Boots's Art Blog (of Epic Proportions)

The First Not-So-Epic-Post

2012-01-06T11:43:00.000-05:00

Ok. I've been inspired to start an art blog. If I ever get lazy about it, just send me a kick in the pants. You can also stop by to harass me for any reason. I like to be abused. Really. If you have anything to say in general, go ahead and post it here. I sticky-ified this post.

"Force for Good" Presale on Goodjoe this week

2010-08-27T08:58:00.004-04:00

www.goodjoe.com/Store/Product.aspx?id=93&a=Boots

Man, I've been neglecting the blog lately. It's because I'm so busy. Which is good, right?
Anyway, I have a shirt on presale at Goodjoe this week ($12). I used to dress up like these superheroes as a kid. I'm hoping other people did too. I was a "Hanger Girl" mostly.

Also, along with the shirt, Goodjoe's running a new contest for non-designers. Submit your idea for an inspiring t-shirt, promote it, chosen winner with a lot of people who "like" the idea wins an iPad: http://www.goodjoe.com/Inspire.aspx

Negative Bob for Sale

2010-04-19T08:37:00.004-04:00

http://www.goodjoe.com/Store/Product.aspx?id=73&a=Boots

Negative Bob for sale at goodjoe.com this week. $12 Presale. This has always been one of my favorites.

Two Shirts Printed Today

2010-02-07T15:38:00.003-05:00

http://shirt.woot.com/Friends.aspx?k=12080

http://www.tilteed.com/shop/featured/mechanical_island/

It's been a good day for me! The first one is "The Heart Goes On" over on shirt woot ($10 today and $15 after) and the second one is "Mechanical Island" printed by Tilteed ($12 for the next three days). Woo!

Thing-a-Day Thing

2010-01-02T14:52:00.002-05:00

I'm trying to do something artsy every day this year. It wont happen, but I'm cataloging it over here: Boots's Thing-a-Day-Thing

There are some other artists doing it too. They will shame me when I drop out after a few weeks, I'm sure.

2009-12-19T14:09:00.001-05:00

http://www.threadless.com/submission/246019/Redundancy_National_Park/showmore,designs

Up for scoring on Threadless. This is one of my favorites.

Goodjoe Black Friday Sale

2009-11-27T14:46:00.003-05:00

Goodjoe.com is having a black friday sale today. Most of their shirts are $11 with free shipping. It's a nice deal. The one above is my newest design there. It's not part of the sale. It's $10 to preorder that one for the next couple days, though. Black Friday is so nice when you don't leave your house.

Swine Flu and Shirts

2009-11-08T08:21:00.003-05:00

It's been a pretty good week or two for me design-wise. I've got a couple of designs that made it to print recently (yay!). Conversely, I also have the swine flu (boo!). It's a good and bad week.

"Three Step Plan" $12 Preorder (on a cream shirt) from Tilteed.
http://www.tilteed.com/shop/featured/three-step_plan/

"Something I Must Do" $15 from Shirt Woot
http://shirt.woot.com/Friends.aspx?k=10532

"Sperm Whales Make Great Seamen" $15 From Shirt Woot

http://shirt.woot.com/Friends.aspx?k=10446

Woot Designs Need Some Votes.

2009-10-28T08:03:00.002-04:00

http://shirt.woot.com/Derby/Entry.aspx?id=36393

http://shirt.woot.com/Derby/Entry.aspx?id=36621

For saying that I hated puns, I think I've really grown attached to my pun-themed designs (who knew?) I'm really really pleased with both of them. They're both totally my thing and I'm proud of them. One's kind of tied with two other designs for 3rd, 4th, 5th place and the other one's not too far ahead of that. I'm nervous for them. Votes are appreciated, if you like them. :)

Last Day to Vote...

2009-10-21T09:22:00.002-04:00

http://shirt.woot.com/Derby/Entry.aspx?id=36137

Thought I'd mention that I have this design up for voting on shirt woot this week. It's at the point where it might get a print, but it also might not. Voting if you like it, is appreciated. It's a little nerve-wracking!

