It’s hard to believe, but on September 27th Emptees will be one year old. Emptees has come a long way since we first launched. Thousands of wonderful people have joined our community and submitted thousands of amazing designs.
Best of all, we receive a lot of email from people saying their skills and their business have significantly improved due to Emptees, and we think that’s just awesome.
Anyway, we’ve had an idea floating around a while about doing a collaborative tee, and we figured what better time to do it than our first birthday?!
The Idea
Emptees will sponsor a tee design collaboration between members of our community. Anyone can submit a design to be included, and a curator will take these designs and mold them into a finalized tee design.
Afterwards, we’ll pay to have the shirts printed and then they’ll be sold at a fair price, with contributors receiving their tees at cost. All proceeds will go back to help fund Emptees’ bandwidth and hosting costs, and continued development and maintenance.
The Theme
By popular demand, the theme will be ZOMBIES!
Your zombie must consist of no more than 3 colors, and fill at least top to bottom of a 6” x 6” canvas at 300 DPI. Keep in mind that it might shrink down a little, so super small details might not show through in the final print.
The colors that you make your zombie should be Black, 50% Grey, and White. However, that will not be the final color that your zombie is printed. That is only to ensure consistency in color separations for printing preparation! Yay!
The Deadline
To get things ready in time for our anniversary, we need all designs submitted on or before Sunday September 14th.
Email your zombie with the subject ZOMBIE using the Contact link in the footer.
The Future
We’ve had a lot of fun with Emptees, and we hope you have to. We’ve got a lot of cool stuff planned for the future, and if this collaboration tee is a hit, we’d love to start doing this more often with other themes.
Either way, thank you for being part of our little community.
152 Comments
faithbydesign said 2 months ago
Holy shiznit! Im gonna do mine this weekend!
MykeCatastrophic said 2 months ago
Good form!
Im definitely getting in on this.
jimiyo said 2 months ago
We should all go and click on the ads in the resource section as a thanks!
ihearithurts said 2 months ago
Those arent ads. Those are all submitted by Emptees users for free.
jimiyo said 2 months ago
hahah. duuurrrr. i thought i saw ads in there man.
well... you should have ads then. subsidize or something. id click and browse.
MykeCatastrophic said 2 months ago
Yeah I was about to say... Emptees doesnt have ads.
DrewGliever said 2 months ago
any idea of what the color palette will be? i think magenta/blue/black on a white tee would still be the best choice
and no more logo tee? :(
ihearithurts said 2 months ago
Wow, that means a lot. I think its ok to be sappy on your birthday right?!
LitoQ said 2 months ago
Im so with this!
AYYOGOLDSTEIN said 2 months ago
gotta get in on this
MykeCatastrophic said 2 months ago
Magenta/blue/black on a zombie?
DrewGliever said 2 months ago
absolutely!
ihearithurts said 2 months ago
We were hoping to wait to pick a color palette until the designs are combined and finalized and we could see what would work best. Does that sound good to you guys?
DrewGliever said 2 months ago
for sure!
though the best way to do that may be to select 3 tones, so that when changed on the final print the contrast in each design isnt lost?
if that makes sense.
Killer Napkins said 2 months ago
im down .. fiercely down... very fiercely
sittingduck said 2 months ago
am i allowed to do my crazy halftone seperations if its going to be shrunk down possibly? Ive got some great ideas to have a super grungy zombie, but i dont want it to get shrunk and look like doodoo.
LitoQ said 2 months ago
so just work in b&w for now?
DrewGliever said 2 months ago
thats what Im suggesting, yeah.. and then match the color palette to those tones.. we need the tones first though!
and thats if matt wants to go along with it.
gaunty said 2 months ago
ihearithurts said 2 months ago
Per jimmy: highly contrasting (ex. Magenta, Blue, Black)
Depending on how many submissions we get, we may have to shrink designs down quite a bit. So you might want to play it safe.
ihearithurts said 2 months ago
Were open to color suggestions. Lets hear em.
derekdeal said 2 months ago
just my thing, id like to see all line art and shading in emptees greys and then a red spot color for things like blood and eyes on a white tee.
Mr.Stan Geek said 2 months ago
Blue,Red,Black, brown, white
DrewGliever said 2 months ago
Joey said 2 months ago
i like the idea of having some sort of relation to the site with the colors.
