T-Shirt Design Workshop 01: Foundation

Design a t-shirt like a professional: specialty printing methods, fabrics, inks, dyes, and washes.

What you'll learn

Understand how t-shirt design ideas are conceived.

Choose the best combination of fabric, inks, dyes, and washes to make more exciting designs.

Choose specialty inks and printing methods to create unique designs.

Choose the right type of color separation for their graphics.

Know how direct-to-garment (DTG), dye sublimation, and screen printing methods work.

Requirements

A passion for design and t-shirts will help! Otherwise, there is no other specific knowledge necessary.

Description

Learning the possibilities and options you have when creating a t-shirt design is an essential investment in becoming a professional t-shirt designer. In this workshop, we'll go over all the ingredients that go into a t-shirt design. Let's get started!
In this course we will cover:
Every t-shirt design should have a story behind itThe history of the graphic t-shirtWhat makes a good t-shirt designThe varieties of t-shirts and fabricGarment dyes and garment washesAlternative printing methods like Direct to Garment (DTG) and Dye SublimationOversize and allover printing techniquesHow the different kinds of color separation workVarieties of screen printing inkSpecialty inks and printing methods that will set your designs apartSupplies needed to screen print a t-shirtWe will finish off with a demonstration showing how you can screen print a t-shirt - even at home!

Overview

Section 1: Foundation

Lecture 1 Introduction

Lecture 2 Every T-Shirt has a Story

Lecture 3 History of the Printed T-Shirt

Lecture 4 Present-Day T-Shirt Design

Section 2: Ingredients

Lecture 5 What Makes a Good Graphic

Lecture 6 Kinds of Fabric

Lecture 7 T-Shirt Construction

Lecture 8 Garment Dye

Lecture 9 Yarn Dye

Lecture 10 Garment Washes

Section 3: T-Shirt Printing

Lecture 11 Direct to Garment Printing

Lecture 12 Dye Sublimation Printing

Lecture 13 Oversize Printing

Lecture 14 Screen Printing Inks

Lecture 15 Specialty Inks and Printing Techniques

Lecture 16 Color Separations

Lecture 17 Screen Printing Supplies

Lecture 18 Screen Printing Process

Lecture 19 Closing Thoughts

This workshop is for all levels of people interested in learning about t-shirt design. No prior software knowledge is necessary. Unlike my other courses, this workshop does not include intermediate or advanced instruction using design software like Photoshop or Illustrator. This course does not have step-by-step graphic design or software tutorials. It does, however, cover a wide range of topics that provide context and essential knowledge for anyone wanting to become a professional t-shirt graphic designer.