A Bunch of Designs up for voting on Threadless

2009-10-13T10:35:00.002-04:00

http://www.threadless.com/submission/235247/That_Tacky_Gnome_What_Lives_Next_Door

http://www.threadless.com/submission/235265/The_Suffixeses

http://www.threadless.com/submission/235299/Unfortunate_Accident

http://www.threadless.com/submission/234952/You_Make_It_Go_Away

Four is a bunch, right? Votes and comments are appreciated. :)

Votes Wanted: Am Willing to Pay with Respect and Cookies.

2009-09-28T08:33:00.004-04:00

http://shirt.woot.com/Derby/Entry.aspx?id=35613

If anyone gets the chance and hasn't done so already, I'd appreciate a vote for this one over on Shirt Woot this week. I'm pretty pleased with the design and it's got a shot to print. I feel a little dirty, but maybe someone with a vote out there hasn't seen it and will really like it. Worth a shot, I think. :)

Three Designs on Woot this week. (Productive Boots)

2009-09-06T11:21:00.003-04:00

http://shirt.woot.com/Derby/Entry.aspx?id=35117

Strangely, I think I like Negative Bob the best. Votes appreciated. :)

http://shirt.woot.com/Derby/Entry.aspx?id=35000

http://shirt.woot.com/Derby/Entry.aspx?id=34991

My First DBH submission (His Head Swelled With Pride)

2009-08-24T09:10:00.004-04:00

http://www.designbyhumans.com/vote/detail/61785?page=1

It's up for voting now. I've really been trying hard to get this one printed. It's one of my favorites. Helpful beavers, vote and comment. :)

The Giver Printed at Goodjoe ($10 Pre-Order)

2009-08-10T08:13:00.003-04:00

http://www.goodjoe.com/Store/Product.aspx?id=31

Different colors available. I like the navy best, I think. :)

I Must be Getting Rusty

2009-07-25T09:52:00.007-04:00

I recently had a nice long exchange with a guy on facebook. Usually when a random guy sends me a message, hitting on me, I shut him down with a nice sarcastic quip. But this guy is tough. He may be the only man in the world who is completely immune to sarcasm. I think I have found my nemesis...

Messages:

Sarcasm Immunity Man

July 18 at 9:41am

hey whats up

Jamie Marshall

July 22 at 10:28am

Nutin' much, bro. You?

Sarcasm Immunity Man

July 22 at 10:34am

nothin. so u r hot tho

Jamie Marshall

July 23 at 9:08am

Er... thanks.

Sarcasm Immunity Man

July 23 at 9:10am

Ur welcome what u doin

Jamie Marshall

July 23 at 9:21am

Oh, you know, just sitting around waiting for someone to tell me that I'm hot to validate my self worth, hoping that maybe they'll sleep with me too. That would make me feel both pretty and special, knowing that I'm hot enough for a guy to be willing to do that for me.

Sarcasm Immunity Man

July 23 at 9:32am

lol dont u have a bf

Jamie Marshall

July 23 at 10:08am

Yes, but he's not so eloquent as to ever say to me, "u r hot." In fact, he usually tells me that I'm unattractive and worthless. This seems like a clever ploy to make me think that I can't do any better than him, but secretly I believe it might be true, so I refuse to leave him.

Sarcasm Immunity Man

July 23 at 10:55am

Will u text me

Jamie Marshall

July 23 at 11:11am

Wow. I'm really flattered that you think I'm hot and fun enough to text, but I only get 50 texts per month on my phone plan and I need to use them to vote for Big Brother's viewer's choice. I really want the house guests to have to eat sauerkraut and pickles next week.

Sarcasm Immunity Man

July 23 at 11:55am

So i cant get ur number then and u can do better then him and did u say he isnt good in bed

Jamie Marshall

July 23 at 1:26pm

Maybe next month. My phone bill's ridiculous this month. If you tell me your birthday, I can have my "psychic friend" check our compatibility.

How did you know he wasn't good in bed? Are you psychic too?

Sarcasm Immunity Man

July 23 at 1:30pm

no i was askin is he not good in bed and my bday is may 22 1984. so is he not good in bed or dont u two "make whoopee" enough

Jamie Marshall

July 23 at 5:01pm

Chantelle says we're meant to be!

We don't "make whoopee" nearly enough. When a guy has sex with me, it makes me feel wanted and pretty. I need that.

Sarcasm Immunity Man

July 23 at 5:37pm

Well i love to "make whoopee" hun and if were ment to be i could give u want u want in bed babe

Jamie Marshall

July 23 at 5:45pm

Are you familiar with the term "gold-- show--?"

