A Handpainted T-shirt Project I did for a client in Singapore - The Start of my Humble Beginnings

in #hive-1413597 months ago

Hi, ASEAN Hive Community! Let me share with you an art project I did 12 years ago. It's a handpainted t-shirt I did for a client in Singapore. The client found my website through a Google search.

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The client happened to be a wildlife or bird photographer in Singapore. She sent me an original reference of the rail babbler. She flew from Singapore to Cebu to meet me. She ordered about 15 t-shirts as she would give them to other photographers who participated in the photography workshop or something like that.

This was one of my side hustles in Cebu as I raised funds to buy a Nikon DSLR camera. So, yes, as you can see, all the photos were low quality. I am writing this to show you my humble beginnings and how I achieved the things I want to be.

I need to invest in the following:

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Textile inks - this brand is popular for silk screen printing in Cebu, Philippines

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I bought several paintbrushes.

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My working setup testing and mixing colors.

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My paint palette

Testing it out in an old t-shirt

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With one t-shirt, I just sketched the bird with a pencil and painted directly to the t-shirt.

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I was nervous about painting this because I made a smudge on the t-shirt. I needed to be careful with all the T-shirts.

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I made a white border around the bird.

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I added some green background to hide the smudge paint. I showed this t-shirt to my client but she never wanted the green background.

I took these photos using a Samsung Galaxy Y. My first ever Android phone.

It's time to paint the t-shirts officially

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Since she ordered 15 t-shirts, I realized I needed to create a stencil of the bird to make the process easier and faster.

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So that I can do silkscreen printing as the first base layer of the painting.
You can also see above the printed photo of the rail babbler from the client's original shot.

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When the ex and I did the first base of silkscreen printing, it was easy for me to paint, all smooth.

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It was also smart to create a stencil of the letters.

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The first t-shirt

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The second t-shirt

She made a repeat order after three years

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Good thing, I didn't throw the stencils at that time. Everything was well-kept.

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The ex and I broke up already so it was me all alone to do the silkscreen printing. Thanks to my high school teacher for teaching us how to do silkscreen printing.

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It was getting better.

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Hi, it's me, Rox! The artist behind the handpainted t-shirt.

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I got an iPad mini this time so the photos looked better than 3 years ago.

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This was the blank canvas of a t-shirt before I started to paint.

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This is the inner side of the T-shirt after finishing to paint.

Ready for Delivery!

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The client was having a vacation in Cebu and ordered the t-shirts at the same time. Did you know, I finished painting all these T-shirts in 15 days? Oh my god! I was in a panic I needed to be in a hurry. I had to deliver it to her before she flew back to Singapore.

Because of this handpainted T-shirt project, I was able to buy a DSLR camera in 2013. The wedding photography gig and the repeat order of the t-shirts also helped me to fund my 2015 travels to Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and back to Japan. Well, I had my online job as well so it helped me so much.

Writing this on Hive as a reminder to myself that I have beautiful old memories of my past, took photos using my old phone and an old version of my iPad mini, for documentation purposes.


Roxanne Tamayo - www.itravelrox.com

Welcome to iTravelRox! Roxanne Tamayo is a Cebuana who is a traveler. Now a mom of 2 kids and a wife. She is a travel blogger and a digital nomad. As a Virtual Assistant, she does a lot of things like content writing, WordPress web design, WP updates and maintenance, graphic design, and photo editing. She is into wedding photography, as well.

If you like iTravelRox's content, please don't forget to upvote and leave a comment. She will share a lot of stories about solo travels, motherhood, family travel, and working as a VA.

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Seems like a very careful and delicate skill set is needed to paint on t-shirts. Just curious how do they handle getting washed and dried?

We do a lot of handwashing in the Philippines and just dry it under the sun. But with a washing machine, make sure to return the T-shirt while washing at 30 degrees C. For drying, better just hang dry under the sun or near the heater.

Abstract lang kayang gawin ko sa T-shirt, Dai. Not a detailed one. ☺️

Ok lang naman abstract no problem.

Mao long na. NagFine Arts ko for a year. Ang aking drawing ay almost hulog Kay dko Kabali magdibuhi ugh dagway SA tao...hahaha

di sad kayao ko kamao mag dibuho basta tawo mahadlok pa ko mag drawing2 portraits.

Mao akong maga dibuho sa tao side view or patalikod kunuhay..hahaha

o pwede ra jud kaayo mao sad na akong trip.

Nice ma'am @itravelrox. The story inspires me. Thank you for sharing.

You're welcome. Good that my story inspires you. :D

Yes it is. 😊 @itravelrox Thank you for following me too. ☺️

Welcome. :D

☺️☺️

Wow a very cool skills maam.I hope your client is satisfied with the hand painted shirt you made!God bless you maam🥰🤍

Yeah she was satisfied. We got the chance to connect again thru Instagram.

Ka talented ba @itravelrox 🤩 sanaol kaayo!

Hehe buyag2 kaayo. haha thank you.

Using you talent wisely is such a good choice ma'am @itravelrox. The outcome is really beautiful this must have take time and a lot of patience. Keep up the good work!^^

Thank you so much. Using our skills to make money. hehe

Thanks for posting in the ASEAN Hive Community.

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Thank you so much @asean.hive :D