Calling all artists
Apr. 19th, 2003 05:01 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mollyringleMany of you out there are endowed with artistic talents, and for you I have a business proposition of sorts.
Having looked into CafeShops.com, the place that prints up T-shirts and mugs and things with your own personal designs, I've decided that it's worth a shot to make some TTT-parody merchandise to sell. I should have done this three or four months ago, when people were still reading it, rather than now, but never mind that. Setting up the shop is free, and I've already done that. If anything sells, they give you a teeny profit, and that's the whole deal; so there's absolutely nothing to lose except a little time and possibly a bit of dignity; and I, for one, hardly have any of that to speak of anyway.
Trouble is, I'm not very artistically inclined, especially when it comes to cute cartoon-styles as would befit a parody, so that's where you artists come in. If you can draw me some pictures, inspired by the parody, that would look good on a T-shirt, I'm more than willing to split profits 50/50 with you. If all goes well, I'm thinking you and I could each make two whole dollars on this! (I hear the other students out there perking up: "Two dollars? Seriously? I'm in!") (Technically, though, we don't get anything until profits exceed $25. See CafeShops' member agreement.)
So, if you're interested, and would like to see your LOTR artwork on a coffee mug which you can then force your friends to buy, please read the following details and rules...
First of all: since we do not own these characters (alas!), it is very important that we avoid copyright infringement. This means :
a) no photo manipulations of images from the movies or other cast photos;
b) no use of the characters' actual names; e.g., we can't put "Frodo" or "Gollum" or "Eomer" or suchlike in the captions (I'm not entirely sure about that, actually, but I want to stay on the safe side);
c) though the characters in the drawings should be recognizable, they should not look too much like the actors. Caricature-level should be fine.
Also, it has to be your own work (duh), and shouldn't currently be in use on any other merchandise.
CassieClaire's Secret Diaries have a CafeShop with merchandise for sale, and as far as I can tell, they're following the above rules. I imagine if we follow their example, we'll be fine, since her shop undoubtedly gets more traffic than anything I will ever do.
What I want from you:
Any line from the parody that inspires you would be fine, but here are some scenes and captions that I think would work especially well:
Aragorn w/ Arwen lying on top of him: "You're not even supposed to be IN this book."
Aragorn to Legolas: "How about I squeeze your shoulder in a very special way?"
Elrond (& Galadriel?): "Hang on; I’m getting another telepathy call."
Eowyn to Aragorn: "My only fear is dying a virgin. Hint, hint."
Frodo & Sam in black eyeliner (w/ Gollum?): "Yes, preciousss, very angsssty." (I would prefer "angsssty hobbitses," but I have a feeling we shouldn't use the word "hobbit," either.)
Gandalf: "White is supposed to be the new black this year..."
Gimli: "I'm funny because I'm short!"
Helm's Deep; Legolas & Aragorn: "Hundreds of people will die." "Thank you, Captain Obvious."
Legolas to Aragorn: "You are NOT wearing THAT to the battle tonight, are you?"
Legolas: "You're just jealous because I'm pretty."
Legolas: "I almost had a facial expression from the joy of it!"
Treebeard w/ Merry & Pippin: "Hoom! Furry lawn ornaments!"
I don't need all of those, but that should give you a few ideas. There are others I like, but they involve the use of first names and thus I dare not go there. (e.g., "They're going to tell stories about you: Frodo the Incredibly Cute.")
Format issues:
CafeShops requires a minimum image size of 200 x 200 pixels. No maximum is specified. Must be in RGB colors rather than any other color option. You can put the caption on if you like, but I have some cool Tolkien-ish fonts and would be happy to stick them on the image myself. If you do it, remember to omit proper names of characters—though at least the words "elf" and " dwarf" and "wizard" are all public domain, should you wish to use them.
YES, there can be multiple "winners." Maybe one of you will have a great Legolas picture, another will have a great Treebeard, and so on. That would be fine. There could even be more than one version of the same caption/scene. In fact, various style options might interest people more. So, if/when you have an image to submit, either post a link to it in the comments here, or email me the link or the image itself (my email address is on my userinfo page), and I'll let you know if I want to use it. Don't worry if you're not Michelangelo: chances are you're much, much better at drawing than I am, and that's the whole point. Besides, as I said, there's nothing to lose, so I'm inclined to be accepting. However, I think CafeShops puts the limit at 50 items, so we cannot go absolutely overboard and will have to curb our passions to some degree.