DrewGliever said 2 months ago
ooh.. that sounds like fun.
stremph said 2 months ago
That could be cool. And probably a good way to keep the contrast there should the colors change - black, 50% gray and a spot.
Joey said 2 months ago
yes, that
JeffK said 2 months ago
why not just submit deigns in one color? then whoever puts them all together can do the color scheme? wouldnt that be easiest? i dunno maybe...
But emptees has definatly helped me out alot since i got on here!
THANKS EMPTEES HAPPY ALMOST 1 YEAR OLD!!!
DrewGliever said 2 months ago
usually graphic artists prefer to color in their own linework... though, this gave me a fun idea;
we could take this collab to the NEXT LEVEL and trade artwork to be colored!
might be a little ridiculous and time consuming, but Im sure some fun would come of it.
JeffK said 2 months ago
yea thats true...im just sayin i guess it would be easier...but i would trade artwork but im not good at ombie drawigns soo...i made a zombie cat lol
t.rupp said 2 months ago
excited!
altercrisis said 2 months ago
so use multiple colors or 1?
hideouscarwreck said 2 months ago
i love emptees, just sayin'.
corefolio said 2 months ago
deh!
heythequickness said 2 months ago
best idea ever. Now I have something to work on.
collisiontheory said 2 months ago
Wow im in! I like these suggestions.
M.Eureka said 2 months ago
HOLY! im entering this :D
Terror said 2 months ago
im in! im gonna get crackin at it now.
jimmyheartcore said 2 months ago
The reason behind the coloring being high contrast is so when the designs are all color separated and combined, they will be easy to combine if the colors are contrasting.
The magenta/blue/black were just the first colors that popped into my head. That is also why I was saying that the final colors would be different.
I figure that the best way to choose the colors is to get all the designs in, combine them, and offer different color options to choose from in a vote. Its going to be difficult picking out the best colors without the design to look at.
Feel meh?!
ryanmiller said 2 months ago
this is gonna be awesome
DrewGliever said 2 months ago
that makes sense.. which is why I suggested we settle on tones before then, so that how much contrast is in someones design doesnt get all fucked up with the new color choices.
Am I just not making any sense here?!
Ameeee said 2 months ago
altercrisis said 2 months ago
so if my design is 2 colors thats fine?
cause i have a sketch, i just need to gorify it
sittingduck said 2 months ago
apparently you didnt learn this part. :D haha
sittingduck said 2 months ago
yea, we gotta decide on colors first, I nominate black/rgb green/white on a purple tee :D
mitchbones said 2 months ago
YES!
altercrisis said 2 months ago
or purple, white, and rgb green on a black tee, but a purple tee would be cool
M.Eureka said 2 months ago
tee:white
design:grey and red
jimmyheartcore said 2 months ago
Everyone should forget picking the pallet before hand. Theres no way to tell what the design will look best as until we have a finished design.
altercrisis said 2 months ago
will you be accepting everyones design until sunday? or until you get a certain number??
sittingduck said 2 months ago
yea, but my style of work really requires a color pallette. and as far as ive seen the most badassical zombie shirts include these four colors white, rgb green, black, and purple, either of those can be the shirt color, and either can be the spot colors, but if i have at least that much to work with then Im good to go.
ihearithurts said 2 months ago
We will take everyones design until the deadline. If we receive too many designs, well deal with that later.
Nate said 2 months ago
I didnt get here RIGHT at the start, but I have loved every minute of (almost) a year.
Booyah.
quakerninja said 2 months ago
Happy Birthday Emptees, Thanks for jumping in to break up the cat fights, and all the neat little features. Most of all letting us be us, Its as close to a family as you can get on the interwebs. I would really like to see a physical store in the future, even if its in Foor a duh.
All right than carry on.
ryanmiller said 2 months ago
so true... i was asking my g/f tonight if she thought it was weird how a web site is such a big part of my life.. she just laughed at me.
its so true though. emptees is such a big part of my life, as stupid as that sounds. i feel like i know all of you guys, haha. its come to the point where i see someone wearing a shirt and im like "oh my friend designed that!" and then whoever im with calls me out and is like "you mean an emptees friend?" and im like "yeah". good times.
quakerninja said 2 months ago
can I send an illustrator file its much more easy to sep and change colors, resize and what not.
sittingduck said 2 months ago
i like to say "hey a designer i know did that!"
gaunty said 2 months ago
Apart from the size are there any other specifications like can we just do a face or is it whole body?
wotto said 2 months ago
This is a moment of genius.
should there be a 3 color pallette decided?
