How to Design a T-Shirt For Free
If you have a great idea for a t-shirt, you don't need a to hire a professional to make it for you! The fact is, ANYONE can design - and even sell - a t-shirt on the Internet for FREE, using these simple tools.
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
-
-
1
Download and install GIMP (see link below). If you're not sure what that is, think of it as a free Photoshop. There are lots of online tutorials that will teach you how to use it.
-
2
Come up with a catchy slogan. One of my recent shirts (pictured) copped off the common slogan: "Someone who loved me very much went to (-wherever-) and bought me this t-shirt." Click the photo above for a close view of how awesome it looks!
-
-
3
Sign up for Cafepress.com. They offer free e-stores and templates. For this example, we will design a shirt. The template is 2000 pixels by 2000 pixels.
-
4
Open the template in GIMP. Go to "File" and click "New." A box will open up. You will notice that the size is set as 2000 by 2000 pixels. Look below to where it says "Advanced Options." Click that. Where it says "X resolution," put 300. This will ensure your final image is sharp. Where it says "Fill with," click the dropdown menu and choose "Transparent." That way when you put the image on the shirt, there will not be a white box behind your letters.
-
5
Fill in the content. All your lines of text, graphics, and other content should be on separate layers. This makes it a lot easier to move and adjust any part without messing up what you have done already.
-
6
Save the file as an .xcf. When you use .xcf, GIMP saves all the layers separately without combining them down, so you can always go back and edit after you close the file. But .xcf will ONLY open in GIMP.
-
7
When you are done, go to "File" and click "Save As." Give it the name you want, and save the file as a .png. A .png is a "lossless" extension. (Normal photo files, like .jpgs, lose quality - kind of like MP3's do with sound.) Now you will have two files - your .xcf and your .png. Save both.
-
8
Upload your .png file to Cafepress. Follow the prompts to set up your product. Then, release it to the world! Cafepress offers you a special cutrate price to order your own product. Or, if other people buy your product, they take care of all the details and cut you a check.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
Design your own t-shirt for special events, your church youth group, your homeschool group, your office reunion ... the uses are endless!
Shop around for the best deals. Many companies will take your artwork. I recommend Cafepress only if you are looking to sell the shirt online.
Resources
- Photo Credit the author
