best shot. If you want to help me, follow the following instructions: You need a threadless account. If you don't have one, register one, it's easy. If you have an account, go to this link: http://www.threadless.com/bt#november Scroll down a bit, and you'll see my 'Icebergs just wanna have fun' design. That one. Underneath it is a button, "Vote for this design". Click it. :D THANKS! Btw, if you happen to know any people who would take their time to vote for me, be sure to ask em! Cheers :D --------------------- Hey guys, just adding more to this image-filled thread xD Started working on sort of a sequel to Icebergs just wanna have fun. This time it's a Volcano. It's titled: "Volcano's are just mountains with bad digestion" It's still a WIP, so bear with me here. ;) Update: Final version? Yes, overdose of halftones. That's what I went for. I think it adds a nice texture here. ----------------- Yeah, time for the hungry hungry robot to go up for sale! It was supposed to go up tomorrow, but there was a problem with the artist of today, so they put me up today! Check it out, and go buy it! Only for sale today, so if you want it, be quick. http://teefury.com/ I get 1$ for every purchase, so gogo ;) Woohoo, I just won at Threadless again! I just got another email saying: Congratulations! Your Design was Selected! It's Farewell, Midgard. The viking design. Awesome! That one. Psst, don't tell anyone at threadless or anywhere for that matter, it's supposed to stay a secret! ;) Hey guys, new stuff again. This is going to be printed at Teefury.com, most likely in a couple of days. It'll cost $9, and will only be for sale one day, so if you want it, keep an eye out for it! :thumbsup: Hey guys, check it out, it's finally for sale :D It's in the store in Chicago now, and will be for sale on the site at monday. Also, there will be a sale, Tee's for $15, nice nice :D VOTE VOTE VOTE! I know you Americans just voted your [wagon] off, but it's time to vote again http://www.threadless.com/submission/18 ... ll_Midgard You know the drill, score it preferably a $5, and leave a comment! I really enjoy getting comments. It helps ;) Woo, scored 3.10 on You're off the edge of the map! And a new design, vikingrelated: Voting time again: http://www.threadless.com/submission/18 ... e_monsters It's time to vote for Feeding Frenzy! You know the drill, click the 2 checkboxes under I'd buy it, and click the 5. Leave a comment if you like, every comment counts. http://www.threadless.com/submission/18 ... ing_Frenzy cheers! -------------- And I keep on going. "You're off the edge of the map, here be monsters!" This popped into my head when I heard the above quote in POTC1. Think it's finished, gonna stare at it for a while, then submit probably. Finished: ---------- And I'm back with some more stuff. 2 designs actually. One for threadless, one for shirt.woot.com's halloween special. First up, the halloween design for shirt.woot. Just put together a quick halloween themed design, had to submit it before today xD. Here it is in poster version, with some add ons: And the one for threadless, one I had somewhere on my harddisk, yet to be finished. Now it's finished and I subbed it. http://www.threadless.com/submission/18 ... ing_Frenzy Go and vote when it's up. ------------------------------------------------- A mate sent me a little contest for sweatshirts, I thought it was a regular design contest like I was used to, but it turned out to be a place-clipart-onto-a-shirt contest. So that's what I did. xD If you like, just vote. http://www.ontwerpjerussellsweatshirt.n ... 656663ba24 Cheers. Oh hey, check this out. The Mightiest Roar is up for sale. http://shirt.woot.com/Friends.aspx?k=6654 It's on a darker brown colour, which kinda sucks. I'ts also getting a buttload of negative comments there, but hey, who cares, I get payed xD ---------- Time to vote again guys! You know the drill, log in, leave a nice little comment if you'd like, click the 2 checkboxes under "I'd buy it", and click 5 ;) Cheers! http://www.threadless.com/submission/17 ... _Pollution --------- Woopwoop! I recently joined Behance.net, a big network of artists. Check it out. I uploaded The Mightiest Roar. Now I got an email: " Hello Mathijs, I just wanted to notify you that one of your projects was just featured in our gallery. Our editorial team features a small number of projects every day. With hundreds of options, we only pick a few that promote new thinking. Congrats, and great to have you involved in the Behance Network. If you ever have any feedback/suggestions for us, feel free to contact me. " And now it's on the fricking frontpage! How awesome is that :thumbsup: -------------- You guessed it, another shirt design. This time, not for threadless, but for fresh-clothing.be. Just a small site from a couple guys just like me, there's no reward, just a copy of my shirt, but the fact that people can buy my shirt there is awesome enough for me. 3 colours on bright green or kelly green. [hide=][/hide] Oh, yes, the lightnings in the clouds in the background need work. I know. But I'm gonna go sleep now. Fix it in tha mornin. Cheers. T'was a good night. Couple of colourvariations: [hide=] [/hide] Latest update: I decided to go with white after all, because there were just too many issues with printing it on a dark colour. Besides, the rest of the new 'collection' of shirts that coming out alongside of mine are also on white, so it fits better. I worked on the design a bit more. Here's the result. Some small sloppy mistakes at some places, but those'll be fixed before printing. [hide=][/hide] And another design. Bit different. [hide=][/hide] -------------- Yet another design! This time, it is for threadless. Dinosaurs getting brutally abducted by blobaliens. Trex is crying because they messed up his tail :( I would cry too. [hide=][/hide] Update: [hide=][/hide] Latest update, finished I reckon? [hide=][/hide] ------- I'm saving up a bunch of designs to all submit at once, to see what happens. Right now, I'm reworking my very first submission on Threadless. Some of you might remember it, the halloween one. This was the old design: [hide=][/hide] I pretty much scrapped everything, and made a new version of it. Right now, I have this, it isn't finished yet: [hide=] [hide=][/hide][/hide] Final version, I think, you can never be sure. [hide=][/hide] Aaaand another one. The right to watch tv. There's a contest going on threadless, Threadless loves Democracy. The idea is to make a shirt about democracy. Any part of it. I decided to go with a little livingroom scene, where the animals, plants and objects have been given the same rights as the humans, it's no longer only humans that watch tv and get to pick what's on tv. Yeah. Except for the big old chair. He's been bad. It's still WIP. [hide=][/hide] Final and submitted version: [hide=][/hide] ------ New stuff. An idea popped into my head this morning. Icebergs. Icebergs being alive, wanting to play. I sketched an iceberg pulling on the line of an ice-fisherman, and I sketched an iceberg playing with boats. I decided to go with the second one and made it in Illustrator. Icebergs just wanna have fun. [hide=][/hide] It's done, finished, and I subbed it. Not gonna change anything. Then, I've also been working on some collabs with a guy. So far it's been his idea, my drawings :P It's gonna be about the whole bookworm joke. Obviously far from finished, lots and lots of work left to do. [hide=][/hide] Placement would be like this, just a real fast sloppy mockup: [hide=][/hide] Oh, and if you haven't voted yet, check out the start of this post! ------- Hey guys, new stuff again. This time a drawing I remade in Illustrator. You may have seen the drawing before. http://www.threadless.com/submission/17 ... m=Demented Oh, and on a sidenote... I FNORKING WON AT THREADLESS I got a nice email a couple days ago, stating that my Iceberg design has been selected to be printed. WOO HOO! Oh, and please, don't spoil it on the threadless site, or my submission there, because people over there aren't supposed to know. I'm not sure if I'm allowed to tell you guys, but I did anyway. So, in about 10 weeks, you'll see my iceberg shirt up there, for sale ^^

Looks pretty solid man. Good to see you're still alive :P