Ukulele Cat shirt

Hey cat and music lovers! I have a new shirt design for you!

"Ukulele Cat" is available without text too.

From November 2-4, "Ukulele Cat" is on sale at TeePublic for $14. Afterwards, the price rises to $20-22. There's more shirt color choices than navy and black.

Here's a closer look at the musical notes:

I left in sketch lines in the design.

Spread the word and enjoy, cool cats. :)

Infinity Pebbles Shirt

Hi guys. Here's another Marvel parody shirt I created.

"Infinity Pebbles"

It's a mashup of Thanos with the Infinity Stones/Gems and Fruity Pebbles cereal. It was a fun project. Thanos seems happy with it. The shading on his armor reminds of a boss character in old game graphics. I'm really happy with how the bowl of cereal came out.

So far Thanos has appeared twice in the Marvel Cinema Universe. I went with his look in the comics, but more cartoony.

Credits clip of Thanos in Avengers

 

Thanos in Guardians of the Galaxy

And since Guardians of the Galaxy, there has been 4 of 6 Infinity Stones/Gems in the movies so far. They've also been called Soul Gems in the comics.

Infinity Stones in Marvel Cinema Universe

 The colors of the stones in the movies don't match-up with the comics, but the colors weren't always consist in the comics either.

If there is only 2 stones left, then how much longer until Thanos has a bigger role in plot? And when will see the Infinity Gauntlet again?

The Infinity Gauntlet was a Easter egg in Thor.

All this apprehensive excitement is why I made Infinity Pebbles. :)

Monster Love

I was thinking the other day how picky I am for designs of Frankenstein's monster. Then TeeVillian released some that pleased me. :)

"The Bride Dollmaking"

One of my new favorite artists, Medusa the Dollmaker, created a cute and elegant design for The Bride of Frankenstein.

I'm not sure who the green buck-tooth monster is, but did you see Frankenstein's monster? He looks like he's hugging his bride. :)

The design is available as a tee and tank top until July 5 for $11.

Another design I enjoy on TeeVillian is the mashup with Calvin and Hobbes below by Mephias.

"My Fiendish Friend"

It captures the monster's innocence even though the scene becomes tragic.

The design is available until July 5th as a tee, v-neck, and tank top.

Mephias' design encourages me even more to connect Frankenstein and the image below of Groot. Did anyone else think the same when watching the Guardians of the Galaxy trailer? Groot is innocent too.

Groot hands a flower to a girl.

And I'll end on an image by Teo Zirinis of two figures settling their differences.

"Newlyweds"

Maleficent Has Arrived!

My Maleficent design "Beware" is available as a $10 shirt at teeVillain! Limited time only. At the time of this post, there is about 21 hours left!

My design "Beware"

Available in 3 shirt colors:

Share with fans of Maleficent. :)

Invite Maleficent or Beware

My shirt design "Beware" for Maleficent,
the villain in Disney's Sleeping Beauty

Hey guys, my design "Beware" will be printed at teeVillian for 24 hours on Saturday, May 10! :) I will wear the shirt myself when watching the Maleficent movie.

I challenged myself with this design by using only text and negative space (blank empty area). I also came up with the words.

I will post another reminder on the scheduled day for teeVillain. That day you can also see the answers I gave for their Q & A, which interviews you as if you were a villain. Haha. Or more appropriately, Mwahahaha!

If you are interested in "Beware" on another format like a coffee mug, then check out my Society6 shop. This week Society6 has free shipping for participating artists.

I used my design "Tea Party" to advertise the promotion.

Click HERE to receive free shipping on most of the items in my Society6 shop.  The promotion ends on May 11 at midnight (Pacific time).

How Have the Tables Turned?

"For A Change" by Teo Zirinis

I wrote a blog post before called The Monster & the Victim about how monsters and women (the victims) were portrayed in posters for The Creature From the Black Lagoon. Artist Teo Zirinis has this monster shirt design up for vote on Threadless. The words at the bottom say, "The tables have turned!" I took a closer look to see how the horror poster has changed.

Teo Zirinis flips the poses of monster and victim, but is "The Hot Woman" a victor and against who? 

The woman in the monster's pose visually gives her power over him, but did she defeat the monster? Going by old horror posters, she should be a threat to the monster.

The Curse of the Werewolf from 1961

Because she looks docile and dainty, juxtaposition and comedy results in the consideration that she defeated the monster. The artist probably gave her closed eyes to reflect the kidnapped women in horror posters who are usually drawn as having fainted or screaming. She has no signs of harm on her body or clothes so "The Hot Woman" is no longer a victim of violence. However, she also lacks signs of a fighter so she is not a producer of violence either. The poses, but not the roles, have been switched. 

Interestingly, she does not look pleased to be the one still standing and conscious. Her closed eyes make her look sad.  Does she mourn the monster's rampage which is now over or can she not bear to see the monster's defeated body? She is still portrayed as sexy, which leaves room for attraction.

Close-up of  the figures.

