How to Design Silk Screen T-Shirts
If you have an idea for a silk screen T-shirt, you must turn the concept into a design before you print it. Although preparing a T-shirt design takes several steps, the process is straightforward. If you take the time to properly execute your screen printed T-shirt design, you'll end up with a finished product that looks polished and professional.
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Instructions
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Sketch an image that doesn't feature fine detail.
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Decide whether you want to print a simple one-color line drawing on your silk screen T-shirt or if you want to print a design that features several colors.
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3
Limit multicolor designs to four colors. When planning your screen-printed T-shirt, choose flat colors that don't feature any subtle shading. The silk screen method of printmaking doesn't work as well for shaded images.
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4
Determine how large to make the T-shirt design. You can choose to create a small design to print onto a breast pocket or a bold design that covers most of the shirt's front.
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Draw the final draft of your full-size T-shirt design. If you're designing a multicolor image, color the design accordingly. Use colored pencils or pigment markers to color your drawing. Use a black pigment pen to go over all line drawings.
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Tips & Warnings
If you're designing a multicolor image, make a drawing for each color that includes only the shapes in that particular shade. This is necessary because each color requires its own screen. You can either use graphic design software (such as Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator) or you can place the finished image on a light table and trace the different colored shapes on separate pieces of paper.
