For work you will need clothes (in our case, a white cotton T-shirt). In fact, it can be a simple one-color item. The fabric material can be not only cotton, but also some other material. It is also necessary to choose a harmonious pattern for the work. It can be printed and then transferred onto fabric using carbon paper, or directly drawn on fabric, it depends on your drawing ability. In any case, for convenience, it is better to place something solid or at least cardboard under the fabric to be painted. This is necessary, first of all, for ease of drawing, and secondly, so that when applying paints they do not leak onto the back of the T-shirt.Accordingly, you will need fabric paints. They vary depending on the planned material. In any case, neither gouache nor any other paints will work. Only special for fabric. You can buy them in specialized stores for creativity. When all materials and tools are prepared, you can begin to work.
In this master class you will paint a white cotton T-shirt with a dragon design. The dragon has green, orange, yellow and black colors. First, let's transfer the design onto the fabric using carbon paper. Having placed the T-shirt on a wooden stool, placing a piece of cardboard under the front, we place the printed drawing with a carbon copy underneath and begin the translation. Due to the fact that the fabric itself is soft, you need to transfer onto it using a dull pencil, and not a sharp pen, because otherwise the paper will simply tear, and the design on the fabric will not work.
When translating, you should press hard on the lines so that they are printed accurately; you should not rush, otherwise you will have to do a lot of drawing and correction by hand with a pencil.
After the design is transferred to the fabric, you should carefully and gradually remove the design and carbon copy from the fabric. It is best to lift the edges one by one and see if all the main elements have disappeared. If not, then you need to return the drawing back and circle the untranslated elements again, pressing harder on the pencil. It is precisely because of the need for this operation that it is better not to remove the entire drawing, but only to raise the edges. Once all the major elements have been translated, the finer details need to be completed. No matter how good and strong the pressure is on the pencil, small lines may still not be completed.In such a situation, you need to carefully draw all the lines with a simple pencil, thereby bringing the drawing to its logical end.
The next step will be to draw the outline of the drawing. This can be done either with contour paints or regular fabric paints. The differences in them are insignificant, and the choice remains with the master. In this master class, 3D contour paints were used for fabric, but they were applied with a brush so that there was no 3D effect (it was inappropriate). The paint should be applied with a thin brush, carefully and slowly. Wrong strokes will be very difficult to remove.
Before continuing to apply paint, it is necessary to allow the outline to dry thoroughly. When it has dried, you can continue working. It is necessary to paint over the drawing step by step, like a coloring book. It is best to decorate according to the principle of choosing colors, not elements. In this master class, after the outline, orange paint is applied to all parts that include this color.
Before applying the next color, you should always let the previous color dry or at least dry. After the orange color, apply yellow. Don't forget to rinse your brushes thoroughly when changing colors. If you don't do this, you may end up with a dirty and unsightly color.
Apply all colors in the same way. If you don’t have the required color in your assortment, you can always resort to mixing. To obtain lighter tones, you can use a special thinner, which is sold in the same stores where the paint itself is sold. It is worth remembering that when diluted, the paint becomes more fluid and may stick to the underlying cardboard (and if there is none, then it will leak onto the back). After applying all the paints, let the entire drawing dry thoroughly.
Drying time depends on the fabric and dyes used. On average, the paint dries within 24 hours. Special instructions will always be written on the box or paint cans. After the T-shirt has dried thoroughly, you need to carefully remove the cardboard. You shouldn't pull or pull it too hard because the paint might leak a little and stick. After the paint has dried, the T-shirt is ready and can be worn.
In terms of time, decorating an ordinary T-shirt will take at most a couple of days. But for little labor and money costs you will receive an original and unique thing.