Sarcasm Immunity Man

July 23 at 5:47pm

yes i am. y hun

Jamie Marshall

July 23 at 10:40pm

Nevermind. I have trouble maintaining a train of thought.

Sarcasm Immunity Man

July 23 at 11:15pm

What u want

Jamie Marshall

Today at 10:06am

To be better at sarcasm.

For Voting This Week on Woot (Pressure) :)

2009-07-03T13:14:00.002-04:00

http://shirt.woot.com/Derby/Entry.aspx?id=33169

This Shirt Can Be Bought-ed-ed Now

2009-07-01T15:25:00.003-04:00

http://cameesa.com/refer/BootsBoots/356

Happy Day. :)

A Design to Make you Aww...

2009-06-13T13:32:00.002-04:00

http://shirt.woot.com/Derby/Entry.aspx?id=32362

I spent more time on this than you'd think. It's almost too sweet for me (almost!). I was feeling very sweet this week. Grossly sweet.

Two Subs at Threadless

2009-06-09T22:04:00.002-04:00

http://www.threadless.com/submission/214910/Today_We_Escape

http://www.threadless.com/submission/214915/Public_Service_Announcement

Both old woot subs. I changed the colors on the top one. Originally it was on a green tee, but I really like it with the new colors.

Fighting For A Print. Rawr (It Won. RAWR!)

2009-06-03T11:03:00.005-04:00

BUY LINK: http://shirt.woot.com/Friends.aspx?k=8975

This one's fighting for a third place print with two other shirts over on shirt.woot right now. If you like it, I say go vote for it. I'm pretty happy with this one and I want an orange shirt very badly (selfish? yes). If you prefer "Some Barbeque" I wont fault you, though. :)

No More Free Shirt for You!

2009-05-30T14:14:00.003-04:00

Edit: They're all spoken for now. Don't worry if you missed out. I tell you they printed terribly!

So, this design printed on Springleap back in January. They told me that they were going to send me 20 shirts after they got it printed. I've been anxiously awaiting the arrival of the shirts so that I could give them out to you guys (sort of as a little "thank you for reading my blog and whatnot" thing). Well... the shirts have arrived! But there's bad news. The print quality is terrible. The ink is like rubber and it bled really strangely. The edges aren't clean at all and the lines in the design (which are the shirt color) are all messed up because of the weird bleeding plastic ink. It's still wearable, I guess, but it really doesn't look at all like it should. I wish it was better so that I could HAPPILY send them out to people.

So... anyway... who wants a free poorly printed shirt? If you e-mail me your address and size, I'll totally send one to everyone who wants one until I run out. Thanks for reading my blog and being supportive. It means a lot (or at least as much as a bad shirt). email: jamiemelanim@hotmail.com

P.S. I'd get the same size as you get in American Apparel. They're maybe a LITTLE bigger than AA, but they're shorter, at least the women's small seemed to fit me that way. The sizes they sent me are Womens S-L and Mens S-XL (there might have been one XXL in there too, I'm not sure).

The Time Has Come

2009-05-28T18:21:00.003-04:00

http://cameesa.com/refer/BootsBoots/356

On Cameesa. :)

"Born Bad"

2009-05-10T15:40:00.003-04:00

http://www.shirtfight.com/vote/entry/born_bad/

I've started submitting some designs over at Shirt Fight. I've got this one in for voting this week. The theme was good vs. evil and I'm kind of pleased with it. Go forth and vote if you like it and have the time. :)

Two Shirts For Voting (I mean three!)

2009-05-02T09:56:00.005-04:00

http://www.shirtfight.com/vote/entry/when_the_digging_was_dug/

http://shirt.woot.com/Derby/Entry.aspx?id=30782

http://www.threadless.com/submission/207901

The first one in Woot's doubletake derby and the second on Threadless.
Oh and I forgot I have one more at Shirt Fight this week. I've been productive!

Two Shirts Printed!

2009-04-21T12:32:00.004-04:00

On Woot: http://shirt.woot.com/friends.aspx?k=8613

On Goodjoe: http://www.goodjoe.com/Store/Product.aspx?id=16

A good frickin' week.

