10 pro tips for better T-shirt designs
01. Take some time to explore your concept
This Electric Zombie tee by Derek Deal has a set of color and loads of detail ( opens in newfangled tab key ) Do n’t rush the design work. Sketch your T-shirt design out, go for a walk, create a few variations, have something to eat, do a wide brainstorm march and sleep on it. And then do it all over again. If the blueprint comes to you straight away, bang-up, but take the clock time to explore early creative options merely in case .
02. Imagine your design on a T-shirt
Anyone who ‘s worked in both print and world wide web knows that there ‘s a huge difference between how a design looks on screen and the print patch. Do n’t be afraid to mock up your jersey design on a photograph of a mannequin. Print it out if necessary and seat it on an actual tee. Make sure you view your artwork at the actual size before you take it further .
03. Detail is king, but keep things simple
These classical Johnny Cupcakes T-shirts case limited coloring material palettes and strong concepts ( opens in new tab ) Everyone appreciates great drawing ability and attention to detail. There ‘s nothing better than seeing a very well-executed masterpiece on a tee that you can study for hours. But, equally, some of the most classic jersey designs are the simplest – and get the message across through their bluff simplicity. Anywhere in the in-between and you may struggle to deliver a successful design .
04. Consider your market
jersey designs by artists on Society 6 ( opens in fresh pill ) This is an important one. Think about who your jersey is for. Are you designing for men or women ; young or previous ? At the end of the day, you ‘re designing a product that you want people to wear.
Like a good stigmatize interior designer would do, try to put down a written description of the accurate person you want to attract to your T-shirt blueprint – who they are, what they like, what other brands they like and go from there .
05. Be careful with humour
A post shared by Brad McGinty ( @ bradmcginty ) ( opens in fresh yellow journalism ) A photograph posted by on
If you ‘re going for a humorous T-shirt design, you want to make certain it does n’t come across as a brassy, low-cost jest shirt. The most successful T-shirts to use humor do then in a insidious, cagey way – even in the lawsuit of the loudest and most in-your-face designs. A bunch of humorous tees grow bore promptly, but done correctly and with an original estimate, humor can turn heads and raise a smile. Brad McGinty ( opens in new tab ) tends to strike a good counterweight in his designs .
06. Choose the right colours
Try choosing complementary colours in your invention Use the T-shirt color efficaciously and try choosing complemental colours. If you ‘re using Adobe Illustrator, flex on Global Colours. This can be an absolute life buoy and will save you so much time. ( You can get Adobe Creative Cloud hera ( opens in newly pill ). ) You can besides use Halftones to make the most of the restrict colors you ‘re allowed to use .
07. Prepare your artwork properly
Use Pantone Colours ( opens in new yellow journalism ) for screen-printing – your printer will love you for it. They ‘ll besides love you if you outline any text and expand any strokes you may have. There are enough of good tutorials out there, both for Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop to take the time to get conversant with the process and you ‘re print will be happy working with you .
08. Source a good printer
It ‘s crucial to learn about what type of T-shirt you want to print on You can have your plan finished and by rights artworked, but your tee will only always be a good as your printer. Try a reputable company like White Duck ( opens in new check ) in the UK or Hey Monkey ( opens in new tab key ) in the US. You could besides give your local screenprinter a margin call. But it ‘s significant to take time to learn about the type of tee you want to print on. The weight unit, sizes, labelling options, cost and sol on all affect the end intersection that you ‘ll produce. This takes a while to learn about, and it will require speak to respective companies, but one stick with one rule : deal with a company that wants to treat your tee as an conclusion retail product and will handle your work with concern. Screenprinting is an art .
09. Get educated
To have a well reason of anything, you need to study and understand its context To have a good sympathize of anything, you need to study it and understand its context. Tees have emerged from every subculture phenomenon that has always existed, whether it ‘s music, skateboarding, street artwork, mutant or general start culture. Do some understand, find out about T-shirt history and teach to appreciate it. even designs that you do n’t like yourself can provide inhalation and penetration into what people like to wear. One good bible for reference is vintage T-shirts ( opens in new yellow journalism ) by Lisa Kidner.
10. Stay ahead of the game
It ‘s finely to take inspiration from the latest trends, but to keep one step ahead you want to avoid copying them. Chances are that by the time any given T-shirt ‘s been produced, its designers are already moving onto something else. Keep abreast of what ‘s happening in fashion and elsewhere in pop culture, but try to forge your own path. This article was first posted on creative Bloq in 09/2012. Related articles:
- Amazing Adobe Illustrator tutorials
- Get started with screen printing
- Best computer for graphic design: Get a desktop powerful enough to keep up
