The NES T-shirt Project

  After reading a post on http://gonintendo.com/  I got inspired to come up with my own way to make NES character t-shirts.  With a little time and luck, they actually turned out very nicely.

    The following is step-by-step instructions on how I created my shirts.  Please remember, though, that this is the method that I found easiest, but by altering the instructions or items used, you might finds techniques that work better for you.  In other words: feel free to experiment!  The most important thing, as with any project, it that you enjoying the process as well as the results.

Materials needed: (for information on pricing estimates, look to the end of this guide)

1.  A blank t-shirt: These can be purchased at the craft store, but I found them to run small to their size and be a bit thin.  I use better quality Fruit of the Loom plain shirts that were purchased at Wal-Mart.  They are actually around the same price of the craft store shirts.  Also, our local Wal-Mart has an entire wall of sizes and colors to choose from, as well as other, even higher quality shirts to choose from.  The better the quality and feel of the shirt, the more it will get worn and the better the paints will hold to the material.  Also, be sure to read the ‘Sprite Art’ information below for tips on picking out the right color shirt for your project.

2.  Paint markers and pens:  These were purchased at the local ACMoore craft store.  I use two types of markers/pens:  The Fabric Markers are my favorite to use and they come in both thin and large sizes.  I also use Deco Fabric pens, mostly for lighter colors –such as white and ‘flesh’- that would not show up on the fabric if from a Marker.  Deco Fabric pens can be frustrating to use (I’ll cover that later) but also provide a brighter color in contrast to the Markers.

3.  ‘Magic’ disappearing fabric pen:  I apologize for not remembering the name brand, but this pen is the white with purple tips pen just below the ruler in the picture.  It was also found in ACMoore in the same area as the Fabric Markers and pens.  This little wonder is very important to my technique, as it is used for drawing the grid and takes away the need for tape, etc.

4.  Ruler: Also used for drawing the grid.  I also used a Sharpie to mark of every 1/4” to help make drawing my grid easier.

5.  Piece of poster board

6. Sprite art: Sprites can be found all over the internet; one site I find useful www.gsarchives.net .    In the picture, the Mega Man is actual sprite art enlarged and then printed from the computer.  The Jizo (statue) Mario was also created using printed sprite art, but we then made a magnet out of Perler beads –an entirely different project.  I’m using the magnet for demonstration purposes because it’s bigger and easier to see the individual sprites.

To create sprite art: 

1.  Search the site I listed or the web for the sprite you want.

2.  Save the sprite to your desktop.

3.  I then open the sprite in MS Paint and resize it (larger); resave the image

4.  I then open the image in Publisher (or Word) and print it.

*Some sprites may take more work.  Just be patient with it until you get he art    looking like it is ‘right’ to you on the computer before you print it.

Choosing the right color shirt for you sprite art:

Try to choose a color that compliments your artwork.  From my experience, having the shirt serve as one of the colors of the shirt helps save time and money in the end, and give the shirt a nice overall ‘flow’.  Gray shirts are best if you want the art work to stand out the most, but you will have to color in each color in most cases.  Look at the examples throughout this guide to see both methods used.

*You may also want to keep an old t-shirt nearby to allow you to test colors and paints.

Now that you’ve collected all your materials, it is time for the easy part!

 Making the shirt:

***Be sure to wash shirt once before you start the project!!

Step One: Figure out the grid size 

Before you start to work on the shirt, you need to figure out how big to make your grid.  The grid I use is made up of ¼” (1/4 inch) squares.  You can change the size of the squares to make the image smaller or larger.  When I count the number of squares (sprites) used to create the image, it will tell me how big my grid needs to be.  So to create a grid for our Jizo Mario, we’ll need a grid that is 30 squares tall (7 ½”) and 16 squares wide (4”).  I also mark my mid points on the artwork, as well as the highest sprite (a lesson learned after this shirt was done) in the artwork to use as my starting point.  Also, the size of your grid will differ depending on the artwork you choose.  Just be sure to use the same square size consistently. Ah, don’t you just love math?

 Here’s another example, on the actual sprite art I used for the Racoon Mario shirt:

 Optional Step:  Iron the center 

A friend of mine wanted to me include this step, even though it’s only useful to him.  He takes the shirt, folds it in half vertically and irons a crease down the middle of the shirt.  He uses this as his center line (see Step 3).  And no, we did NOT iron on the rug; it’s just a picture.

 Step 2:  Set up your workspace

I have a piece of board that I have used for projects for years, and the shirts fit nicely over them.  I then tape the shirt to the board to keep it from moving.  This is great because if I need to move the project I can without much hassle.  Most craft stores sell shirt boards, so those could be used to.  But if your kitchen table like ours –never used- then you could also set up there.  Just make sure to do the following things:  Put a piece of poster board inside the shirt to keep the ink from going through to the other side.  Make sure to but the poster board in shiny side down; the shiny side will not absorb ink as quickly and my smear the ink inside your shirt if you move it. 

 

Then attach your shirt to your work surface using tape –masking tape will hold best, but we’re using scotch tape; don’t use duct tape as it will leave a sticky residue on the shirt- and your ready to go!

 Step 3: Create a center line

In my opinion, the hardest part of the project.  The entire work is created using the center line, so make sure you feel it is centered and lined up before drawing the rest of the grid.

