homemade Witcher t-shirt

[gazp]

homemade Witcher t-shirt

Hi there guys!

Just wanted to make a quick post regarding a piece of artwork of sorts I made.
The Witcher franchise entered my life not that long ago. It soon rose to one of my all time favourites. So I figured I should show my appreciation for it in some way (besides buying the games, that is). And what better way to do it then with a t-shirt? Well, actually there are better ways... but that's no the point!
And since I didn't get a chance to grab one of those t-shirts they where giving at their booth at Gamescom, I just had another reason to make my own.

link

I used a stencil with the original medallion drawing, plus a few changes to better accommodate this kind of application. Unlike previous works of mine, this time I decided to apply fabric paint with a roller, instead of spray paint, since I had never used it and wanted to see how the end result would be. Also wanted it to look more worn out, so I added a bit of water to the paint. In retrospect, maybe I shouldn't have added so much, but the faded and rough style I was aiming for is there.
Anyway, I'm somewhat happy with the end result, and it serves its purpose

Hope you liked it, and if any of you are interested, I could eventually make a small tutorial explaining the different steps it took to make it. In the end, its not that hard to do after you learn a couple of things.

 

[drunknmunkey666]

That's so cool man!!! My God ... Make one for me
Nice explanation of your method, thumbs up!

 

[chromie92]

Wow great job. I'll wait for when you take requests =P

 

[Aditya]

looks great! yes tutorial please

 

[pbpoovanna]

good work +1 like for this good work so u planning on making more for us?

 

[cahir-the-witcher]

looking good! the gray-ish edges make an impression that it's a worn out printed design... at least it is how it looks at enclosed photo, that is.

the last time I've made a t-shirt was loooong time ago and I was using, as silly as it sounds, bleach/toilet cleaner for that.

 

[gazp]

Thanks a lot fellas! It really warms my heart to see such praise

looks great! yes tutorial please

I'll get on it as soon as I can!

looking good! the gray-ish edges make an impression that it's a worn out printed design... at least it is how it looks at enclosed photo, that is.the last time I've made a t-shirt was loooong time ago and I was using, as silly as it sounds, bleach/toilet cleaner for that.

That doesn't sound silly at all! It is a legitimate technique as any other. In fact, I thought about doing just that for this project, but the problem is that bleach would probably bleed through the smaller parts of the stencil, since it has so much detail


Don't know if you guys are serious or not about the requests, but as much as I would like to just send you all one, that raises a couple of problems that need to be solved.
So, if any of you are in fact interested in getting a t-shirt like this, I would be honoured

 

[Dona.794]

It looks awesome! I dig the faded/old look :]

 

[gazp]

As Aditya requested, here is the tutorial on how to make a t-shirt like the one above.


Equipment list:
-fabric paint - Lefranc & Bourgeois Déco Textil 50mL. A small bottle goes a long way, so no need for litters of it (can't really choose a brand over another, so its up to you)
-paint roller. Again, a small one is okay, for the area we'll be painting is not that big.
-acetate sheets. Buy a couple, in case you mess up (best if you get them a size bigger (A3) then the printed design(A4)).
-x-acto blade
-masking tape
-cardboard
-clothing iron
-hair-drier
-spray glue. Look for the one that can be repositionable.
-t-shirt. Cotton is probably best.

1- First, you need to chose design you'll be using. In this case, it is the classic Witcher medallion logo.

link

(Optional- instead of printing it right away, you can always get it on Photoshop, or other program like that to make the changes you want. On this one I cleaned it a bit and reversed the colours, so I don't have to waste my entire black cartridge on it. )

2- This is more of a overall tip for using stencils, but very necessary if you want to get the job done: look for areas where you will NOT have colour but that are surrounded by colour. Let's call it "islands" for now. It's better if you spot them now rather then later.

3- Now getting onto making the actual stencil. There are a couple of techniques that you can use, but for what we are doing, I'll cover only one. For this you will need acetate sheets and the already printed design. Put the design under the acetate and use some tape to fix it in place. It's important for the design to be as fixed as possible. Also, don't forget to do all the cutting with something hard underneath, like pressed cardboard, or you might unknowingly cut into your table.

4- Get your blade out, because it is time to do the cutting.

link

The main rule to follow is:
Black -> acetate
White -> future place for paint

Pretty straight forward, but keep in mind what I mentioned on step number 2: avoid islands of acetate. For example, the black area between the two ears, or the snout of the wolf, both are completely surround by white. That means that if you just cut by following the previous rule, you will end up with a piece of acetate in your hand. To solve issues like these, leave some kind of connection so you don't create a portion detached from the rest of the stencil. But even if you do end up cutting somewhere you shouldn't, just tape away!

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You will get something like this, minus all the paint and such. Notice all the extra acetate I had to left uncut so all pieces stand together. On the snout of the wolf I tried to use a paper clip and some tape, instead of leaving just the acetate.

(Optional- now that you have your stencil, you can always try it out with some spray paint on paper, cardboard or a piece of cloth, just to see if it is like you wanted and that you have everything cut. I sure did miss a spot or two at first )

5- Grab your t-shirt and prepare it for applying the paint. If you buy one on purpose for this, you should wash it first. Nothing fancy, just put it on the washing machine like you would normally do. This is to avoid shrinkage after painting. That can change the design.
After it is all washed, dried and ironed, put the cardboard inside of it. You can also wrap some cellophane around the cardboard first, so it doesn't get paint on it, but then again, it is only cardboard, so it's up to you. Make it so there are no grooves or creases on the area you'll be putting the stencil (clothing iron helps). Don't stretch the fabric though, the cardboard should be the same size or smaller then the t-shirt.

link

6- Spray some glue on the back of your stencil. It is not completely necessary, but it helps a lot, even more on designs with this much detail. Place it as you like on the t-shirt (use a ruler if you need help to center it). You can also place some old newspapers around the stencil, so there are no paint related accidents on the t-shirt.

7- You should now pour some paint on a plastic platter or some other recipient where you have enough space to use your roller. Spread it and soak as much as you can with the roller. Apply across the stencil as many times as you see fit. It is hard to give a number of rolls here, so just keep pouring paint little by little and try to use evenly on all portions of the stencil. If you want the paint to bleed a little, like I did, you can always pour some water on the paint. This way, some of the paint will dilute and bleed through the stencil. This can backfire though, so if you only want the faded look like mine, I suggest you don't use to much paint.

8- After painting take your hair-drier and dry the stencil a bit. Put it somewhere safe, it might still have paint on it. And don't forget to wash you roller.

9- This step really depends on the brand of paint you have, because now you should follow the instructions that are on the bottle. With the kind I used, you should let the t-shirt dry for 24 hours. After that, use the clothing iron on the paint for 5 minutes. Not to hot though, or it could ruin the design. To finish, wash it again at no more then 40º Celsius.

And you are done! You now have your very own completely unofficial Witcher t-shirt. Hope that my instructions where easy enough to follow.

If you have any questions at all, don't be afraid to ask. It all might look like an impossible task to someone that isn't used to this kind of thing, but I assure you that the end result makes up for it.

 

[Aditya]

awesome man! thanks for your patience and writing this
getting one ordered is not a big deal, but making this yourself gives infinite satisfaction