The Giver (Voting on Goodjoe)

2009-04-06T17:39:00.007-04:00

http://www.goodjoe.com/Contests/Design.aspx?id=3badf7ac-a4a9-4942-b940-7f1d11ca0900

Ok. I posted The Giver on Goodjoe. I did this to make Cody happy. This isn't one of my favorites or anything (but I guess it's ok). If you go and vote for it Cody will be happy, I think.

Intergalactic Hitchhikers for Voting on Threadless

2009-04-01T10:09:00.002-04:00

http://www.threadless.com/submission/203207/Intergalactic_Hitchhikers

This one's up for voting on Threadless this week. I'm trying to decide on what's next. Hmm...

The Thrifty Pirate Presale $10 this week on Goodjoe

2009-03-26T07:29:00.005-04:00

http://www.goodjoe.com/Store/Product.aspx?id=13
Coupon Code: a0a830f283a6 gets you 10%0ff (thanks, Mixer!)

UPDATE: This one got printed! It's up for presale until this Sunday for $10 (the regular price is $18)

I recently discovered Goodjoe.com. It's another t-shirt site where designers submit, people vote, they print the best designs (usually a new one on Monday). What sets them apart is. A: they print designs with positive messages and B: $1 of every shirt sale goes to various charities. There big do-gooders and that's nice. I recommend submitting some designs there, if you're a designer. The prize is $300 and $1 for every shirt sold (plus I think they give you an extra $200 for your education if you're a full-time student). Printed shirts cost $18, but after a new shirt is announced you can "preorder" it for only $10. They're a good site, it seems. I have my Thrifty Pirates up for voting now. Join. Vote. Submit. Etc. I like them.

Cameesa Support Price Lowered to $10

2009-03-21T11:58:00.002-04:00

http://cameesa.com/refer/BootsBoots/253

So Cameesa lowered their support price to $10. Now if you support, you'll get a $10 tee plus $.02 on every shirt sold. It's nice. I've got my Dali Chocobos up there for support now.

And His Head Swelled With Pride (Vote on Threadless)

2009-03-21T11:56:00.003-04:00

http://www.threadless.com/submission/201666/And_His_Head_Swelled_With_Pride/showmore,designs

I finally was able to put this one up on Threadless for voting this week. I changed the shirt color, I think it was a good choice. Help out and rate and comment over there if you like. :)

Shirts For Sale

2009-03-14T10:17:00.010-04:00

The list of shirts I have for sale (as requested by Little Brianne):

Explanation For My Passion (the good version!)

Someday I Will Rock (on Springleap)

My Boring Design Process

2009-03-14T09:30:00.002-04:00

My T-Shirt Designing Process (dedicated to Ashley!):

1. Paper Sketch: I start out sketching on paper. I actually have a tablet and you'd THINK it would be easier to just sketch that way, but there's something comfortable for me about doing a pencil sketch. I could live without the eraser crumbs that get everywhere though.

2. Scan the Sketch: I scan my craptastic sketch (it's always pretty crappy since I know I'm going to end up changing it a lot once I start working on it digitally).

3. Paint Shop Pro 7: I open up the scanned sketch in PSP7. I love this version of Paint Shop. The earlier versions are a little too limiting and the later versions aren't as user friendly (Corel bought it and redid the program after PSP 8 I think and they messed it all up). I prefer PSP to Photoshop for layout stuff. There are little things about it that just make editing so much easier. Like, when you zoom in, you zoom in to wherever the cursor is pointed, instead of just into the middle of the image (later versions of Photoshop may have fixed this problem, but the old one I have still zooms into the center of the image and I hate it!) and there's a color replacer tool in PSP that lets you change colors really easily to see what you want to use.

4. Stick in on a shirt template: If I'm designing a t-shirt, I stick my sketch on a t-shirt template to see if the composition looks good or if changes need to be made. If it doesn't sit well on the shirt, I cut and paste parts of the design to change the composition, or I draw some quick lines in spaces where I want fill up the shirt. I make sure that the "sketch" is in a layer all by itself on top of a "background" layer.

5. Inking: Once I have a sketch that has a decent composition (if nothing else), I open it up in Corel Painter Essentials. Then I create a new layer and outline the sketch (taking lots on liberties) with the scratchboard tool. And here's the real trick of the trade: I have a Wacom Cintiq tablet. With it, I can draw right on the screen. It's really fast and really helpful, but my eyes always end up hurting from looking too closely at it.

