Come Enter My World

[acid_squid]

hey all. Maybe some of you know that over the past few months I started my own small t-shirt company... anyway, the site is up and I've got 2 shirt designs done at this point with another 6 or so almost ready to go to print.

Feedback, suggestions for new art and sudden urges for mass consumerism are all appreciated.

http://www.chimni.com

Also, you can get my stuff in Santa Monica at the Brat Store on 14th street just above Pico.

enjoy!

[fmstlr]

that traffic jam gif is great.

[acid_squid]

thanks!!
it's animated slightly. give it a few seconds and the brake lights start blinking. Also, that's going to be used in the next shirt design.

[slackerbot]

yeah, i really dig the traffic jam image. :cool:

[key_loser]

I'll take one of them car shirts when it's available.

[acid_squid]

cool!!!
what I'm working on is taking that drawing and adding 'I (heart) LA' into it but I'm not satisfied with the results... here, take a look and tell me what you think...

http://www.chimni.com/pics/city.gif

[key_loser]

I was kinda hoping for just a black and white line drawing sort of thing, maybe with red tail lights.


Not that I have anything against the heart shirt, mind you.

It's just that I really thought my N'sync heart shirt would show the guys how I felt about them, but they didn't even seem to notice me. And I'm just afraid to let myself have those feelings for, and get rejected by L.A., too. Y'know?

[slackerbot]

yeah, i like just a plain illustration without the heart.

[fmstlr]

the whole "I :heart: something" is played out.

[acid_squid]

awwww... but I thought irony could never be played out!!

I'm starting to think the same thing though... simplify and drop the heart... but at the same time I want people to get the sense of love/hate hometown pride that I have.

[fmstlr]

make the taillights tiny hearts...

[acid_squid]

ooooh!!!!! that could be sweet....
thanks!!! seriously! good idea.

no one likes the persians or the monkeys??

[fmstlr]

puns are almost played out too.

I like the monkey one, but not as much as the beautiful lines of the traffic jam image

[yamchild]

the monkey one is cute... but i'm waiting for the traffic jam one! i like it fine either with or without :heart:

[slackerbot]

traffic jam is teh rulez all. :)

how about writing a simple "I Love LA" above or below the main graphic. or if you want to get crazy, "I Love LA" bumper sticker on one of the cars. might be too much detail work. but if you could implement the phrase in a subtle way, i think it would look cool.

[acid_squid]

this is fantastic... thanks everyone... the site has been up for a few weeks and I was really unsure about what kinda reactions I'd get if I posted here but I'm so glad I did. Shoulda done it sooner.

One of the cars in the jam is a cab with a billboard thing on the roof but I think it might be too tiny to fit in the LA slogan... will try it just to see if it's legible.

My biggest problem is figuring out the right size for the images because I like em to be big so people don't have to get all up on you to see what the shirt says but on the other hand, I'm finding that the curve of a girl's breasts can totally obscure the art - the girl in pink on the persian's page is an adorable model but you can't read the name because it's totally on the under curve... and this traffic one sorta needs to be big as well in order to have all the details print clearly...

[key_loser]

Damn, I just got the best idea for a shirt.


I'll see you all in a couple weeks.

[dimbulb]

hey acid_squid, i've never seen your work before, i dig it.

when i have money, which is probably, never, i'll hit you up for a shirt. and like the majority of the other kids, i want a traffic jam t. the graphics really nice... the I:heart:LA would take away form it, IMO.

can't wait to see more! good luck with your company!

[acid_squid]

the 'I :heart: LA' shirts are done and I think they look great. I'll have to take some pics this weekend. Meanwhile, for what it's worth... Matt Damon and Ben Affleck have been wearing one of the shirts I did for another small company called www.kowboys.net. Check it out... that's my squirrel!
http://www.chimni.com/pics/damon.caption.gif

[slackerbot]

dude! that's awesome! :cool:

[yamchild]

Originally posted by acid_squid
the 'I :heart: LA' shirts are done and I think they look great. I'll have to take some pics this weekend. Meanwhile, for what it's worth... Matt Damon and Ben Affleck have been wearing one of the shirts I did for another small company called www.kowboys.net. Check it out... that's my squirrel!
http://www.chimni.com/pics/damon.caption.gif

^this t-shirt is $125?! :eek:

erm.... hopefully you'll be charging a little less for the LA traffic t-shirt... is it going to be on your chimni site?

[650lex]

$125???
does it come with a hand job?

Awesomeness, j!

