T-shirts can be something comfy to wear, a fashion statement, or something in between. Whether you’re trying to design a t-shirt to market your business or you want to create a business selling t-shirts, you’re going to want to make sure you design t-shirts you’re going to be proud of and that you’re going to want to show off to others.
T shirt design can be complicated, but there are steps you can take that will break down the process into manageable chunks so you can handle the complete design process on your own. Additionally, there are fashion design classes available online you can take to learn more about the design process and find out what you need to know to create your own design.
Even if you’ve never designed anything before, designing a t-shirt you love is going to be possible. Even if you don’t have a lot of time to spend on designing your t-shirt during the day, you can still design a t-shirt. Even if you don’t have a lot of time to dedicate to lessons or don’t want to go to school to learn about design, online classes provide the information you need to be able to start working on your first design today. All you need to do is jump in and start working on your first t-shirt.
Plan Your Design Carefully
Once your design is on a t-shirt, everyone can see it and many people might be interested in buying it. If there’s something off about the design, however, or if it’s just not something people might like, you’re not going to sell very many of them.
Before you finalize the design, go ahead and play around with it a while. You can use design software like Adobe Illustrator to easily change the design and add or subtract elements so you can see what it would look like if you changed part of the design. Save your work often so you can go back if you don’t like what you’ve changed.
If you’re skilled in other areas, let’s say for example portrait photography, Adobe Illustrator also lets you easily add and manipulate photos to achieve the desired design.
Your first design shouldn’t be the final design. Check the composition, colors, and more to make sure it’s perfect. When you design shirts, you’ll want to spend time trying out everything you might think of to adjust the design to be exactly what you want. The more time you put into planning your design, the better it’s going to look when it’s printed on a t-shirt.
Pay Attention to Your Composition and Size
When you design a shirt, you’re going to need to make sure you pay careful attention to the composition and the size of the image. If your composition is off, the t-shirt will not look right once it’s printed. If the size of your design is too small, it could look awful once it’s actually printed. You may want to take fashion design classes to learn more about what to consider when you’re adjusting the composition or the size.
With the composition, you need to be aware of who your customers will be. It’s important to make sure the design is not too big that it takes up the entire shirt, as often this will be too large. It’s also important to make sure it isn’t too wide so some of the design might be hidden by the wearer’s arms. Additionally, make sure the design isn’t centered too high and that it can be worn by both men and women.
The size of your design is crucial when you’re ready to print. To avoid issues, you’ll want to go ahead and think about this before you create your design using the design software. You’ll want to create the design sized for the largest size you’re going to sell. It’s easy to make a design smaller, but not as easy to make the design larger.
When the printer makes a design larger, the actual pixels that make up the image are going to be made larger. While one size up may be fine, if they need to make the design significantly larger than what you provided, it’s going to look very pixelated. This is not what you’re going to want. Instead, make the size of your design the same size as the largest shirt you expect to print so you don’t have to worry about the image being distorted.
Play Around with Your Colors
The colors you use when you design shirts can make all the difference in the design of your shirt. You can choose minimal colors for a bolder design or maximum colors for a design that really stands out. Consider what your customers would prefer and consider what you will want in your design.
As you design a shirt, make sure you’re using colors that complement each other. You don’t want the colors to blend together and start to look muddy. You also don’t want to stick with just the primary colors as using a variety of colors can add more depth to your design. Even if you use black and white, pay close attention to how the colors work together so you can make adjustments as needed.
Add Text to Your Design
Many t-shirt designs are going to look better with text. In fact, some of them might not work well at all without any text. Plan the text for your design just as carefully as you do the rest of the t shirt design and make sure you play around with the text to ensure it looks the way you want.
Adobe Illustrator makes it easy for you to add text to a design and alter it to look exactly the way you want. You can play around with different fonts, change the size of your text, adjust the composition of the text, and even change the shape of the text. You will want to make sure the text color complements the rest of the colors in your design and ensure the text works well with the rest of the design.
Just like the main part of your design, you’re going to want to spend time working on your text. This isn’t something to rush through. Spend time playing around with how it might look if you try different things and don’t be afraid to try something unusual to see if it works for your design.
Find a Printer and Find Out What They Need
To have your shirt printed, you’re going to need to work with a printer. This is a step you’ll want to learn a lot about before you jump in so you’ll know what to expect and how to discuss your design and what you want with the printer.
The printer is going to want to know how you want the shirt to look. This means you need to consider the style of t-shirt you want to use, the color for your base t-shirt, the composition of your design on the t-shirt, and the style of printing you’ll want to use.
When you talk to the printer, they’ll often let you know what they need to be able to print your design on the t-shirts of your choice. You’ll need to find out what format they want the design sent to them in, what color format you should use for best results, how large the image should be, and more. If you have any questions about these aspects of the design, the printer will likely be able to answer them for you.
Get Ready to Sell Your T-Shirt
You’ve designed the shirt, found a printer, and had t-shirts printed. Now what? The next step is to sell your t-shirts. To do this, you’ll want to take the time to learn how to market your shirts online and in person. It’s best to learn about as many marketing techniques as possible so you can choose the ones that are going to be the most effective for you and help you sell as many shirts as possible.
Once you’ve completed your first design and marketed your shirt, you may want to start planning your next design. At this point, you already have some experience designing and you’ll know what to expect throughout the process as well as what you might want to do differently. You can also take classes to learn more advanced techniques you can use when you design a shirt so you can make the next one even better.
Whether or not you already have a basic idea in mind, you can start working on designing your own t-shirt. T shirt design classes can help you learn everything you need to know to get from your basic design to the final design you’ll send to the printer. Once your new shirt arrives and you can see how it looks, you’re going to be impressed with everything you’ve learned and done.
If you’re ready to get started, check out the fashion design classes available online today. They’ll make it easy for you to learn what you need to know to start designing your own t-shirt and for you to be able to create a t-shirt you’re going to be proud of.