6. Color: After I have an outline that I like, I delete the "sketch" layer, fill in the "background" layer with a shirt color that I THINK I might want to use. Then I create a new layer under the "ink" layer and add some color.

7. Back to PSP: I usually open up the design again in PSP and see how it looks on a shirt template with the new colors and outline. If it needs some tweeking I fix it back in Painter and then recheck it. I also play with changing the colors in PSP now to try to find a combo that works best (color replacer tool!)

8. Details: When I'm happy with the basic design, I take it back to Painter and add lots of extra little details. I usually try to experiment with different things. I put each new idea in a new layer, so that I can turn it on or off to see whether the design looks better with it or without it.

9. Clean up: I'm very messy. I always have to go over the entire design with a "corrective" layer. This is just me cleaning up all my stray little lines or coloring out of the lines, stuff like that.

10. Done! (I guess I usually put the design on a template, but that's not too interesting. I use PSP for that. I just merge everything together and cut and paste. Voila!)

I think that's about it. It's not too interesting, I know. If there's anything that I should clarify or go into more detail about, just let me know! I guess the recap (if your eyes glazed over reading the design steps) is that I use these things:

Paint Shop Pro 7
Corel Painter Essentials
Wacom Cintiq

I do use Photoshop for halftones and for creating print ready files with each color separated into a different layer.

Today We Escape

2009-03-06T20:46:00.002-05:00

http://shirt.woot.com/Derby/Entry.aspx?id=28746

Here's my entry for the circus derby over at Woot this week. I love this theme. I wish I had time to do another one (maybe I'll try to squeeze one in there sometime this weekend).

On The Fence? Maybe it's time to get off.

2009-03-04T11:02:00.003-05:00

http://shirt.woot.com/Derby/Entry.aspx?id=28402

Well, if anyone was on the fence about voting for this one this week. Can you get off? And land on my side? I think it may come down to just a few votes. This is no time to be sitting on fences! It's uncomfortable. Hoo! :)

Dali Chocobos

2009-02-28T10:04:00.006-05:00

Most recent update above! Bright orange and not so bright orange...

Edit: I'm thinking of going with something like the above, although maybe the red looks a little like a ketchup stain now...

So, I think I'm going to put Dali Chocobos up on Cameesa. I can't decide on the shirt color (although I think I'm partial to the middle one). Maybe you guys can help?

Cheer Up She Found You: Vote on Threadless

2009-02-10T21:05:00.003-05:00

The time is here! Loads of people asked when I'd do something with it and here you have it. If you liked it before, go forth and vote and comment and maybe we can get it printed for ya (and me. Hoo!). Thanks to everyone who asked about it. I'm glad you liked it enough to wait. (Click on the image if you want to go vote)

Work In Progress (Title: Something about Realization)

2009-02-02T17:55:00.005-05:00

Edit: Asphalt's the best, right? Ehh? Ehhh?

Here's my latest work in progress for Woot's "Heartbreak Theme." The thought behind this is that the little girl has an adult realization and all her toys turn on her. Kind of like... she grows up all of a sudden, realizes that her world has changed and it breaks her heart. I don't expect people to get all that from just looking at it though. :) The question is, though... cranberry or blue? Both are still unfinished. I'm going to change the colors some more, but I can't decide which direction to go in. Someone tell me. Please.

Cameesa Print: "Explanation for My Passion (or lack thereof)

2009-01-31T20:12:00.003-05:00

Hey! I got a print at Cameesa. It's not available for sale yet, but if you want you can click the button to get them to e-mail you when it is. It should be for sale in 2 weeks or so. And I want to say thank you to everyone who supported it. Y'all are pretty terrific.

Black People Love Them

2009-01-28T11:18:00.003-05:00

This is totally not art related (or maybe it sort of is), but if you've never been to blackpeopleloveus.com, you should go look at it immediately. It's hilarious and possibly the best thing ever.

GO HERE

Ice Fishing Trap (a work in progress)

2009-01-20T10:06:00.003-05:00

So, here's what I'm working on now. I can't decide about the muted colors. I kind of like it in all shades of brown, but I think it might need some color to dress it up. We'll see how it goes...