Cool shirts mang! :)

[acid_squid]

errrr.... I can't really comment on that $125 price tag since it's not my company but I will say that when I saw that on the site last night I was pretty shocked.

My stuff is in the $22 - $27 range although I'll be selling everything for less at this sample sale coming up:
http://www.findbazaar.com

[650lex]

i was hoping that was just a typo
but you know once celebrities start
doing free promotion - the prices start
to skyrocket...

[dragon chic]

acid, great site, love the t's, good job!

[slackerbot]

acid, do you hide your name/signature in your designs? if not, then you should totally do it. you can go up to Matt Damon and say that you made that shirt. if he doesn't believe you, then point out your sig in your design. and then tell him.. how do ya like dem apples, bitch! :D

[acid_squid]

No... I'm not smart enough to sneak my signature into the drawings.
I just posted about a sample sale that I'll be at this Saturday. You can see the girl's version of the 'I Love LA' shirt. The guy's is a bit different... I'm hoping you come see it in person. It's an all-day event and there should be some nice stuff there at decent prices... plus dj's and drinks and things like that. But yeah, it would be cool if people came out and said 'hi' to me.

I should be easy to find - I made a big Squid sign to go over my table.

[5.92]

Originally posted by acid_squid
cool!!!
what I'm working on is taking that drawing and adding 'I (heart) LA' into it but I'm not satisfied with the results... here, take a look and tell me what you think...

http://www.chimni.com/pics/city.gif

I like the top one a LOT! If you ever make shirts with that design, I want one. The bottom one's cool but its trying too hard as a t-shirt design. Even with the type in between the cars and the cityscape, it still looks disconnected. Maybe get rid of the I:heart:LA, squish the cars and buildings together (not worrying about being disproportionate) and throw your logo over that design with a complimentary color (so it vibrates) and youve got a t-shirt design as well as a gif for your splash page.

Another idea is to find old porn illustrations and make those into t-shirts. Since porn is mostly made in LA and this company's supposed to be down with LA, you should do that. The more fucked up porn illustrations, the better (ie; fisting etc)

Good luck and keep me posted on the top graphic being made into a shirt.

[acid_squid]

Hey 5.92, what I decided was that the traffic drawing was the thing I wanted to emphasize. The design you like might end up being made into a sticker/hang tag.

Anyway, I'm in the store and online. Check it out:
http://secure.giantrobot.com/search_results.php?keywords=chimni

[invictus]

I like the hot models!!!

Wait, are you like that American Apparel dude?!

[acid_squid]

hahahaha.
Well after I found out Hazel has a bunch of fans here, I figured I had to ride on her coat tails! I want to get pics of everyone though. *hint hint*

[invictus]

That would be interesting... Has Hazel been made aware that she has a following here?

[acid_squid]

yeah I showed her that 'Employee of the Month' thread ... I don't think she knew if she should laugh or cry.

[5.92]

Originally posted by acid_squid
Hey 5.92, what I decided was that the traffic drawing was the thing I wanted to emphasize. The design you like might end up being made into a sticker/hang tag.

Anyway, I'm in the store and online. Check it out:
http://secure.giantrobot.com/search_results.php?keywords=chimni
Oh that sucks!
If there's no shirt, I definately want a sticker.

[fmstlr]

http://secure.giantrobot.com/graphics/2004/05/04/evahundies.gif

Who will model this?

[acid_squid]

Guys version of the squid shirt:
http://secure.giantrobot.com/products.php?code=CHIMSQUID

Girls version of squidsies:
http://secure.giantrobot.com/products.php?code=CHIMSQUIDGRL

[invictus]

http://secure.giantrobot.com/graphics/2004/08/26/gamasuv.gif

This is bad ass....


Okay, and now back to CHIMNI FUNTIME!!!!

[ja.net]

http://www.ciunga.it/jxspeccy/arc/3.html?g=YOUNGONE

you were the first person who came to mind

[Doclogic]

Originally posted by acid_squid

Anyway, I'm in the store and online. Check it out:
http://secure.giantrobot.com/search_results.php?keywords=chimni

saturday went by the gr shop and the gf picked out I Love L.A. by Chimni - Asphalt T-shirt (http://secure.giantrobot.com/products.php?code=CHIMTRAFASP) for herself. was stoked, had it on my mental buy now list as well. real nice t. first class work acid_squid.

[acid_squid]

jah net - I like the way they drew Vyvyan but I wasn't smart enough to figure out what was going on. I sent Neil to the cupboard...

