This tutorial covers how to use any of the Graphic & Logo Templates in Affinity Designer.
Using the templates in Affinity Photo is essentially the same process. You can find the Affinity Designer for Desktop Tutorial Here.
Affinity iPad Download Instructions
How to directly download TheVectorLab Affinity Bundles to iPad, without the need for a desktop computer.
Unzipping files in iOs 13 on the iPad may result in error messages.
The solution is to completely power down your iPad, then restart it.
You may need to perform this multiple times if you are unzipping more than one file.
Vector Drawing Tutorial (Part 2)
Adjusting the Drawing in Photoshop and Illustrator
Did you miss Part 1? Go HERE to see the iPad/Procreate Tutorial.
Vector Drawing Tutorial (Part 1)
Drawing in the Procreate App for iPad
Procreate is a raster/pixel app. But in Part 2, I will show you how to convert the drawing to vector.
T-Shirt Design Workshop 2
Creating a Mixed Media Design
*Free access to T-Shirt Design Workshop 2 is now over*
Get permanent access to this workshop with an order of any of the following bundles:
Tutorial: Paint Swirl Effect in Adobe Illustrator
Using Lava Lamp Textures from T-Shirt Design Master Collection 2 in combination with a leopard design from Graphic & Logo Bundle Vol. 3.
(These textures and templates will also work in Photoshop, Affinity, and CorelDraw)
How to Make Photoshop Brushes
It's easy to create your own custom Photoshop Brushes. This video will show you how.
If you haven’t subscribed to TheVectorLab’s Email List yet, you can sign up here.
Photoshop: Quick Design Customizations
Tutorial: How to make quick edits to designs in Photoshop.
This tutorial applies best to any of the Graphic & Logo Templates for Photoshop, including the newest bundle:
Graphic & Logo Bundle Vol. 3
Bad Photocopy Texture Template
Apply Photocopy Texture to your Graphics in Photoshop and Affinity
(Eagle design not included. You can get the eagle in Graphic & Logo Bundle Vol. 3)
Also perfect for poster design, flyers, web graphics, or any other graphic design project.
How it works
Paste your design into the designated layer.
Choose from 18 different photocopy textures to distress your graphic.
(Optional) Choose from 5 different photocopy backgrounds.
Save or export your file as a transparent PNG, PSD, JPEG, or any other Photoshop or Affinity-compatible format.
5 Ways to Get Bad Photocopy Texture Template
Graphic & Logo Bundle Vol. 3
Get the newest "GROWING BUNDLE" of graphic & logo templates + fonts.
Beginners can easily change the type and colors.
Experienced designers can use these designs as a time-saving starting point to make completely new designs.
Optimized for t-shirt designs. You can use also use these for hats, patches, logos, product packaging, embroideries, or anything else that needs a graphic or logo.
T-Shirt Fabric Mockup Panel
Using Pinterest for Graphic Design Inspiration
Got creative block? Pinterest is my number one tool to catalog graphic design inspiration and I think it could be yours too.
Here's why it's so good.
The beauty of Pinterest is that it allows you to organize (normally a left brain activity) design inspiration in a graphical right-brain sort of way.
It is such a useful tool to have when looking for new ways to combine techniques, lettering & type styles, layouts, color combinations, printing methods, design styles, drawing styles, etc.
Just look through your past pins or search for new ones. Pinterest even has a decent suggestion engine that will show you new images based on your past pins.
Pinterest stores the original source links of your pinned images so you can keep track of background information of the images. This also makes it easy to dive right back into your favorite websites for new discoveries.
Here's an excerpt from T-Shirt Design Workshop 2 demonstrating how I use Pinterest for graphic design inspiration and t-shirt design.
My top 3 Pinterest Boards for Graphic Design Inspiration
I've curated every single image on these boards for years so there's no junk. Feel free to have a look and give the boards a follow:
This pin board consists of 4000+ general graphic design inspiration pins.
Mostly men's graphic tees. 4000+ images.
2300 examples of unique lettering, typography, and fonts.
If you liked the Pinterest video above, and want to find out more about T-Shirt Design Workshop 2, have a look here:
T-Shirt Design Workshop 2 is also included in the following 3 bundles:
T-Shirt Design Inspiration of the Day - Top Shop
A t-shirt for the Top Shop burger joint in Byron Bay Australia. Designed by local artist, Paul McNeil.
Printing on the Inside of a Shirt
A reverse print is when you flip a t-shirt inside out, and print on the inside of the shirt. Some of the ink shows through on the other side, and it results in a natural texture determined by the qualities of the fabric.
With the t-shirt flipped inside out, don’t forget to print a mirror-image of your design. This will make the design look correct when viewed from the other side.
You can achieve different looks, depending on the color and thickness of your t-shirt fabric, the color and type of ink, and also how much squeegee pressure is applied.
This Noosa Longboards tee uses a slub textured fabric, which results in uneven horizontal streaks in the print.
On dark shirts, you will typically need more ink and pressure for your graphic to show through, compared to a light t-shirt.
You can reverse print with waterbase ink or plastisol ink. Discharge printing work well too.
Most often, you will want to use water based ink because it will have a softer feel than plastisol ink.
Remember, the ink is printed on the inside of the shirt so a softer print is better!
If you want to get the look of a reverse print without printing on the inside of the shirt, you can use Inside Out Textures for a realistic effect.
Inside Out Textures come in T-Shirt Design Master Collection 1, The Big 3 T-Shirt Design Bundle, and The Big 5 T-Shirt Design Bundle.
Seaview Font
Seaview font will be free for a little while longer.
You CAN use Seaview in commercial projects! This includes things like using the font in your designs to print onto items for sale, such as t-shirts, hats, and packaging.
Tutorial: Transparent Texture and Type in Illustrator
How to knock transparent type and texture through your designs in Adobe Illustrator.
Learn about:
Converting type to outlines
Using the Pathfinder Window and the “Merge” function
Using “Opacity Masks” with Bitmap Textures
Make Your Own Color Separations in Photoshop and Illustrator
Following up on the recent post about Understanding Color Separations for Screen Printing, here are some extra resources and links for those of you ready to dive in to making your own “color seps.”
This subject does get very dense software-wise. However, most screen printers can make separations for you. So you can certainly be a t-shirt designer and never need to make your own color separations.
Color Separations in Illustrator
One of the most straightforward ways to output color separations is with Adobe Illustrator. See Adobe's documentation of color separating in Illustrator.
If you prefer a video tutorial, this one is good. It will show you how to output your separations from Illustrator. Then bring them into Photoshop and generate halftones if you have gradients or color blending.
Spot Color Separations in Photoshop
For simple spot color separations in Photoshop, this tutorial will get you started.
One-Color Halftones in Photoshop
Photoshop for Screen Printing Halftones Tutorial.
Index Color Separations in Photoshop
This tutorial is about index separations. (However, the tutorial doesn't show you how to create a custom color palette. I will see if I can find or make a better one.)
This tutorial goes into much more depth, but you will have to do a bit of reading.
Understanding Color Separations
This video is a free excerpt from T-Shirt Design Workshop 1.
Learn about:
Spot Color Separations
CMYK Process Separations
Simulated Process Separations
Index Color Separations
All video lectures of T-Shirt Design Workshop 1 are included in the following bundles:
3 Ways to Apply Transparency in Affinity
Learn about:
Document transparency
Type transparency
Texture transparency
How layer hierarchy affects transparency
Tutorial: Halftone Camo Pattern
How to make oversize halftone camouflage patterns in Photoshop and Illustrator.