The title says she "Carried" the monster not "Defeated," "Destroyed," or "Killed." You cannot defeat someone by carrying them. The worst you could do is injure the person's pride. The act of carrying someone shows strength, compassion, and affection. She looks more like his savior by gently carrying the monster above the sharp trees pointed at his body. With this train of thought, the title reads more as "The Hot Woman Who Loved the Monster." Maybe she had enough of the violence from both sides.

Another way she is no longer the victim is by consenting to be in the monster's presence. She is not there by force or by accident. The monster is unconscious or dead so we cannot tell what he wants. We just assume he is like the usual monster who comes into our society and finds attraction in female humans. Usually in werewolf movies, the cursed man bonds with a woman before he becomes a monster. Most of the time, the woman does not reject the cursed man after his transformation. Okay, now it definitely sounds like Beauty & the Beast!

It is questionable if this horror poster woman has become a victor or hero. We do not know if she "Carried" the monster because she defeated him or saved him after someone else defeated him. On a poster, she has not stepped up to a contributing role yet. In the title she is labeled as sex appeal.

What do you think? Do not forget to vote for the shirt design at Threadless! If the shirt is printed, I hope it leads to conversations over horror poster portrayals.

The Lego Movie is Awesome

Hey guys, I enjoyed The Lego Movie this past weekend for plenty of reasons. I hope you found many as well.

Because I work at Legoland California, I was familiar with the sets and movie characters before knowing the story. I had wondered if the movie would feel weird from my familiarity with Lego pieces and working in a Lego gift shop. This question would apply even more to Lego fans though. Instead of feeling weird, I laughed even more from recognizing Lego pieces, their multiple uses, and their limitations. If you are a Mystery Minifigures collector, then you will enjoy appearances from different series.

If you have a chance to visit Legoland California, then check out the special exhibit called The Lego Movie Experience with Lego model scenes from the movie including the dad's workspace. The opening was Feb. 20, but the exhibit is available for a year. The location is next to Studio Store on the left side of the park.

The Lego Movie Experience at Legoland California

The Lego Movie had some humor similar to Muppet humor. It is not so much the literal vs. figurative meaning of words. I have not been able to label it yet. I do not want to list examples of this humor either so you can enjoy the moment. I also cracked-up over the sound effects and use of Lego pieces for special effects such as explosions.

An explosion example of a special effect with Lego pieces.

Those of you who have read my other blog posts know I love Meta and dystopias. Well, The Lego Movie has both aspects! :D

Two of my favorite characters are Metalbeard and Benny the 80s spaceman. Since I saw the Lego set Metalbeard's Duel, I thought Metalbeard looked cool with his many unique pieces. My friends and coworkers know very well that I like puns and cheesy corny jokes. Yesterday at work, I kept pointing out the chest pun in Metalbeard. He is great to watch and hear on the screen.

Metalbeard

I wish this "Spaceship!" tee had Benny's whole body.

My family knows I am drawn to funny-voiced characters such as King Candy in Wreck-It Ralph and Shrek the Final Chapter. This fact is one reason why spaceman Benny is a favorite character of mine. Thanks voice actor Charlie Day! ;)

The main reason I like Benny has to do with his attempts to build a spaceship. I will keep an eye out for a good shirt with Benny. By the way, he is based off of the Lego figure Blue Classic Spaceman.
Rumpelstiltskin in

There are more things I enjoyed and laughed over, but one last aspect I'll say is that the story's messages are awesome. :) I recommend watching it. If you have already, who was your favorite character?

Ash and Amy

Hey guys I entered another Shirt.Woot contest. This time a mystery celebrity chose the theme TV show mashed up with an album cover. The hint given for the celebrity's identity is not Tony Shalub. What if the celebrity is from Doctor Who for the 50th anniversary?

This weekly contest is the first time I've submitted 2 entries. :) Tomorrow is the last day for votes so if you're a Shirt.Woot customer, then please vote for my entries. Anyone can help by sharing my entries. The links are the entry titles. Thank you! :D

"Born to be the Very Best" is a mashup of
Pokemon & Bruce Springsteen's album "Born In the U.S.A."

"Amy + the Time Machine" is a mashup of
Doctor Who & Florence + the Machine's album "Lungs"

I feel I have progressed with limited colored shirt design on Photoshop.  The movie Catching Fire energized me enough for a second entry. :D I'm glad because Amy Pond and the weeping angels has been on my list of designs-to-make.

Maleficent Shirt and Trailer

If my entry for most shirt design contests doesn't get picked, then I still have to wait a few month to submit the entry somewhere else. I'm able to now use the Maleficent text entry I did for Shirt.Woot.

"Beware"

On RedBubble, you can get it as a shirt:

On Society6, you can get as a mug or tote bag. Both sites have a print.

I have two other ideas with Maleficent, who is one of my favorite Disney villains. The movie for this 2014 spring motivates me! Here is the first trailer:

I like the scene when they interact!

Maleficent

I started entering ShirtWoot!'s weekly derby contest for shirt designs. For the theme text-as-art, I drew Maleficent from Disney's Sleeping Beauty:

If you're a ShirtWoot customer,
then you can vote for my entry "Beware."

