T-SHIRTS
Industry Information
Industry sources estimate that approximately 1.4 billion
cotton T-shirts are sold in North America annually with a
retail value of about $20 billion.
Sales of imprinted T-shirts at the wholesale level were
about $6.1 billion in 1997 and have grown at an annual
rate of approximately 4% to 5% each year since.
Who Uses T-Shirts?
- Corporations
- Small Businesses
- Event Producers
- Athletic Teams
- Schools
- Teens & Adults
What For?
- Promotional Events
- Sports Events
- Fund Raisers
- Concerts
- Clubs
- Identity / Fashion
Why Make A T-Shirt?
• They
are relatively low cost to produce but
yield massive awareness
• People who wear them turn into walking
billboards.
• They are fun to design
• Some become collectable
T-Shirts Generally Fall Into These Categories
1. Cartoons & Characters
Officially licensed merchandise. LICENSED means that the
exclusive right to reproduce these images has been
obtained for a fee, (or “licensed”) from the rights holder(s).
T-Shirts Generally Fall Into These Categories
2. Concert
Promotes a musician through use of logo / artist or both.
$2-$3 to produce – sells for $20-$30 apiece. Also becomes a souvenir
T-Shirts Generally Fall Into These Categories
3. Fashion
Promotes a brand name.
Some people become loyal
to a certain brand name
because of its appeal.
T-Shirts Generally Fall Into These Categories
4. Retro or Throwback
Promotes a famous older movie or band through use of logo / actor / or both.
These images are licensed for a specific fee and then printed and sold.
T-Shirts Generally Fall Into These Categories
Novelty & Humor
Flavor of the month catch phrases. Also includes jokes. Usually no
copyright to produce, only artwork to create.
T-Shirts Generally Fall Into These Categories
Promotional
Shirts given away by for free to promote a product or event
T-Shirts Generally Fall Into These Categories
Specialty
Licensed images which have very specific appeal to a specific
demographic of society. Includes nature, pets, sports, fantasy, gaming...
DEMOGRAPHIC - A particular segment of the population based on
their sex, age, race, occupation or income.
T-Shirts Generally Fall Into These Categories
Bootleg
Unlicensed images which appear on shirts, posters, CD’s, DVDs, etc. The
original artists or license holder receives no payment for these and they’re
created without the artists consent.
DEFINITIONS:
Copyright
The exclusive legal right to reproduce, publish, and sell
a book, song, or artistic work. Without a copyright, anyone
can issue and sell images, songs, books, movies, games, etc.
TM
http://www.uspto.gov/
Bootleg
To produce, reproduce, or distribute illegally or without authorization.
Public Domain
Total absence of copyright protection. No protection whatsoever. Anyone is
legally allowed to copy, produce, distribute or sell a book, song or artistic
work. UK does not recognize public domain.
PRINTING METHODS:
There are three popular ways of producing and printing t-shirts.
DIRECT TO GARMENT PRINTING
These shirts are similar to silk screen but have their images directly printed
into them using a t-shirt printer. This printer is similar to an ink jet printer, only
larger.
The advantages of direct to garment printing over traditional screen printing
are ease of setup, no minimum and less cost per print.
Screen printing yields only 72 DPI at it’s highest, while Direct to Garment
printing has a resolution of 600 x 600 DPI, allowing for near-photographic
clarity.
PRINTING METHODS:
There are three popular ways of producing and printing t-shirts.
HEAT PRESS IRON ON
Creating printable artwork and using specific paper for ink-jet or laser printing.
The “iron-ons” are printed individually and attached to a shirt using a heat
press to melt the iron-on into the fabric of the shirt.
Iron-Ons are generally used for small run quantities of shirts or for individual
shirts and generally do not last long unless they’re well taken care of.
SILK SCREEN
Is a much more labor intensive method which involves applying ink to a shirt
one color at a time using window screen material, thick inks and chemicals.
These shirts stand up to washing and can last for years but are prone to
crackling of images and text.
Check out juularts.com for more info. on the silkscreen method.
In class we’ll be using professional grade, heat-press Iron-On’s.
T-Shirts Designing Tips
Your message should be clear and easy to understand
T-Shirts with printing are meant to be read. You want to convey your
message in as simple and easy to understand way as possible
Simple designs work the best.
Complicated designs confuse the reader
Multi-colored, elaborate illustrations generally get lost on t-shirts
Use bold and contrasting colors.
Best shirts to use for 4 colors are black and white. If you use a colored
t-shirt, make sure your image is in direct contrast to it.
Space out your design according to how your t-shirt is worn
Is it a sports shirt? A concert shirt? Is there a pocket?
Design for the front, back
Make use of your space. Phrases can start on the front and
continue on the back.
3” below the neckline is the best place to start pictures or text
DESIGN TIPS
On Dark Fabric Shirts...
- A distinguishing border or frame MUST be present in your design.
Any black on black designs MUST have a border of white or a light color on them.
DESIGN TIPS
On Dark Fabric Shirts...
- Designs like these look unprofessional and amateurish...
FIXED!
DESIGN TIPS
-Use the t-shirt thumbnail sheet to create your ideas.
-Use the t-shirt template in your block folder to create your mock-up design.
PRE-PRODUCTION
Determine what kind of t-shirt you would like to design
• Determine what kind of shirt you would like to work on. Think about all of
your favorite films, bands, phrases etc and choose one you feel you could
design something with.
• Check out websites, band sites, etc..
• DO NOT just lift an idea from an existing shirt!
PRODUCTION
Create three thumbnail sketches of your t-shirt
• Create three COLOR thumbnail sketches using the t-shirt border I showed
you in class. Make sure they’re numbered and show values.
• If you have a front and a back, show thumbnails for each side.
• Once you have your thumbnails finished, see me to discuss your ideas.
• You may be asked to create additional thumbnail revisions.
PRODUCTION
Create the final artwork for both Shirts in Photoshop or by hand
USING PHOTOSHOP
• Using Photoshop, create your final artwork for each shirt with a resolution of
200 dpi.
• You have an 8” x 10.5” live area.
• If you can fit both design one one live area, great!
• Save artwork according to task sheet specifications.
IF BY HAND
• Complete your illustration by hand.
• Have Mr. Juul show you how to scan images.
• If you need to scan an illustration you have drawn, do so and convert it to a
resolution of at least 300 dpi in Photoshop.
• If you want to create a font or headline in the computer, do so.