A shadow falls across the room. A single raven caws. The winners of the Gothic Aesthetic Design Contest arrive to reveal the secrets of their success in this interview.
In May 2023 we invited the designers in star classes 3, 4 & 5 to give free rein to their twisted fantasies. In keeping with the Dark Academia trend and the sinister success of the Netflix series Wednesday, the competition motto was short and sweet: Gothic aesthetics. Can’t stand the suspense? Meet our deliciously dark winners and let yourself gasp at their insights and tips.
Design Contest Top 3
1st place – The white crow by Monsieur Mouton
Monsieur Mouton icily snatched 1st place in our competition. His design skillfully combines the contrasts between floral elements and the bird most beloved of Edgar Allan Poe and Alfred Hitchcock. The crowning glory at the center of the design is the eerily unfamiliar white crow itself.
2nd place – Dark visions by jo bullfinch
In 2nd place we have Dark Visions by jo bullfinch. In love with detail and filigree, the designer opens a view into dark expanses. The gloomy hidden object has it all: classic elements like skulls and lunar phases meet geometric and curved structures.
3rd place – Gothic girl by kimprut
What can we say? This bittersweet design by kimprut fascinated us and won its way into the top 3. Dark academia combines with the morbid cuteness of butterflies in black and white and reminds us of Wednesday Addams great moments thanks to the girl’s delicate face.
Interview with 3 vampires
Are you brave enough to take a peek behind the scenes of these terribly beautiful designs? In this interview, the winners told us what inspired them and how their designs were created – with a few little tips for successful creative work thrown in.
Say Salut to Monsieur Mouton from France
Name: David Guigue aka Monsieur Mouton
Residence: Sarlat en Périgord Noir in France
Profession: River technician
Software: Procreate, Photoshop, Illustrator
Hardware: iPad Air, paper pencils, drawing pens from 0.05 to 0.8 mm, watercolor paints
1. What styles and artists have influenced you the most?
I love the work of John Howe, illustrating Tolkien’s world, but I also like the work of animal artists, from watercolor field sketches to hyperrealism, such as those of Julie Rhodes, Kiley Busko, Sophie Green, Marcello Pettineo … Also really appreciate the pencil illustrations of Kerby Rosanes, those of Pighans, Ivan Belikov, Alex Hovey, Will Toulan, Alex Rieger.
2. Where do you get the inspiration for your designs?
I am thoughtful by nature and passionate about nature and ornithology. I dabble in wildlife photography and naturalistic illustrations. Often my inspiration comes from there, but I’m also a big fan of puns and like to laugh at everything. I’m a pretty good listener, my drawings are often humorous.
I am inspired by fantasy, imagination, poetry, medieval fantasy worlds, dragons and other animal poetry.
My design for the contest is a mix of my passion for birds and my fondness for fantasy animals.
Tattoo designed by Monsieur Mouton
3. How do you create your designs? How long did it take you to create your contest design?
I draw my ideas on paper and refine them as I go until I have the image I like best. Since I have the iPad, I take a picture of the drawing, open it in Procreate and trace it with the pen, refine the details and colorize …
Otherwise, I trace my drawing on paper with a precision pen, scan it, and open it in Illustrator to finish and color it.
I think it took me 3 to 4 hours to do the contest design.
4. Was this your first (Spreadshirt) design contest or have you participated in other contests?
No, I like Spreadshirt contests.
Astro swim designed by Monsieur Mouton
5. What themes would you like to see in future design contests?
I’m not sure, how about: Sea, Dragon, Forest, or an animal crossover (a mix of different types of animals)?
6. Do you have any tips for other designers who would like to participate in the contest?
Have fun, don’t take yourself too seriously, especially draw for yourself 😉
Thank you, David, for these exciting insights! 🙂
Surfing makes me alive designed by Monsieur Mouton
You can find other designs by Monsieur Mouton on Facebook, Instagram and of course in his Spreadshirt showroom.
Say Hallo to jo bullfinch from Germany
Name: Julia
Place of residence: Ruhr area
Profession: Self-employed creative
Software: I use Gimp, Inkscape and Affinity, often in combination.
Hardware: I own a classic, self-assembled PC and otherwise like to work analog with various drawing tools.
