As many of you know, we received so many incredible Big Hero 6 submissions from our recent design challenge that we needed major help choosing the winner. After launching 15 grand-prize-worthy designs last Monday, we spent a week gauging likes, comments, shares, and purchases made by our community – to see which design you guys loved most! Well, the results are in, and it’s time to announce the winner. Drumroll please…
The winning crown goes to Samantha Germaine Sim of Singapore, for her design “Hairy Baby”! We’re thrilled to award her the grand prize, and reached out to learn a little more about her. Read on below, and shop her winning design here!
Congrats on your winning “Hairy Baby” design for the Big Hero 6 challenge! Why don’t you tell us a little bit about yourself?
Thank you so much for picking me as the winner! Let me introduce myself. My name is Samantha Germaine Sim, also known as “Violet1202”. I’m 22 years old and reside on the sunny island of Singapore. I recently graduated from Lasalle College of The Arts with a diploma in Animation Art. What can I say? I’m a huge geek! I love gaming, cartoons, and most of all, drawing! :D
What was your reaction to finding out you’d won?
As a usual routine, I normally check my emails the moment I wake up, just in case there’s something important from work. When I saw the email from Threadless in my inbox, I kept staring at it, wide-eyed, jaw open… you could even say it hit the floor! I was filled with such excitement and joy! I almost fell off my bed! I’m still in shock.
Not only are you the winner, but this is your very first Threadless print! How does it feel to have your very own design on t-shirts for the whole world to purchase?
Yes indeed! This was actually the first time I entered a contest like this on an international scale, and wow! To be picked as the top 15, and then as the winner, and to have my design printed for the world? I must say, it’s really overwhelming! And at the same time, an experience and an accomplishment :). Especially since I honestly didn’t expect my design to have such an impact. However, it’s something that I’d never forget and it’s made me really really happy. Thank you. :)
How did you originally get into art, and why is it an important part of your life?
I’ve been drawing since the time I could actually hold a pencil in my hand, I guess I never let it go! My love for the arts started when my mum first introduced me to Japanese anime, followed by classic Disney movies. What really started it all was the day I went for a “Pixar Exhibition” happening in my country. I was so inspired by their works I remembered saying “I want to draw just like them one day!” And so my journey began, leading me to art school at the age of 18 where I studied animation! And the rest is history!
What inspired your final concept for this challenge?
Truth be told and as cliche as it sounds, I’ve always been a huge Disney fan. My style, illustrations, and animations are heavily inspired by Disney, and when I heard that they were in production for Big Hero 6, I was overjoyed! Before the movie came to theaters, I saw a little clip of the trailer online, and that’s when it hit me: “Hairy Baby”! I found that scene utterly adorable and sweet, and it stuck. it showed how Baymax can not only be an awesome superhero, but also caring and gentle towards little creatures, and it inspired me to draw the scene. I myself could relate to it, and it makes me smile and melts my heart. Even in the theater, I could hear the whole cinema exchanging giggles and “awes”. Looking at it from a new angle, I wanted to make a shirt with a simple, sweet design that could emulate that warm fuzzy feeling inside.
Would you mind taking us through the process of creating this design? (Feel free to share any works in progress images, if you have!)
My designs normally start out as sketches or doodles, very rough, so I can see where I’d like to go with it. I’ll make a few drafts first, and then when I’m happy, I start lining and colouring it up. I also experimented with drawing Hiro in my style before I did “Hairy Baby”.
What is it about Disney movies that has made you a lifelong fan?
Wow! This is honestly hard to answer. I’ve been a huge Disney fan since I was a little girl. However, I must say what made me a fan was not how good the movies were or how huge the fan base, but the art and thought that went into making the movies. The concept artists, animators, and directors – they are the ones that made me such a die hard fan. I must say, it’s really no easy task to make something like this, and it takes a dedicated team of extremely talented people to do these amazing things. This is what made me such a huge Disney fan. So I must say a huge thank you to them for being such a huge inspiration to me too. :)
On a scale of 1-10, where do you think the Big Hero 6 movie rates in comparison to the entire Disney movie arsenal? Why?
A 10! No wait, 11! Haha! I went off the scale, didn’t I? I love a movie where there’s action. Big Hero 6 is not your usual Disney movie, with pretty girls and a cute prince. It’s a bunch of normal students, studying and doing what they love with robotics, and turning it into something that could help the world. Just like any average student, we want to do the same to. I feel like that’s why I loved this movie so much, plus the character designs are just gorgeous, in the way they were drawn from paper and then sculpted in 3D. Lovely!
What do you think makes the movie special?
Its message of losing someone you love and how one is able to forgive and accept what has happened made it special. You could either be the Hero like Hiro, or fill your heart with hate like Callaghan. Most people in life go through this stage, and it’s how we handle it which makes us the hero! :)
Any other shout-outs?
I’d honestly like to thank my family, friends, and to everyone out there who supported and backed me up during this challenge! I wish I could give everyone a big warm Baymax hug! Nothing can express how happy I feel right now :). Thank you Threadless for giving me this chance and experience! It’s been a super one!
