The Ryde is a very interesting t shirt shop that has declared itself a surf brand. While the designs do not all feature a surfer like the one below, it is very clear that surfing is a way of like for the designers of this shop and have added some cool features to get their surf fans involved. They have added gold pieces that you can earn by sending them photos wearing their t shirts. While most shirts are $24, they pick a different t shirt everyday to sell for $12.  They call this the insanitee deal. They also have a blog and they have a unique sidebar where they post something for the moment. Right now they are talking about Surfer Magazine. It is a really cool concept and I like how they have decided that surfing is the company niche and they seem to be sticking to it very well. I do not have any doubt when I visit the site that surfing is the backbone to what they are all about. If you are looking for something outside the box then check out The Ryde and you just might find that never seen before design that will put a smile on your face.

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With all the software that is on the open market today for graphic art it is no surprise that there is no shortage of graphic artists out there in cyber world.  However, there still is a big difference between a graphic artist with God given talent and just another graphic artist who knows how to make a banner add for you. Many aspiring artists have found their niche in the t shirt world and there are some major websites that have developed a business model that can provide a win-win situation for both sides.

So you want to be a well know graphic artist but you have no idea how to get started?  Well there are t shirt websites that run contests where they let the users log in and vote on the designs that they like the best. The winners then get paid either a prize or a royalty for each t shirt sold with their design on it and the t shirt website takes a cut as well. Sounds like a waste of time? What if I told you that there are some sites out there that pay 3-5k to the winners of some contests and the artists who win on these sites become famous within these communities that have thousands of members. Now I think I have your attention so I will take you by the hand and lead you to the promise land.

The first major t shirt site that you have to check out and submit your designs to is Threadless. The story behind the owners of this company is incredible but to shorten it up lets just say that they had $500 to their name when they launched Threadless and it is now a multi-million dollar a year business. They have contests running non-stop and they have different pay outs for each one.  Some of the contests get into the 3-5k range and the graphic artists who win on this site are instant superstars in the underground t shirt world.  Not bad considering it costs nothing to sign up and submit your designs and you will get paid and become somewhat famous if you win.

Another site you should visit is Design By Humans.  The concept is the same with this company yet you will notice a slight difference in the designs on this site. In my opinion this site is more of a detailed design where Threadless will have some detailed designs mixed in with some funny designs as well.  DBH is really all about cool designs and the payout with this company is in the same category as Threadless. They operate with a community focus and allow you to submit your designs for the community to vote on and will print the designs with the most votes. If Threadless is the giant in this industry, Design By Humans is the little brother that is growing up quickly.

Another really cool site to submit your designs to is Uneetee. They run a similar competition style format as the other two above, however, they only feature one design each day for 24 hrs. and then it is gone forever. This is a very unique concept for a t shirt site to use but it is working very well for them and they are fast becoming well known by anyone who keeps up with online t shirt companies. As a young aspiring artist, getting your designs voted on by the community of any one of these three sites would be a great step forward even if you do not win the contest. Thousands of people log in daily between these three sites and you are putting your designs in front of all of them with zero money out of your pocket. The winners gain instant recognition and get to compete against other winners usually every 6 months which have much larger payouts.  Win one of these contests and you will start getting people emailing you left and right for freelance projects.

In the world of Web 2.0, it is very important to use free resources to get your artwork in front of as many people as possible as many artists have made a career for themselves simply by getting involved in contests much like the ones above and t shirt sales are doing very well right now despite the condition of the economy.  If you are an artist and would like to share your experiences with me please email me at wgwear@gmail.com.

Do you have a hard time finding original t shirt websites regardless of how many Google searches you perform. Do you find yourself going to the same three t shirt sites even though there are hundred out there?  I have become tired of the same Bustedtees, snorgtees, threadless websites which in my opinion put out some lame designs over and over again but seem to advertise on every website I go to these days. No wonder they have become major brands that dominate traffic online day in and day out. But does that really mean they are the best in the t shirt industry?  I wanted to reach out today and shed some light on 10 t shirt websites that you might have never heard of before. These sites are my personal favorites and the ones that I consider the best on the Internet.

