Graphic Tee: Tee No Evil

Tell me a little bit about your company and the founders?

Tee No Evil was founded by my brother, Francis and I (Franco). I always admired my brother's art. He has been drawing as long as I can remember. One day he sketched a zombie and we thought it would look cool on a shirt. That's the start of Tee No Evil.

We were fortunate enough to be funded through Kickstarter. We planned it for 6 months: Testing shirt fabrics, asking critique and advice from top comic artists (Philip Tan, Richard Friend, Joel Gomez), talking to shirt printers, making flyers, finalizing 5 designs by the time the campaign launched. It was a lot of hard work but it prepared us for the real world.

We brainstorm our zombie & villain designs. Sometimes taking months, as we're both perfectionists. Once we choose an idea/concept, my brother starts drawing. He's a big fan of street art so he tries to incorporates that aspect into the designs.

What made you decide to get into your field?

Francis and I both have regular jobs. We work on Tee No Evil at night and on weekends. Sometimes working for the whole month without a break as we have conventions and shows to attend on weekends.  We got into the clothing line because we love art. I can't draw but I always appreciated art, especially movies and comics. My brother loves them as well.

Since we were kids, we'd watch scary movies like Dawn Of The Dead and Friday The 13th. We were fascinated with the gruesome scenes. We loved it. Our passion for horror continues to this day and we like to express them in our designs: Some are a bit violent but it's done in a respectful way. We pay tribute to it. My brother sees each shirt as a canvas. We supervise the print jobs to make sure the quality lives up to his vision.

What is the vision of your company? What do you hope to achieve?

Tee No Evil's vision is to have hiqh quality designs along with high quality shirts. We take pride in our clothing line We want people to laugh and smile once they see our tees. My brother and I made a pact that we only produce tees that we'd wear. Quality is really important to us so we spend a lot of time with the printer to make sure the shirts are top notch.

What is your favorite design? Why?

That's a tough question but my favorite is the newest one, "Onslaught." It tells a story while paying an homage to old school posters. I like the dynamic silhouette because it make the design heroic and threatening at the same time. Another favorite is Fab4 because it's funny and the little details thrown in by my brother.

One of my brother's favorite is Zombie Anarchy (already out of production). That one is special to him because it was originally drawn as a thank you gift for a friend. But so many people wanted it that he decided to make it into one of our designs. To this day, people still ask where they can get the shirt. 

 
What do you think about the rise in popularity of graphic tees? Where do you see the field going?

Because of so many great artists in the field, we have shirts that were never available when I was a kid. Back in the day, I can only get shirts that were not so artsy, most came from photos. Today, different styles are available from humorous to bloody and funny. Styles differing from photo based to black and white sketches. I think this is the beginning of the Golden Age.

Not many people know this but printing on tees is an art form on its own. Each printer has its own style, whether they want to print thick or have a smooth feel. As printing method evolves, more options will open up for artists. I'm excited!

What is your website? Contact information?

Our website is at: TeeNoEvil.com.

You can contact us through social media, we usually respond within hours:

Instagram.com/TeeNoEvil

Facebook.com/TeeNoEvil

Twitter.com/TeeNoEvil

Additional Comments?

We want to thank you for the interview. You have an awesome site and it's an honor to have us on.

We also want to thank all of our supporters. We didn't know running a shirt venture is so complicating but the supporters make it worthwhile. Strangers stopping by our booth at conventions and the designs catching there eye. Connecting with a stranger through art, it's an amazing feeling. Then we follow each other on Instagram. We've met so many amazing people because of our journey. And that makes the sleepless nights and hard work worthwhile. 

 

Thank you to Tee No Evil for the great interview. Understanding the thoughts behind a graphic tee makes it even better in my opinion. Check out their line and share this post.

Post by Vikki

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