That’s a question we’d like to know! Technically, none of them passed the 20 point limit, but we’re dying for new designs (yep – we took too long to accept submissions)!

What would you guys think if we still picked the one with the highest points and declare it as a winner?

Would that be fair?

I put this on Facebook and Twitter a few months back but it’s nice to keep a record of it on the blog.

Z is a friend of mine, and she sent me this picture:

Feeling the desert sun with League of Extraordinary.

We’ve sent updates via Twitter and Facebook, however, someone emailed us looking at the site and said it seems there hasn’t been activity lately.

I’m here to tell you that starting tomorrow, we’ll be voting again! We wanna come up with more awesome designs and we can only rely on our super awesome community to take the lead.

Now, I have to start going through the submissions. ;)

Rainy season’s here, but we’re saying NO to gloomy days and throwing an online sale for you guys.

Simply enter the coupon code “20rain2010” when you check out.

BUT HUWAIT!

We’re we’ll throw in a free Infiltration shirt if you buy 3 tees online.

Sale only until August 31.

Start shopping before we run out of stocks for you!

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Exceptions to the sale are Heroes in our Midst and Infiltration.

How to buy online? Watch this.

Women’s obsession with shoes and bags have been here for eons. Don’t ask me how it started, it must’ve been programmed into my genes when I was born.

Fast forward to today and I find myself smitten with so many locally crafted fashion accessories, one of them being FabManila.

Imagine my surprise when they contacted us for a FaceOff!

I first saw them during the YabangPinoy Bazaar 2009 and kept leaving our TIS booth to ogle at their many bag products. But what stole my heart right away was their awesome, folding, cloth pencil case.

Come on! Tell me that’s NOT cool. If you’re a pen freak like me, those pencil cases are perfect for your collection. I’ve raved about them to countless others.

They have an eye (can I say, gift?) to meld gorgeous design + functionality so beautifully. Really. Just take a gander at their products. You’ll find the best textile prints on high quality material and good color palettes, all on utilitarian bags.

(Victorian print lunch boxes)

(Old school folding lunch packs)

(Vintage luggages!)

Since the FabManila girls are so keen on good design, they’ve asked us to invite the TIS community to design their next bag series.

I’m sure you guys are up to this challenge. (Just think: you might see a stranger walk past you with your bag design!) It’s gonna be a limited edition collection with intense local flavor.

Do you feel like joining in? Comment away folks.

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See the FabManila FaceOff page.

Head over to FabManila for a good dose of bag lust or simply for design inspiration.

Thanks for sharing, Dayo.

Visit the PGDA site.

Anna’s Human Anatomy was picked by the PdP staff among the Top 5 most voted. Her design wins her Php3,000 in cash and Php500 in PdP GCs. She gets her own Artist Profile at the Punchdrunk Panda website and will see her artwork in stores around the Metro!

Awesome work, bananafish. You deserve it! (Check out her other works, she’s quite talented.)

Visit Punchdrunk Panda to keep updated on the sleeve’s release.

Frustrated, annoyed, furious — you name it.

It’s 4am, couple of hours since some FaceOff results have gotten in, and I’m still seething with anger and I won’t keep quiet about it.

We call ourselves a design democracy, yet something the TIS staff had feared actually happened: someone tried to get away with gaining the system (i.e. cheat) just to come out the winner. There are certain measures the TIS staff uses to determine these things, but — in all honesty — it’s a situation that’s virtually impossible to detect even by the smartest program codes. At least this incidence is keeping us on our toes. More research and stricter measures will be done to avoid these occurrences.

I hate to make political references, but it feels like how elections go in the Philippines: dirty and absolute bullcrap. We complain at how our society’s crumbling? Here’s a small sampling of why we’re going down the drain.

Votes have been cast and a winner will be pronounced. We (TIS staff or any FaceOff hosts) will not break promises we make according to any contest mechanics. However, suffice it to say that whomever we feel deserved to win will win.

