MATY and PMBD design contest!

[BastDawn]

Pescado hates the idea of official MATY and PMBD T-shirts, but we're going to go ahead and do it anyway.  I bet he won't object to the money it makes.   

Contest rules:

• 1.  You enter ANONYMOUSLY.  Send the image to me via PM and I will post it for you, just like the MATY Secrets thread.  We're voting based on marketable images, not favoritism.
  
• 2.  Make your image the right size.  Check out the Zazzle guidelines; in general, if you make the image around 2000x2000 pixels, it's about right for shirts and can be scaled down to fit other things.  Feel free to submit one or two variations for truly odd shapes like coffee mugs and circular stickers and magnets.  (No more than 3 variations per image, please, but you can submit as many different images as you like.)  I will scale your image down for web viewing and voting at MATY.  PNG format only, please.
  
• 3.  Do not submit copyrighted images.  For instance, a design based on the lot debugger shouldn't show the Batman symbol clearly.  You also may not submit goatse, the butthole secret, or other images that Zazzle won't print for us.
  
• 4.  Submit it within 3 weeks!  In Malaysian time, it is now August 19, almost 5am.  Submissions will no longer be accepted after 5am on September 9th.
  
• 5.  We are doing this as a fundraiser.  If you submit an image, you are giving up all copyright to it and agree to allow MATY to keep it forever and make all the profits from it, for the purpose of keeping the servers running.
  
• 6.  Once the submission period has ended, I will create a voting thread -- more than one if we have too many entries.  We will have a week to vote on our favorite images, and the winners will be chosen for the store.  (It will probably be the top 5 or 6.)  The identities of the winners will be announced after voting has closed, unless they choose to remain anonymous.
  
• 7.  Prizes are To Be Determined; it will probably be a free month's subscription.  Do it for the notoriety or the lulz!
  

Sound good?  Send in your art!  I'll post them as they come for commentary.

[lemmiwinks]

Is Trogdor copyrighted?

[rohina]

I would totally buy a t-shirt with my meanface on it. Are images from Awesomeland fair game?

[BastDawn]

Is Trogdor copyrighted?

I don't know, but I assume yes.  If in doubt, look it up before creating your image.

I would totally buy a t-shirt with my meanface on it. Are images from Awesomeland fair game?

Yes! 

Also, pure text is okay, although it needs to be in a graphic format of the appropriate size.

[rohina]

Slogans? How about "More Awesome than Your Mom"?

[BastDawn]

Slogans? How about "More Awesome than Your Mom"?

Send it in.  I did think of one problem with screenshots, though: no one plays at a high enough resolution for the image sizes we need.  It might be okay on a sticker or something else small.

[Jelenedra]

Trogdor and all his likenesses are copyrighted by the creators of homestarrunner.com.

[Paleo]

Since many PMBDers don't come over here (and vice versa for MATYians over there, I suppose) would it be Ok for me to post a link to this contest over at PMBD or perhaps you could start a thread there?

[Assmitten]

How much meat do we win? Can I have sum meat PLZ?

I thought this was a contest for designing the site and I almost pooped myself. Whew.

[BastDawn]

Since many PMBDers don't come over here (and vice versa for MATYians over there, I suppose) would it be Ok for me to post a link to this contest over at PMBD or perhaps you could start a thread there?

Hecubus said she would handle announcing it at PMBD.  The contest will run here, but PMBD submissions are welcome and encouraged.

[Paleo]

Excellent! Thank you and Hecubus.

[Hecubus]

Yes, sorry...am just getting the PMBD version posted now. I'm sending everyone here to post and vote; it'll be easier, methinks.

[rohina]

Oh, right, you want to rule the universe, but the actual responsibility is just so inconvenient.

[Frankenbeasley]

Technically, the ideal MATY merchandise would be a hoodie with a skin-coloured cowl and a large beard printed down the front.

[BastDawn]

The thread has been moved from Retardo Land so that PMBD people can see it even if they've never posted here.

So, here's an example of what an entry should look like.  (Ugly, yes, but it's just an example.)  You're seeing the reduced-size sample.  Click on it and look at the original, which has a width of 2100 pixels, the recommended width of a horizontal t-shirt.  It's a transparent png, which means that it can be used on both white and dark shirts without being shaped like a rectangle.  The edges are sharp with no softening or blurring, which means that it can be printed on black without leaving a white edge.  I will be commenting on the technical value of each design as I post it.

[J. M. Pescado]

Trogdor and all his likenesses are copyrighted by the creators of homestarrunner.com.

But you can draw your own. They provided step by step instructions specifically for drawing your own.

[nekonoai]

I would totally buy a MATY/PMBD shirt. Can't wait to see what people come up with!

[Jelenedra]

We need a burninated peasants one.

[Hecubus]

By the way - when you're working on designs, keep in mind what they should be printed on; what fits on a bumper sticker won't look right on a mug. (Zazzle has a cool photo cutout thing we could put images on - I think Pirate Pescado (from the PMBD front page) might be cool on something like that. To see the variety of items we can put these designs on, check out www.zazzle.com.

[BastDawn]

Trogdor and all his likenesses are copyrighted by the creators of homestarrunner.com.

But you can draw your own. They provided step by step instructions specifically for drawing your own.

True, but that's not the same as giving up copyright or allowing commercial use of hand-drawn reproductions.  However, if anyone wants to email the site for legal permission, go for it.

By the way - when you're working on designs, keep in mind what they should be printed on; what fits on a bumper sticker won't look right on a mug. (Zazzle has a cool photo cutout thing we could put images on - I think Pirate Pescado (from the PMBD front page) might be cool on something like that. To see the variety of items we can put these designs on, check out www.zazzle.com.

That's in rule #2.   

[J. M. Pescado]

True, but that's not the same as giving up copyright or allowing commercial use of hand-drawn reproductions.  However, if anyone wants to email the site for legal permission, go for it.

You can't copyright someone else's drawing, even if it looks like yours. They might be able to trademark the name "Trogdor", but it is impossible to copyright the concept of a badly-drawn one-armed dragon.

[Zazazu]

Any thoughts about appropriateness and all that? I'd love a Retard-oh coffee cup, with the actual card shown.

[Jelenedra]

As long as the comic I purloined it from isn't visible, that should be kosher. As Pescado said, you cannot copyright a BINGO card.

[BastDawn]

We've got our first entry!  I'm told the logo is the anarchist cat and there are several text variations to choose from.  When it comes to voting, I'll pick two or three slogans to go with the image, so comments on favorite slogans are welcome. 

The large-size images for this entry are nice and huge.  They do have some semi-transparent edges, but the image is only appropriate for printing on white and thus it doesn't matter.  If this design wins, I will work with the artist to make a variant with a shaped white background with no soft edges so it can be printed on black shirts as well.

           

[rohina]

The woolprop thing is a Twainism and is therefore unacceptable.