Even if no one actually wants the stuff, we will have had fun, and I will have gotten you to draw things for me. It's a win-win situation. :)
Other questions/issues? Go ahead and ask in the comments. Thanks!
Having looked into CafeShops.com, the place that prints up T-shirts and mugs and things with your own personal designs, I've decided that it's worth a shot to make some TTT-parody merchandise to sell. I should have done this three or four months ago, when people were still reading it, rather than now, but never mind that. Setting up the shop is free, and I've already done that. If anything sells, they give you a teeny profit, and that's the whole deal; so there's absolutely nothing to lose except a little time and possibly a bit of dignity; and I, for one, hardly have any of that to speak of anyway.
Trouble is, I'm not very artistically inclined, especially when it comes to cute cartoon-styles as would befit a parody, so that's where you artists come in. If you can draw me some pictures, inspired by the parody, that would look good on a T-shirt, I'm more than willing to split profits 50/50 with you. If all goes well, I'm thinking you and I could each make two whole dollars on this! (I hear the other students out there perking up: "Two dollars? Seriously? I'm in!") (Technically, though, we don't get anything until profits exceed $25. See CafeShops' member agreement.)
So, if you're interested, and would like to see your LOTR artwork on a coffee mug which you can then force your friends to buy, please read the following details and rules...
First of all: since we do not own these characters (alas!), it is very important that we avoid copyright infringement. This means :
a) no photo manipulations of images from the movies or other cast photos;
b) no use of the characters' actual names; e.g., we can't put "Frodo" or "Gollum" or "Eomer" or suchlike in the captions (I'm not entirely sure about that, actually, but I want to stay on the safe side);
c) though the characters in the drawings should be recognizable, they should not look too much like the actors. Caricature-level should be fine.
Also, it has to be your own work (duh), and shouldn't currently be in use on any other merchandise.
CassieClaire's Secret Diaries have a CafeShop with merchandise for sale, and as far as I can tell, they're following the above rules. I imagine if we follow their example, we'll be fine, since her shop undoubtedly gets more traffic than anything I will ever do.
What I want from you:
Any line from the parody that inspires you would be fine, but here are some scenes and captions that I think would work especially well:
Aragorn w/ Arwen lying on top of him: "You're not even supposed to be IN this book."
Aragorn to Legolas: "How about I squeeze your shoulder in a very special way?"
Elrond (& Galadriel?): "Hang on; I’m getting another telepathy call."
Eowyn to Aragorn: "My only fear is dying a virgin. Hint, hint."
Frodo & Sam in black eyeliner (w/ Gollum?): "Yes, preciousss, very angsssty." (I would prefer "angsssty hobbitses," but I have a feeling we shouldn't use the word "hobbit," either.)
Gandalf: "White is supposed to be the new black this year..."
Gimli: "I'm funny because I'm short!"
Helm's Deep; Legolas & Aragorn: "Hundreds of people will die." "Thank you, Captain Obvious."
Legolas to Aragorn: "You are NOT wearing THAT to the battle tonight, are you?"
Legolas: "You're just jealous because I'm pretty."
Legolas: "I almost had a facial expression from the joy of it!"
Treebeard w/ Merry & Pippin: "Hoom! Furry lawn ornaments!"
I don't need all of those, but that should give you a few ideas. There are others I like, but they involve the use of first names and thus I dare not go there. (e.g., "They're going to tell stories about you: Frodo the Incredibly Cute.")
Format issues:
CafeShops requires a minimum image size of 200 x 200 pixels. No maximum is specified. Must be in RGB colors rather than any other color option. You can put the caption on if you like, but I have some cool Tolkien-ish fonts and would be happy to stick them on the image myself. If you do it, remember to omit proper names of characters—though at least the words "elf" and " dwarf" and "wizard" are all public domain, should you wish to use them.
YES, there can be multiple "winners." Maybe one of you will have a great Legolas picture, another will have a great Treebeard, and so on. That would be fine. There could even be more than one version of the same caption/scene. In fact, various style options might interest people more. So, if/when you have an image to submit, either post a link to it in the comments here, or email me the link or the image itself (my email address is on my userinfo page), and I'll let you know if I want to use it. Don't worry if you're not Michelangelo: chances are you're much, much better at drawing than I am, and that's the whole point. Besides, as I said, there's nothing to lose, so I'm inclined to be accepting. However, I think CafeShops puts the limit at 50 items, so we cannot go absolutely overboard and will have to curb our passions to some degree.