Randomentity said 2 months ago
haha, i do the same thing. its crazy. ive been here for almost that entire year as well.
I loves you guys, and the what, 6 girls?? haha.
Ill be working on this today.
Ameeee said 2 months ago
Haha same, and everytime I say "my friends" I feel slightly weird and then end up looking bizarre for having internet friends. I dont care, I love you all too!!!
skullface said 2 months ago
hahahaha I hear that a lot too!
and I guess Ill practice my zombie drawing...
Randomentity said 2 months ago
there better be zombies by YOU AND LEILA!!!! This I Command!
skullface said 2 months ago
zombies in exchange for phone call, maybe
jimmyheartcore said 2 months ago
Lets do this.
Black outline.
50% Grey.
White.
That way, we can interchange any negative space in your zombie with either the hilight, or shadow - depending on what the shirt color we choose is.
altercrisis said 2 months ago
thank you jimmy, what would we do without you
how about those 3 colors on purple or green
ceccepp said 2 months ago
im gonna in...!!!!
Mikey said 2 months ago
JBennettDesigns said 2 months ago
god i read things so late! Im stoked!!!
jumpy said 2 months ago
oh yeah im in!!
altercrisis said 2 months ago
mine has half of a body, but i dont want to be the only one
JeffK said 2 months ago
...shiit happens ya know? im not a english teacher and i drew a zombie cat lol
gaunty said 2 months ago
Do we send them to Jimmy?
ihearithurts said 2 months ago
From up top: Email your zombie with the subject ZOMBIE using the Contact link in the footer.
gaunty said 2 months ago
God I´m retarded, thanks, sent.
JBennettDesigns said 2 months ago
I sent mine! let me know if it comes through because occasionally my email wont send!
altercrisis said 2 months ago
will it have the emptees logo anywhere on it? like mybe someone could zombify the logo to go on it somehow
ez-kun said 2 months ago
Bang! will send my today...you can check it out in the zombie thread...
the details will be a problem, there are already too many kickass designs there:)
i came from nothing said 2 months ago
cool im gonna start mines today...bu this makes no sense to me
"Email your zombie with the subject ZOMBIE using the Contact link in the footer."
what link - what email address, what footer, what page?
sorry if Im a dumb ass...
quakerninja said 2 months ago
Contact at emtees dot com
ez-kun said 2 months ago
the high res file? i suppose...
Kevvbo said 2 months ago
This is way cool....i going to try and churn one out tonight!
nelloforesto said 2 months ago
ooook. im in.
LaurieShipley said 2 months ago
Ha, this will be amazing! I dont think I have time to submit unfortunately.
quakerninja said 2 months ago
Bolderdash, ya got to. Pleeeese.
ceccepp said 2 months ago
SENT!!!!
altercrisis said 2 months ago
so is it going to be like white, black and grey on purple or something?
vonmonkey said 2 months ago
SENDED!
ez-kun said 2 months ago
ihearithurts...
just out of curiosity...how many zombies did you received so far?
downrodeo said 2 months ago
got a question. Can we re-use our zombie once you guys have printed? I mean, like, on another tee?
quakerninja said 2 months ago
ihearithurts said 2 months ago
Hey everyone.. sorry for the lack of updates. Weve received a lot of zombies, and well be going through them next week once the deadline is passed. Well have more info for you then, but for now, keep em coming!
LitoQ said 2 months ago
sent!
DCAY said 2 months ago
I been outta town with limited computer access. So glad I got back in time to contribute to this! Im all over it!
bloodboy said 2 months ago
Oh Yes That`s a great Idea :)
radiomode said 2 months ago
any preview?
hideouscarwreck said 2 months ago
hahaha, what?!
quakerninja said 2 months ago
I second that just trace your yearbook pic. leave the eyes blank.
Time Without the E said 2 months ago
100
make planes not waste said 2 months ago
oh gutted. only just saw this and i really wanna be a part of it!!!! I am in the UK so how many hours are you behind? I have got a sketch already done and wondered how long I have got to finish it before deadline is over?
heres the sketch:
make planes not waste said 2 months ago
getting there - racing against the clock:
ThinkBaker said 2 months ago
done.... ;)
make planes not waste said 2 months ago
finished and emailed over the gray white and black one - hope its in time.
here is the colored version...

