Matt Lichtenwalner

Mobile mapper for Ushr - roaming the US and Canada constantly. Maybe a bit of art and/or writing here and there to spice things up.

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Trio of New Designs in My Storefront Matt Lichtenwalner 6/26 '23

Okay, y'all are probably sick of seeing that dragon's head at this point, but it kinda started something for me.

I've been really enjoying this super simple (technically speaking) technique. I do a very fast, rough 'pencil sketch', create a new layer, and just use a single ink brush which varies widely in line weight based on pressure applied to the stylus.

What that does: It makes it really easy for me to 'intentionally make mistakes'. Or as Bob Ross would say: "Happy little accidents." That, in turn, creates a kind of bold detail work. Lots of visual texture where my stuff is usually so very steryl in its cleanliness.

Also, these look like they would make for amazing stickers - which are also available on the site.

So I'm going to do some more. I'm trying to stick primarily to 'the heads of creatures of known types'. Dragon, bugbear, and I cheated a little with the goblin.

What kind of creature would you like to see next? Bonus if it's a type that live a VERY long time so I can use lots of lines to make it look 'grizzled and old'.

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6/26 '23 6 Comments
Ents live quite a while. And they've lots of fiddly bits if you like lines.
Rob
The Ents would object to being drawn quickly, of course. But you don't have to tell them.
Thomas Boutell
I won’t tell if you won’t.
Matt Lichtenwalner
Love it! Yes.
Matt Lichtenwalner
It just occurred to me...I don't know that I've ever seen you draw a wizard? Wizards can be old and grizzled.
Shannie
True, on all counts! Consider it added to the list!
Matt Lichtenwalner
 

Help a Guy Out? Matt Lichtenwalner 8/25 '20

The Big Picture

Okay, so I won't bore you with all the details, but one part of my plan to take over the world is through selling t-shirts on Amazon.

There's no money in this. Not really.

I still want to do it.

When you start out, you can only have a maximum of 10 designs at a time. You can swap them out, but no more than ten at once.

I have a TON of ideas that I would like to make, but there's a catch. You only get more 'slots' once you've sold something like 1 or more of each of those initial 10 designs.

My Idea

As far as I know, there's no rule against selling those initial designs at your cost. I'm okay not making any money on those.

So I thought I would offer this up to my friends and family: I'll design a shirt based on your specification, upload the design, and sell it to you and my cost (Amazon's 'base' price). The benefit to me is moving past that initial stage more quickly. The benefit to you is a t-shirt that you want at about as low a rate as you can get (I think it's something like $13.)

How You Take Part

Just comment below (or email me) with your idea and I'll get to work.

Guidelines:

  1. Can't use licensed stuff. If I draw Mickey Mouse, Disney will sue me into oblivion.
  2. Can't be foul (blatant bad language or graphic violence is not what I'm looking to do). Comic book violence or @&*#$! works as bad language.
  3. Please don't suggest stuff if you're not interested in buying a single shirt (or more) at the cheapest rate I can give you. It will just eat up my time, and you're not going to benefit from it anyway.

Anyone interested?

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8/25 '20 16 Comments
I'm interested but I have no clue on a design.
Karen Kuhl
Rog would most likely want to help, too.
Karen Kuhl
We should chat - perhaps on Monday?
Matt Lichtenwalner
Yes!
Karen Kuhl
THAT'S NOT A DRAGON.

Edited: Oh! There was a whole post there I didn't see! Lemme give it some thought...
Rob
Absolutely!

Out of curiosity - what dragon did you mean?
Matt Lichtenwalner
Oh, I just meant that it was dragon month and the image had no dragon. My backhanded way of encouraging your dragon project.
Rob
Ahhh! Thank you! I haven't forgotten. I'm just being Captain ADHD. I _will_ get back to it though because I want to use them for another side project after I finish them all.

(But srsly - thanks for the poke.)
Matt Lichtenwalner
Don’t use Amazon! TeePublic is much better, I promise you!
Lindsay Harris Friel
TeePublic’s prices seem steep. Tell your friends not to pay full price. You’re not trying to make a living here, you’re trying to get your art out into the world and visible, right? Your goal is more sales, not more money. Cripes, a family member of a FB friend that I barely know bought 5 of Ted’s t-shirts in one swoop when they were on sale.
Get on the TeePublic text message list for designers. I think there’s a designer forum, too. They let you know before TeePublic has a sale. Tell your friends to get on the mailing list so they know when a sale is coming up. Take your best art and re-mix it for holidays: back to school, Halloween, Christmas, Festivus, whatever. But for fuck’s sake, don’t let Bezos have a cent off of your content.
Lindsay Harris Friel
I already have a (large) list of ideas forming. Many of them are for Halloween since that's the next big holiday.
Matt Lichtenwalner
Think about what you wear when you want to make a statement, lately. For example, I have a shirt that I got from TeePublic that’s an orange, black and white design of a typewriter with a woman’s hands on the keyboard. It’s really pretty. I wear it when I have to deal with people that want to impress without trying too hard.

Don’t underestimate the coffee mug market, and because of the way TeePublic lays them out, you’ll want to make a separate design for that.
Lindsay Harris Friel
I will definitely be doing things in addition to tees, but I have to get to step 1 first. I'm all about the MVP. You know me. :P
Matt Lichtenwalner
This won't be an 'either / or' thing for me. Most of these sites don't require exclusivity, so I'll be uploading my 'real' designs to all of them. I just came up with this as a means to get past A's requirements at the lower levels.
Matt Lichtenwalner
Contacted at dragonbones.net.
nerdsholmferret
Got it! I'll reply via email to clarify things, but then I'll get on it!
Matt Lichtenwalner
 

Oh My How the Internet Has Grown Matt Lichtenwalner 11/23 '19

So this picture is from... ahem... a while ago. I was a big fan of the shirt (thanks to Jill "xtingu" Knapp for that!) and I went to look up a precise translation online. Google had nothing for me at the time.

Then I looked it up again a few years after that - still nothing.

I just did a Google Search again after stumbling on the image for the first time in a while and the top half a page or so is all a series of links to direct translations of this specific phrase. That just seems impressive to me.

These are the things I think about sometimes. I think I may need a hobby.

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11/23 '19 6 Comments
This makes me extremely happy.
Lindsay Harris Friel
Yay!
Matt Lichtenwalner
There's a phrase that needs the Castellar font.
Ray Conrad
Agreed!
Matt Lichtenwalner
What a great shot. :)
Karen Kuhl
It's sure is from a fun era. Miss Knapp's zest is infectious in the best possible way.
Matt Lichtenwalner