Doc - Awesome! Glad you like! It's really funny watching people in the store scrutinizing the L.A. shirts... some people like the guy version more and some like the girl version more. For girls that's fine but I watched 2 guys comparing and contrasting for about 10 minutes. I think they were trying to convince themselves that if they wanted to wear pink, they could get away with it. It was pretty funny to watch... especially since the 2 designs aren't that drastically different!
Thanks for your support!

[acid_squid]

in case anyone's interested, there's going to be a FREE rock show/ fashion show / yard sale / massage / BBQ thingy at the Echo this Sunday and some of my t-shirts will be in the fashion show part and I'll have a table where I'll be selling some shirts at a discount.
The Echo is at 1822 Sunset Blvd in Echo Park. Doors open at 3pm and it goes til 8pm or so.
Like I said, the whole thing is free although I think they're trying to get donations for Angel Pals which is a charity devoted to preventing child abuse.
There's an ad in the LA Weekly, too.

[acid_squid]

do you like this?
http://www.chimni.com/pics/kids.jpg

[35ft6]

Originally posted by acid_squid
awwww... but I thought irony could never be played out!!

I'm starting to think the same thing though... simplify and drop the heart... but at the same time I want people to get the sense of love/hate hometown pride that I have. I like the Heart with the traffic jam inside.

[acid_squid]

I scored a little mention on LA.com for GR and me.

http://www.la.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/cgpportal.woa/wa/path?urlpath=%2Fshopping%2Fguides%2Fholidaygiftguide%2F34632

[acid_squid]

the help I got here on my I Love LA shirts was really great so I'm going to throw out some new ideas and see if anyone has some advice or suggestions for me. Don't hold back.

First up is a kinda goofy idea that I still keep returning to.

http://www.chimni.com/pics/pimp.gif

Second one is another version of a design I already have. this one is really specific to the actual album covers from Missing Persons

http://www.chimni.com/pics/persian.gif

And the third is a drawing I did in college and I think it could look amazing as a big scrawl that covers a shirt from top to bottom with a lone spacecraft on the back or something.

http://www.chimni.com/pics/spacewar.jpg

PS- all of this is still rough of course, the drawings are just up to the level where you'll hopefully get what I'm trying to say. These are not finished pieces.
Thanks!

[slackerbot]

haha! :D

#1) the droid isn't pimp enough. you need to add some big ass rims on there. and maybe a more "urban" font for the lettering.

#2) i have that album. and i think this is hillarious. but i'm not sure most people will get it.

#3) i think it's a little overwhelming for a t-shirt. i would really like to see it broken down into smaller drawings and put on coffee mugs. make a whole series out of it. the lone spacecraft could be the milk/cream server. :D

[acid_squid]

awesome. thanks slackbotter! I was hoping you'd have something to say.

1 - it's a small drawing but I gave R2D2 whitewall tires, a front air scoop, headlights, a whale tail spoiler and side-mounted speakers. The question is... is the whole idea just kinda dorky?

2 - I'm ok with obscure

3 - breaking it up into smaller pieces like a plate, mug, milk server is really creative... wow. I never would have thought of that. It would be one of the strangest things I'd ever see... yeah, I'd want something like that in my house. but I imagine the production costs would be really high.

[slackerbot]

#1) the dorkiness is the appeal. :D you have other options.. Pimp My Robot, Pimp My Grandma. dress em like pimps with big hats and gold chains.

[invictus]

The cheese shirt is my favorite, and I don't even eat the stuff. It's all crazy and busy like Esther Pearl Watson shirts.

1-no more pimp my anything, please
2-not my taste
3-very busy, busy enough that few may actually like it and it would become rare and collectible some day :)

[acid_squid]

ok, so Pimp My... has been bludgeoned nearly as much as the Che Guevara image... that's what I was afraid of.

I still think goofy cat images that aren't made for cat fanciers are worth exploring.

I might like the idea of all-over t-shirt business more than I like the actual thing.

thanky you

[acid_squid]

Comic Con is coming up soon... and Chimni will be there with some brand new designs... and a gigantic foam core squid, if I'm lucky.

[herrokitty]

Originally posted by acid_squid
Comic Con is coming up soon... and Chimni will be there with some brand new designs... and a gigantic foam core squid, if I'm lucky.
http://www.makezine.com/blog/archive/2006/03/how_to_make_a_hot_wire_foam_cu.html
HOW TO - Make a hot wire foam cutter