I start by finding the center of the ‘neck ring’ (technical term J) of the shirt and measure 2 1/2” down and then make a mark.

 

Next, I use that point and line up my ruler until I feel the line is both centered and not crooked.  Then I draw the line.

After I draw the line, I’ll look at it again, and draw another if the first one felt off.  I would not do this over and over again, and if you really want you could rinse the shirt and dry it and start over.  I usually am happy by the 2nd  or 3rd try, then I mark the ‘official’ line with tiny arrows, as seen above, and make sure it is the correct length for my grid –in this case 7 ½”.

 Step 4: Draw the grid

Using the center line, measure out half of what your total grid width would be –in this case 2”- and mark it at three places: the top, middle and bottom.  Repeat the process on both sides, then draw (only with the ‘magic’ fabric pen!!) the new vertical lines connecting the points.  Then draw the top and bottom lines to make the grid’s outer perimeter.

Double check you measurements again to make sure it is the correct size.  Then check to make sure you feel as if the rectangle (or square) is centered and not crooked on the shirt.  If you feel you need to start over, now is the time.  If not, mark your outer lines at the correct size of your squares.  Again, I use ¼” squares, so I mark every ¼” along the outer perimeter. Next, connect the points from right side to the left side, then the points from the top to the bottom. You should then have a finished grid.

 Step 5: Outline the outline

Using your sprite art as reference, use the Fabric Markers to outline the art’s outline.

I use a thin sized Fabric Marker for outlining.  Also, work slowly and follow your grid to make sure you get nice, smooth lines and corners with sharp edges.  You can also use your ruler to help make the lines as straight as possible.

 Step 6: Fill in your colors

We’ve learned that it is best to paint the shirt in the following order:

1.  Outline the outline

2.  Fill in any Deco Fabric colors –such as white and flesh – first.  Put on one coat, let it dry, put on another coat, let it dry, and repeat the process until you get the color and look you want.  This is why I said the DecoFabric can be frustrating to use: it requires multiple coats and more drying time.  But, with patience, it comes out looking great in the end.

3. Fill in the Fabric Marker colors- usually, one ‘coat’ will do.  You may want to let it sit and dry then look over it for any spots you may need to touch up.

4.  When finished, let the shirt dry and set over night –or at least 5-7 hours- before doing the finishing steps.

Step 7: Finishing up

After you’ve allowed time for the artwork to sit and dry, put the shirt on an ironing board and lay a piece of wax paper over the artwork.  Iron over the wax paper/artwork to ‘heat set’ the artwork.

Then take the shirt to the sink and rinse out the grid with cold water.  Put the shirt in the dryer alone.  We discovered doing this before actual washing helps a bit in keeping the DecoFabric paint from cracking.

 

Here some of our shirts.  You can see in many of them how we used the different types of markers/pens together as well as used the shirt color as a color in the artwork.  Good luck in making your own!

 Other Notes:

About Cost:

This is actually all in perspective.  Like any art project, getting started and acquiring supplies is the most expensive part. 

The Fabric Markers cost around $3 each, with little difference in the cost for the thin or large sizes.  The Deco Fabric pens are around $3.50 each, but you will need to buy more of these if you use the colors –such as flesh and white- more as the pens empty very quickly, especially if the design requires multiple coats.  Shirt prizes depend on the brand and quality, with most decent shirts costing around $5-$6 each.

If you are planning on making just one shirt, the cost will be for the shirt and for each color you use.  For example, using the prices above the Jizo Mario shirt – with the least colors- cost around $9 to make.  The Mega Man shirt – with the most colors- cost around $20 dollars to make.

But it actually gets cheaper the more shirts you do, because of the fact you can use the markers and pens on multiple shirts.  We have bought and made seven shirts total, which requiring 10 different colors (2 being flesh pens –one pen got us through 3 shirts before running out).  That gives us a total cost of around $65-$70, making the total cost per shirt right around $10.

*I didn’t add the ‘magic’ grid marker into the cost estimates; I think it cost around $3 as well.  And because we bought extra pens to experiment with color our actual prices were a bit different than those listed above.  When we sat down and did a total, we figured we bought 16 different colors ($50.50), the magic pen ($3), and 7 shirts ($42) for a total of $95.50.  This makes each shirt’s total average cost $13.65…what you would find in a store – if not cheaper.  Nice how it worked out that way! And now that we have the supplies, future shirts, unless new or replacement colors are needed, will only cost us the price of the shirts.

 Tips & Tricks:

Trust the sprites.  Even if your art doesn’t look anything like the printed sprite art –most likely do to resizing and ‘stretching’ or ‘squishing’ the sprites- as long as you carefully count the sprites before you start to paint you should be fine.

Don’t be afraid of mistakes.  If you make one, just adapt to it if possible and move on.  Remember, you will be your worst critic on any art you create.

Don’t be upset if the markers fade just a bit.  I noticed that if I paint it on thick –but not enough to bleed- the first time, it comes out much better than if I try to come back once it dries and try to darken it up.

When you rinse out the grid, the ink from the marker may suddenly reappear.  Just keep rinsing the art with cool water and it will go away.

   

---

Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)

• New by French Loser
• T-Shirts for Printing, How to Choose the Right One
• Square’d shirt Vs Bright shirts

Explore posts in the same categories: Geek Culture, Video Games