OK, got my replacement t-shirt today from redbubble, after the original one was less than acceptable in terms of print quality. Well I had to go and check my t-shirt drawer after I’d opened the package to see if they hadn’t snuck in and just re-sent me the original one again. It’s exactly the same, so dark that they’re printing black where there should be colour, and so speckled that you have to pretend you can see solid colours.
They’d said they’d try to get closer to the original but this just looks like they’re printed it without even checking. It doesn’t surprise me, however, as during the conversations I had with them it turned out that, whilst they’re in Australia, the print place is actually in the United States so I have to wonder if they’re just farming it out or what level of quality control they really have in place.
So my redbubble offerings won’t be re-appearing. I’m just glad that nobody purchased one whilst they were available as they’d have been pretty disappointed. I’m now looking at biting the bullet and going the screen printing route. I’ve found a neat screen printing company that use water based inks as well, so much more environmentally friendly. Now to save up the moolah so I can afford to get a design printed in different sizes! And, of course, do the design itself 
Filed under: General | Tags: decision, drawing, lightfast, pencils, prismacolor, purchase
I’ve been toying with the idea of getting a good set of coloured pencils for a while now. I love using markers when I draw but, unfortunately, they’re not really lightfast and so the images need to be looked after well if they’re to last a long time (and even then it’s difficult).
I’ve heard good things about Prismacolor Premier pencils but, up till now, haven’t found a good way to get them in the UK. Refuelled.com are now distributing Prismacolor in the UK so that hurdle has been jumped. They’re not selling the individual pencils but as places like Dick Blick in the US do and will ship internationally this isn’t much of an issue (the main reason for not getting these from the US in the first place is (a) customs charges, (b) tax charges and (c) mahoosive shipping charges which would make a full set work out really expensive). Ordering individual pencils, or even a bunch of individual pencils, from the US is fine as I can keep well under the import limits to avoid the tax and customs charges etc. So getting replacements isn’t an issue either.
I’ve checked out many UK/European pencil brands but they never seem to have the variety of colours that Prismacolor do and are a bit sketchy on the lightfastness. Derwent, for instance, rate the lightfastness of each of their pencils individually and they vary greatly with many of the colours just not hitting the mark.
So I’m seriously tempted to get myself the full Prismacolor set but thought I’d post to see if any of the few people who read this have ever used them. Are they lightfast? What are they like to use? Are they the dog’s doo-dahs of the pencil world?
Filed under: Products | Tags: bockingford, book, coptic, hand bound, moopf, notebook, sketch book, watercolor
The postman brought another package from Kala at Etsy today with more notebooks made up with fabric I printed. Like the previous ones, this is A6 in size and filled with 96 sides of Bockingford 300gsm watercolour paper and bound using coptic stich.
There’s a different design on the front and back of the book and it’s now available for sale in my Etsy store.
Filed under: Products | Tags: aceo, atc, ink, markers, moopf, original, pen
Last year I went through a phase of producing ATCs (Artist Trading Cards). Some of these I swapped, most of them, however, reside on a wall in our living room. You can see these in my deviantArt gallery here.
I’ve recently been bitten by the bug again and have started selling some ACEOs in my Etsy store. ACEOs differ from ATCs (so many acronyms!) in that these are for sale rather than trade and this gives people the opportunity to own small pieces of original art.
I currently have four ACEOs available:
These produced using Copic Multiliners and Letraset Tria markers on 400gsm (200lb) Bockingford watercolour paper. Expect to see many more of these. Each one takes quite a while to produce but it gives me a chance to play with ideas and produce some really detailed small works.
Available in my Etsy store.
Just a quick post to say that I’ve removed my t-shirts from sale at redbubble. I finally got the t-shirt I ordered at the weekend and, I’m sorry to say, the quality wasn’t at all what I was hoping for. The image was very dark and, most disappointingly, the blocks of colour weren’t solid at all. I’m talking to them at the moment to try and find out why this should have happened but from speaking to a long time seller at redbubble it seems that there are frequently problems with solid colours coming out speckled.
I’m a picky so-and-so but I don’t want my designs to be on anything that I wouldn’t purchase myself and, in this case, I certainly wouldn’t purchase the t-shirt I was sent. Hopefully redbubble will improve their process, they have already said that they’ve invested in some new colour matching technology and are improving the output all the time, so we’ll wait and see. They’ve promised to send a replacement once they’ve got a better output.
I’ll let you know when/if the quality is good enough for me to put the tees back on sale. Failing that I’m starting to think about screen printing but don’t know anything about the process really so need to investigate that further.
Filed under: Products | Tags: redbubble tees t-shirt monkey pufferfish new moopf
I have a couple more designs available on t-shirts at redbubble now, ‘Code Monkey Extreme’ and ‘I Got Myself a Puffer’
Also redbubble are featuring my ‘Take Me Away’ tee so when you go to the main clothing page on the site there it is! Quite a surprise!
My redbubble store can be accessed from here:
That’s right, my first two t-shirt designs are now available at redbubble. You can choose what style of tee you want and, for both designs, I’ve allowed a large range of colours that would well with them.
For more information, pricing and to purchase please visit my redbubble page:
Filed under: Products | Tags: bockingford, book, coptic, hand bound, moopf, notebook, sketch book, watercolour
A book featuring my second design has arrived this morning and is already on sale in my Etsy store.
Again this is A6 size with a cotton cover and has been hand bound by Kala from Etsy and uses coptic stitching. Inside are 96 sides of sumptuous Bockingford 300gsm watercolour paper.
The book features differing designs on the front and back and is an inch and a half thick.
Visit my Etsy store to see more about it!
Filed under: Products | Tags: spaceman badge space button pin inch cute cartoon child
Something small, cute and fun today – a new 1 inch button badge featuring a little spaceman with his rocket pack zooming around amongst the stars.
I’ve kept the design simple, without my usual shading or gradients to keep it nice and bold and given it a white background to make it stand out on the black. Will most likely use variations on this character for other designs as it’s pretty versatile.
Available now in my Etsy store.
I’ve been tagged by KoolKookyKreatures so I’ll share seven facts about myself:
1. I run fell races.
2. My favourite TV show of all time is Spaced.
3. My favourite film is It’s A Wonderful Life closely followed by The Big Lebowski.
4. I used to write music and had a piece used by BA to advertise the London Eye – the highlight of my musical career lol
5. I’ve written children’s poetry for years, and my site’s called Fizzy Funny Fuzzy
6. I (well we, the family) have two cats – Bod who’s 13 and Gonzo who’s 10
7. I have no tonsils or adenoids.
That was diverse, wasn’t it – it’s more difficult than it seems to pick 7 facts that people won’t know about you! And, in turn, I’ll tag these people: Miss Bunny, Kezzaroo, Kala, Charlie Motel, The Devil’s Wallpaper, Siansburys and Charlotte Narunsky