Even if no one actually wants the stuff, we will have had fun, and I will have gotten you to draw things for me. It's a win-win situation. :)
Other questions/issues? Go ahead and ask in the comments. Thanks!
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2003-04-19 06:32 pm (UTC)And two dollars! Woohoo! ...Though my insane PMS-dad would probably have a fit if he knew I had a LiveJournal at all, so I don't know how you would send money to me if I win and there are profits. *grins*
no subject
Date: 2003-04-20 12:17 am (UTC)Hehe, as to sending profits...well, I think if people have PayPal accounts, I can transfer money to them that way. Otherwise, yeah, I guess it would be the old-fashioned check-by-snail-mail route, to whatever address you specified. (Or cash, just to make it as much like a drug deal as possible.) But, as mentioned, unless profits exceed $25, we get nothing anyway and this is all a moot point. :)
no subject
Date: 2003-04-20 01:53 am (UTC)Another nifty idea:
Sam's loooong monologue "There are good things in the world. And that's what we're protecting. And up there, it's their time, but down here, it's OUR time..."...etc. ^_^; with various scenes that it goes over, on a cup. I have it semi-sketched out in my head! Really! ^_^; It looks major cool! ^_^;
And another idea:
MST-esque shot of any of the "People who have/haven't read the book" lines.
If I get anything actually drawn (*muttergrumble*), I'll contact you, alright? -=^_^=-
no subject
Date: 2003-04-20 10:22 am (UTC)For the monologue scenes, keep in mind that they only let you put one image on a mug, and one per side on a T-shirt. So it would all have to fit into one picture, ideally. As long as you can do that, sounds fun. :) (Hmm, that "down here it's our time" line is technically from 'Goonies,' but I imagine we can still use it...)
Heheh...MST shot... You mean like a silhouette of audience members at the bottom of the screen? ("Elves! Wow, I didn't expect that." "Neither did I...") I was wondering how that type of line could be incorporated into one image - that's a good idea for it.
Anyway, by all means, let me know if you come up with something you like. Thanks!
no subject
Date: 2003-04-20 03:17 am (UTC)But I think you really need the
"What do you fear my lady?"
"Clowns!"
bit as well.
We've started yelling that in the theatre and it's spreading liek wildfire. Got a mention on the torn site even....
You so famous.
~Squee
no subject
Date: 2003-04-20 10:24 am (UTC)*laughs at the "orgy" icon*
Re:
Date: 2003-04-20 10:26 am (UTC)*dangit*
Well "Three-way telepathy calling" is a household phrase in my house now.....
Shall I just email you drawings?
~Squee
no subject
Date: 2003-04-20 11:00 am (UTC)Sure - email is fine. Thank ye!
no subject
Date: 2003-04-21 09:36 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-04-21 08:13 pm (UTC)I'll probably have to restrain myself from buying one of everything. (The price for "store owners" is not, alas, all that low.)
no subject
Date: 2003-04-22 07:45 am (UTC)Good luck!
no subject
Date: 2003-04-22 04:18 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-04-23 12:49 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-04-23 05:38 am (UTC)I'M IN!
Dibs on this on 'Legolas: "You're just jealous because I'm pretty."'
no subject
Date: 2003-04-23 10:48 am (UTC)I followed the link to your art pages - your stuff is great! Feel free to draw more than one scene. ;)
DONE!!
Date: 2003-04-23 05:21 pm (UTC)Legolas is my specialty. ^^ I also have a request, could you please put 'Kelly A. Lynch did this' along with the info on the shirt, please.
Re: DONE!!
Date: 2003-04-23 06:20 pm (UTC)One small change: the font, though it would be readable on a shirt, would probably be too small on, say, a coffee mug. Make it a LOT bigger - it would probably involve increasing the canvas size - big enough so that it's easily read when the picture is reduced to half-size. If you don't want to bother, I can easily mess with that (though I doubt I have the exact font you do)...
Definitely, I'll put your name on it - not only on the info but on the shirt itself, if you want. I was going to tell the artists that. On the back of the shirts I plan to put the name of my LJ, and would like to also put, on top of that, "Artwork by...(name)". But only if you want. :)
Thanks for being so prompt - oh, and yeah, please go ahead and do a "facial expression" one too. As I said, the more designs, the better.
