General discussion about Usagi Yojimbo, the comics, the stories, the characters, collectibles, TV appearances, Stan Sakai, Space Usagi, Nilson & Hermy, and all other related topics.
OMG, that's beautiful!!! How did you do that? Did you use Illustrator and "extract" all the images? I'm a noob when it comes to digital manipulation. I LOVE how that came out! You even did the chop logo and everything!
Do you do this professionally?
I'm just an amateur Photoshop hobbiest. I've played around with Photoshop for fun over the years and used a trick or two I learned from "how-to" videos my aforementioned friend Rob makes. It took about an hour start to finish and I didn't do a super perfect job, but I knew it would be shrunk down for this post so my lack of fine skills wouldn't be too obvious.
Going back to the topic of prints, I don't think offering multiple sizes of the same art is worth the inventory headache. 11x17 is still my size of choice if picking any one particular size. Is it the plan to sell mostly at conventions, or in the online store as well?
Haha, so humble! That was really incredible! To be honest, I don't care if you're an amateur or you graduated from the Art Institute! As long as the product looks good, that's all that matters to me.
Do you want to work on projects like this with me?
I can pay you in comics? Hahahaha.
But seriously, I would compensate you for your time, of course.
I really want to launch stuff like this, and I just don't have the time to edit it myself, since I suck at Photoshop. You can think about it and let me know. Thanks!
Yes, I think 11 x 17 should work at least to start. That's what Rob said he uses. I'll see how the artwork looks in that format. I may have to switch out sizes depending on the art.
Hey I just thought of something, Usagi Cell Phone Cases! Does anyone know a good company to go through? It's a hassle with inventory again, but I was thinking of just going with Iphone and Android. Those things sell really well too.
dhfujii wrote:Hey I just thought of something, Usagi Cell Phone Cases! Does anyone know a good company to go through? It's a hassle with inventory again, but I was thinking of just going with Iphone and Android. Those things sell really well too.
When it comes to Android I'd suggest just going with whatever Samsung model is the most recent. You'll end up losing some people but this seems to be what most companies do. Samsung outsells all other android phone models by far.
(I have a OnePlus 2, feel free to make an exception haha!)
Regarding shirts I want to mention this one from a few years ago that I found mentioned here and shown on the FB group.
As someone that prefers to show my fandom in a slightly more subdued/subtle way this shirt really appeals to me. I would be content to even remove Usagi on the back and just keep the front text and kanji on the back. I really like stuff like this that will fly under the radar for everyone but hardcore fans. Bioware has done a great job with some of the Mass Effect clothing they offer through their store: http://www.biowarestore.com/brands/mass ... ?gender=25
"N7" is ubiquitous with Mass Effect but only fans of the series will really get the reference.
I would suggest considering some subtle options as well. While the Evil Usagi shirt looks cool it's not really my style. For a t-shirt it's a little too "loud" for me if that makes sense? Some suggestions would be kanji, the Usagi logo, the chop logo, and Usagi's, Tomoe's, or Gen's clan symbols. What about a polo shirt with Usagi's clan symbol embroidered where the lacoste alligator would go?
Another idea for a shirt I had would show two swords printed on the side as if tucked into a belt to mimic Usagi. You could go minimalist and just show the swords or color the shirt to look like Usagi's shirt as well. Maybe this last idea isn't very good, I dunno. Just brainstorming.
OnitsukaTiger wrote:Another idea for a shirt I had would show two swords printed on the side as if tucked into a belt to mimic Usagi. You could go minimalist and just show the swords or color the shirt to look like Usagi's shirt as well. Maybe this last idea isn't very good, I dunno. Just brainstorming.
I like the idea of the two swords. Maybe with the same Usagi kanji on the back like the picture you shared above. The shirt you shared is the only Usagi one I own, as I'm not a fan of white shirts (the majority of the current shirt offerings).
On another subject, one other thing to consider is the shirt material and supplier. I'm a huge fan of the American Apparel and Gildan 50/50 cotton and polyester blends (I'm sure there are other companies making the poly-cotton blends as well). They are so much softer than my 100% cotton shirts and seem to look nicer as well as age better too.
This is a premature announcement for Usagi products, but I wanted to throw it out to you guys first. There's going to be a new Usagi Yojimbo coloring book soon! Apparently coloring books for adults is quite the popular thing nowadays, so we're pretty close to putting this out. When it's ready, I'll show it on FB. As for the shirts, we haven't come to a conclusion with the person inquiring about the licensing just yet, but so far it looks pretty good. He's got a lot of ideas in mind for Usagi products!
I know I'm late to the party but I have always wanted a print of David Peterson's illustration of the 4 seasons of Usagi. I think it was from comic 144? I talked to Stan and Brian about it but neither wanted to step in the other's toes.
Last edited by Antizombie on Sat Mar 05, 2016 16:10 -0700, edited 1 time in total.