This Week on Shirt Woot... Collaboration!

2009-01-16T20:50:00.005-05:00

So Derek and I collaborated on a design for shirt woot this week. He had an idea, we both worked on it, then I ran with it in one direction and he ran with it in another. Now we have two designs! The bottom one is Derek's, the top is mine. You can go vote for one or both or neither if you like. So many options! At any rate, it was fun collabing. I hadn't done it before.

Save My T-Shirt From Oblivion.

2009-01-14T08:57:00.004-05:00

So... Everyone should go out and buy The Choice Was Not Hard. It's fallen off the reckoning chart and is soon to be no more. Unless of course, you all go out and buy it. Hint, hint, hint... wink!

Support on Cameesa

2009-01-08T13:20:00.005-05:00

This is an old shirt.woot.com derby entry that I'm kind of fond of. I decided to try it out at Cameesa. If you like it, you can support it there. Cameesa works by crowd funding. You plunk down $20 for a share of the shirt you like (I think you can buy up to four shares) and if/when the design has $500 worth of support, Cameesa prints it and sells it (everyone who supported it will get a shirt, plus a percentage of every sale of the shirt. $.03 maybe? I forget). They also let you take your money back or transfer it to another design if you want (like if the design you like never prints, or you change your mind).

Click on the image to go see it or support it.

20 Terrible Things I've Done

2009-01-06T20:53:00.002-05:00

I wrote out this list awhile ago, and I thought I'd post it here to get my blog rolling. It seems there are severe lack of content issues as I kick off this little bloggedy blog. You can think of this as my "getting to know you" post. Like when you have to go around in a circle and everyone says their name and their favorite ice cream flavor. I don't really like ice cream though. Nevermind. I'm digressing wildly. Here's the list:

20 Terrible Things I've Done

1. I used to make short films with my friends that mocked people we knew and thought were losers (Katie, April, and that kid with the bandana and sunglasses).

2. I poured bubble mix into my roommate's really expensive facial soap, hoping that her skin would totally break out.

3. When I was 4, I asked my mother how to spell "shit". I then sent a letter to my grandfather that said "SHIT" because I didn't like him. He opened it at a dinner with all of of his friends from church.

4. In second grade I trashed the class bathroom and blamed it on Jeff Eaton, the second worst kid in class (the worst kid was absent that day)

5. When a football player asked me if I wanted to go to the senior year Spring Fling, I said "With YOU? Ha!"

6. I ditched a girl with asthma once, just ran away from her in the middle of town in the middle of the night, as she shouted "Wait! Wait! I can't keep up! My asthma!"

7. I tried to get my friend to wet her pants by putting her hand in warm water while she was sleeping. When it didn't work, I just poured the water in between her legs and convinced her anyway. --she was very embarrassed.

8. In 5th grade I was the best artist in the class, and when we were supposed to draw pictures, I copied the girl who was sitting behind me, and made the whole class believe that SHE was copying ME. everyone hated her.

9. I sent a series of secret admirer love notes to my junior high best friend and hinted that they were from the cutest boy in class. Ahh. Shawn Dalton. mmmm.

10. I convinced my college boyfriend not to go to law school and to follow his dream of being a stand up comic... last I heard, he was working at Chicken Hut.

11. My friends once took all of my shoes (like 20 pairs), tied the laces together in knots and left them strewn about my house with nasty notes in them. I don't remember what I did to deserve it, but it must have been bad.

12. I sent a Playboy subscription to a guy in hopes of embarrassing him in front of his housemates.

13. I sometimes shoplift just because I don't feel like waiting in the checkout line.

14. When the boy my friend and I both liked called me to ask me if my friend liked him, I told him she was gay.

15. Once I got a guy all hot and horny in a chat room and let him call me on the phone. Then I bitched him out for being a pervert.

16. When I was 9, I drew evil looking eyebrows on my little sister's face and told her they would wash off. They didn't (and I kind of knew they wouldn't)

17. I downloaded Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On".

18. When I was 3, I put on a gorilla mask and chased my best friend Matt around the house as he cried. He never came over again.

19. I intercepted a love note from a boy and read it aloud to my class. Then, the kid got kicked out of class for threatening to kick my ass. poor bastard.

20. Sometimes when I'm arguing, I make things up just to win...but only when I know I'm right.