Ninjutsu! Art 21: walk on water! - T-Shirt by Japu

When the colour of a shirt meets the concept of the design, and it works this well you have to just sit back and look at it.  This fantastic idea, concept and style by Japu leads you in with the boots, treading oh so lightly on the water’s surface.  You then realise that this is someone on a mission, and they’re looking at ‘you’.

It’s cool and cute at the same time (like so many of Japu’s designs).  Love it!

Pink Dandelion t-shirt by Pip Gerard

It’s a pink dandelion.  What else do you want me to say?

OK – it’s a pink dandelion whose petals have been lovingly painted in watercolour by Pip Gerard, and digitally ‘penned’ onto the canvas that is this t-shirt.  It’s this knowledge that makes you put your finger on why you found it interesting, because it’s not only a great use of colour, shapes and an overall patterned style.  It’s got some subtle depth that keeps you staring.

This design could be just at home printed onto fabric you’d make great cushions out of, or wallpaper you’d put on a feature wall in your walk-in robe (ideas Pip?); or you could simply choose to wear it and love it that way.

Check out Pip’s other great illustration tees on Redbubble.

Nerd gets Hurt - t-shirt by YAWN

Aw – this nerd really thought he could cut it. This cautionary tale just goes to show that if you try and play the big boys’ game you might get hurt..

This great illustration from YAWN shows a great use of perspective and angles to get the point across.  Whether you’re the sort of person who’d stand and laugh at the nerd, or (like me), you’re more likely to be the one on the deck with the broken glasses – this is a great and unique design to wear with pride.

Darth Star - Star Wars T-Shirt by Naf4d

Star Wars t-shirts are everywhere! - Hey I’ve even had a go myself (and I may not be done yet).

There’s just something unique about it that moved a couple of generations of people.  There’s lots of innovative designs out there, but I’m really loving this one by Naf4d, as the attention to detail and the process involved illustrates it was something of a labour of love.

“I drew the Death Star then started the long process of resizing and placing each ‘star’ – It took ages to do and the computer I used to do it (8-core Mac Pro with 14 gig of Ram) was pushed to the max and even that beast struggled towards the end!”

I’m certainly not going to count how many stars are on this design!  Another thing I like is that the head looks completely different from far away and close up:

William Shakespeare - the inspiration for Darth Vader?

From a distance you could be forgiven for thinking it’s a portrait of William Shakespeare (what? just me?).

At closer quarters, the design almost looks like a huge collection of empire bling, with hundreds of death star-shaped jewels adorning the dark lord’s helmet.

Maybe the bejewelled helmet comes out on special occasions…

Have a closer look on Redbubble.

Somewhere over the rainbow, someone's getting wet by Steve Harvey

It took a moment to work out what this was.

I think if I were standing under the end of a rainbow I’d be this this freaked out too.  Not only would you be a bit peeved that there’s no pot of gold, but you’ve also ruined your best outfit.  Indigo’s a real pain to get out!

A great imaginitive design by Steve Harvey.

Saucy Jack - T-Shirt by simon Sherry

Saucy Jack – you’re a naughty one…

David St Hubbins and Derek Smalls from Spinal Tap never managed to get the musical version of Jack the Ripper’s life off the ground, so it was left to Simon Sherry to concoct a mashed up super-vector creation of the lead character.

Simon’s a master at ‘blades’ and Jack’s got plenty.  He is a victorian gentleman of course so the cup of tea and handlebar moustache is very much the go.

Surfer Girl by Ross Robinson

How to evoke a feeling?

Ross Robinson took a step back here and combined a girl, her surfboard, a pose, the early morning birds, and some great design techniques to bring home the feeling of great anticipation.

The colours and the circle frame make you think of the rising (or setting) sun, and lift you off (in a relaxing way) to the beach.

If you’re more into the water than the sand, there’s a variation you might prefer.

Who's the daddy - by Rubyred

I’m a real fan of the ‘Alien’ movies, and this is just an inspired design by the fantastic RubyRed on Redbubble.

Not only is the halftone style of the ultrasound image just perfectly crisp, the little critter almost looks cute in there!

Add all the technical information and you’re looking at a bit of a classic.

If you’re a fan of this then you’ll be knocked out by RubyRed’s 2010 calendar.

Shout! - T-Shirt by Matthew Dunn

Sometimes the best effects come from simple techniques.

What I particularly like about this great design by Matthew Dunn is that not only is it just rocking minimal colours, it’s got a great feeling of leaping ‘alien-style’ from your chest.

The lines in the face and the expression are very Stan Lee, making the subject appealing straight away.

Simple subject, but the face detail and colour combinations make this a really effective and cool shirt.

I love it when enthusiastic people find the time to write positively about other people’s work (I try to do it myself).  Cathie Tranent’s a great creative talent who’s channelling such thoughts into a new blog devoted to t-shirts and other designers.

Is that a Tenacious D reference I spot in the title?