I find female villains in fairy tales interesting especially if they are not the evil (step)mother. Evil mothers feel threatened by their daugther's outshining youth. The less wrinkled face reminds the evil mother that she is closer to then end of her life. Evil female authority feel just as threatened by young princesses.

In the fairy tales, Maleficent's character is not invited to the new princess' introduction either because she was old and forgotten or the king didn't have enough matching plates. This sorceress is insulted not because she cared to see the princess, but because Maleficent's existence was not acknowledged for the future the princess represents. If she was forgotten while she lived, then she will be forgotten when she is gone. If she has no place in the kingdom's new reign, then get rid of it by killing off the princess. Or at least be remembered longer for trying to do so.

A poem by Dylan Thomas comes to mind:

Do not go gentle into that good night,

Old age should burn and rave at close of day;

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,

Because their words had forked no lightning they

Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright

Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,

And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,

Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight

Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on the sad height,

Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.

Do not go gentle into that good night.

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Vote For My Shark!

Hey guys, my first shirt design on Threadless is open for votes for 7 days! Please help me by voting and sharing my shark design. Click HERE for the link.

The rain makes the shark related to more than the summer season. I also chose 2 shirt types and shirt colors for "Rain Swimmer":

Thank you! :)

Hens and Facebook Page

"Hens Walk" tee

My shirt "Hens Walk" is available at RedBubble now. The chickens look great on navy blue, charcoal, and green tees too. All proceeds from "Hens Walk" art goes to breast cancer research.

Currently, RedBubble has a 15% off code until January 9. The code is NEWTHINGS13

In addition, I made a Facebook page, Mari Kari's Artwork, to display art from both RedBubble and Society6.

Free Shipping

In the last post, I shared an art piece on RedBubble and Society6. Well, both sites have free shipping for a few days.

RedBubble

Free shipping until Sat Dec. 8 6:00am.

I have only "Night's Kiss" on RedBubble so far, but I wanted to share a clever tee (on the right) I found for Buzz Lightyear fans. ;) 

My tee again, "Night's Kiss."

The title gives it away, but here's the link.

Society6

As for Society6, purchases will have free shipping if you click on the artist's promo link for it. Here is my free shipping promo link: http://society6.com/Inque?promo=1cee54 . Free shipping on this site is until Dec. 9.

And here are two other artist's works and promo links:

Artist Terry Fan

http://society6.com/igo2cairo?promo=e4d86a

"Autumn Song"

"Your brain on video games"

Artist Martynas Pavilonis

http://society6.com/MartynasPavilonis?promo=d2c1ef

"Martwood Wolves" as a phone skin.

"Village"

My First Tee Design

"Night's Kiss"

My first tee design, "Night's Kiss" is on RedBubble. :)

After reading Batman: Hush comics, I was inspired to draw Batman and Catwoman in the pose of the Art Nouveau painting "The Kiss."

"The Kiss"

For the tee design, I went with the WB animated series outfit for Catwoman. As for Batman, the cape is the color of the shirt you choose. Your choice affects Catwoman too.

Shirt color options.

The image is also available on Society6 as a print, iPod case/skin, and laptop skin. Plus I have "Night's Kiss II," which has a night city background.

"Night's Kiss II" as a laptop skin.

Selfish, but Cute, Hedgehog

As a fan of wordplay, I had to share this tee design:

"Hedgehogs Can't Share" tee for $19.95

Cute little guy with a small speech bubble.

Cowabunga!

Along with Halloween, October is National Pizza Month.  So how about looking at some big fans of pizza, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT).

"Vote Pizza Party" classic 80s tee for $20

Hello, Raphael.

Nickelodeon promoted the more recent series with this chalk illusion in London. I am sure that everyone wishes the drawing was a permanent mural.

"Ancient Ninja Xenomorphs"

More and more TMNT printed tees are coming out probably because of Micheal Bay's TMNT film reboot.

However, On the UK website The Guardian, I read that the 2013 film pushed back to 2014 because of the fans' voiced disapproval of the mutant turtles portrayed as aliens. The Guardian believes the production may be dropped altogether.

An artist, Billy Allison, did a great depiction of the ninjas like Ridley Scott's Alien.  I linked the tee's title to prints and device covers, but he has the design available as a tee too.




Here's two tees that take after the turtles' names: Leonardo, Raphael, Michelangelo, and Donatello.

"Renaissance Ninjas" tee for $22.50

"Heroes in an Art Shell" tee currently sold out.

"Ninja Rhapsody" print for $15

Did you know that Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was a comic before a TV show? How about that all four wore red?

Artist Hillary White knew. Her design on the right is no longer available at RiptApparel, but you can still get a $15 print. It is a mash-up of one of Queen's album covers.

Even when dressed the same, Raphael stands out.

Original TV show in the 80s

There are more TMNT tees, but don't forget to celebrate National Pizza Month.

I have always wondered if banana toppings tasted good.  Do you remember what other toppings these turtles tried?

I did not find a tee or print of this one,
but it is still worth sharing.