When I'd originally posted this, another wooter had mentioned (in case you didn't get to see it) that Rob ALSO took another threadless idea: SexyPack. Though I can't find the exact location of his rip, I recall the controversy (and don't think I could find the rip then, either, to be fair). The closest to the concept that I've seen, however, is Pilot, which to me isn't all that close, but has a more glaring issue: it's apparently based on the uniform for Star Wars Pilots, something woot has thusfar been unwilling to tangle with, yet something which was not rejected (odd in light of recent post deletions).
Rob likes his shirts that make the wearer look like they're wearing something else, even when the theme doesn't call for it. Unsurprisingly, threadless features designs of this nature as well... to be honest, most sites like these sorts of things... they sell well because they're quick visual gags, and Rob is all about quick shots and selling. This said, Rob's attempts aren't necessarily rip-offs in this arena. They're just not overly original, which isn't favorable, but also is no crime.What is odd about it, though, is that in the Canada derby, Rob's crony Gutsmasher77 (see Forcible Peace link, last post) pointed out that Artulo's Mountie Shirt (see fourth post) was similar to one already on sale. Which it was, though the other was available only in Kids sizes. That Gutsmasher would have seen it while "googling", implies that Rob and Co. do, in fact, google for similar ideas, which makes his succession of similarities that much more glaring. It's easy to let ones mind wander and presume that the googled result wasn't so much to make sure their idea wasn't taken, but was instead dug back up when Art took one of Rob's ideas, but that, admittedly, is only speculation based on prior knowledge.
Gutsmasher isn't without his own foibles, though. Along with attacking derby participants who dare call his boss into question (and often entries which are doing better than him) he has a bit of a legacy as well, coming into the derbies during Cryptozoology with Rob, and submitting a very similar styled Ninja-Argyle, similar, in fact, to the point where Rob may have designed both. He's also is no stranger to entry controversy, with a shirt rejected for being too similar to another in the Trompe L'Oeil derby, but that's hardly the biggest thing to note. In derby 26, he entered a Canascope, done in a style often used by entrant CheeseSandwich. While Cheese in no way owns the style, it was controversial because up until then, no one else was known for using that style even occasionally, and it was seen as an attempt to cash in on a previously proven popular idea. It became less coincidental when Cheese's next design was torn to shreds by a wooter who had never commented prior, and has since not commented again outside of a bevy of unintelligent rants within said thread, as if he existed solely to try and discredit this single design. It certainly leads one to wonder just how deep Rob's cabal goes.
EDIT~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I got a PM probably within the hour, from whom I will keep mum, since they seem to wish to remain anonymous, with a couple other things worth noting... most was stuff I covered in my first and second posts, but I thought it was worth noting the following:EDIT~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Support Local Music, as noted in its thread, used the same clip-art as another entry from City Without Words. Just one more reason why using clip-art is dangerous (and why I find it as damning in this case as I do the "rip-offs")
While I noted that most of the entries from the Lyric derby were simple clip-art, I forgot that his Imagine had a comparable shirt here
