Cute Monkey Poll

Almost voted for number 5, but there's something disturbing about a monkey wearing a dress shirt with NO PANTS. Also, the ears on that one are a little weirdly placed.

Had to go with number 1, it's simple so it could be easily replicated on items smaller than a T-shirt (such as a bumper sticker, pen, mousepad).

I like the "Code Monkey like you" text, but monkey #2 needs more personality. Monkey #1 with the "Code Monkey like you" phrase comes closest for me.

I love #3, with his adorable munching-on-Fritos-ness and awesome graspy feet, but I wish he were a little more corporate. Can we put #3 in #4's outfit?

What's with the tags? Am I missing something from the song that would indicate those should be there?

Okay, but the back of the shirt with the blue monkey is what makes it the best shirt ever.

My review:

Monkey #1 is too happy-looking, which I think is not really in the spirit of the lyrics.
Monkey #2 is a bit too cute (not scrawny or desperate enough for a code monkey) but I like the graphic design.
Monkey #3 is too detailed for a T-shirt, and looks scared rather than pining for love. Plus it's not really an overall graphic design for a shirt.
Monkey #5 is not, well, um, drawn very well...

So, I went with Monkey #4, a combination of a nice graphic design and a good monkey expression.

I agree with JG. For overall design and composition, I'm voting #4.

Code Monkey tired of white t-shirt oppression, want shirt of color!

Most of the designs in the polls don't really say "Code Monkey" to me. Well, #2 does, but it looks way too content to represent the song. (And #1 is entirely too happy.) I liked that the blue monkey was nicely iconic.

OK, monkey back to action.

Somebody spiked Monkey #5's Mountain Dew and he woke up that way in Central Park. Luckily, it's New York, so nobody noticed.

Admittedly, 2D illustration isn't my strong suit, but it was fun to goof off with.

With monkey #3 - after I posted my cute monkey, I realized that putting him in a polo, tie, and khakis would have been a good idea. So that could definitely be changed. Also, if you don't like the text, that could easily be changed as well.

I'm not voting (or even expressing a preference for that matter), but monkey 5 is kind of...sexy.

Wilson: the tags are just a codey kind of thing, not directly referenced in the song. But I bet the code monkey himself has typed a few times...

I think there's a country song in there somewhere. "He think's my monkey's sexyyyyy!" ... wait ... I'm going to stop there. That could get real wrong real quick.

Okay, I voted 4, but it's really the lesser or not-cute-enoughs. I'll be honest, I think that LEN did a great job, and I'm not entirely sure what the problem is. What all of these monkeys are missing is a) originality (they all seem to harp on what Code Monkey likes, and HTML code...both of which LEN already did) b) something that, if it were on my shirt, no one would laugh at me for and c) they're just not marketable enough. As art, they're all fun. And I greatly compliment everyone that went through the effort to create them, because I do like them all...just not for merchandise.

Sorry, didn't mean to poop on your couch (or fling said poop at you, afterwards),
Eric

"Monkey #2 is a bit too cute (not scrawny or desperate enough for a code monkey) but I like the graphic design."

...Dammit, Jim -- I'm a graphic designer, not a representational monkey artist!

I hate to say it but I really liked the original bootleg monkey shirt that is now gone from cafe press...maybe you could work a deal with the other guy. I also like the first ones that you did too.

I voted #1, but the text needs to be spiffed up a bit. I'm not a fan of the redundant bold tags, and I think that may distract non-code-monkeys from 'getting it' or even 'asking about it'. Adding the website is a bit iffy because I don't know how many people (I know I havn't) have gone to a website they saw on a shirt. Perhaps just "Jonathan Coulton" off to the side to get a "Who's That" response, thus setting of a plethora of adjectives.

I had a hard choic between #1 and #5, in the end I went for #1 for it's simplicity.

I think the text should be a seperate vote. And I think all JoCo merchedise should have the web site address on, after all, I'm buying it cos I want people to know how great he is!

Correction: I meant #4 not #5

I voted for #1, because it's a nice, simple, not-overly-busy design. (As a web application programmer, I'm also fond of the HTML tags, but that's not the deciding factor.)

