Queen Ensemble & AOP

Here's a first look at the Queen AOP work.

TEE:
We're showing artwork an our only lilac tee, and it's an XL, so it swallows up the art.

I tried to approximate your sketch. I used the creamy yellow for the crown, and dropped in some handwritten type to echo the loose linework of the crown.

Your sketch shows a wider crown; I used a narrower crown because it seemed thinner and more elegant.

Illustration
I think the crown sits flat in this incarnation; it might be good to make this illustration a little more detailed (but not too much so). Also, I think the linework can be beefed up a bit.

I'm not sure that the colors are working; it's a very subdued print. Nothing is coming forward, everything is washing together. If we stick with a subdued pastel palette, our best bet seems to be beefing up the line work and making the crown more interesting.

Type
The typography needs to be flirtatious and fanciful; I'm picturing handwritten words with occasional flourishes and curves, rather than austere, dude-handwriting like we see now.

ENSEMBLE
This is the lilac-on-lilac approach. The colors are pleasing; I think they might approach what you had in mind (I added a cream color to add counterpoint to all of the lilac). In person, it's very subdued and quiet -- the antithesis of the flamboyance one thinks of with a Queen. Is this an issue?

Artwork Size
The pants shown here use artwork at the size you suggested -- the tallest crown is about 3 inches tall. I tried a print with smaller size crowns, and while it would look better on the drawstring bag, it didn't read too well from across the room (and hence, from a catalog page). I think this is a good size.

Linework
The linework is very thin at actual size, about half the thickness of Sleeps w/Dogs/Cats.

Conclusion
I love the looseness of your crown illustrations. We usually see clip art engravings, this is a really nice departure from that look.

The initial ensemble lacks impact. I think the pants are looking pretty good, but the tee needs a lot of work.

My gut tells me that color and graphics need to be pumped up a few notches, especially considering the subject matter, but I know you're picturing a more subdued, pastel palette.

Here's what I'd like to try on this ensemble today:

• Beef up linework slightly so it shows up better from a distance
• Try to nail down color palette; I'll show you some more variations
• Try to figure out a way to give the tee more sophistication, while keeping the loose feel of the linework