RockyRoark said 2 months ago
Well i submitted mine around lunch.
zombiekid said 2 months ago
It would be cool if they did this as an all-over print...
ryanmiller said 2 months ago
shit.. i missed the deadline.. ive been on tour and didnt have time to work on something. i finally have an off day tomorrow too
make planes not waste said 2 months ago
I think they are putting them all togther as an all over....
JoeBaronDesign said 2 months ago
im pretty mad I missed it...I thought I had more time, if I could send it tonight i would
faithbydesign said 2 months ago
is there anyway we can extend this to tonight? I just got home from Kansas City and really want to be a part of this.
bandwagonmerch said 2 months ago
what were you in KC for? Thats where I live!
faithbydesign said 2 months ago
Chiefs home opener....paid $800 for the whole trip to see the chiefs lose :(
bandwagonmerch said 2 months ago
i love the chiefs. But I love the royals more. KC WHAAT. You from here or something? It was a bummer they lost..
Dave!PTS said 2 months ago
I say balls to the Zombie theme, heres my idea.. a tribute to Matt and the rest of IndieLabs for giving the design community a place to slack off work and a site that everyone claims theyre not addicted to, when in fact its actually the most addictive site on the interweb since 2girls1cup browned its way onto our monitors (dont look for that, its horrible).
Cheers Matt! Right.. back to work, actually.. ill just check the talk section one more time..
LitoQ said 2 months ago
i need that!... except I want mine to say:
you are the minoritee
ThinkBaker said 2 months ago
ihearithurts said 2 months ago
Haha. I love that Eric never gets any credit.
zombiekid said 2 months ago
Well anyway I presumed thats what they were doing initially, Matt you should make sure its an all over print if you guys arent already doing it. I reckon it would look so much better! haha
Cole said 2 months ago
wait... who!?
andrE w. said 2 months ago
but i hate all over prints
DrewGliever said 2 months ago
yeah man.. fuck that.
heavyprints said 2 months ago
I dont care if they print it 2x2 inches on the pocket. I will be in possession of this garment.
Quit whining.
stremph said 2 months ago
Im 99% sure it wont be an all over.
MykeCatastrophic said 2 months ago
Thank you.
ez-kun said 2 months ago
phiuh! great news. i cant wait to see how the composition will look like. ALSO, please get Moss to put it all in one piece...:)
zombiekid said 2 months ago
Fair enough I guess everyone has their own opinions
DrewGliever said 2 months ago
..some more valid than others.
skullface said 2 months ago
Im so excited for this shirt!
LitoQ said 2 months ago
I concur
alexgoldstein said about 1 month ago
Its crazy to think that its been a year. Wow...
justgeoff said about 1 month ago
Thank fucking god. I hate all over prints.
Cole said about 1 month ago
except for yours. yours is totally an all over print.
justgeoff said about 1 month ago
oh the irony!
jimmyheartcore said about 1 month ago
On lemon yellow.
DCAY said about 1 month ago
Noticed the vote is gone... what was the result???
edit: according to other thread, guess its not gonna make it.
altercrisis said about 1 month ago
mock anytime soon?
M.Eureka said about 1 month ago
Pleaaasse!
skullface said about 1 month ago
pretty please!
jumpy said about 1 month ago
with a cherry on top!
Matthew88 said about 1 month ago
60% said they didnt want it on the tee, so it wont be.
skullface said 3 days ago
?
ihearithurts said 3 days ago
According to jimmy, they shipped last night.
skullface said 3 days ago
eee, awesome!
Cole said 3 days ago
meant to put these up....
Kolby said 3 days ago
yesssssssssssssssss
DrewGliever said 3 days ago
hells yeahh!
volatile v said 3 days ago
BONER!
Ameeee said 3 days ago
Holy SHIT - epic print. Better than I ever thought. Very excited to receive this in the mail sometime!
ez-kun said 3 days ago
looks better than good. cant wait. erection day, V!!!!
Cole said 2 days ago
yea man. shit is massive. girls smalls look EPIC!
heythequickness said 2 days ago
Did they ship on Monday?
aleph13 said 2 days ago
Holy crap! Had to buy one...