1. Which styles and artists have influenced you the most?
I can’t say if a certain style or draftsman has influenced me.
You can’t tell from my designs, but I’ve always had a soft spot for the classical old masters, especially da Vinci, Rembrandt, Rubens, but also van Gogh, etc. I love the Baroque, the Baroque style. I love the baroque, but I also get inspired by street art and comics. My inclination towards minimalist designs probably stems from my training as a GTA (design technical assistant), where it was always “reduce, reduce, reduce …”.
2. Where do you get the inspiration for your designs?
I don’t really have a specific source of inspiration. I look for most of my inspiration on the internet, if I already have a rough idea of where I want to go. Sometimes I find it in everyday life, during a refreshing walk in the woods or in computer games and other media. Even when casually browsing through an encyclopedia, art book or the like, I find interesting topics, terms or images now and then that I can process.
Fresh start designed by jo bullfinch
3. How do you create your designs? How long did it take you to create your contest design?
With a little luck I have, as with my competition design, immediately a (rough) idea and can start directly with the (pre-)drawing. Usually I do this with pencil, ruler and simple image composition methods, like the golden ratio. Otherwise, the preliminary work takes much longer, including research, small scribbles or simple mind mapping. After the preliminary drawing usually follows a final drawing with fineliner or ink, occasionally I work directly with pencil and other drawings as well as handmade textures, which I then edit on the PC, combine, digitally prepare. Small experiments with different methods and utensils are always somehow part of my work process anyway, in which I can often lose myself. So I also used the whole two weeks for my competition design and would have liked to have had a little more time for improvements. However, this would probably have been the case even with three or four weeks of work.
4. Was this your first (Spreadshirt) design contest or have you participated in other contests before?
I have already participated in several contests, both Spreadshirt design contests and some textile pattern design contests. I won once in the latter.
Please ring – dark textiles designed by jo bullfinch
5. What topics would you like to see in future design contests?
I am open-minded and like to be surprised, even by completely weird, unusual and unexpectedly unpredictable topics.
6. Do you have any tips for other designers who would like to participate in the competition?
What is always true: Don’t let yourself be discouraged. (Easier said than done.)
Other than that, all I can say is: If you love what you do, you’ve already won anyway.
Thanks for your time and motivating words, Julia! 🙂
Mars Vintage designed by jo bullfinch
Check out more beauty from jo bullfinch on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and in her Spreadshirt showroom.
Say Salam to kimprut from Indonesia
Name: Aprinna Liliyan
Residence: Indonesia
Profession: Freelance artist
Software: Procreate
Hardware: iPad
1. What styles and artists have influenced you the most?
My style is funny and kawaii art. Artists that have influenced me are Illustrate, Vincent Trinidad and ppmid.
2. Where do you get the inspiration for your designs?
Inspiration comes from everywhere. Sometimes when I’m alone in my room, when I’m driving, even on the toilet ideas come to me randomly. And on Pinterest I also look for inspiration.
I Love Sushi designed by kimprut
3. How do you create your designs? How long did it take you to create your contest design?
Actually, gothic is not my main style, so I looked at a lot of POD websites and Pinterest and adapted them to my style. Then I decided to draw a cute girl in a gothic dress, with some butterflies around her, all in black and white. The whole process took about three days.
4. Was this your first (Spreadshirt) design contest or have you participated in other contests before?
I have often participated in Threadless contests.
Happy Ramen Noodles designed by kimprut
5. What topics would you like to see in future design contests?
I would be very happy if you held the contest regularly, I imagine themes like:
– Japanese food
– Cottagecore/Goblincore
– Dark Academia
– Nature
– Minimalism
– National Parks
– Healthy Living
6. Do you have any tips for other designers who would like to participate in the competition?
Be yourself, be unique, just do it and then give it to God.
Aprinna, thank you for your answers and the insights into your creative work! 🙂
Cherry Blossoms Juice designed by kimprut
There is much more to see from kimprut: on Instagram and, as always, in her Spreadshirt showroom.
We are so happy to have had the chance to get to know our winners a little better, and we hope their tips help you in your design journey. Looking forward to reuniting with them (and you) in the next contest!
Have any questions for our designers or for us? Ask them here in the comments!
Perfect theme just before Halloween. Love the outfits!