#2 is also good -- but a little too busy for my tastes.

No offense meant to the artists, but #3-5 just don't do anything for me. There's nothing really wrong with them, but I wouldn't wear them on a shirt.

(That said, what I really want is the existing blue monkey design with white outlines on a black shirt. :)

I voted for #1.

But...I _REALLY_ like the original VTAW Code Monkey picture. When I saw that I said to myself "that would look good on a t-shirt". I did. I really said that.

Kerrin! Come on! You're breaking my heart! My monkey needs some love here!

Jonathan --

Would you consider -- in the spirit of, well, not Creative Commons, but the same fairness that surrounds CC -- adding more of the American Apparel T-shirts which Cafépress offers to your store? Right now only the baby doll is American Apparel, but Cafépress offers several more. I think the men's fitted T-shirt, for example, is American Apparel. Not only are they made in a sweatshop-free environment, but they're also attractively sexy, which is pretty rare when you're talking about T-shirts for man. I can't be sure, but I believe all of the T-shirts which advertised as "made in the USA" are AA.

also, monkey #3 is incredibly awesome.

Also, all the monkeys are using text formatting instead of logical markup tags, which means I have to agree with Rob, while that's functional it's not particularly elegant.

My 2 year old loves the first one, so I guess that's the one I have to go for. He's got a few years to go before we make him a code monkey though.

I like the CamelCase quote from #1, the

Darn. Trying that one again.

I like the CamelCase quote from #1, the "a href" style link in #3 and the monkey from #4.

Alas, none of the above. What I want is Len's ORIGINAL, "ook" (as opposed to the second, "screech") Thing A Week color artwork on the front, and the code from the "Code Monkey That One" shirt on the back. (I agree with Lili--the project needs the Monkey Code!)*

HTML tags not necessary, but OK--what about PHP?

*Y'know, that might make a good thriller ...

I REALLY like Code Monkey #3 artwork with the Fritos, but would prefer the caption line "code monkey not crazy, just proud" or "code monkey like you" instead of the existing "code monkey like Fritos" caption.

I like the monkey face on #1 -- it's cute and very well executed -- but it doesn't convey the song in any way. Only the caption does. My question is: since presumably most of the people who will wear such a shirt are themselves code monkeys, which design are they most likely to embrace as capturing the essence of the code monkey?

Watching the code monkey poll is like watching an episode of American Idol. I just hope I'm safe from the vote this week.

Don't worry, Len. I'm even being beat by the "No Monkey" option. How bad is that? I think you're safe.

Oops.. I voted for the wrong monkey. But that's okay, because I think you all did awesome jobs. Seriously. For me it all came down to what would look best on different kinds of merchandise.

I would like to see whichever monkey gets chosen to be offered on something I can plaster on the walls of my cube. Shirts are cool, but I already have a ton of shirts with logos that I rarely get the chance to wear. Hmm... maybe I could hang the shirt up in the cube! Okay shirts and stickers please.

Survivor: Skullcrusher Mountain! Where the code monkey with the fewest votes is thrown to the wolves.

Definitely an interesting process. As Len pointed out, there are definite shades of "American Idol" to it - although (in my case, anyway) everyone should consider themselves lucky to be voting on visuals, NOT vocals. I'm more than happy to leave the singing to Mr. Coulton, and I suspect the other Code Monkey artists feel the same way. Thanks for the fun song, Jonathan, and for letting us monkey around with it.

Poor Matt Mobley being beaten by reopen nominations.

Don't worry, all the monkey pictures are good, the standard was very high.

Yes. The fans of monkey art are very fastidious. It's hard to please them, even for the greatest of artists. DeVinci painted the Mona Lisa because he couldn't cut it as a monkey artist. But that's okay. It makes sure that only the finest monkey art attains the status of being placed on the ultimate medium that all artists aspire to: the t-shirt. And even more monumental: the thong panties. Oh, yes! I too endeavor to create art worthy of the thong panty. But, alas, I have far to go.