Here’s something for you free lance graphic artists ripping off the real ones to consider… I sat in a hot, sweaty room in 2005 and created this Bear design (the one on the left) for a t shirt with my boy DRFTR when he was just 17 years old. Talk about up and coming. My first thoughts about the Bear were less than satisfied but it grew on me and soon I was impressed with the innovation and genius behind it’s simplicity and with us as young TFL designers.
I figure the “creation” of the bear on the right (first spotted in 2007/8) went down like this. The monster had a deadline and some kid found his “inspiration” after either seeing my shirt around town or after visiting some myspace galleries. It must have been getting late and he/she needed to make that deadline. I never actually saw anyone wearing this shirt and in fact the only shop where I saw it had only one and it just sat on the shelf. Anyway, Im not saying I was ripped off but I’ll let you be the judge whether my design was swiped or not. I love this game. Expect me to beat the dead bear. I will always print this design in different colors and in different ways as long as TFL is around. Imitation is the finest form of flattery after all.
What do you think? Post your thoughts in the comment section after the jump. I’d love to get your take on the situation.
