Technical expertise has not been eliminated from the competition, rather, it is relegated to only one possible judging benchmark,. This is to make the competition more inclusive by eliminating the intimidation factor since we have a few long term heavy hitters here, as well as many just getting into the game.
Since the contest was first discussed two months ago, we agreed that shirts would be judged by their whole gestalt. Perhaps sixteen colors with four different special effects are part of the winning design, or perhaps two simple spot colors of a clever drawing that bring a smile to one's face. To reiterate; technical expertise was never "eliminated", merely joined by other factors. The rules and explanation merely says "not necessarily" on the technical expertise. Simple? Complicated? Not super technical but a good execution, even of someone else's art? Go for it.
The trade shows and magazines are where you send your best, most technical prints. TheShirtBoard.com, is where you send a print that you just think that your fellow members would like.