Re: DONE!!
Date: 2003-04-23 06:22 pm (UTC)Re: DONE!!
Date: 2003-04-23 06:31 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-04-23 06:39 pm (UTC)One last thing: can you either make it a "BEcause," or put an apostrophe before "cause"? I know, grammar fiend...sorry...
:D
Re:
Date: 2003-04-23 06:43 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-04-23 07:18 pm (UTC)Have a look-see... (http://www.cafeshops.com/lemonlye.5686357)
Also, let me know if there are other products you'd prefer to have it on. (Boxer shorts, mousepad, what have you...) I'm working on figuring out how to make *all* the items available on the same stuff, but I'm not sure at the moment that this is an option. Anyway, here's the stuff they have. (http://www.cafepress.com/cp/info/products/index.aspx)
I'll be in touch about sales and how to pay you once profits exceed $25, should that day arrive. :)
Re:
Date: 2003-04-23 07:22 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-04-23 08:23 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-04-23 08:56 pm (UTC)It's up and running - in addition, I've figured out how to add more stuff to the store, so here's the link (http://www.cafeshops.com/lemonlye,lemonlye1,lemonlye2,lemonlye3,lemonlye4,lemonlye5) to all the items so far, if you want to pass it around to other people. :)
waaahoooo!
Date: 2003-04-23 09:06 am (UTC)Last question though... when do you want all the pics by?
Re: waaahoooo!
Date: 2003-04-23 10:51 am (UTC)As to when I want the pics...well, the sooner the better, naturally, but I won't be setting a deadline. We can always add more to the lineup (until reaching that 50-item limit, anyway).
Any preference on which things you want to draw?
Re: waaahoooo!
Date: 2003-04-23 11:53 am (UTC)(oh! btw.. I don't know if you know what a robbit is... some friends of mine from Theonering.net and I created a little community based on robbits.. [which was origianlly a typo, then turned into a hobbit/rabbit]=P We are all LOTR fans and love the kinds of parodies that are on the web (yours espcially)! anyhoo.. I'll let you know when I get it up =D
Re: waaahoooo!
Date: 2003-04-24 11:23 am (UTC)... just wondering too.. do the artists get credit? I just was curious because I've never done anything like this before... =)
Re: waaahoooo!
Date: 2003-04-24 11:38 am (UTC)Re: waaahoooo!
Date: 2003-04-24 02:17 pm (UTC)And, yes, definitely, the artists get credit. The back of the T-shirts will have "artwork: (your name)" along with my name, and I'll put it in the item information on the shop website too. So, let me know what name you want to use!
Re: waaahoooo!
Date: 2003-04-24 02:25 pm (UTC)the font was hard for me to make.. and to make it big enough.. but I think it came out fine in the end... although "whine" is a little crooked =P
and once again, thanks!
Re: waaahoooo!
Date: 2003-04-24 06:06 pm (UTC)Here's everything so far (http://www.cafeshops.com/lemonlye,lemonlye1,lemonlye2,lemonlye3,lemonlye4,lemonlye5) - feel free to pass the link around. :)
Re: waaahoooo!
Date: 2003-04-24 06:09 pm (UTC)Re: waaahoooo!
Date: 2003-04-24 07:59 pm (UTC)Re: waaahoooo!
Date: 2003-04-24 09:17 pm (UTC)All the items are marked $2 above the base price, so two dollars - or, one dollar to me and one to the artist - is the profit for each item. But rather than splitting it, you'd get both dollars for buying your own items - if we ever see profits! :)
Re: waaahoooo!
Date: 2003-04-26 08:27 am (UTC)Re: waaahoooo!
Date: 2003-04-26 05:03 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-04-23 09:46 am (UTC)Sorry this isn't in the least bit helpful - I'm not really a drawer, but I have been sketching and scribbling quite often of late. So I will try to think of your parodies next time I'm bored in class!
no subject
Date: 2003-04-29 07:21 pm (UTC)I tried to make him look like he had eye-liner... heh.
By the way, I'm adding you as a friend because I think you're cool. :P
no subject
Date: 2003-04-30 02:52 pm (UTC)I'll upload the image so it's available on the stuff. Also, let me know what name you want to use, under the credits for "Artwork" (which I'm putting on the back of the shirts).
Re:
Date: 2003-04-30 03:43 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-04-30 03:59 pm (UTC)Re:
Date: 2003-04-30 09:10 pm (UTC)