# T-Shirt Painting



## Defy (Feb 17, 2007)

I am looking to start custom painting shirts. I was told to get Tulip fabric paints, is that good or any other suggestions? I want really thick paint and one that is accessible by regular bay area art supply stores. I have seen shirts that were painted, but the middle looked almost like silk screening, like they silk screened a picture in the center then painted around it.....is that possible? what would I need to get this started? I want to experiment with it first, so I'd like a home screening kit, but it has to be able to do large shirts (2XL would be the smallest shirt I paint), what are some good ones that I can pick up at the art supply store today? I want that picture to have almost the same consistancy as the other fabric paint. Thanks.


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## gerry (Oct 4, 2006)

Iuse Createx fabrics,many colours waterbased available locally


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## crsmith (Jan 1, 2006)

I use So Soft by DecoArt, also use tulip. Others on the board use acrylic paint with fabric medium. Do a search here for fabric painting, you will find more info.

cheryl


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## mrad (Dec 23, 2006)

Acrylic paint with fabric medium works perfectly & you are not limited to the selection of fabric paints that may be available. Washes & dries great!


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## mikaelangelika (Jan 2, 2009)

I am a newbie at this and I just thought of exploring and painting on my shirts. I am not sure if I should use textile paint or acrylic paint? I read a lot of acrylic and fabric paint online and textile paint is for textile and commonly used for t-shirt printing especially for silk screen. But which one is more durable/wash-resistant?

Thank you


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## eallen (Apr 11, 2007)

I use Jacquard or Scribbles by Demensional. I like the Scribbles because they come in small "squirt bottles" that I can easily handle and the paint is very flexible. I mainly hand paint anything from portraits that people request on their shirts too hip hop cartoons to simple designs. I plan on posting some of my shirts soon, but I had a break in and someone stole both my laptops and 2 digital cameras. Now I can only log on at when I am at work.


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## eallen (Apr 11, 2007)

Oh and one more thing, I am not sure I should post this, but here it goes. I took my daughter to get a personal hand painted shirt by some artist that were in town doing a promotion for a new high end urban clothing store. I won't say the brand name of the shirts cause I don't know if it is allowed, but they are famous worldwide and their shirts run anywhere from $45 -$90 bucks in the stores. At any rate, the artist were using acrylic paints, and they were painting pretty thick. The shirt cost me $100 bucks to have them customize it right there in the store. When my daughter finally got around to wearing the shirt, she said the area that they painted felt scratchy and uncomfortable against her skin she is scared to wash the shirt because the paint is so thick she think it will crack. and to think I design her shirts that she love that are comfortable and washes extremely well for free.


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## mikaelangelika (Jan 2, 2009)

eallen said:


> Oh and one more thing, I am not sure I should post this, but here it goes. I took my daughter to get a personal hand painted shirt by some artist that were in town doing a promotion for a new high end urban clothing store. I won't say the brand name of the shirts cause I don't know if it is allowed, but they are famous worldwide and their shirts run anywhere from $45 -$90 bucks in the stores. At any rate, the artist were using acrylic paints, and they were painting pretty thick. The shirt cost me $100 bucks to have them customize it right there in the store. When my daughter finally got around to wearing the shirt, she said the area that they painted felt scratchy and uncomfortable against her skin she is scared to wash the shirt because the paint is so thick she think it will crack. and to think I design her shirts that she love that are comfortable and washes extremely well for free.


 
Yes! Thank you so much for sharing this story. That's exactly what happened to my shirt I just painted. I'm kinda doing a trial-and-error thing and I painted real thick. My shirt got real hard and I'm even hesitant to put it on because I might break it


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## eallen (Apr 11, 2007)

When I start a design on a shirt, I do it in a couple of thin layers. I get the same effect of painting thick, but my designs are thin and comfortable and don't crack not even on the women stretchy tshirts. takes a little longer to put on layers of paint than one thick layer, but the end result is worth it.


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## eallen (Apr 11, 2007)

I have considered painting a design over tie-dye, I think the combination would make very interesting shirts. I will have to play around with that. I never considered doing shirts over a long party. I have about 40 regular customers that request custom designs on everything from tshirts, shoes, jeans to jackets practically anything they think I can paint including walls. My designs start at $25 for a small one.


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## mikaelangelika (Jan 2, 2009)

eallen said:


> When I design a shirt, I paint in thin layers. I get the same effect as painting a thick layer, but my designs are soft and stretchy and washable. It takes me a little longer, but I like the results and I don't get any complaints about my shirts cracking or washing out.


 
i like to put blots and dribbles around every now and then for it to come alive. but the layers is a really good idea for thick painting. i'll try that out next time.


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## wa1 (Feb 23, 2009)

Hi all custom hand painted T-shirt lovers,

Please post some of your hand painted designs to share with us...
Would love to see your great creations.
Thanks!


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