1. Loiter Ink = This t shirt site used to be called Lucky Threadz but changed the name and teamed up with the greatest t shirt designer on the planet, Tom Burns. They still print designs from various artist and pay out a percentage to those artists based on the sales but Tom Burns dominates this website and he has become a one man army in the t shirt industry.  This guy could make a turd look cool.
2. DesignbyHumans = This site has become a giant in a very short period of time. They use the community theme where you submit and vote on designs and they hold contests where they pay out nice amounts of $$$ to the winners. They are masters of the graphic t shirt and are worth a visit if you like graphic designs.
3. Glennz Store = This is my second favorite artist after Mr. Burns. What is so special about Glennz is that he never uses captions or any words to go along with his designs, yet his designs are so clever that the humor is built right into them. I promise you that this is the best kept secret on the web and well worth your time to check out. My favorite from him is the R2D2 design.
4. Oddity Clothing = The name says it all. Another concept store that pays royalties out to the artist who submit the designs in which they print and sell. Oddity Clothing is all over the board from funny to graphic t shirts that are just cool in every sense of the word.
5. Ten Bills T Shirts = Just as the name describes, these t shirts are all $10 and actually look like the t shirts that you easily pay $20 for. They do not skimp out on quality and the designs are fresh and unique.
6. Threadpit = This site is very cool and would fall under the funny t shirt and offensive t shirt category.  You have to check out the Tupac Hoodie they sell which features every tat that Tupac ever had in the exact same location that he had them on his body from the waist up. The ink is done in a foil gold color and is truly amazing. The site is cool too cuz they allow you to post comments directly on the product pages.
7. Deezteez = A very cool site for the offensive t shirt fan. One cool unique twist is all the cool semi adult site links that they feature at the bottom of the home page and they even offer up a cool tab that features various females wearing their t shirts with next to nothing else on.  This proves that sex still sells better than anything else.
8. Uneetee = This concept is unique to all others.  It actually only offers one t shirt for sale for a 24 hour period and then it is gone forever. they actually have a timer that shows you how long you still have to buy the t shirt before it is gone. I have not seen any other site that does this so far and they seem to be growing fast.
9. Sogeshirts = Another funny and offensive t shirt site that specializes in making you smile.  A funny site that always offers different  promotions and well worth your time if you are into the funny slogan and humorous designs.
10. Wizeguyztees = A new site that is just getting started but shows promise with the designs that they do offer. Offensive t shirts seem to be the niche followed by the occasional funny t shirt. My prediction is you will hear more about this site in the future.

I have missed several great sites since I could only list 10 but that leaves the door open for me to do a top 20 list soon.  My main goal with this is to shed some light on other sites outside of the big 3 that seems to dominate the headlines. I do take my hat off to what the big 3 have accomplished but I am not a big fan of the product that they put out. I find it stale in comparison to what else is out there and I feel like you will fall in love with at least a handful of the ones that I listed above. If you know of a t shirt site that you feel should be included on the upcoming Top 20 list please leave a comment or email me at wgwear@gmail.com and I will review it to see if it is worthy of attention.

A site that has been around for a while but I have never posted about before is Tenbills. What is special about this site is that they sell every t shirt for $10.00. They print on a wide variety of t shirts from Gildan to Hanes to Fruit of a Loom but they also have a 4.5 O.Z. Fashion Tee that they use allot. I have noticed the amount of competitors trying to go after American Apparel is serious these days but the fitted fashion look was bound to become huge when introduced and now you see the big companies coming out with their own form of it because it is not going to go away anytime soon. I like some of the designs they come up with. Their format is more graphic designs so there are not any that make you laugh or offend you but the graphics on some are pretty sweet. I posted a few of my favorites below.

I also would like to give a special shout out to tcritic. I was on this website browsing when I saw $10 bills on a project wonderful banner ad that they had on tcritic and I got my post idea from that. I know this is outside the normal funny and offensive t shirt theme but you got to step outside the box every now and again.