I wanna acknowledge everyone who joined the FaceOffs and kept their call for votes clean and ethical. You guys are BRILLIANT. Don’t think your works aren’t good, despite vote turn-out. This is, after all, a community where we all push each other to grow and better our art.

We all need to lose some and win some in this race, but it can be done in good fun.

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Let’s keep this civilized: I don’t want you guys to post your guesses (as to who or what FaceOff it is). If it’s obvious, then let it be. Don’t give any leads, don’t stoop to immature levels. What I do want you guys to do, is post your personal thoughts on this. Give us feedback, tips/recommendations on how you think the staff or the community can avoid these things. As always, we want and need your input for this community to work. Comment away people.

Punchdrunk Panda

Punchdrunk Panda douses the PC vs Mac rivalry flames and unites every laptop enthusiast with their funkified laptop sleeves.

Get your design slapped on a sleeve and you’ll get:

• Php 3,000 in cash
• Php 500 in PdP GCs
• Your own Artist Profile in their site
• Your artwork in stores around the Metro! (visit their site for their list of sleeve retailers)

Deadline for subs: June 15, 2010.

U92.FM

Speaking of laptops, there’s one at stake with U92.fm’s recently launched Face-Off! U92 (92.3FM) is Metro Manila’s all-new, all-hit radio station that serves listeners with a hefty dose of Top 40 programming 24-7 daily. They’ve an impressive line-up of DJs: Sarah Meier, KC Montero, Jimmy Muna, Eri Neeman, Sib Sibulo, Cesca Litton, Pia Magalona, Vicky Herrera, Joshua Yu, Ramon Bautista, Tado, DJ Angel, Rye Armamento, Patti Malay, Carisse Escueta, Mike Potenciano, Lindy and Marc Abaya. (Whew.)

Join their Face-Off and you’ll get:

• MSI V Series Notebook
• Live radio guesting on one of U92’s shows
• A feature on the station’s website
• See the U92 jocks wear your design as well as other U92 listeners. (They’re serious about mass producing the shirts.)

Deadline for subs: June 25, 2010.

Kurv Industries

KURV is TRIBU’s answer to streetwear and alternative lifestyle. And they say: “F*** the straight line, follow the KURV.” WOOHOO!

1st Place

• 1st Place will receive a shirt featuring their design
• 1st place will receive cash prize and a GIFT CERTIFICATE from KURV Industries

2nd Place

• 2nd Place will receive a shirt featuring their design
• 2nd Place will receive cash prize and a GIFT CERTIFICATE from KURV Industries

Viewers Choice

• Winner of the Viewers Choice award will receive a shirt featuring their design
• Winner of the Viewers Choice will receive Gift Certificates from KURV & TRIBU

Deadline for subs: June 30, 2010.

Enough to get your wheels turning? Start submitting your stuff, folks. Take a crack at these Face-Offs!

Visit their contest pages:

Punchdrunk Panda’s Face-Off.

U92’s Face-Off.

Kurv’s Face-Off.

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Does your organization/group want your own Face-Off? Email us, staff@theinksquad.com.

Cristiano Siqueira’s portraits balance vector precision, texture presentation, and a hint of background story. I like his movement in his pen/brush strokes.

And, while vector isn’t new to most of us, I think most artists can get some tips from his clean but dynamic work.

My favorites?

Dots usage on this give you that “scientific” feel for this physicist’s portrait. Subtle back story, don’t you think? Sweet lines on his nose/mouth area. The upper lip was done so simply and it works for me!

Hair flow and entanglement is a tried and tested formula in vector art, though maybe used a little too much for my taste. Still, I’ll post this here cause he infused it really well with his excellent typography.

I particularly like the side highlights of this next one. Sometimes leaving uncolored spaces generate a lot of impact.

Cris’ composition rivals that of portrait photographers. Nicely done. Take note of his color palettes, too. He keeps it minimal, from 2 to 4 colors. That makes it easy on the eye to focus on one point.

What’re your thoughts on his style? If you guys have portfolios you want to share with me, send me a link! Would love to feature you here.