#i dont think the quality of the art is worth his already high prices + convention pricing but thats not my place to speak on

[fayewoodss]

unfortunately their con merch seems to usually be a bit disappointing so I don't think you're alone in that! there's a reason the critique is usually "bad designs". if you want to talk about it I think people will know you're coming at it from a place of wanting it to be better

(besides, we know the dream branding payoff is that it's great quality, so ultimately I'm okay with it being mostly bad designs)

I've mostly seen con talk on twitter where the discussions is OVERWHELMINGLY positive about the art and design. Now that I know the artist is Lauren, their head designer, I do feel more comfortable critiquing it because my first thought was they commissioned a kid/teen to do the art and I wouldn't feel comfortable giving them a critique.

Lauren is a great graphic designer and we see that in the regular DT merch but also the con merch. The layout of the panels in the comic, the use of text, overall composition are great for both the poster and the shirt. There are a few things design wise that show a lack of understanding for comic creation, but I'll give her a pass there because she isn't a comic designer and not within the industry of comics, so most of her design mistakes or misplacements are rookie mistakes and don't detract from the overall compositions. I think it's worth noting, but again, not the main point of my critique.

The main problem is the art.

Now, regardless of skill and technique, art is important and anyone and everyone should be allowed to create and share. But when you are creating art as a professional, critique is a requirement of the job and necessary to being an artist. The internet and how it approaches art culture is very anti-critique because they see critique as inherently negative criticism, not constructive feedback. So, when I saw the overwhelmingly positive response, I felt like sharing my opinion would immediately be shot down or misinterpreted. But I am a professional artist. I went to school for art. I am still very active in both the online and irl art communities and even have my work currently showing in a gallery, where I recently received praise and critique for. My opinion and my critique are not the end all be all and everyone is allowed to come to their own conclusions, but I very heavily preface with this because I need people to know I am coming from a place of good faith and genuine knowledge in the subject matter.

So, when I look at the actual art for the merch, my first thought is, "they should've hired an artist and not a designer." The main problem is that the art shows a lack of skill and understanding for illustration. The figures are awkward and stiff. The faces are asymmetrical and fail to properly convey likeness to the Dream Team. The linework and shading is sloppy and rushed. The biggest detractor to me with all of this is that everything appears to be heavily traced.

Now, people get up and arms about tracing. Tracing is a tool. It is by no means a bad tool or "cheating," and it is and will always be very important to art and illustration, but there is a difference in using tracing as a reference versus using it as a crutch. The merch art uses it as a crutch and this is obvious because of all the reasons I stated before: the figures are stiff and the movement is not gestural, the linework is sloppy and focuses more on getting in certain details rather than following lines that would be natural to the poses and the light source, and specific clothing items like Dream's harness and cape and Sapnap's shoes seem slapped on top of the figures without a reference and knowledge of perspective and construction. Another big arrow pointing to tracing is how the bodies and heads do not match up with the posing as the heads and bodies were clearly traced separately and then added together later. Note the lack of necks and, again, misunderstanding perspective and movement.

I think to best catch how this is traced without thought or editing is to look at the faces and the hands and see how the lines don't make sense for naturally capturing a figure.

I also think the shading and coloring are very poorly done and outright sloppy. The shading has a graphite texture to it which in the world of comics is just not a common texture. Comics were traditionally ink and traditional shading is very heavily graphic and focused on hard black shadows. For the merch art, this sorely sticks out more as it's right next to graphic linework and solid spots of color that were likely added via paint bucket tool. It breaks up harmony in the piece and instead of having the intended effect of drama, it's messy. On top of that, there are a lot of points where the color of the shading leaves the linework in a way that is clearly unintentional and does not add to the pose or movement of the characters.

A great resource for line work and graphic shading is Framed Ink. My copy is in storage, so I just pulled these from Amazon.

I also think the design of the characters could use some work in recognizability and communicating their powers more. Dream is obviously flying and has a cape in his signature green, but what about his mask? The smile is his brand and is undeniably important to his identity as both a character and a content creator, but it's completely missing from his character. George is the most recognizable and has the clout goggles and Supreme shirt. His powers are clearly communicated and play off his name well, but why are the goggles clear and what is with the clocks on his shoulders. The design choice there adds more confusion to his abilities and character. And Sapnap... Well.. Sapnap is ginger and that's all I'll say there.

To sandwich my critique with a bit more positive, I think the concept is very effective and fun! I like the idea of putting them into the comic world and making them superheroes. It's cheesy, but it has a great sense of playfulness and nostalgia, and might even have the ability to bring in a new audience if they continue with this idea. I've said before that I think Dream could really capitalize on the graphic novel/comic industry if he were to bring some of his Minecraft stories, or other ideas, to that format. Obviously he would have to remove Minecraft from it to avoid copyright, but my point still stands. I know this is likely a one-off merch design for the special event, but I think they could really play off the superhero idea, and if they get a good artist that can actually do comic work (pick ME, choose ME, love ME!!! /ref /j), they could make a short and fun comic run that I think a lot of people would enjoy. Again, all they really need is a competent artist and some character design changes to clearly communicate their story and it would be awesome!

It's important to recognize that comics are digital now and there is a lot more variety in tools and textures that are used, but since this is trying to emmulate classic comic art, I think it's important to share the traits and history of traditional comics. There is a lot of a bad comic art in the comic industry, of course (coughrobliefeldcough), but there is still and understanding of comics and comic culture within bad comic art that is lost in the Dream Team merch. Below I'm sharing some photos that show a wide range of comics and comic resource books that cover a wide range of traditional to modern to cult/zine comics. I was actively referencing them writing this and want to clarify that the world of comics is very broad and ever changing, but when they are referencing the classic superhero action/adventure story, there are certain standards and traditions in play.

Some pages from Spider-Man 1965, specifically notice the use of black as graphic shading, graphic and clean line work, and also minimal backgrounds to make the characters stand out more.

Kick-Ass Volume 1 for an example that isn't classic superhero, uses modern comic coloring, but still consistent with line work and incorporating it into movement and shading. Sorry about the blood, this comic is very fucking violent.