3 new prints coming soon!

there is a new competition in town that is raising some eyebrows. well, some brows are being furrowed.

tshirtvault.com has a new contest model that awards designers $3 per $19 shirt sold, and the top 5 designs sold get a portion of a $10,000 prize.

why are brows being furrowed? some find the setup incredulous, and even i feel like i am gambling as i submit designs into the competition. the detail that is concerning artists is the fact that you have to send it print ready art from the word go. the first rule of design is to never send the print ready art until you have cleared the check. and for tshirtvault.com to start selling your designs, it's a necessity to have this art up front.

the fear is that these designs could end up being ripped off. the company is brand new and hasn't had the time to build any trust with the online designer community.

i am throwing my hat in only because i see other respected designers taking the same gamble. and if we're ripped off, i will commiserate with good company; if that's any consolation.

now that i've waded through the uncertainty, i'll speak to the perks. barring rejection from tshirtvault.com, these designs will definitely be available to purchase on march 1st:



this eliminates a lot of work for designers. usually, when a design is finished, a designer looks at the different competition communities threadless, emptees, design by hümans, tee fury, shirt.woot, etc.) and guess which one is the best fit. then you submit and cross your fingers for prize money or 24 hour partial sales compensation. all tried and true systems, no doubt.

tshirtvault.com operates more like the old bountee.com (now a different company, hence no link) where every design submitted is available for sale, there's no uncertainty. and unless you win one of the top 5 sales spots, you retain your designs artistic rights and can pull the design at anytime to sell elsewhere (which raises the issue of the bigger design competitions not accepting previously printed designs, no matter how low the quantity, they're tainted.)

so i'm hopeful, and i have selected designs that are particular to tshirtvault's printing process and have been favorites when featured as sidebar art on sites like tee fury, but have never been printed. so please, spread the word. make my gamble worthwhile and help me get in the top 5 printed designs!